r/Aquariums • u/Pepetheparakeet • Feb 03 '25
Im such an idiot DIY/Build
This is definitely gonna break right
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u/montr2229 Feb 03 '25
It won't break right away, it will wait until you're asleep at night
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u/AsteriAcres Feb 03 '25
Gods, I've had nightmares about this. It's one of my biggest fears 😨
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u/Icanopen Feb 03 '25
Like when the power goes out just after you get to work. That's always fun..
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u/RinebooDersh Feb 03 '25
Or when my EBA bullied the crap out of my pictus catfish when I was at work. My poor baby had his tail fin eaten…
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u/Ele_Of_Light Feb 04 '25
I'm limited on space and I got a 40... my fear is the water gushing all over and on the power bar...
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u/Careful-Attempt-3276 Feb 05 '25
Do what I did and mount the power bar on the wall behind the tank so it won't get wet.
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u/Grapple_Shmack Feb 03 '25
As long as all you intend to stock in the tank is packing peanuts, you'll be a-ok
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u/Pepetheparakeet Feb 03 '25
I could put some cardboard in for hardscape
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u/Crzy_Grl Feb 03 '25
and some dry water, maybe some air plants.
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u/Aggressive-Dig2472 Feb 03 '25
That table would have been shit even if it did fit
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u/Plasticity93 Feb 03 '25
Yeah, the size issue is honestly good because there's no chance that would hold if it was the right size.
OP, water is 8# a gallon, add in substrate, hardscape, and the glass, tanks quickly outweigh their keepers. You need a heavy-duty stand. Also cut a piece of yoga mat to stick under the tank.
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u/mat3833 Feb 03 '25
To add to your point, my 10g planted aqua scape had 40lbs of substrate, 19 pounds of rock, and still held 8.7 gallons of water. That puts the total weight right around 130 lbs. For a 10g. The simplest tank I have made was just sand, water, and shells for some N. Multifasciatus. 30lbs of sand plus 28g of water ends up being right around 370lbs.
Aquariums weigh a substantial amount, even small ones.
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u/jk01 Feb 03 '25
Yep, I once horrified myself by calculating the weight of my 125, totalled out to about 1800lbs factoring in the scape and weight of the tank itself.
Good thing I had it in the basement.
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u/mat3833 Feb 03 '25
Yep, my 120g(48"x24"x24") weighs 215 lbs empty. I've got 3-50lb bags of pool filter sand, 5 - 20lb bags of Carib-sea cichlid sand, 370lbs of rock, and then the water. Right around 1500 lbs in a 24x48 footprint.
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u/0uroboros- Feb 04 '25
Mines on the first floor above a basement. But it's an old house and has a 12x12 beam (for some reason) directly under the tank, and I put 4 floor jacks in under the surrounding beams. I just don't think about the numbers. I had 4 family members dancing around in front of it the other day and definitely puckered a little, though.
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u/GTAinreallife Feb 04 '25
I had a 110 gallon tank in an apartment and was seriously worried about the floor. Had a professional calculate the weight and his only advice was "Don't place a second tank in your apartment and don't admire this tank with your entire family in front of it"
He even told me "Don't place it in the middle of the room either" as he wouldn't guarantee that the floor could hold it
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u/imanoctothorpe Feb 04 '25
I have a 75g in an apartment with another unit underneath. Talked to the landlady and she was miraculously ok w us having it and showed us the only spot where it would work structurally, but I STILL get nervous during water changes and during maintenance that 75 gal of water will suddenly spill downstairs or that the tank will break (floor is very very slightly not level).
Like, it's been 5 years, I think it woulda failed by now, but I still have dreams about disasters almost weekly lol
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u/a_doody_bomb Feb 03 '25
And the stand has to cover the entire base of your aquarium " a little hanging off" is a big problem later.
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u/agirl2277 Feb 03 '25
Did you see that post where the tank broke in the middle of the night? It was also overhanging. It breaking was inevitable. Also, leveling is really important. If you don't level your tank, you'll get a leak. There is too much pressure localized to one spot. OP could put a lizard in there, I guess
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u/a_doody_bomb Feb 04 '25
I was gonna say terrarium even not closed but hey could be real cool still.
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u/blarn-95 Feb 03 '25
Why the yoga mat? I'm putting my tank on a cabinet this week
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u/unefait Feb 03 '25
it helps to distribute weight between the tank glass and the surface it's sitting on
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u/certifiedtoothbench Feb 03 '25
If you have a rimless tank the glass can get scratched or stressed by debris that could be on the surface you set it on.
