Tips to reinforce my aquarium stand!

[Slick_Nick]

Hi everyone I just setup a 29g a few weeks ago. I’ve been doing a dark start so it just has aqua soil about 40lbs of dragon stone in it full of water and is fully cycled now. I just got my co2 system and I was planning to get plants in the next couple weeks. This morning I noticed the piece of furniture aka “stand” I’m using is starting to separate on the left top side. I drained out most of the water to take some weight off of it until I can figure out a way to beef it up. If anyone was any tips I will post a couple pictures of what is happening and where. I thought about putting some screws in through the side to pull it back together but I don’t know if it will split and make it solid enough for the roughly 400lbs sitting on top of it! Any help is appreciated I just need tips on the best easiest way to go about this!

[Patrick_G]

It sort of looks like it’s delaminating a bit. Most of these storage cube units are screwed together with some sort of t-bolt system. I’d double check and make sure they’re all tight. If that doesn’t work it’s going to be tricky if you’re trying to fix it with wood screws.  

[Tom H]

Fill the cubbies with books that fit tightly, top and bottom cubbies. If you don't care about looks get a sheet of hardwood that you can put in the cubbies to take the wait. They need to fit very tightly

[Fonske]

Sorry, but this does not look like a suitable stand for a fish tank to me, even for a small fish tank. My SO had two ~4g aquariums on a very similar looking book shelf, some swelling of the shelf occurred after a minor leak and both tanks were ruined. Your "stand" is already showing signs of damage, and it's not a design that is easy to reinforce...my advice is not to risk your tank on it. 

[Slick_Nick]

On 7/31/2021 at 9:53 PM, Patrick_G said:

It sort of looks like it’s delaminating a bit. Most of these storage cube units are screwed together with some sort of t-bolt system. I’d double check and make sure they’re all tight. If that doesn’t work it’s going to be tricky if you’re trying to fix it with wood screws.  

Thanks Patrick it does have a couple allen screws I tried to tighten but they were already tight. I was wondering if I could add 2x4’s to screw the into but I feel like it’ll just split the existing cheap board the cube thing is made from.

[Slick_Nick]

On 7/31/2021 at 10:07 PM, Tom H said:

Fill the cubbies with books that fit tightly, top and bottom cubbies. If you don't care about looks get a sheet of hardwood that you can put in the cubbies to take the wait. They need to fit very tightly

Thanks Tom I’m just really nervous about getting it tight enough with books that I’d be comfortable having 400lbs sitting on it! I was hoping maybe 2x4’s or something more solid just unsure how to even go about it 😅

[Tom H]

On 7/31/2021 at 11:30 PM, Slick_Nick said:

Thanks Patrick it does have a couple allen screws I tried to tighten but they were already tight. I was wondering if I could add 2x4’s to screw the into but I feel like it’ll just split the existing cheap board the cube thing is made from.

Another option would be to get a back cut to the same size as the whole shelf and GLUE the back on. It would increase the horizontal and vertical stability. 

[Slick_Nick]

On 7/31/2021 at 10:08 PM, Fonske said:

Sorry, but this does not look like a suitable stand for a fish tank to me, even for a small fish tank. My SO had two ~4g aquariums on a very similar looking book shelf, some swelling of the shelf occurred after a minor leak and both tanks were ruined. Your "stand" is already showing signs of damage, and it's not a design that is easy to reinforce...my advice is not to risk your tank on it. 

Thanks Fonske me and my gf together weigh about 300lbs and we both stood on it and moved around it felt super stable but I believe you’re right I don’t think it’s meant to hold any kind of weight like that especially long term! I’ve put a lot of money into this setup so far and would hate for it to come crashing down as you can see by the toys I have two young boys! Im gonna search and see if I can find a used stand maybe or a more sturdy piece of furniture. Only problem is I don’t really have room for more furniture 😆

[Tom H]

On 7/31/2021 at 11:32 PM, Slick_Nick said:

Thanks Tom I’m just really nervous about getting it tight enough with books that I’d be comfortable having 400lbs sitting on it! I was hoping maybe 2x4’s or something more solid just unsure how to even go about it 😅

You could do the same tactic with 2x4 if you don't mind the look. All of the wait goes straight down 

[Slick_Nick]

On 7/31/2021 at 10:36 PM, Tom H said:

You could do the same tactic with 2x4 if you don't mind the look. All of the wait goes straight down 

I wouldn’t mind the look I could paint them a dark brown or stain them. Once the tank is setup the attention will be taken away from the stand it’s sitting on anyways. I think I’m gonna pick up some 2x4s and give that a shot tomorrow. I wonder if I should take out the shelves on the end cubbies so I can do 1 solid 2x4 from top to bottom

[Fonske]

On 8/1/2021 at 1:35 PM, Slick_Nick said:

Thanks Fonske me and my gf together weigh about 300lbs and we both stood on it and moved around it felt super stable

I would be more concerned about leveling than about weight load. Delamination and swelling of the top board might induce torsional stress on the tank, and cause it to leak catastrophically (this is what happened to the tanks of my SO). If I were you, I would be more comfortable to use the furniture on the left as a tank stand, it looks a lot more solid. 

[Slick_Nick]

On 7/31/2021 at 10:44 PM, Fonske said:

I would be more concerned about leveling than about weight load. Delamination and swelling of the top board might induce torsional stress on the tank, and cause it to leak catastrophically (this is what happened to the tanks of my SO). If I were you, I would be more comfortable to use the furniture on the left as a tank stand, it looks a lot more solid. 

