tank stand

desertranger

desertranger

Member
Anyone use a tv stand for a tank stand. I have seen some real nice tv stands that I like and I think with a little reinforcing it will hold the weight. I am only using a 40 gal breeder for a frag tank with maybe a 5 gal or so refugium ts
 
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DaveK

Well-Known Member
Well, that's 45 gal of water at 8.3 lbs per gallon, about 373.5 lbs, plus about 15 pounds of salt in the water, plus the LR and LS about 65 pounds, and the weight of the tanks, about 40 pounds. That's a total of almost 500 lbs.

The bottom line is that I wouldn't trust that kind of weight to a TV stand no matter how nice it was. I would not even consider reinforcing a TV stand because many are made of of particle board which is not going to do well once it gets wet. Even if it's made of of other materials it only takes one failure to create a massive mess to clean up.

Either get yourself a for real aquarium stand or build one. You'll sleep much better at night. Building a stand is not too difficult, and because you can over engineer the stand, there is little risk of it failing.
 
puffermike

puffermike

Active Member
desertranger said:
Anyone use a tv stand for a tank stand. I have seen some real nice tv stands that I like and I think with a little reinforcing it will hold the weight. I am only using a 40 gal breeder for a frag tank with maybe a 5 gal or so refugium ts
Click to expand...

It sounds like you really want to use a tv stand so it's all going to depend on the quality of the stand. As DaveK said particle board can be pretty flimsy but TV stand makers also have to consider that some people still use CRT TVs and they can weigh hundreds of pounds depending on how big they are. Considering you're going to be using this for a frag tank I'll doubt you'll have anything but glass, water + frags and egg crate. The fuge can sit underneath it. I used a particle board tv stand for a few years for a 20G and the stand was very small. It worked out fine even with water being spilled on it several times. I'd suggest cleaning it as soon as water hits it though. Particle board tends to bubble and flake if water stays on it too long, just like setting a glass on it without a coaster. If you post the stand on here we can give you better input.
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
+1 Dave post... after a quick google search TV stands that can hold over 200 # are few & ones that go up to 350# from what I could see are expensive - like $3,000

you can take a peek here... if this helps any ;)

http://www.thesimpletvstandstore.com/sb2.aspx?page=1&A6=13&sort_by_field=Price:DESC

just the water DT 40 x 8 = 320 lbs plus...

I have seen many members build one pretty cheaply & strong.

See what others think...

you can buy a tank stand too, Red Sea sells just the stands & pretty ones too :) but they too... are expensive
 
reefer gladness

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
If you're on a budget check Craigslist until you find what you're looking for. Here's a 40g stand in Georgetown for $60

http://savannah.craigslist.org/fuo/4807203980.html

TV stands have been covered, I'd stay away because they're not engineered to support more than 150 pounds on average but will remind all that major manufacturers like Red Sea, JBJ and Oceanic are pumping out particle board stands like crazy.

Also, hardware stores like Home Depot will have finished cabinet doors and trim, etc. if you want to make something that looks really nice or matches the current décor in your home. I used solid oak for everything, cost about the same as buying it new made from cheaper materials.
 
puffermike

puffermike

Active Member
desertranger said:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Better-Ho...Collection-TV-Stand-for-TVs-up-to-65/34703231

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Better-Ho...oad-Cherry-TV-Stand-for-TVs-up-to-47/17206252

just some ideas


i know the second one has a low weight limit but me and my wife stood on it and nothing happened at all. Mine stand for my 36 gal bowfront is all particle board too.
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For that price you're better off finding something on craigslist that's sturdier. The fact that they have weight limits written on the specs is pretty risky. You might have stood on them for so many seconds but it's the dead weight effect after days that slowly breaks particle board. It's not just going to snap in half. It's going to bend because it's designed to. The stand I used and still have is built pretty solid from the get go. It's an older style particle board tv stand though. These ones don't look like it at all. For this particular application you're going to need to make sure the weight of the tank sits at each corner of the stand. Otherwise if the stand you purchase is too big, the weight will all rest on the middle of a 3/4" piece of particle board that will sag and then break in time. Your TV stand will eventually look like a hammock. If you're dead set on these types of tv stands I'd reinforce them, no questions asked. Particularly in the middle and on the corners.
 
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DaveK

Well-Known Member
desertranger said:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Better-Ho...Collection-TV-Stand-for-TVs-up-to-65/34703231

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Better-Ho...oad-Cherry-TV-Stand-for-TVs-up-to-47/17206252

just some ideas


i know the second one has a low weight limit but me and my wife stood on it and nothing happened at all. Mine stand for my 36 gal bowfront is all particle board too.
Click to expand...

Considering that the tank you plan will be close to 500 lbs and the maximum rated weight for th TV stand is about 100 lbs, you are going over the limit by a factor of 5. Aslo, I doubt you and your wife together weigh in at anything close to 500 lbs, and as puffermike points out, the tank is a long term dead weight on the stand.

Is that stand for your bowfront made for the tank, or is it another piece of furniture? If it's a stand made for the tank, it should be ok. If not, if you see any of the particle board deforming or bubbling, replace the stand right away.
 
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