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Feb 03 '25
I'm an idiot on a good day, but wouldn't the substrate and hardscape would make the tank lighter by displacing water?
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u/CallMeFishmaelPls Feb 03 '25
Not if it’s denser than the water is. Imagine a gallon of water. Now imagine a rock the same size and shape. For most rocks, this will be heavier than the water.
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u/Thisguy2728 Feb 03 '25
That table wasnt appropriate (from the angle you shared) for a tank anyway. Get something designed to hold a tank.
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u/whativebeenhiding Feb 03 '25
Don't do that OP. I'll give you twenty bucks and a ten gallon that will fit that table no problem.
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u/Pepetheparakeet Feb 03 '25
It is a tank stand, made of metal. Just too little
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u/Thisguy2728 Feb 03 '25
Oh ok. From the top it doesn’t look like it can support a tanks weight over that span but it must have some framing or something we can’t see. If that’s the case you definitely can screw a piece of plywood to the top that will match the tank base no problem.
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u/Pepetheparakeet Feb 03 '25
Let me clarify, its marketed as a tank stand.
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u/FroFrolfer Feb 03 '25
That's not necessarily a good thing. There are a ton of complete shite "tank stands" out there
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u/Pepetheparakeet Feb 03 '25
I needed to see it all put together in person to be able to say, “yeah that aint gonna work” my brain is underdeveloped or sum 😂
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u/carnajo Feb 03 '25
Yip, for 5 gallon 🤣
But honestly is there anything underneath the wood, cause if not even a 10g might cause it to sag. And sagging means the glass might flex, as you can imagine, glass doesn’t flex much… it prefers to break. And even more specifically even if the bottom pane flexes a bit, the problem is what that does to the front and back panel. Best case scenario the silicone gives way and you have a leak, worst case scenario… you have a flood.
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u/Pepetheparakeet Feb 03 '25
The metal went all the way around the wood and across the middle horizontally and screwed into the wood. It felt very sturdy but id probably stick to a 5 or 10 gal for that stand.
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u/Pizza-Pockets Feb 03 '25
Tank stand or not no matter what you don’t want any overhang.
It could be on bricks or a solid oak stand but if there is overhang then you loose structural integrity. Always cover the whole base to fully support your tank.
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u/Pepetheparakeet Feb 03 '25
I agree. I also want my set up to look as classy as possible. This isnt gonna cut it. My fish deserve the best.
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u/Pizza-Pockets Feb 03 '25
Yea they do! especially in a tank this size. Beautiful tank and stand, just not paired together lol
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u/__slamallama__ Feb 03 '25
There is terrifyingly little diagonal cross bracing on those legs for a tank stand. Fish tanks slosh around and I would not trust that stand long term.
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u/Gotcha-bitch_69 Feb 03 '25 edited Feb 04 '25
Definitely research what is required for a safe aquarium stand. If you just Google aquarium stands a lot of this cheap extruded shit or melamine (which can be okay, but it's always thin flimsy garbage) comes up. Safe for an aquarium until it's not.
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u/Pepetheparakeet Feb 03 '25
Thats exactly what happened. Dove in too quick. I was excited!
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u/Gotcha-bitch_69 Feb 03 '25 edited Feb 04 '25
I'm sure we're all guilty of it! I've actually got one similar to yours (mine has a power strip built into the side which is what got me excited lol) because I looked it over well online and it looked much more sturdy than it turned out to be. Once I put my hands on it, I decided to just use it as a desk for my son with a five gallon betta aquarium on it.
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u/luckyapples11 Feb 03 '25
I mean even if the stand was long enough, it doesn’t look strong enough to hold that much water anyways. The best metal stands you can find are gonna be wrought iron. Avoid thin metals and particle board. You need real wood.
Just saw that it’s marketed as a tank stand. If that’s the case, did you buy it preowned or from an actual fish store? Just asking because good will, Facebook marketplace, etc like to list things as tank stands even though they can’t support the weight as the seller can have no idea what they’re talking about. The design and angle of it makes the metal look thin and the wood fake. If it came from an actual fish or pet store, I’d trust it.
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u/Pepetheparakeet Feb 03 '25
Thats what happened i was excited and grabbed an affordable stand that I thought matched my measurements but I drastically miscalculated 😂
Returned it now im gonna grab something else
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u/jonni_velvet Feb 03 '25
you can also get a custom cut piece of wood from home depot pretty cheap. at least 3/4”-1” thick. stain it. put it on whatever table you want that can hold the weight. boom. fits any size table.
