# Possible Tank Stand Help Please



## NatalieHurrell (31 Aug 2021)

Hi all,
I've been on the lookout for a solid oak sideboard/TV unit to put my future riparium tank on and want room for a few potted plants too.  My other half spotted this yesterday on Facebook for a great price.  My question is, with some additional strengthening would it be OK for a 140ltr rimless allpondsolutions tank?  I'll have the water about 10cms from the top of the tank.

It's solid oak, including hardwood back and sides. The righthand cupboard has a solid interior wall too.  Happy to put more support underneath (directly under all walls).  Was thinking of positioning tank to the left, so supported by left end wall of sideboard and the solid interior wall.

I appreciate tank will probably weigh 200 plus kilos.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Kevin Eades (31 Aug 2021)

Looks more solid than the actual tank cabinet I'm using. the top is supported my the legs down to the floor and not relying on screws like my tank stand. May need a central support to stop from bowing. Make sure you waterproof the top as oak stains quickly when wet


----------



## aec34 (31 Aug 2021)

I guess if you’d be happy for a couple of people to sit on it at the same time it’d be ok? (Looks strong from here.)


----------



## MichaelJ (31 Aug 2021)

Hi @NatalieHurrell  FWIW I have both my 151L tanks on builtin cabinetry not very unlike this. We tested it having two relatively big guys sitting on it - at least 220 Kg in total - quite similar to the weight of the tank with water, gravel, etc. No give or cracking at all. One slight concern is that this is all judged from a picture and there is no "support beam" on the lefthand side of the middle section going through all the way to the back - I think thats what @Kevin Eades mentions as well - you can add a support beam though. I would definitely get some people to sit on it to get a sense of the situation.

Its a great furniture for a tank otherwise - will look awesome.

Cheers, 
Michael


----------



## NatalieHurrell (31 Aug 2021)

Thanks guys.  I know it's for sale new at £400, so should be fairly substantial.  Sure we could engineer some extra support.  Wonder if it might almost be better with a tank the full length of it and stand the plants to the side.  Then again the weight then goes up!  Just not overly enamoured with the particular board sorts of stands...


----------



## Driftless (31 Aug 2021)

Where will the filter go?


----------



## zozo (31 Aug 2021)

One would expect solid oak to be strong enough... But since the corners of the vertical stands are mitred joints instead of butted.





It will be pushed out under vertical pressure. Construction-wise it is hard to judge from a picture... But physics says it's much less strong than a butted connection. The front end has vertical braces in between the draws dividing the weight, but they might be missing at the back panel... I would definitively have a carpenter or cabinet maker have an overall look at it to answer the question if it fit enough to carry 200kg + nonstop.


----------



## sparkyweasel (31 Aug 2021)

I think you need to see the back. The actual construction may be butt joints, the mitre joints you can see at the front may just be trim pieces. 
The interior wall will transfer weight from the top to the bottom of the cupboard; I would put extra feet under that point so the bottom panel cannot sag.


----------



## NatalieHurrell (31 Aug 2021)

zozo said:


> One would expect solid oak to be strong enough... But since the corners of the vertical stands are mitred joints instead of butt
> 
> It will be pushed out under vertical pressure. Construction-wise it is hard to judge from a picture... But physics says it's much less strong than a butted connection.


Thanks.  The mitre joints made me hesitate too.


----------



## NatalieHurrell (31 Aug 2021)

Driftless said:


> Where will the filter go?


I plan to use an internal one.  Going back to my roots (no pun intended).  Was bought up with what today would be thought of as a Walstad tank, but we always had a huge, early style, air driven HOB filter on our tank, that just contained filter floss.  I intend to use a small amount of biological filtration, sponges and 70% of the substrate planted.  There will be emersed plants in addition to the aquatic ones. I could always add an external filter if needed.


----------



## NatalieHurrell (31 Aug 2021)

sparkyweasel said:


> I think you need to see the back. The actual construction may be butt joints, the mitre joints you can see at the front may just be trim pieces.
> The interior wall will transfer weight from the top to the bottom of the cupboard; I would put extra feet under that point so the bottom panel cannot sag.


I did think adding the extra feet would be wise, so thank you.


----------



## KirstyF (31 Aug 2021)

_bowing over time is your enemy and the centre of the double cabinet is probably your weakest point. You need to think about 200k permanently for x number of years so I would definitely consider re-enforcing. Unless you have a professional who can advise on load capacities I would suggest that : if there are no internal support pillars already, then add a support post at each corner internally to distribute the weight downwards (make sure that these connect to a main horizontal post and that they are sitting directly above the existing feet or add feet if needed. Also a support post at the centre back of the double door section with an additional support (foot) under the cabinet at that point and, as Sparky Weasel suggested, add a foot under the front post too. Make sure all new feet are level with the existing ones. This should drive the load downwards and spread it more evenly. The other thing to consider is how level your floor is, as, you will be unable to fine tune your levels with this construction. If the floor is not dead level, this could cause excess force in the ‘lower’ side of the tank from water pressure and make it more liable to seal failures. You could, of course, add adjustable feet to your solid one’s but depends on how much modding  you want to do.Good luck 👍_


----------



## zozo (1 Sep 2021)

NatalieHurrell said:


> Thanks.  The mitre joints made me hesitate too.



It doesn't necessarily need to be a problem if the joints are properly dowelled...  Taking it for granted that it is, is something else... And I would inspect the construction of the back panel, these are locations out of view, often only cheap decorated hardboard is placed at the back to close it. If the vertical stands between the draws at the back panel are missing then the weight will be rather unevenly divided putting extra strain on the cabinet. It might be there is room enough to put in a few extra vertical stands at the back inside the cabinet.

There is only one way to find out, take everything out and take it away from the wall so it can be inspected from all sides. And get in yourself and inspect how it's built from the inside and see the things the outside and the pictures don't show. And if needed if there is enough free space for 2 extra stands at the back panel to support the top in between the draws.

Some cabinets, especially the modern ones can look very decent but then if inspected closely they still can be Ikea style prefab build with flimsy screws and plastic braces at the joints. Made to look nice but not made to hold lots of weight.  Or it's similar to Ikea stuff advertised as solid wood, but then if you read the properties closer it's still only a solid wood veneer. Like the Ikea solid wood walnut kitchen tops for example, which are actually only 2mm solid wood Walnut veneer. Playing with words to pull you in... If done properly it's rather hard to see what is what if you don't know what to look for.


----------



## NatalieHurrell (1 Sep 2021)

Thanks all.  It's got an oak back, so that's a good start, but think I'm now worried about the mitred joints, so will pass on this one.  I can now take all your helpful suggestions and check out any others that come up for sale.  Much appreciated.

I've seen the result of an old metal framed 6ft tank that lost 80% of it's water when the materials perished.  It was built into my parents lounge wall.  Total mess.  Don't want a repeat of that!  Thankfully all the fish survived.


----------

