Will my desk hold my tank?

Well made furniture can support a tank, but there's a caveat. You need to determine where the weight bearing members are and make sure that the tank contacts them completely. I used to keep 4 10 gals on a dresser that measured 19.5" from front to back. The tanks were arranged side by side with the end panels facing forward and stayed there with no problem for 3 yrs. And I still used the dresser for clothing. But if I tried to support a single 5 gal on the top panel I have no doubt it would have at least sagged if not failed completely.
 
SubRosa said it quite well. You have to know where the weight will be supported. Even if your desk was hardwood, it likely would not stand up over time with that much weight. Like someone already said, they are made to hold much less than a fully loaded tank. If it was hardwood, you could reinforce the desk with 2x4s (if they would fit), but pressboard is not very good for sitting tanks on. They soak up water and get quite mushy. There are many cheaper tank stands made of the stuff, but they are usually coated with something to keep the water out and are made so that it's not likely to get dripped on (not much overlap).

Cinder block stands work just fine, and you can disguise them with a table cloth or just nice fabric. I'd use the sort of vinyl-like upholstery stuff so that if you spill any water it will just roll off rather than soaking it up, which could cause a mold problem (just be sure to either have a towel or something down to pick up that water).
 
any type of press board partical board what ever you want to call, it if it gets wet it will bow and warp then if will get soft and crush, then you have a 75 gal mess.i wouldnt try it and only 4 points touching the ground a very bad mess waiting to happen.
 
My desk could hold a 75g as it's made out of solid wood. Yours, on the other hand, cannot. Ha ha!

:P
 
Im a finish carpenter and cabinet builder/installer by trade, trust me, that desk absolutely will not hold over 600lbs. You could support it with 2x4's and use a solid piece of plywood on top, but the amount of material youd need would be enough to build a new stand.

You can build a very sturdy stand out of treated 2x4's, 4x4's, and 3/4" plywood for next to nothing. You really dont need the amount of bracing that most people on here use either. My workbench in the shop is made in this same fashion and ive had 4 fully built motors on it without a hint of sag...thats 1200-1400lbs!
 
^^ thanks for the help, I was thinking on making my own stand, is there anyone that I can work from? I've had woodworking/cabinet making for 2 years but that was several years ago and I don't remember everything. I think the main thing I would have trouble with is the shopping list for it.
 
There are some DIY threads on here that are decent. Some of them go sort of overboard with bracing, and some of them are sketchy at best. Where do you live? If youre local to the Piedmont area of NC id be happy to lend a helping hand. If not i might be able to draw up a crude diagram and materials list for you to go off of.
 
sCeRaXn said:
There are some DIY threads on here that are decent. Some of them go sort of overboard with bracing, and some of them are sketchy at best. Where do you live? If youre local to the Piedmont area of NC id be happy to lend a helping hand. If not i might be able to draw up a crude diagram and materials list for you to go off of.
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Sadly I live in Louisiana, another problem I think I will have is that anything wooden here needs to be treated or painted over which is what I will probably do instead of staining. Swelling and shrinking is a pain around here from all the humid air, its a killer.

I've looked through the forums here and there, but my problem is figuring out what and how much I need.
 
Building a stand sounds good!

But I'd say the cinderblock stand is less trouble and easier to make (google 'cinder block fish tank stand' to get what were talking about, in case you don't know)

Oh well, a stand looks nicer anyways!
 
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