Furniture

[ellena]

I have a 60l on an ikea sideboard. I'd love to upgrade to something bigger, but I'm not keen on the look of purpose built stands that come with tanks. So, I'd be looking at adapting a piece of regular furniture. Obviously, I'd only consider something which was very sturdy, but beyond that, what to look for?
The stands are only chipboard after all, what is it about them that makes them suitable to hold such huge weight?
I love a browse on eBay of the second hand tanks near me and there are loads on drawers/sideboards etc with seemingly no ill effects. The odd amusing one though "door won't shut with tank in place" lol!

 

[frapadoodle]

Yeah, I refuse to use those store bought particleboatd stands. (Unlike most I splash and spill water sometimes, and that stuff swells and warps.)
If it is sturdy and the tank weight is distributed evenly across the bracing shouldn't be a problem. One can always add extra bracing easily enough.
I liked building my own, but then again I do so love unfinished projects.(Just ask Mrs. doodle)

 

[Munroco]

You could look around some local auctions that sell house clearance stuff. Most older furniture is much better made and robust than modern day equivalents. You can pick up some really cheap quality stuff at some of these auctions.

 

[ShinySideUp]

My tank and water weighs about 800kg and it sits on a chipboard stand supplied by the tank manufacturer. It concerns me if I spill even the smallest amount of water near the base of the cabinet and in one small part the side piece has 'blown' and swelled up beyond it's veneer. While I wouldn't like to try to find a piece of furniture that would accommodate such a mass, the fact that it would be made of real wood would be a great comfort (enough woods/woulds there? ).
One day I might build my own cabinet (made of real wood) if I can think of a way of moving the fish tank from it's present position to the new stand.

 

[ellena]

Yes, I have a search set up on eBay. I have my eye on one currently, but cannot work out how to paste a link into these replies!
It's a gplan item 261829842295 low tv stand type thing. I think tank stands are also too high, a lower stand would mean the tank would be easier to view from the sofa. And to get into from the top, I look at some and wonder how people get to clean them, you'd need a ladder!

Try a pic...

 

[RobRocksFishTank]

The problem with furniture is there often isn't adequate support at the front center and they eventually bow at that location and either the door/drawers stick shut or can't be closed. Another thing to consider is matching the size of the furniture to the tank, so that the weight of the tank sits directly on top of the sides of the furniture. If not, the top will eventually bow. You could modify the piece with some additional support but you would lose some, if not all, of the functionality of the furniture. Another option would be to get a nice thick piece of hard wood to put on top of the furniture.
 
BTW, not all stands are made from particle board. I've got three solid wood stands that are all different and look very nice.

 

[TallTree01]

I use sturdy wooden cabinets for my tanks as the designer aquarium stands are an extra 200-300$. I've never known anyone to have issues with their aquarium stands though.

 

[ellena]

Good point about it fitting, thanks. My current sideboard is painted, so has a piece of toughened glass on top to protect it.

 

[frapadoodle]

RobRocksFishTank, didn't mean to imply all prefabricated cabinets were particle board. Just those I have found readily available. As well as a do it yourselfer, I prefer to make my own. I know how it's built, and can customize storage as I like.