Tale of the Cheap Tank Stand

[sairving]

Back during the height of the pandemic and supply chain issues, I needed a tank stand. The only stand I could find is one of those flippable ones. It's made of cheap particle board, but super stable. 

After almost three years, the cheap as all get out cabinet door (think cardboard) is bowing in. 

I need a new stand. This could be the chance to get that new fluval tank but the fluval stands do not have doors. 

No, I do not have the tools or skills to build a new stand. Plus, it's in my bedroom. 

What are your favorite stands that look good, are decent quality, and have a door to hide clutter?

 

[Galabar]

The cheapest, good quality stands are probably the Imagitarium metal stands.  However, they don't have doors.

Most cheap stands are going to be made of particle board.  I'm not sure there is a "good" version of a cheap stand, they all seem similar (please correct me if I'm wrong about that).

The high quality stands from places like Custom Aquariums and Glass Cages are very expensive.

My advice would be either an Imagitarium stand with magnets and dark cloth for "doors" or challenge yourself with a 2x4 stand design from YouTube. 🙂

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by Galabar

[Galabar]

ACO Request: The aquarium stand market is woeful.  Is there anything you can do to help out us hobbyists?  Could we get a solid wood/plywood/metal stand for a 29/40/55 in the $250 range? 🙂

Edited November 19, 2023 by Galabar

[sairving]

On 11/18/2023 at 6:41 PM, Galabar said:

The cheapest, good quality stands are probably the Imagitarium metal stands.  However, they don't have doors.

Most cheap stands are going to be made of particle board.  I'm not sure there is a "good" version of a cheap stand, they all seem similar (please correct me if I'm wrong about that).

The high quality stands from places like Custom Aquariums and Glass Cages are very expensive.

My advice would be either an Imagitarium stand with magnets and dark cloth for "doors" or challenge yourself with a 2x4 stand design from YouTube. 🙂

 

Most of the ones I've looked at mostly seem to be particle board.  There was one I found that had some nice features but it was particle board. The doors weren't card board at least lol. 

[sairving]

On 11/18/2023 at 6:54 PM, Galabar said:

ACO Request: The aquarium stand market is woeful.  Is there anything you can do to help out us hobbyists?  Could we get a solid wood/plywood/metal stand for a 29/40/55 in the $250 range? 🙂

I would say even starting at something between 10 and 20 gallons. More and more people seem to be buying furniture from IKEA and Wayfair (looks at bedroom full of things from IKEA and Wayfair). 

[Galabar]

On 11/18/2023 at 5:17 PM, sairving said:

I would say even starting at something between 10 and 20 gallons. More and more people seem to be buying furniture from IKEA and Wayfair (looks at bedroom full of things from IKEA and Wayfair). 

Yeah, there's got to be something between the $100 particle board stands and the $1000 custom stands. 🙂

Edited November 19, 2023 by Galabar

[Galabar]

Not an advertisement but the "Finomenal" brand claims to not use particle board* and provides "solid wood" frames.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Finomenal

I don't have a need for a stand at the moment, but I might check them out the next time I do.

* Maybe they use MDF? 😉

[Matt B]

You can't go wrong with a good old classic wooden chest of drawers!  

There is also this one I found on Amazon.  Heavy duty metal frame work and a very strong wooden manufactured wood. Very water resistant and it has the cabinet style doors to hide stuff. 

[sairving]

On 11/18/2023 at 10:25 PM, Galabar said:

Not an advertisement but the "Finomenal" brand claims to not use particle board* and provides "solid wood" frames.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Finomenal

I don't have a need for a stand at the moment, but I might check them out the next time I do.

* Maybe they use MDF? 😉

I just looked. They use mdf instead of particle board. 

[sairving]

On 11/18/2023 at 10:27 PM, Matt B said:

You can't go wrong with a good old classic wooden chest of drawers!  

There is also this one I found on Amazon.  Heavy duty metal frame work and a very strong wooden manufactured wood. Very water resistant and it has the cabinet style doors to hide stuff. 

I like the metal reinforcement on this one. If only it wasn't grey. 

[sairving]

Now I'm seriously considering a UNS 60S to go with the new stand lol.

[Rube_Goldfish]

On 11/18/2023 at 11:27 PM, Matt B said:

You can't go wrong with a good old classic wooden chest of drawers! 

Yeah, @sairving, depending on how big the tank is, you might be able to find solid wood furniture at a second-hand store or on Facebook Marketplace or its equivalent. Maybe an old solid wood TV cabinet from back when TVs weighed more than aquariums!

[madmark285]

On 11/19/2023 at 3:26 PM, sairving said:

I like the metal reinforcement on this one. If only it wasn't grey. 

Go to Amazon and there seems to be alot of stand with a similar construction ie: metal frame with particle board inserts. Actually it is a smart way to build affordable aquarium stands, the metal frame will give you a the load bearing support with a flat top support, the particle boards give you lateral support. Here is one I found, GDLF Metal Aquarium Stand

[anewbie]

aqueon makes a decent metal stand; petco has a cheaper metal stand - it is not as cleanly done as the aqueon but is less expensive (amazon has both of these); on the high end rj-enterprise has a true wood stand (not particle board) that will fit most aquarium size; some come with canopy which i hate but some people like; but most sizes can be found without canopy. These are not really furniture quality but they are solid thick wood and $$$$$$. Most other stands that look like wood are partical board and over time as they get wet they will fail. On the less expensive size but ugly you can buy metal shelving with the appropriate load balance. 

