URGENT Safety concern tank stand 125 gal

[TealStarlight]

Warping on shelves and bottom of both sides of stand. Isnt this an extreme safety concern? Theres even a vid on YouTube with the exact same problem and time frame. Top fin 125 gallon tank ensemble. Only 60 day warranty. We got this ensemble in march 2024. Only thing that couldve caused this was an algae scraper very slightly dripping or aquarium cleaning nets sitting on shelves. It’s been perfectly taken care of, and I always shake off excess water from the algae scraper and cleaning nets. Only set on shelves for time convenience. We are extremely scared about this and really need expert opinions. All help and kindness is very appreciated. UPDATE: I don’t know why the other two photos are black but they posted fine on fishlore. Will try to upload newly taken ones within 10 minutes.

Edited September 7 by TealStarlight

[Haymond]

Is that the side panel or the shelf?  Maybe put paper towels around the bottom of the aquarium. Maybe you have a very tiny leak that you can’t see yet. 

[Tlindsey]

On 9/6/2024 at 10:05 PM, TealStarlight said:

extreme safety concern

Yes I would be concerned especially with the warping. 

[Fish Folk]

@TealStarlight I can only see one photo. the lower two are just black.

125 gallons is a lot of water. What is the tank stocked with? If possible, I would drain the water to lighten the pressure, move out plants, hardscape, and fish, drain down to the substrate, move the tank to the floor, and then reassess. IF the stand still appears very sound, and your concern is significantly reduced, you can replace the tank, add water (treat) along with Fritzyme 7 or similar -- active bacteria -- then replace your hardscape, plants, and fish. The substrate and filters will maintain enough beneficial bacteria while you are doing this assessment -- as long as nothing dries out.

If it seems very scary once you remove the tank, then consider buying or building a stand that is sound. I'd consider a cinder block tank stand. You can usually buy block reasonably cheap at home improvement stores. These can be painted, if you want a nice coloration. Otherwise, a tank stand built for your particular aquarium might work.

Personally, I like to build my own heavy-duty wooden tank stands.

[Tony s]

Is it just me? I only see the first picture 

[Potterygal]

It’s not just  you. Two black squares.👀

[TealStarlight]

Yes, it’s the side corner of the stand at bottom

On 9/6/2024 at 10:09 PM, Potterygal said:

It’s not just  you. Two black squares.👀

It’s updated now. Please help or ask anybody you know to help ty. Any info that can help me is always appreciated.

[johnnyxxl]

Just build one similar to what I have.  I have an 80 gallon tank on a stand made of 2x4s and plywood 

[Tlindsey]

On 9/6/2024 at 10:36 PM, Fish Folk said:

Personally, I like to build my own heavy-duty wooden tank stands.

After seeing my stand for a 180 deteriorate after pressed wood absorbed water and bowed badly.  I probably won't get another large aquarium but if I did I definitely would build my own stand like I did for the 180 gallon. I was very proud of myself for taking on the build.

[Tlindsey]

On 9/7/2024 at 12:00 AM, Tlindsey said:

After seeing my stand for a 180 deteriorate after pressed wood absorbed water and bowed badly.  I probably won't get another large aquarium but if I did I definitely would build my own stand like I did for the 180 gallon. I was very proud of myself for taking on the build.

Here is a pic of the stand before I stained it. https://photos.app.goo.gl/3jZttj58SQ6DBUyP9

On 9/7/2024 at 12:08 AM, Tlindsey said:

Here is a pic of the stand before I stained it. https://photos.app.goo.gl/3jZttj58SQ6DBUyP9

Stand stained https://photos.app.goo.gl/zaPreEZqLWourWecA

[Fish Folk]

On 9/7/2024 at 12:08 AM, Tlindsey said:

Here is a pic of the stand before I stained it. https://photos.app.goo.gl/3jZttj58SQ6DBUyP9

Stand stained https://photos.app.goo.gl/zaPreEZqLWourWecA

That is a stunning masterpiece of engineering and artistry. I'd pay you to make me a dozen, if I was not . . . standing in a breadline . . . with my last two coins . . .

[madmark285]

Particle board/MDF is the worst for aquarium stands, it will absorb water and expand.

A link to were you bought this would help, hopefully they have better picture. The boards way be cosmetics ie: they provide no structural  strength. It looks like a metal stand.

 

[Pepere]

I cant see any photos other than the first one.

having said that, I would never use an aquarium stand built out of pressboard or glued together sawdust in essence. 
 

