6X2X2 Stand Idea

Verminator89

Jack Dempsey Enthusiast
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Right so i have the option to buy a 6x2x2 off somebody. Its a complete set-up just without a stand. So my question is about a suitable stand. My gf step-dad has come up with this idea and he swears by it and thinks its absolutely fine. I'm a little sceptical about this idea and though i would post it here to try and get some common opinions and see what the general view of it is.


So after looking at set stands for a 6ft they come to nearly £500 upwards, too high in short. So we have been looking at oak/pine sideboards. Big bulky thick wooded sideboards. Now my potential future father-in-law has the found a 4ft6 sideboard. His plan is to bolt this to the wall and reinforce the internal structure with braces (just for my peace of mind), he reckons its fine without. Then getting a 6x2x2 piece of thick MDF and bolting it to the top of this sideboard, upon which the tank shall go (ontop of a polystyrene mat).


My concern is the overhang. It will however only be roughly 8inches overhang either side and with the MDF it will be fully supported all the way around the footprint of the tank. Many conventional tanks are built with this same overhang, such as Juwel Rio 125's and another. I know these are smaller and less weighty than a 6ft, but he's adamant it'll be fine. His father works with strengthening structures like this all the time and knows what he's doing, but with the weight of a tank like this i'm yet to be convinced.


Technically isnt it closer to 1 tonne in weight upon a 4ft6 sideboard? For what its worth, the tank will be minimally decorated :lol: Please please please can i get some opinions on this as its alot of money, and ALOT of water if this goes wrong.



ANOTHER option which i've just thought of would be to get x2 3ft sideboards and have them side by side? Wouldnt this be far better. 2 sideboards at £150 each is alot better than almost £600 for one which i can't warrant spending.


Peoples inpuit very much needed and welcome,

Cheers,
James
 
I have my 6ft on 4 piles of 4 breeze blocks with a thick sheet of plywood on the floor under the bricks and one on top of the bricks and some wooden boards round the outside to make it look like a proper stand :)
 
His plan is to bolt this to the wall and reinforce the internal structure with braces (just for my peace of mind), he reckons its fine without. Then getting a 6x2x2 piece of thick MDF and bolting it to the top of this sideboard, upon which the tank shall go (ontop of a polystyrene mat).

What is suggested here is fine dependant on the thickness of the MDF but something around 19mm would be adaquate. What you have to consider is that load spreads throught the top. Down the side supports and into the floor. As long as the whole footprint is support you should have no problems and of course making it level.

What I wouldn't suggest is bolting to the wall. You could damage A) the wall should anything happen and B) maintance should you ever wish to move it to get to plugs/pipework means that there would be limited access as you would have to batten out the sideboard a good few inches.

Solid Oak/pine sideboards if built correctly can be fine. If you go and look around at some furniture shops ect and see what you like and how they are constructed then you can go from there.

Another option is to go down the custom stand option. Try ND Aquatics for stands, They do all different sizes to suit and will probably be cheaper than an off the shelf as long as you pick one of there standard designs.

Just so you get an idea of my experiance for saying its fine I work as a structural engineer making sure buildings stand up.

Hope that helps.

Kind Regards,

Adam
 
both of my big tanks were
on breeze block made stands
cemented together the also
had concrete lintels across
them with half inch marine
ply on top and looked great
when they had been rendered
and painter to mach the room
or a dare say you could clad
them in pine or something like that
 
Deffo go for marine ply. MDF is no where near adequate for anything that is going near water.

As for the stand. It all depends on the jointing system. I am a joiner by trade. If the sections are simply screwed together then it will be no where near strong enough to support a ton of water and glass.
If it were me i would feel much safer using the breeze block anf marine ply method with a decorative skin applied after. Maybe 6 pillars of breeze block with some form of strengthening bars (dexian perhaps?), to distribute the weight.

If a sideboard is going to fail it is going to fail once and very quickly. You aint gonna get any warning :unsure:
 
breeze blocks and concrete
lintels as cross supports
work very well the ply
is just so you can put
your polystyrene and tank
on it would take an earth
quake to make it collapse

i used roughly
35 to 40 blocks
and six lintels
two bags of sand
and two bags of cement
 
I have a 6ft sideboard in the boys bedroom, we had 2 3ftx15" x 18" tanks on it side by side, we had to reinforce the floor but the sideboard was fine.
 
After buying the sideboard, reinforcing, and putting a thick sheet of plywood to hopefully compensate for the 8" overhang wouldn't you be better off just building a stand? You're looking at spending $450+ for a couple of sideboards, for less than half that you could build a stand that would be certain to hold the weight, and would be customized to whatever you would like. For a tank that size you will probably be going with a larger canister for filtration, is there room in the sideboard for this? With a tank that size sump filtration is the usual way to go, a stand gives you the room for this.

