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barry martin
May 20th 04, 02:34 AM
Amy:

AS> My son is just learning to crawl, and I'm concerned that he's going to
AS> pull our fish tank crashing down on his head! Can anyone recommend
AS> a tank base that will be really stable on an old, uneven hardwood floor?

The first thing coming to my mind was also some sort of a bracket
screwed into the top of the base (just under the aquarium itself. The
other respondant's suggestion of L- (or right angle) bracket at the
bottom doesn't seem like it would keep the unit from being tipped
over. OTOH if it was something like 12" per arm and made of ~1/4"
steel like the ones providing support to the shelf at the customer
service window at the store......

Easiest thing is probably to screw two long wood screws into the wall
studs behind and just under the tank. Ones with hex heads might be
easer, especially if you have (or can borrow) a ratchet driver.
(Straight/slotted screw heads and Phillips [cross] can slip,
especially is tight spaces. Also have to remember the wood studs are
probably several years old and wood will get harder as it dries.
(Drilling a pilot hole roughly half the diameter of the screw's
diameter can help make the screwing-in easier.)

The length of the screw is important. You want to go into the stud at
least an inch, the drywall is roughly a half-inch thick.

You can use a carriage washer to help distribute the support -- is a
large diameter washer with a smaller hole (whatever is needed to fit
the screw head).

-
¯ barry.martinþATþthesafebbs.zeppole.com ®

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