Earthquake, how to prepare?

[Abissus]

I just upgraded my 19G to 29G using the same metal stand.

It just suddenly hit me that if there's an earthquake, my tank very likely will fall over, especially using a metal stand means there is not much weight close to the ground and the center of gravity is rather high.

Any idea what can make it more secure? I dont think securing the stand to the wall would help, since there's a space between the tank and wall so the tank can still tilt towards the wall, plus the tank might still slide off the stand even if the stand is not moving.

Do you have any earthquake precaution?

 

[Witfull]

here in jersey we dont have many, and the few that we have had, the house shakes more when big trucks rumble by at hi speed...lol

you could rigid brace the stand to the wall. i dont think it will vibrate off the stand unless its a decent sized quake.

if it does happen your homeowners/renters insurance should cover the tank and contents minus the livestock. aquariums are considered furniture. they will also cover your live rock and corals, its a decoration not lifeform. we had a discussion on this on another board and i got this from an insurance adjuster...LOL

 

[mattseattle]

yeah, i brought this up on here last year. seems like most don't have their stands/etc. strapped to the wall. i didn't strap mine and really haven't done any earthquake precautions to my stand/tank. i thought it would take a pretty a couple heavy duty straps to handle the load of a tank so i didn't do it since i live in an apartment and can't drill huge holes into the walls. hopefully the center of gravity of my tank will keep it stable in small quakes. if a large one hits then it's toast and i really can't imagine what you could do to keep a tank stable in the "BIG ONE".

 

[cookiemn]

I thought of the same problem. My solution was to get a bigger tank that weighed more so there was less likely of a chance to fall over.

 

[Abissus]

Yeah, we always need excuses to upgrade anyway cookieman

I guess I'd worry less if not for that metal frame stand... I can already rock it by slight pushing. I cant tlel how easy it'll tilt since I know there's no way I can hold it back if I suceed.

Maybe I'll get a better thand that has a lower center of gravity

 

[reedman]

Mine survived the big one that we had here in Seattle. I lost about a gallon of water due to slosh and some of the rocks shifted. I think if you have a stable aquascape and your tank isn't top heavy (a very large canopy or tall stand) you shoudn't have much trouble. Think about how much weight you have working in a down direction vs. the forces in the side directions. The bigger risk is a rock slide into a glass pane of your tank causing a crack or water sloshing out onto electronic gear.