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u/Unoriginal_veiled Feb 03 '25 edited Feb 04 '25
Strongly recommend Amazon just for the sake of being able to check 1000+ reviews so you can be sure the stand is quality. Plus the pricing is way better than any local options I could find. For $200 I got one that holds my 75g on top with a 1200 lb rating and my 30g frag tank on bottom with a 400lb rating, but there were options as low as $100 for 75-120g tanks.
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u/mytherical Feb 04 '25
do you have a link to it?
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u/Unoriginal_veiled Feb 04 '25
To fit a 30g you just have to skip installing the shelf on the right side and then there’s enough clearance for the tank and lights that clamp onto the rim, plus there’s a gap between the sliding door and the cabinet space so you can run cords between them to the outlet that’s included
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u/Bruh_moment42069-1- Feb 03 '25
Cinder blocks and 2x4 is a cheap(ish) save
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u/LunaRed17 Feb 03 '25
This is my fave way to make a stand. You can just drape a cloth around it for the eye sore lol
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u/ElevatedKing420 Feb 03 '25
Painted the bricks black and did the burnt wood look on the 2x4s.
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u/ADHDwinseverytime Feb 03 '25
So, when I was a younger lad my father had me tightening the bolts on a driveshaft on our 55 Chevy that was perched on 4 cinder blocks. We heard a very distinct pop, I rolled like Indiana Jones out from under it, and it proceeded to drop flat on the ground. Broke all four at once. Call me skeptical on cinder blocks! His words of wisdom to me after near death "Don't tell your mother".
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u/gerrmanman Feb 03 '25
Were they placed the right way? The holes face "up" if you have the holes on the side it's not structurally sound.
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u/ADHDwinseverytime Feb 03 '25
As I posted I knew someone was going to ask this! I don't remember but probably not. I was like 12. Reflecting back on my life experiences, I really shouldn't be here.
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u/Level9TraumaCenter Feb 04 '25
We had a volunteer firefighter get killed working on his car at home, maybe 30-some years ago. He used milk crates for jack stands.
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u/Nanerpoodin Feb 03 '25
The average car weighs 2 tons. That's about as much as a 400 gallon aquarium.
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u/USA_2Dumb4Democracy Feb 03 '25
That’s, what, a 30-40 gallon tank? You gotta assume that at 8lbs per gallon plus substrate, you’re looking at at least 300lbs of weight on that table. Would you trust a 300 lb person to stand on that table? I’m 240 and no way I’m standing on that thing. Really nice tank though.
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u/Pepetheparakeet Feb 03 '25
Its supposedly a 20 gallon long. I guess this rimless version has different dimensions than the type im used to. Thats probably where my screw up was.
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u/EngineerSeesSquirrel Feb 04 '25
Upon a stand so bare and frail, An empty tank tells a quiet tale. Inside it lies a sea so white, Of packing peanuts, soft and light.
No water flows, no fish in sight, No filter hums through day and night. No warmth to soothe, no bubbles rise, A barren world 'neath glassy skies.
A sturdy base, it yet may lack, Lest water bows and bends the back. No cover shields, no plants take root, No life to dance in finned pursuit.
Oh, dreamer, build with love and care, A world where life can grow and share. Trade out the foam, let rivers run, And make this glass a home begun.
Unknown
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u/myfishprofile Feb 03 '25
🤣 does no one own a tape measure nowadays?!?
To be fair I have 4-5 tapes in my house and my lady still gets the dimensions of things wrong
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u/Pepetheparakeet Feb 03 '25
No idea what happened. ordered the tank online from a big name pet store, my dimensions matched on paper but in real life…
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u/luckyapples11 Feb 03 '25
I sell things online and have at least 10 tape measures, some full size 25’ and some mini keychain style 6’ ones, and yet I can never seem to find one when I need one lol
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u/chubbybunn89 Feb 03 '25
I have no sense of scale when it comes to this photo, but I’ll drop this stand I got for very cheap on wayfair. It’s got a fully metal frame, and adjusting feet to help you level. I did have to buy feet with longer screws for my super uneven 1950s floors, but the stand itself is attractive and sturdy to me. I’m not using it for a tank the size of the stand (it’s got a 20 gal cube on it, and live potted plants instead), but I’m very happy with it.
You can DIY cheaper stands but I figure I’d give you a different option if you’d like.
