Setting up a new tank, would appreciate some second opinions on my plan!

[Guppies4All]

alright, so i recently got myself a 115 gallon tank and im about to set it up, my basic plan for the tank is to have it on 6 bricks on top of a thin compact carpet in my basement. i just wanted to see if anyone else has used bricks as a stand for a large heavy tank, and if my idea of 4 bricks per corner, along with two on each side of the centre will work to make up for however much weight will be in the centre

[KBOzzie59]

That would work if the floor is absolutely flat.  But if the center bricks are a little bit higher than either end you will put a ton of stress on the center of the tank.  That's roughly 950 pounds of water + weight of tank + weight of decor.

 

 

[Guppies4All]

thank you for that! ill make sure everything is true before i commit to the centre bricks! only thing different is that i have no wood to use alongside the bricks so it will be only on those if that makes any difference

[Ben Ellison]

I think I'd use a sheet of wood between the bricks and the tank to spread the load more evenly.

[Guppies4All]

okay, so to update: I've found some wood to use as a spacer between the bricks however i dont know if i should use centre bricks or not

[Guppies4All]

Second and semi-final update: ive decided to use the wood only instead of brick and wood, since the bricks turned out to be differently sized. however i am still interested in suggestions or advice!

[Sykes]

I'd look for something to prop it up off the floor a bit more. If it's literally just a sheet of wood sitting on the floor, that's going to make water changes hard, and I'd also worry about issues caused by spilled water that you're not able to clean up and have no air flow to help dry up.

[Ben Ellison]

How crafty are you? I set a 55 gallon tank on a home made stand made of 2*10's and 2*6's. I'll be happy to snap some photos of you are interested.

[jerseychef]

While i don't have a 115 I made the stand for my 75g.  I used 6 cinderblocks that I painted black.  I stacked them on top of one another.  My original plan was to use 2x10's directly on top of the cinderblocks but I did not like how they were not secure.  On the bottom side of the 2x10's I used 2x6's that screwed into the bottom to hold it all together.  If I were to do it again I would've used 2 more cinderblocks so the tank was a little taller.  

[Ben Ellison]

U could use tapcon screws to fasten them directly to the cinder blocks. They are the blue masonry screws u predril a hole for.

Edited September 13, 2020 by Ben Ellison

[Mr. Ed's Aquatics]

Is the tank glass framed, glass unframed, or acrylic? If it's glass framed, there's a pretty standard 2X4 / 2X6 stand you can build on the cheap.  Here's a link to a video that shows you how to make it. 

Now if its either frameless or acrylic, it's super important that the weight is evenly distributed on a true and level surface. Buy a nice stand with a flat top. Not worth risking it breaking, that's a lot of water to clean up.