For me i made my own stand (or had it made):

 

Just a long narrow piece of left over slab; but if you go to a slab shop and want a fragment for the size of your aquarium they are not that expensive just takes time to find one that look nice.

[sairving]

I ended up buying one yesterday evening from the store. The stand is meant for 20-37 gallons. I also ordered a UNS 60s. Which is a 10 gallon but is 23 x 14 x 8. The extra few inches on either side will leave room for a small canister filter to sit.

The doors are not cardboard either lol.

I do like the metal framed stands but all the ones I found are too large for the space. 

 

 

[Matt B]

I kept a friends 10 gal cube on this stand while they were in the process of a big move across state. I really liked the way it looked.  The plan is to setup some kind of cube tank and have lots of space around it for 'stuff', like plants... However, you gotta move fast around here, or things get taken over!     I'm hopeing to reclaim the stand soon! 

[Galabar]

I don't mind those metal stands with MDF.  However, I would probably only use them for glass tanks that need to be supported at the corners.

I'm not sure I'd trust them for flat bottom glass or acrylic tanks.  Those tanks (usually*) need support across their entire bottom and I'm not comfortable doing that with the MDF top.

* I saw an Aqua Huna video where they don't support their entire acrylic tanks across the bottom.  So, it may be Ok... 🙂

On 11/21/2023 at 7:59 PM, Matt B said:

I kept a friends 10 gal cube on this stand while they were in the process of a big move across state. I really liked the way it looked.  The plan is to setup some kind of cube tank and have lots of space around it for 'stuff', like plants... However, you gotta move fast around here, or things get taken over!     I'm hopeing to reclaim the stand soon! 

What do you think if the top?  Would you be comfortable with a flat bottom glass or acrylic tank on it?  The tank definitely looks nice for the price...

Edited November 22, 2023 by Galabar

[madmark285]

On 11/22/2023 at 1:28 AM, Galabar said:

Would you be comfortable with a flat bottom glass or acrylic tank on it? 

If it was a large glass tank, I would attached a 3/4" piece of plywood to the bottom just to be safe. The good news with MDF, it is basically really thick paper and should be very flat. 

A factory in China must be pumping these stand out by the 1,000's as there are many variations of it  on Amazon ie: a metal support frame with particle board panels. While I have a fully equipped shop, I suck at making cabinets.  If I wanted a nice looking wood stand and if my floors were level, I would buy one of these and attach hardwood veneer plywood panels to it. 

[Matt B]

Everything is made in China! .  But seriously I really like this new MDF material. And these new aquarium stands are well engineered.  I guess when it comes to useing actual partical board,  I have a 10 gal on the kitchen counter, which is just laminated partical board! 

[Matt B]

[sairving]

I have a console stand for my TV that is all MDF. The thing weighs a ton and I haven't had any issues with the top bowing in 3 years. They put a support foot on the bottom, right in the middle too. 

My cheap stand is all particle board. I do have vinyl shelf liner on top to protect it from water. We'll see how it looks when I break everything down. 

I was at my local fish store last night by discussing filtration options for my new tank. I looked at the stands they had for sale. The very large ones were metal or wood. All the smaller tank stands? Laminated particle board or MDF. 

 

 

[madmark285]

On 11/22/2023 at 5:21 AM, Matt B said:

Everything is made in China! . 

To be clear, a major factory will focus on high volume for a specific component then OEM that it to others. Speculation but a company may be cranking out the metal frames at low cost, other companies are buying them and putting together the stands. 

[Matt B]

@madmark285. They do Not come pre-assembled. It takes very little skill (in my opinion) to assemble. And another set of hands always helps! 

[Matt B]

Stopped by one of the big box pet stores for a dog leash. Of course I had to check out their aquarium stands.  Definitely low quality for the prices and I was a little surprised at the size of the aquariums on them. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/21/2023 at 7:59 PM, Matt B said:

I kept a friends 10 gal cube on this stand while they were in the process of a big move across state. I really liked the way it looked.  The plan is to setup some kind of cube tank and have lots of space around it for 'stuff', like plants... However, you gotta move fast around here, or things get taken over!     I'm hopeing to reclaim the stand soon! 

+1 for decoration skills!
+1 for the cool artwork on the wall

Nicely done!

 

On 11/28/2023 at 9:18 PM, Matt B said:

Stopped by one of the big box pet stores for a dog leash. Of course I had to check out their aquarium stands.  Definitely low quality for the prices and I was a little surprised at the size of the aquariums on them. 

My stand is made by a company called sauder.  I really like it.  They used to be sold under the aqueon brand name.  The issue I ran into is that for some weird reason stands are made to match the tank by a few millimeters.  I don't know why the tolerances for the top wood panel have to be so tight.  That being said, I got an "aqueon" stand because my tank is from aqueon.  Just be really careful buying a top fin stand (or marineland or someone else) and then going to put on your tank from the sale. You really have to check measurements and make sure it will fit!  Each brand is making things ever so slightly different as a means to make you use their lids and other items.

https://www.amazon.com/Sauder-416443-Select-Aquarium-Stand/dp/B07D4MQS3T/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8