camtang Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 has anybody used glass suckers to move big tanks around? i was wondering if the pulling motion that they employ to lift might pull silicone apart or not? i was thinking about using them as more of a ballancing role and to take a bit of extra weight not as a primary lifting role Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 The way that tanks are generally constructed, with the front, back and ends sitting on the base, I would think you would be best to put your hands under the base and lift from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted August 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 thats what i suspected as well. but im hoping there might be some first hand experiences to help on this issue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 has anybody used glass suckers to move big tanks around? How big are we talking? I've used these... to move 5 foot/500 litre tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted August 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 more around the 6 and 8 foot mark, i can get that type of sucker from work but they are only rated to 25kg each from memory, but i can also get the push button type which is rated a lot higher as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 imo its better to use as many ppls as possible and lift from underneath, only bothered with vacuum grips if its a seriously tall tank, and even then only as a stabliser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted August 9, 2012 Report Share Posted August 9, 2012 I once used the professional type to lift my old 8' tank. Empty it was around 300kg and just too difficult to lift from underneath. We used 6 x 200mm diameter suckers which stuck on no problem. The tank will definitely not pull apart when being lifted this way as the force to lift the empty tank is only a fraction of the force on the silicone joints when full of water... I feel this method is much safer as you have a nice handle to grip instead of you hand curved around the sharp glass edge where it's easy to slip off. The type of sucker shown in the photo above would really only be any good for small tanks as you don't get anywhere as good a vacuum. If it's big you want the professional type with a pump-button to create a really strong vacuum between the sucker and the glass. To me 5ft 500L is smallish. My tank was 1200L 8' and I considered it medium sized. The 3000L tank I made was approaching large but that needed a crane... 8) In saying that, using glass suckers on any tank really makes life much easier as you have a very firm place to get grip vs a sharp slippery glass edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 The "professional" ones also usually have a rating for the maximum weight they can lift, so you should be able to figure out how many you need to comfortably lift the tank. If I don't have it made on site I'll certainly be getting some to move my next big tank!! Slightly OT, but did you ever do an article/build thread/pics of your 3000L build Warren? Would be very interested to see how it was made etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 Hi David, no I never did do an article but did describe the process in lesser detail in a post ages ago. I don't even know if I still have any photo's... However, it would be interesting to write up so I could do something for the AW and post it up here after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 Yipee, I just checked my server and I still have the finished tank photos and CAD files from the design/build so doing an article suddenly gets much easier... Yeah, yeah :smot: sorry (but interesting though). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 Choice!! I've been reading a lot of the ply/fibreglass builds on MFK and seriously considered doing one this time around, but just don't quite have the space to go big enough to justify it (IMO). That said, I still haven't had a price for the all glass tank, so that may change my mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted August 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 i have 5 glass suckers sorted for the move so things should be ok. wow 3000L thats a mamoth tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 Its not "mamoth" unless you need a wetsuit to do maintanence... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted August 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 wouldnt that be fantastic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 wouldnt that be fantastic viewtopic.php?p=465863#p465863 Sure would be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.