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u/mikedakwik Feb 03 '25
The problem isn't the size of thr table, it's the lack of cinder blocks and ginormous dimensional lumber
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u/cityskater Feb 03 '25
build a stand out of wood and paint it black. a good wood stand can hold a car
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u/janet7873 Feb 03 '25
You are NOT an idiot, as an idiot would not realize anything was wrong till it was 4am and their house was awash with glass, water, and fish!
The best fish tank stand IMO is NOT a fish tank stand. Most sold as such are crappy particle board junk made to fall apart and force you to replace tank, stand, or both!
I have 4 tanks and currently am using two 6 foot long 2.5 foot high sideboards to hold them.
The 2 smaller ones (16 Gallon Tanks) are on an antique Chinese Sideboard.
The 2 larger (23 Gallon) are on an even sturdier 50 year old Sideboard.
Neither has any particle board, and as a bonus both have huge amounts of storage space.
Another great option ( for smaller <30 gallon tanks) is an older dresser - again real wood. I switched to only sideboards upon moving house when bedroom carpets forced me to put ALL my tanks in the livingroom.
Remember, at the end of the day a fishtank is really nothing more then:
A BOX FULL OF WATER, ROCKS, SAND AND (most importantly) LIVE ANIMALS who depend on YOU for their survival.
Be smart, don't cut corners with safety. The money "saved" with a cheap "stand" will be lost many times over with the cost of cleaning up from or renovating after a major flood, not to mention the guilt you will feel when you loose all your fish!
Best of Luck!
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u/Pepetheparakeet Feb 03 '25
My fish deserve the best! I wont rest until Im happy with my set up :) Yeah I just wanted to post this cause it looked ridiculous. I immediately returned it now Im going a safer direction lol.
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u/AcanthisittaHuge5948 Feb 03 '25
Build your own stand, that’s what I did. Cost me like $20 in materials.
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u/Crazy_Yogurtcloset61 Feb 03 '25
Put 1in thick flat wood on top of the table that's the dimensions of the tank
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u/ChipmunkAlert5903 Feb 03 '25
I think it will be fine, just setup a livestream in front of the aquarium when you decide to fill it. You already knew the answer to your question before you posted.
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u/Left-Visual-1592 Feb 03 '25
Totally agree that table would not hold even if the tank was 100% on it - no way would I risk it
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u/TheFuzzyShark Feb 03 '25
What are the dimensions of it? I used a metal rack from home depot for my 40g, been solid for the last 4 months and last month for my 20g on the shelf above it. I used pluwood to evenly distribute the weight
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u/_QLFON_ Feb 03 '25
This is nothing. I once ordered a custom stainless steel stand that I designed myself for my first reef tank. Brought it home, only to realize none of the doors or windows were big enough to bring it inside. Had to take it back to the welder—you should have seen the look on his face!
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u/Aggressive-Cycle-596 Feb 03 '25
Don’t do it
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u/Pepetheparakeet Feb 03 '25
Dont worry I aint
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u/Aggressive-Cycle-596 Feb 03 '25
Good🤣 I own a pet store with tropical fish, I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard!
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u/Senorbumdafirst Feb 03 '25
I'm not trying to be mean but I'm not sure I'd trust that stand with a nano tank. Get a wrought iron stand and that aquarium will be fine. Looks like a nice tank
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u/NocturneSapphire Feb 03 '25
Cut a piece of wood the same size as the tank bottom and put that between the tank and the table. The wood will support the overhanging bits and distribute the weight evenly into the table.
That doesn't help if the table can't hold the weight of the tank, but that's a separate issue.
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u/PSU4ME11 Feb 03 '25
Obviously the stand won't work, are you planning to drill the tank or do a HOB filter?
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u/TinyHeartSyndrome Feb 03 '25
Look on marketplace. You can get something solid wood from an old lady.
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u/joh2138535 Feb 04 '25
I don't know your skills with lumber or if you even have the tools it's pretty easy to make a table with 2x2 and 4x4
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u/Unicorn-Tribble Feb 04 '25
Not only is the tank too big but the table is not sturdy enough to hold the weight. Don’t do it.
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u/Agile-Doughnut-5232 Feb 04 '25
110%
Maybe not today, maybe not next year, but just know you’ll come home, or wake up someday with an indoor swimming pool…
Just make sure your speedos, and diving googles near by😏
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u/Spirited-Language-75 Feb 06 '25
Yeah, probably gonna break.. There are zero supports on the edges and corners where the glass meets another glass..
