Stand weight / room placement pros and cons (1 Viewer)

[guy9smiley2]

Repurposing an old kitchen base cabinet. its about 36-40" for the base cabinet. i plant to put the tank right in the center of the stand portion and there is a divider/brace right below that. The overhang i plan to build a 3 leg brace and a few small shelves in it. This cabinet is rated to 550-600 pounds. i plan to put a 40g on it. 32 g of water, 40 pounds sand and rock plus tank puts me at about 450. Would you be concerned? I had zero worries until the day before i do it and now i am second guessing myself.

Second question - would you worry about putting it in a bedroom ( noise and light dont bother me ) room is approx 16x24. my thought was i would enjoy it more in the room seeing it multiple times daily would help me stay on top of it more and interact more with it. my concern is hauling water from the other side of the basement and spills with carpet. option 2-3 i could put it in the utility room or sapre unfinished room ( right next to the living room ) where it is a little more hidden but slightly more easy to maintain just less viewing time and enjoyment.

Looking for personal inputs and experiences. Thank you all.

 

[Chris Goetz]

What type of wood are the cabinets made of? If MDF I would not trust any size tank long term on it.

As for sound - tanks can be pretty quiet(near silent) if you can take the time dial in the drains and pumps but it will come down to how sensitive a sleeper you are.

As for location - put it where you’ll enjoy it most… if you don’t see it often it’s been my experience that the tank maintenance won’t get as much attention as it should which ultimately leads to less enjoyment and loss of interest.

 

[Reefer Oz]

As far as the cabinet goes it really depends on the material. If the cabinet panels are a particle board material, I would question the longevity of it as it can quickly degrade when it gets wet. If it was a well constructed PLYWOOD cabinet box, it should be fine. Though plywood will certainly delaminate over time with exposure to moisture. Maintaining a good seal and having some sort of feet could extend the life on any cabinet.

Have you considered the Python no spill fill unit? I don’t personally use it but have seen them work great.

(50 Foot) No Spill Clean & Fill Aquarium Water Change Kit - Python

Shop The Best Saltwater Aquarium Equipment & Supplies at Saltwater Aquarium. We Carry Everything you will Need for your Fish Tank.

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[Varig]

Same concerns re: wood type. It does at least look stronger than @NorthStarCoral ’s current stand (sorry Jack, I had to take the opportunity for the little jab )

I will say that I had a smaller AIO (only 15 gallons) on a base cabinet and it worked great for years. So assuming it’s plywood, you’re probably safe.

With regard to location, I will say that I’m really glad there is no carpet between my tank and the fish room. Maybe I’m just messy though .

The python is a great idea, and there happens to be one for free in the club FIF bin. Just saying

Long story short, if you’re willing to be careful during water changes, coral additions, etc, and you accept the potential leak risks if the worst happens, then I think I’d keep it in the bedroom, where you’ll most enjoy it.

Do you plan to use that shelf area for things like an ATO bucket and future dosing containers etc?

 

[guy9smiley2]

I will have to check when i am home it is for sure not the cheap partical board. but it could bd HDF or ply wood. still a conern on HDF? I si bes tto brace it if it isnt full on ply wood or just not sue it?

Definetly going to look into the python i think it would streamline things quite a bit.

Thanks to both for the feedback of placement i think thats probably the best idea i will just have to make sure i have a solid water change routine.

@Varig - i will likely put the ato int he cabinet under ( its a 40g aio nuvo ) so the bottom will house all those kinds of things.

 

[guy9smiley2]

Construction on the inside of the stand.

 

[Varig]

So the face frames are solid wood. Is that countertop thing just sitting on there? Can you remove that quickly and try to get a picture of the unfinished edge of the white panel?

 

[Chris Goetz]

Hardwood is good - just make sure those verticals are fully supported floor to top.
Screws holding the horizontals in place isn’t ideal but I’ve seen “actual aquarium stands” made far worse. I tend to over engineer my stuff though.

 

[guy9smiley2]

Sidewalls appear to be mdf sadly. Could I brace the side and top with some 2x4? I have unlimited supply in the shop. Thinking red with the yellow inside would be the 2x4 placements. Sorry I’m not an artist at all lol.

 

[Reefer Oz]

I’d say that some strategic bracing could get you a bit more life. But only if it carried all the way to the floor and tied all the way across. And even then, any joint with the particle board in between will weaken over time.

Once reinforced, any eventual degradation would happen slowly, over years likely. You would hopefully notice it and could solve then. I am a fan of reusing things and DIY solutions. I’d say go for it if you are only looking for a 5-10 year option.

 

[Chris Goetz]

Exactly what Josh said! I say if you like this cabinet then reinforce it and go.

Chances are within 5 years you’ll be changing tanks for one reason or another anyway.

 

[guy9smiley2]

Appreciate the info and realistically feedback. I have a 2x4 stand from my frag tank that is more than capable I just liked the idea of this and hate robbing from one tank to another. But I can always build a new one for the frag tank. At least I would know it’s done right. Thank you all!

 

[guy9smiley2]

not sure if u like the other stand for what I have. Any ideas anywhere that’s open tomorrow that would have something? Prefer a. 36-48” base so I have countertop to test etc. found some online but end of next week delivery. Any ideas is appreciated before I start one from scratch.

 

[Varig]

I don’t know what others would think about this, but what if he sealed up all the exposed edges of the mdf? Soak them with then CA glue for example? If you could prevent water intrusion, then probably strength-wise that cabinet is totally fine. Thoughts?

 

[Varig]

You’re talking another cabinet base, just plywood? You could check out BMO, building materials outlet:

BMO

They would have some random cabinet type stuff. Maybe even hardwood cabinets?

Or if you have a Restore in your area? For a used cabinet base.

 

[Bschowa]

My concern with a cabinet made even with 3/4 plywood would be lateral movement causing collapse, even if rated for 300 lbs that is usually force straight down on it, if it were bumped into would that stay or would it collapse on its own weight?

My thought goes to how easy they are to break down when unscrewed from the wall and other supporting cabinets on the sides of them and put in a dumpster. If you push on the side cheep kitchen cabinets can often times just collapse on themselves.

My vote would be to build a 2x4 stand and use the cabinet to skin it, you could cut out the bottom and back and just slide it around the actual stand.