Cheap Stand Search...

[jaarus]

Hi all,

Going to be upgrading to a 5 or 6' tank in the summer - probably going to go secondhand simply for the cost factor, but as quite a few seem to be stand-less does anyone know of a cheaper alternative than buying a 'proper' tank stand?

I am aware that the weight of a full tank of that size is pretty incredible - but a solid pine cabinet or whatever should be able to cope I would guess.
All the tank cabinets I have seen for a tank this size are about £300 which is a little rich for my blood!

Does anyone use something like this (Ikea etc etc?) and can point me in the right direction so I can look at both set-ups for sale and tank only sales?

Thanks in advance
Jaarus

 

[*Fishkies*]

You could always try making your own stand. Here is a link below that will hopefully give you an idea, however i don't think it's completly to scale for the size that you will be needing.
Fish Tank Stand

 

[smmetz]

I would not trust most IKEA furniture to a 5-6 foot tank. They are not put together strongly enough. This goes for most "put-it-together-yourself" furniture. They are usually made from MDX (essentially sawdust and glue), not solid wood or plywood, or even OSB wood(the sheets of larger wood chips and glue). If you are a DIY person perhaps something from there could be re-inforced though.

One possibility is kitchen cabinets. They sides are usually MDX wood also, but if you get smaller cabinet pieces, they will have great support and the ends of each piece. They are usually more expensive than tank stands though. However, maybe you can get lucky and find some throwing old ones away.

If you get say, 4 18 inch cabininets, it will have support every 18 inches. I think that with a sturdy surface on top, and few extra 2x4s to beef them up, it would do a great job, look great, and provide great storage underneath the tank.