Aquarium stand stabiaty

[mikedel]

I was wanting to build a stand to hold 2 10g tanks side by side. It would be 41 inches long, 11 inches wide and 30 inches tall. Im worried that it wont be wide enough to be stable. Will it be wide enough, and if not what could I do to make it more stable?


Thanks,
Mike

[Dwarfnut]

I agree that it will be pretty unstable! I built a stand for my 55 several years ago that was only 12.5" wide, approx 36" tall and just over 7 feet long... it was pretty bad. I ended up using a small 90 degree angle bracket and screwed one side onto one of the support posts nd screwed the other side into the wall!! Make sure you hit a stud! After that, I didn't worry! I can also tell you that when I moved, I re-used the same stand, but in a different location in a different room. This time, I put a sofa right in front of the stand and it could not fall over, plus made a nice place to sit and watch the fish!!

One thing, make sure you account for any HOB filters or the like that might need room behind the tank. I now build my stands wider to accomodate those type of things!

For example: I'm just finishing a new stand for a new 55 gallon I got at the auction. This one is going into the master bedroom at our new house, so the SAF had to be pretty high!! The 55 tank is approx 12.5" wide, the Emperor 400 filter is right about 4.5" out from the tank, so I made the stand 18" wide for a nice round number. Now, I can slide the stand against the wall, but still have the tank out far enough for the filter to slip in behind it. The stand also doubles as a book shelf, so having it stick 4.5" out from the wall was not an option with the wife!!

Anyway, I'd find a way to either make it wider and more sturdy, or anchor it to the wall.

Anyway, best of luck,

[Dean]

to make it more stable add more weight to the very bottom. ie. sand bags

[beviking]

I agree with Dwarfnut. Good advice!

[Prometheus]

I would think that stand would be ok (provided wood is sturdy enuff ec.t ect.)

You'll have roughly 180-200 pounds weighting it down, it shouldn't fall over by a accidental bump or anything.

For tanks 55g and over, building the stand to the exact width and lenght of the tank is fine.

The sheer weight of the tank w/ h20 and such would make it extremely difficult to knock over / fall over.

Also I would prefer to set my tank and stand off of the wall to accomodate HOB's and such rather than making it wider. My reasoning for this would be to allow the weight of the tank to be distributed as equally as possible over the main support beams / pillars. Which (theorhetically) would make it less likely to 'bow' the wood (since the pressure is strait down vs. down and at a possible angle) or cause any shearing action.

However, if it's done properly either way, you'd be ok.

FWIW: I'm not a structural engineer and I haven't stayed at a holiday inn express in a few months ;)

[Toro Driver]

When I set up my 55g tank I didn't like the stands stability. I have a cat (now two) and two kids under nine. I felt better running wires from the stand to the wall. I used insulated electrical wire I had laying around from radio shack. You can also use picture hanging wire. As stated before make sure the screws you drive into the wall hit the stud. It may be over kill, but with the animals and kids, a fifty five gallon flash flood would suck.

[Captain Hook]

Originally posted by Toro Driver
It may be over kill, but with the animals and kids, a fifty five gallon flash flood would suck.

It could also kill if it fell on a child or cat. Unlikely but possible.

[beviking]

First time I saw my 2 yr old "see the fishies" I decided I was either getting a wider tank or securing it to the wall.
"See the fishies" was hit the tank with both hands, no big deal, just a little wave. Then, as kids do, hit the tank again, which meant additional force to the existing waves. Now I was concerned, and after the third time I stepped in b/c it was actually building momentum. It looked like the tank was acutally swaying! Amazing how rythmic a childs behavior can be. I think that given enough pushes in that rythmic way, the tank could have toppled. On the other hand, water most likely would have spilled out and gotten the little booger wet, which may/may not put an end to that behavior.
Unlikely for your cat to do that, but kids seems to do just what you think they won't or can't!

[forsure]

wet boogers! haha

[forsure]

just threaten him you will make him sleep in the tank if he doesn't behave.

[mikedel]

well I finished building my aquarium stand this weekend. all I have left to do is stain it and hang the doors. When I have done that I will post more pictures. http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid93/p37ff806026295db671466e9a23834092/fa49fbae.jpg.thumb.jpg http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid93/p6f3bcd93fef0c1c2ca19d33a0534a0bf/fa49fbab.jpg.thumb.jpg http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid93/pf430d84d5a5787d87ae381966dd76cea/fa49fba9.jpg.thumb.jpg http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid93/pc622e1bc484bde4d108eb64ca68a4c36/fa49fba1.jpg.thumb.jpg

[mikedel]

last set.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid93/p894eab27e22f970b7364f0cc784f56cc/fa49fb9c.jpg.thumb.jpg http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid93/pd42e5d6db9bbfe0dcec0d567561f966c/fa49fb95.jpg.thumb.jpg http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid93/pf3ffd6af5c37d7933d69475bb85af254/fa49fb92.jpg.thumb.jpg http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid93/pa0a01c05cdbcec7ca3bf69fa159def68/fa49fb8d.jpg.thumb.jpg

[SayersWeb]

Wow! That is a fine piece of work!! Very nice.

Looks wider than 11" in the picture. What were the final dimensions? What was the total cost?

I'm working on plans for a three-level stand to hold four 10 gallon tanks (2 on each level) with a 5th larger tank on top. I'm not the carpenter you are, so it will be more rustic in appearance. I'm thinking about making it 13" wide. The lowest tier will only be a few inches above the ground and there will be 6" of access space above each tank.

Congrats on your excellent new stand!

[mikedel]

the final demisions on it were 42x19x30 inches high. total cost was about $100 but was spent ont the cabinet grade plywood and trim boards. This was actually my first attempt at building something out of wood, other then the dog house I helped my dad build when I was 10. But he did most of the work with that. You know how a 10 year old helps. They just stand there asking questions getting in the way and running to get toold out of the tool box. Luckely I have a nack for building things in general, (Im one of the guys the throws the directions away as soon as I open the box) so it all went together fairly easy with alittle planning.

[mikedel]

Here it is all finished!!!
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid97/pdefa2c87fcf9f14789a488673c5fb8a0/fa0d66ec.jpg