As far as the overhang goes you'd be wise to put a couple of legs under it, long term that plywood will deflect with the weight. Glass is very unforgiving with that sort of thing, and as stated it will go suddenly and without warning. Besides having a really wet mess if it does cut loose, consider the safety factor; what if someone is near by if it does have a catastrophic failure?
 
i had a front pane of a
5x2x2 open like a tailgate
on a tipper truck i tell you
its not funny i was laid watching
telly on the floor when it happened
i had to swim for it and we were mopping
up for weeks it cost me a new front room
floor and the rest go solid your better off
 
MDF is fine if treated. Most manufactured stands are made from chipboard laminated which is just as bad as MDF but with the correct finish and assembly from someone who know what they are doing MDF would be a good option. You could look at Valchromat, this is not waterproof but is highly water resitant, stronger than MDF and is often used in wet rooms with an excellent quality that comes in many colours .

Some people seem to be sceptical because of bad design practices. Yes Solid Hardwood timbers are best but cost the most.

Yes you can build yourself but you have to be good at joinary. The issue is getting the level surface with even weight distribution.

Overhangs are fine as long as you work out your long term deflection. This you will noticed is helped by most stands with reducing the overhang to around 2-3" but you could happily have an 8" overhang just need a greater depth of MDF/Ply etc

If you are confident with DIY then yes building a stand yourself will be cheapest and mean you can work out exactly what you want. I even have a CAD model of a stand I designed which can be adjusted to suit your needs should you want me to draw something up.

I also know a person who will build the custom stand and should you wish to go this route I could pass details on. He built me a Custom AV Stand using Valchromat and that is why I have CAD model for a stand as I am thinking about him building me a stand as well.

If you build it yourself you could work ways to help reduce sound transmittance, heat loss, lighting in cupboards, power supplies built in. Cable trays for electric plubs, airlines and connectors built to stand for pipework to keep it neet organised and tidy.

All this can be worked into a custom built or home DIY stand. If you also do deside to go down the DIY I can also help with that and maybe (time dependant) create a 3D sketch-up model of the stand if you wish.

Have a look around at what you like and put a budget in mind. From what I have read it would be around £300 if you was looking at two sideboards for £150 each.

Kind Regards,

Adam
 
Another option is to go down the custom stand option. Try ND Aquatics for stands, They do all different sizes to suit and will probably be cheaper than an off the shelf as long as you pick one of there standard designs.

My tank at mine downstairs is an ND Aquatics custom 4ft, which i'm thrilled with. I've emailed them about this issue to see what they can offer me. I somehwat doubt it'll be under £500 though, and thats too high.


I have a 6ft sideboard in the boys bedroom, we had 2 3ftx15" x 18" tanks on it side by side, we had to reinforce the floor but the sideboard was fine.

Cheers for the recommendation in PM hun, i will email them and see what they can offer me. As i said though, the travelling to merseyside is a bit of a problem with a 7.5 tonne lorry ;) Potentially have the option of a smaller truck, but fuel is still massive amounts.


After buying the sideboard, reinforcing, and putting a thick sheet of plywood to hopefully compensate for the 8" overhang wouldn't you be better off just building a stand? You're looking at spending $450+ for a couple of sideboards, for less than half that you could build a stand that would be certain to hold the weight, and would be customized to whatever you would like. For a tank that size you will probably be going with a larger canister for filtration, is there room in the sideboard for this? With a tank that size sump filtration is the usual way to go, a stand gives you the room for this.

As far as the overhang goes you'd be wise to put a couple of legs under it, long term that plywood will deflect with the weight. Glass is very unforgiving with that sort of thing, and as stated it will go suddenly and without warning. Besides having a really wet mess if it does cut loose, consider the safety factor; what if someone is near by if it does have a catastrophic failure?

True, in that two cabinets will come to £300, but buying one to the same length can potentially be nearly £500. So thats where the logic in my madness is ;) I'm in no way even an amateur when it comes to DIYing something like this, so thats a no go. I dare try to be honest. It would be a disaster. So buying one is my only option.

I'm currently emailing a few companys to see what prices they can offer me for a custom built one. I'm looking at normal furniture shops also, because i don't want to buy one thats had the aquatics label slammed on it bumping the price up. Obviously different joints have to be used to make it stable and secure to take nearly a tonne in weight, but aquatics company still slap on an aquatic stand price for something that can just as easily be made by a none aquatic company. Thats my logic, if it is logic.


Any more ideas more than welcome :)
 
Have your tried ebay?
something like these with a little extra re-inforcement
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Large-Pine-Unit-/270660488186?pt=UK_Home_Garden_LivingRoomFurniture_EH&hash=item3f049f4bfa

This is similar to what I bought for the kids tanks, just took the top section off
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dark-Wood-Rose-Wood-Large-Wall-Unit-/230548008599?pt=UK_Home_Garden_LivingRoomFurniture_EH&hash=item35adbb6e97
 
why not get a big bit of oak?
e.g.
oak tables are big and if you can get a cheap one off ebay just take the top of the table off and cut it down to size to put on your unit?
then you know that its strong.. dont use MDF it just isnt suitable for the job :(
 

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