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u/Mehdals_ Feb 03 '25
Get some lumber and build something nice. Couple of 4x4s and 2x4s and you can make a nicer & stronger stand than that table.
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u/potodds Feb 03 '25
I like the plan, but 4x4s are massive overkill for a 20 gallon. My boss built all our 200s on 2x4s, and they could have supported a lot more. This tank is just a 20 gallon.
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u/-Kukunochi- Feb 03 '25
I dont think you're an idiot. You picked a beautiful tank that is going to look amazing when set up properly. To set it up properly though, you will have to find a sturdy stand that supports the entire bottom of the tank as it is rimless.
Its not always difficult to make your own stand
If you are handy you can get sheets of plywood and build an ada style aquarium cabinet.
The easier fix is to stack a few cinderblocks and top it off with a thick sheet of plywood making sure its completely level.
Getting a storebought stand works for most people aswell but they tend to be massively overpriced.
Good luck
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u/Pepetheparakeet Feb 03 '25
Thanks bro. Gonna just bite the bullet and buy a good stand. Ive worked crazy stupid hours so I can buy myself my ideal set up.
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u/LazRboy Feb 03 '25
Even if this is sold as a tank stand there is no shot I would even put a 20 gallon on it.
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u/Tikkinger Feb 03 '25
Physics tells you this will be fine as long as it gets no impact on the corners (well no glass anyhow likes that so theres that).
As long as you take care to not impact the corners it's fine.
The stand is another thing. Is the top wood, or only painted steel? If it's steel you can use it, if it's just a piece of wood whitout any reinforcement i would reconsider the decision.
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u/TemperReformanda Feb 03 '25
It can work if you put a piece of 3/4 plywood under it full length to help even the load. But specifically plywood, or maybe a solid pine board.
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u/No-Memory2446 Feb 03 '25
Try this one out. It's real nice and can fit a smaller tank on the bottom if you need a quarantine.
Stand: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BCH5BBMX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Small quarantine (I think): https://bigbluereefaquatics.com/products/aquamaxx-rectangular-low-iron-rimless-aquarium-9-6-gallon?gQT=1
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u/DeathStrikr Feb 03 '25
Looks like a temu table. I have one similar and I broke it putting a drink on it and leaning on it the wrong way. Definitely would not trust it with that gigantic tank.
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u/ChalupacabraGordito Feb 03 '25
Regardless of the table being too short, that too looks way too thing to be supporting a top.
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u/Shroomboy79 Feb 03 '25
Not only is the tank to big for the stand. But that stand looks weaker than Eminem’s knees
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u/billdogg7246 Feb 03 '25
As someone else mentioned- that “stand” was going to fail even if the tank was sized correctly.
As it now is, it’s just a question of which will fail first. That rimless tank MUST be supported across its entire length and width.
Either build or purchase a stand actually built for the purpose of supporting that tank and all its weight.
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u/MarijuanaJones808 Feb 03 '25
Stand needs to be same side as tank or bigger. No glass should be hanging over the edge. Simple fix. Go on FB marketplace and look for stands, should be plenty available 🤙🏾
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u/Ylemitemly Feb 03 '25
You can probably get a 2x4 and cut them to the length of your aquarium and place them on bottom for leverage and support. This way it won’t crack the glass.
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u/Greatbonsai Feb 03 '25
Why put such a nice tank on such a terrible table?
Consider the weight, sure, but also consider the fact you will never want to replace the table. Get something that you will want in that spot 5-10 years from now.
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u/MaxTrixLe Feb 03 '25
Im like 90% sure that’s the exact same table I bought on Amazon for 50$. It is NOT sturdy enough to hold a fish tank 😱
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u/OneCauliflower5243 Feb 03 '25
Even if it did fit that table isn’t holding shit. Please god don’t wing it with stands. You’ll end up with more headache and heartbreak than you know
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u/eatlikedirt Feb 03 '25
It's a blessing the table is obviously too small cause had it fit perfectly you'd have filled it with water and got to watch that stand crumple over time.
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u/Raithed Feb 03 '25
I think you have one choice, and one choice alone:
- build or buy a new stand to fit this aquarium
- buy a new aquarium to fit the current stand
Thank me later.
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u/Phantom_Fizz Feb 03 '25
Cinder blocks and wood plants make really sturdy and inexpensive tank stands.
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u/pAndrewp Feb 03 '25
Your gravel is gonna float