Need a new stand/cabinet, suggestions?

[Hig789]

the wife and I talked earlier and we are going to replace the stand that our 15g 16" cube is on. It's just a plain old black stand with a glass door. Our youngest is about to be mobile along with our 2 1/2 year old so we wants something a little more sturdy. Plus there's a little water damage from the previous owner on the bottom edge. I'd like something go the looks like a piece of furniture, thought about a flat screen tv stand but I wasn't sure if they were designed to hold something this heavy.

 

What I'd like it to have/be:

-About 30" tall

-Roughly 18" (so about 4 1/2' long) on each side of the tank because I have to remove my hood every time I get in my tank. So it would be nice to have something to put it on.

-18-20" deep.

- ideally three doors on the bottom. Center open to the back for controllers, ATO and such. The outer two out just be storage.

- waterproof top. Weather this requires me to to do it after I get it or if it comes with it already.

 

Would all the extra space on each side of the tank look silly?

 

We also debated having our friend who does wood working for a living just making one. But I'm not sure what to use for the top. The tank is acrylic so it is going to have to sit on a pad, so it's okay if it's not 100% dead nuts flat.

 

I wouldn't be opposed to buying a oversized aquarium stand with a flat top but they want a arm and a leg for them and most are made of partical board.

 

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[lkoechle]

You can build one yourself. Its not that hard. My 85 tank is on a DIY stand. Or you can go to Ikea, they have some dressers that might fit the bill.

[Hig789]

You can build one yourself. Its not that hard. My 85 tank is on a DIY stand. Or you can go to Ikea, they have some dressers that might fit the bill.

Yeah I built the stand for my 90. Just really don't have the time right now. Might have to make the time though seeing how cheaply made some of the stands out there are. Might just do that so I can customize it easier.

[ajmckay]

IMO the stand a tank sits on is every bit as much of the presentation as the tank itself. If the tank is awesome but sits on a crappy stand then I wouldn't be happy. I built my own stand from 2x4's skinned with plywood and added some inlaid slate. I've since changed the design of the room but I don't even mind that the stand doesn't match perfectly because it looks so nice. I should probably post a pic sometime since I've added doors.

 

Also I think if you know someone that has the ability to make a nice stand you do that unless you want to try yourself or budget constrained. Whenever I have the opportunity to hire something out to friend or family I typically try to do that before getting a commercially made product. Plus unless there's a specific stand you really want you get input as to the design and build materials - which makes a huge difference considering your design requirements.

 

A 15g tank isn't going to weigh a ton - so a variety of furniture would probably be able to hold it, but given you want the thing so wide I would hesitate to use particle board unless it's at least 3/4" thick and well supported on the sides and along the back. Most furniture isn't quite so robust though. Another disadvantage to particle board is as you mention taking the lid on and off - you probably have a little bit of water that gets on the stand each time you do that, maybe?

 

For a waterproof top I think a piece of granite would be really cool. You can get granite in almost any color, it's strong as long as you have proper support, it's flat as can be (doubt you would even need a pad), and would really make it look like a piece of furniture and not just a fish tank stand. You could probably pick up a remnant the size you need for cheap and then just have the edges polished.

 

I suppose just have fun with it - Try to have an idea in mind of what would look good and go for it. Also before I forget craigslist can sometimes be a good place to get such a piece. Often you can find nice solid wood furniture for pretty cheap and refresh the look with a minimal effort.

[Sancho]

^^^what he said. Let your friend make one for you. If he makes furniture for a living he will probably be your best bet.

[Hig789]

IMO the stand a tank sits on is every bit as much of the presentation as the tank itself. If the tank is awesome but sits on a crappy stand then I wouldn't be happy. I built my own stand from 2x4's skinned with plywood and added some inlaid slate. I've since changed the design of the room but I don't even mind that the stand doesn't match perfectly because it looks so nice. I should probably post a pic sometime since I've added doors.

 

Also I think if you know someone that has the ability to make a nice stand you do that unless you want to try yourself or budget constrained. Whenever I have the opportunity to hire something out to friend or family I typically try to do that before getting a commercially made product. Plus unless there's a specific stand you really want you get input as to the design and build materials - which makes a huge difference considering your design requirements.

