# where do you guys place your aquariums ......



## tinman (Nov 3, 2009)

i meant wat do you guys use for aquarium stands ??

i use a tv stand for my 29g tall but now im curious 

how do we know if tht stand is good enough to hold that weight (29*9lb=260lbs)


i have it on tht stand for 2 months ....now suddenly i think wat would happen if tht stand fails?


does it happen to anyone so far?


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## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

Mine is on an IKEA cube shelf. its 2 cubes tall by 4 cubes wide. I too worry what if... eventually I will get an appropriate stand for it when I get the money for it. All fish stuff comes out of my money :/ so yeah, unless I find one realllly cheap it will be there, and my fingers and toes are crossed that it will stay put for a while.


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## tinman (Nov 3, 2009)

well if its ikea you can go to their website and see the max capacity of tht shelf 


are you talking about your new 30 gallon?


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## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

hmm didn't think about that...

Yeah its the 29gal O_O

IKEA | Living room storage | Bookcases | EXPEDIT | Bookcase

It only gives per shelf max load is 29lbs not the entire unit. I have it on its side and the tank is on top


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I've got my 30 gallon sitting on top of a low dresser. So far no adverse effects.

Have you considered building a stand?


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## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

I don't have the proper tools to build anything like that. Hubby isn't very handy hehe.


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## tinman (Nov 3, 2009)

i live downtown in a studio apartment  

building a stand ? 

and the tv stand im using now used to hold an old 25 inch tv. 

i dont know what to think  if im ever in trouble ill be in a big one with this  but hopefully wont happen 

the stand is like all made of 2 inch thick wood or board or ......... but its all 2 inch thick


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Sad days


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## tinman (Nov 3, 2009)

yea that part of me not having space is the only saddest part in my life  

its good actually or i would have ended up having 2 or 3 more aquariums killing lot more fish 

lol


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## tinman (Nov 3, 2009)

and a curious question here 
when someone builds a stand what kind of wood or board do they use 

cause if they can use lesser thick wood planks, then im out of trouble i guess


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Just use 2 x 4's


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## tinman (Nov 3, 2009)

2x4's ??
:| i didnt understand 


the point of my question is wouls 2 inches be enough thick for holding 30g ?


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## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

Wow thats bad tinman.. 2 x 4s is 2 inches thick and 4 inches wide, length doesn't matter. 

Ive heard of some people using cinder blocks or bricks and put some 2 x 4s across it then cover with material and then put the tank on top and supplies under the material for storage.


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## tinman (Nov 3, 2009)

well then im safe  

my plank is 2 inches thick and hmmm wide ........... i think more than 4


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## igot2gats (Aug 12, 2010)

I would go to a fish store, & they can order you a stand that would fit your tank the best.

That's what I would do.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

I use a home made 2x4 stand for my 210g
52g and 45H have their factory matching stands and canopies
40g is on a bench, has 20g of water in it bench is storage benching finished product on a 2x4 frame and on concrete floor. 


all stands are set on concrete.


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## GetITCdot (Aug 4, 2009)

Please do not set a fishtank on anything made by ikea, are you insane!


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## chris oe (Feb 27, 2009)

If you've already got a piece of furniture the tank is resting on, I'd watch for sagging, if the piece the tank is resting on starts to sag, time to empty it and move it, 'cause the sag is what you've got to worry about. Collapsing is one thing, but if the surface bends, the glass is stressed and can crack, or the seams where the glass is joined can pop and you can get a leak that way. 

I went to Sam's Club and bought a shelf unit with a weight limit, but we had to figure out the weight of the tanks filled with water, came out to hundreds and hundreds of pounds per shelf (multiple tanks) so you have to do the math. 

There are tank stand plans out there on the internet made by people who have figured out what the strength of the stand has to be, you could do a search and make your stand accordingly. 

Good luck, 
Chris OE


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

GetITCdot said:


> Please do not set a fishtank on anything made by ikea, are you insane!


I can attest to this, I have a ikea tall dresser and I had a 15g on it, my top board is bowed so bad I cannot open the doors properly anymore. Thats only 120 pounds of water weight, tank weighed maybe 8 -10 pounds itself, its not alot of weight.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

My 25 is on an aquarium stand.I got it from a person who got it in Germany.Its a nice sturdy shelf thinking its for a 40G breeder.The 29 is on a dresser,so far so good.No on uses the dresser anyways.The ten is on an end table,octagonal in shape,with two doors.It sits in the office.The three gallon will be set back up in the living room,on my end table between my and my husbands chair.So yeah one is on a stand,lol the others,not so much.I do have a tall stand we were building out of 2 x 4s and plywood.Now the tv is on it.


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## tinman (Nov 3, 2009)

chris oe said:


> If you've already got a piece of furniture the tank is resting on, I'd watch for sagging, if the piece the tank is resting on starts to sag, time to empty it and move it, 'cause the sag is what you've got to worry about. Collapsing is one thing, but if the surface bends, the glass is stressed and can crack, or the seams where the glass is joined can pop and you can get a leak that way.
> 
> I went to Sam's Club and bought a shelf unit with a weight limit, but we had to figure out the weight of the tanks filled with water, came out to hundreds and hundreds of pounds per shelf (multiple tanks) so you have to do the math.
> 
> ...


thanks Chris 

yea its already on a peice of furniture its on the same table for last 2 to 3 months and there is no sag of anytype 

before that it used to hold a 25 in TV, and yea that old tvs are heavy too ... not sure if its as heavy as 220 Lbs,,, and after that it had a 15 gallon for 3 months and now a 29 tall for 2 months ... 

wouldnt there be sag by now if its unable to take the weight ? (its not from IKEA, i dont think so )


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## mattbish (Dec 6, 2010)

I have my 42G (uk) / 50G (us) on the manufacturers matching stand. I had a start up 8G just on a coffee table before now and was really paranoid that was going to colapse or be knocked over. I don't know how anyone could sleep at night with a 30G resting on something from Ikea!!! You've got some balls lol *Glasses*


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## Niki7 (Aug 16, 2010)

A little while back when I was looking into alternate tank stands, I read somewhere that pine lumber has a compression strength of 440 lbs per square inch if the weight is perpendicular to the grain. HOWEVER, that is when the lumber pieces are set on edge - you can't set a tank on 1" pine lumber on its flat (widest) side or it will bow and break your tank seals. And the key, as I understand it, is to keep all the upright edges from falling over. So "picture-framing" around the supporting edges and legs is important to keep it from swinging one way or another and ultimately collapsing. I am probably not explaining this very clearly, sorry!  Imagine your tank, with the 4 outside "walls" siliconed together, then the plastic pieces at the top and bottom edges to keep the sides from bowing out. Same idea.

I ended up with the matching stand for my 20gal because the store was having a sale. My 5 gal is on a desk, the other 5 gal is on a side table. The 10 isn't on anything yet but once set up will probably be on a desk. As long as the legs have no way of pitching side to side, I think it makes a good stand. If your tv stand is particleboard, I'm not sure it is as strong as pine, but might want to think about another option just in case.

Good luck!!


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