Personally in a stand constructed of wood, I would only use a stand constructed of solid wood  and or plywood constructed using waterproof glues in the assembly of the plywood itself…

metal stands are a whole different matter…

[madmark285]

On 9/7/2024 at 12:08 AM, Tlindsey said:

Here is a pic of the stand before I stained it. https://photos.app.goo.gl/3jZttj58SQ6DBUyP9

For my 75 gallon, I tried to building a stand similar to yours. For the top, I ran the wood thru a table saw to get them perfectly straight, just removed 1/8" of wood. I carefully glued and screwed it together and it came out perfect. Came back a week later and the whole top warped. I was so upset..

Speculation but cutting the edge may have released tension in the wood which allowed it to warp. Either way, it was useless. I hate solid wood. 

I started over using a sheet of maple plywood which was reasonable priced back then, used pocket screws to put it together. I bought a bunch of cabinet doors off craiglist.

 

 

 

[Tlindsey]

On 9/7/2024 at 7:21 AM, madmark285 said:

For my 75 gallon, I tried to building a stand similar to yours. For the top, I ran the wood thru a table saw to get them perfectly straight, just removed 1/8" of wood. I carefully glued and screwed it together and it came out perfect. Came back a week later and the whole top warped. I was so upset..

Speculation but cutting the edge may have released tension in the wood which allowed it to warp. Either way, it was useless. I hate solid wood. 

I started over using a sheet of maple plywood which was reasonable priced back then, used pocket screws to put it together. I bought a bunch of cabinet doors off craiglist.

 

 

 

The stands look awesome. 

[Tony s]

On 9/7/2024 at 7:21 AM, madmark285 said:

Speculation but cutting the edge may have released tension in the wood which allowed it to warp

That’s not likely. But, I’m assuming your top was several 1x6 or 2x6? But jointed together. If so, they were probably still drying. And drying at different rates. A lot of the time to get that kind of thing together, you’d use tongue and groove joints and a planer. Which most people don’t have any way to do. But, stained and treated plywood is so much easier. And the tops not really holding the weight anyway. 
 

and my 75g stand seems to be doing fine. Mdf or osb I’m sure. But it feels completely plastic, so just a ton of resin in it. But it’s purpose made from marineland 

@TealStarlight we’re still seeing just one picture. But now 4 black ones 

[madmark285]

On 9/7/2024 at 7:47 AM, Tony s said:

I’m assuming your top was several 1x6 or 2x6? But jointed together.

The top was quite similar to what @Tlindsey built, 2x4s for the top and the plan was to use double 2x4 for the vertical post. I think this was just bad luck on my part, alot of people build stands like this. 

Personally I think the best way to build all wood stand is to make you own 2x4 or 2x6s using 2 pieces of plywood glued together. Or glue a piece of plywood to a regular 2x4, the plywood will prevent warping.  But cutting down sheets of plywood is a pain if you don't have the right tools.

 

[Tony s]

On 9/7/2024 at 8:14 AM, madmark285 said:

2x4s for the top

You’re actually meaning the side or top rails? Not the flat surface, horizontal top. Which doesn’t provide much strength anyway. When reading it, it sounded like you meant the surface top. 2x4 should work fine for the top rail then. Wouldn’t bother with 2x4 on the flat surface. 3/4” treated plywood would work fine there.  I’d would have probably went for 2x6 for the vertical braces, but I tend to overbuild everything. 😀 I even put hurricane straps on my rafters when I built my house. In Indiana. No hurricanes, just tornadoes. 🤣 but, yeah, @Tlindsey did a great job. Should have videoed it would have gone over well on YouTube. 

[madmark285]

On 9/7/2024 at 8:28 AM, Tony s said:

You’re actually meaning the side or top rails?

Sorry for the confusing, the stand was basically the same as @Tlindsey with 3/4" plywood as the top. 

[Tanked]

On 9/6/2024 at 10:05 PM, TealStarlight said:

Warping on shelves and bottom of both sides of stand. Isnt this an extreme safety concern? Theres even a vid on YouTube with the exact same problem and time frame. Top fin 125 gallon tank ensemble. Only 60 day warranty. We got this ensemble in march 2024. Only thing that couldve caused this was an algae scraper very slightly dripping or aquarium cleaning nets sitting on shelves. It’s been perfectly taken care of, and I always shake off excess water from the algae scraper and cleaning nets. Only set on shelves for time convenience. We are extremely scared about this and really need expert opinions. All help and kindness is very appreciated. UPDATE: I don’t know why the other two photos are black but they posted fine on fishlore. Will try to upload newly taken ones within 10 minutes.

Without better pictures or more information, it is difficult to make suggestions.  I would start with @Haymond's paper towel suggestion, or better yet, Toilet Paper.  I would also look at the underside of the top of the stand for staining or other moisture indicators.

If your aquarium is located in a high humidity area, and if those tan panels are purely decorative, than excessive humidity could be the cause.