Haha Fonske I had a feeling you were going to say that 😂 I know the piece of furniture to the left is much more heavy duty, but with the tank up there it will block my tv hanging on the wall! I though about raising the tv but that would look odd having the tank right below it. One thing I just thought of is I could flip the two pieces of furniture places. It would look a little funny probably, but better then losing a fish tank due to a janky stand! That’ll require less money out of my pocket and time to try and figure something out! Next question! How do I move the tank to the other stand? It’s already scaped with about 40lbs of dragon stone and substrate in it 😳 I can lower the water all the way but that’s still a lot of weight pushing down on the bottom glass to pick it up. Here’s what it looks like 

[Fonske]

It's a beautiful hardscape, the stones fit together very naturally, nicely done. 

Flip the furniture or rotate the bookshelf vertically to free up some space for a proper stand, or just rest the tank on the floor -  either option will likely be much better than using the current "stand".  I hope someone experienced in large tanks can advise you on the moving issues, I only have easily transportable small aquariums.

[Slick_Nick]

On 7/31/2021 at 11:13 PM, Fonske said:

It's a beautiful hardscape, the stones fit together very naturally, nicely done. 

Flip the furniture or rotate the bookshelf vertically to free up some space for a proper stand, or just rest the tank on the floor -  either option will likely be much better than using the current "stand".  I hope someone experienced in large tanks can advise you on the moving issues, I only have easily transportable small aquariums.

I appreciate it! I used 42 pieces of dragon stone to make it. I wanted a hardscape that wouldn’t get completely lost in plants. Thank you for talking me out of trying to use the current stand!! I’m going to drain the last bit of water tomorrow and have someone hopefully help me slide the other piece of furniture next to it and make it a quick lift and move and just swap where the two pieces of furniture are. I hope we are able to safely lift it like that.

[Keeg]

Don't know if you're still looking for ideas. Here's what I would do. Get rid of the shelf, I wouldn't trust those joints between the boards for anything. Then basically remake the shelf with sturdy wood with boards and columns oriented vertically into a T shape. In your photo, weight bearing board is held between two vertical boards. This is a big red flag for weight, I would remake the shelf but with the weight bearing board resting on top of the columns. Please excuse my very poor drawing skills. please keep in mind that I am not very good at making 4 way intercrossing joints so you'd have to figure something out there. But in the picture the 5 triangles show the weight dispersed across the whole shelf, you could even add a sheet of aluminum to reenforce it even more. There black lines are heavy duty bolts, blue for wooden dowels or whatever you choose. Plus you can make the whole thing customizable. 

[StevesFishTanks]

That book shelf is designed to be oriented vertically. It's not made to hold weight in the direction the tank is putting it.

[DaveO]

The partical board this shelf is made of is merely sawdust glued into sheets. It is definitely not designed to be used as an aquarium stand. Water and sawdust don't mix. I fear you will suffer a major failure.

Edited August 1, 2021 by DaveO
Spell

[BlueLineAquaticsSC]

Those things are usually made out of press board, which isn’t really suitable for an aquarium. Id replace it with something made from sold wood or metal. Even a sturdy plastic shelf would Gould up better. For reference water is around 8 & 1/2 lbs per gallon, so if you find something with a posted weight limit I always try to have it hold well above the actual tank. My 90g is probably a little over 1000lbs all set up and the stand I built could probably hold at least 2000lbs

Edited August 1, 2021 by BlueLineAquaticsSC

[Slick_Nick]

I really appreciate each and every one of you! I am going to move it to a stable piece of furniture today! The only thing I’m nervous about at this point is moving the aquarium with about 40lbs of dragon stone and a bunch of aqua soil in it. I’d have help and just need to pick it up from one stand and set it on one beside it to move it into place. Can the bottom glass handle all that weight in it for a quick move?

[Patrick_G]

On 7/31/2021 at 10:32 PM, Slick_Nick said:

Thanks Tom I’m just really nervous about getting it tight enough with books that I’d be comfortable having 400lbs sitting on it! I was hoping maybe 2x4’s or something more solid just unsure how to even go about it 😅

I have a bunch of these in my daughter’s room. The problem with reinforcement is that they’re either particle board or a hollow honey comb board with particle board ends. If possible I’d go for a different stand. 

[lefty o]

2x4's, and a good sheet of plywood. that particle board wonder just isnt very suitable for holding weight, especially when exposed to water.

[BlueLineAquaticsSC]

Personally I’d take all the rocks out but leave the substrate before I moved it, especially if your moving it by yourself. It probably could hold the weight though.

[Slick_Nick]

On 8/1/2021 at 9:27 AM, BlueLineAquaticsSC said:

Personally I’d take all the rocks out but leave the substrate before I moved it, especially if your moving it by yourself. It probably could hold the weight though.

My girlfriends brother is going to come over later and help me move it luckily! I think we may move the other stand right next to it and try to lift it with the stones. I guess it’ll be a true test of how stable I made the hardscape! I’ll post a pic later this afternoon when it’s on the new stand and in place hopefully all in one piece.

[Slick_Nick]

Just got the tank moved over to the new stand! So glad you guys talked me out of trying to beef up that other thing! We drained all the water and were able to pick it up and move it! Only 1 stone fell down everything else held good! Time to fill it back up and get it running again so I can get my co2 ready and get some plants!

[lefty o]

just by the picture, that looks to be a much sturdier piece of furniture. good move.