 

A 15g tank isn't going to weigh a ton - so a variety of furniture would probably be able to hold it, but given you want the thing so wide I would hesitate to use particle board unless it's at least 3/4" thick and well supported on the sides and along the back. Most furniture isn't quite so robust though. Another disadvantage to particle board is as you mention taking the lid on and off - you probably have a little bit of water that gets on the stand each time you do that, maybe?

 

For a waterproof top I think a piece of granite would be really cool. You can get granite in almost any color, it's strong as long as you have proper support, it's flat as can be (doubt you would even need a pad), and would really make it look like a piece of furniture and not just a fish tank stand. You could probably pick up a remnant the size you need for cheap and then just have the edges polished.

 

I suppose just have fun with it - Try to have an idea in mind of what would look good and go for it. Also before I forget craigslist can sometimes be a good place to get such a piece. Often you can find nice solid wood furniture for pretty cheap and refresh the look with a minimal effort.

^^^what he said. Let your friend make one for you. If he makes furniture for a living he will probably be your best bet.

Thanks for the replies everyone. We had debated granite for the top, at least it would already be water and chemical proof. I really like the looks of the black stand, the back wall of the tank is black and the hood is black, I just feels like it is sleek looking and draws your attention to the tank that much more. I'll probably just see how busy my friend is, I'd feel very comfortable doing it myself I just don't have time for that right now. Maybe if he's busy the i'll make it a winter project.

[SquishyFishy]

I used a rolling metal cart from online Costco for my first tank. It was a little taller so the tank was more eye level. I put an old lamp table marble slab top on it. I loved that because I could roll the tank around to clean the back etc.

 

When the IM tank cracked we got a stand with the BC29 replacement, so I set it up that way...boy, should have reused the cart! It was rated to hold 350lbs. Now it holds bedding in my bedroom...big mistake! Now can't budge the tank unless I take it apart And it's too low even stacked on two 4X4 cedar posts!

 

I say use your imagination...look around at second hand shops, etc. Anything that is impervious to water or can be made to be can make a nice stand. Just gotta make sure it can hold the weight. Older furniture is quite sturdy and you can even epoxy large tile on the top and grout it to make a water safe surface. This stand I have now has already taken a hit with the last ATO malfunction. The cheap particle board swelled up and the cardboard backing rippled! One of these days, I am gonna take most of the water out and use the cart again, I swear it

[ajmckay]

Haha a rolling cart would kick ass. Do you have a pic by chance? Also what size tank were you carting around?

 

Having a tank on wheels though would seriously kick ass - If it didn't mean taking apart my setup I would put my stand on wheels since it's tough enough. Though it might need to be a few wheels since it's about 70g on a 40x24" footprint. Also it would probably be important to use flexible plumbing vs. hard pipe just in-case there's a little bit of racking.

 

 

OP, making your own as a winter project sounds like a great idea. You could still run it by your friend who could give you structural or finishing tips. One consistent theme with DIY stands is that they're way overbuilt. I'm guilty myself of this - I usually just throw 2x4's at it until I feel it's strong enough to survive being run over by a tank. It's not that it's a bad thing, but I think with my next stand I'm going to be much more thoughtful in it's design and use a combination of more advanced joinery, thinner, but stronger wood stock, and some better engineering.

[Hig789]

OP, making your own as a winter project sounds like a great idea. You could still run it by your friend who could give you structural or finishing tips. One consistent theme with DIY stands is that they're way overbuilt. I'm guilty myself of this - I usually just throw 2x4's at it until I feel it's strong enough to survive being run over by a tank. It's not that it's a bad thing, but I think with my next stand I'm going to be much more thoughtful in it's design and use a combination of more advanced joinery, thinner, but stronger wood stock, and some better engineering.

 

Haha. Yep. The one I built for my 90 had 4x4s as the legs. But I just had them on hand too though.

[SquishyFishy]

This one:

 

An Innovative Marine 16 gal. tank. It cracked as the flaw in their glass confirms with so many others on here. Will never do IM again.

 

 

Here's my formula for the weight of things:

125.1lbs of water.....1 gal. water=8.34lbs...15 gals

30 lbs tank

27 lbs granite

15 lbs rock.

When I looked back on my tank thread it said rated for 400 lbs. I remember now the reason I didn't use it again was because the new tank was almost 10gals more so didn't want to chance that the wheels would break.