Tank Stand

[FreshwaterFishie]

It is for a 20 Gallon Long tank.
30 L x 15 W x 15 H

 

[illusion54]

If you have the money....a nice wooden one looks best.

 

[Tolak]

I voted other. Make a double stand out of wood with one over the other, with storage beneath that. One of my rack setups has two 20 highs on top, a 55 beneath that, with room underneath to slide milk crates in for storage.

Tolak

 

[FreshwaterFishie]

If you have the money....a nice wooden one looks best.

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Thanks! I will see the money I have left over after I buy the tank, ect. The wooden ones are really nice and have a nice little closet like space below.
I was just looking at a site today about painted fish (your avatar)! That is so sad! I never knew they injected them with it! When they poked the highlight area the gel actually moved. I don't know why people would want to do that. It is like the pink poodles, which is more humane though.

 

[MasterP]

I like the woden ones with cabinet space. I think the wood looks nicer and you can hide all of your fishy stuff in the cabinet.

 

[FreshwaterFishie]

My dad said that they are made out of pressure-treated wood, which will rot over time if water gets on it. He also said it looked like cheesy wood? Have any of you had a wood stand for a long, long time so I can tell him it is good?
He is a Sales Rep. for a furniture company, so I guess he knows more than me. His dad, my grandpa, had a furniture career, so he does too and so does 3 of his brothers and his 2 sisters. But luckly on my moms side (girls) are into dogs! Her mom, my grandma, showed dogs, and her sister, my great aunt, is VERY into dogs, and my mom is a groomer. So ! LOL I show dogs too, in agility. (My dogs pictures are on the board for Other Pets.) Anyway, back to the stand. Have any of yours' rotted or chipped, ect.? Are metal stands more sturdy and durable?

 

[Tolak]

Commercially made wood stands are not made out of pressure treated wood, at least none I've seen. Real cheap ones are made of composition wood, avoid these. A little bit of moisture, & they will warp & fall apart. I looked at plenty before I built my own.

Most all the commercially made stands I've seen are made of 1"x2" & 1"x3" lumber for the frame & support members. I do not trust this to hold structurally for the long term. Rotting is not the point, if you are continually getting the stand wet enough for solid pine to rot, you are getting a lot of water on the stand, your floor, and whatever else may be under the floor when that amount of water leaks through. Size of the support members, as well as the lack of enough large enough screws made me leery. I believe in overbuilding things for the worst case scenario, like a nephew with a big wheel ramming the side of the stand.

I built my own for a 65 with 2"x4" framing & 1/2" finished 1 side plywood for the outside. http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=106692&hl= shows racks in my fishroom, built with pressure treated 2x4's. The 65 on the bottom is the same construction underneath. Pressure treated lumber is what is used to build decks outdoors. The fishroom racks get soaked once in a while, that is the reason they are in the basement. I imagine I'll get a good 20 years out of them, as that lumber is designed for outdoor use.

Seeing as your family is in the furniture business, ask dad to get a solidly built buffet cabinet the size of your tank, or maybe a little bigger. A 20 long comes in around 225 pounds full, add a little more for gravel & other decorations. Any decently made piece of furniture should be able to hold this, I kept a 20 long on an old dresser a while back.

If you do decide to go the metal stand route, get one that comes already assembled, and welded. The bolt together ones are nowhere near as sturdy. Metal does rust, so keep an eye out for that.

Tolak

 

[NinjaSmurf]

I know that you shouldn't have anything made of particle board, or plywood for sure, they use formaldahyde (sp) in particle board, which is released into your house over time, and is at it's worst when new, and I've heard of kids getting sick after playing on treated lumber, and a case where a dog died after gnawing on a piece of treated lumber.

If you can't find one that isn't like this, maybe you could build one?



(yeah, also found out permanent pressed sheets are treated with formaldahyde so they don't wrinkle as much Kinda stupid, I'll take wrinkles any day...)

 

[SkiFletch]

yeah, avoiding particle board and especially plywood is a good idea when selecting a stand. I cheated and have my 20gal tall on a pair of well-built old dressers for natural storage . if your LFS doesnt have anything that looks as though its made from pressure treated timber then I'd go for a meatal stand with cabinets or shelves underneath

 

[Inchworm]

Hi FreshwaterFishie

I voted for the metal stand with a shelf for another tank underneath it.

I have two of these stands and they have room enough on the bottom shelf to hold a 20 gallon (high) tank. Also, if you want to upgrade your 20 gallon long to a larger tank, the same stand will also be able to hold a 29 gallon tank on top. The footprint is the same with the difference being in height.

These stands are sturdy and seem to last forever.

 

[cujoho78]

Hi. I agree with Tolak on this one. I decided to build one myself and also used 2 x 4's with 1/2 inch plywood on the outside. It has two doors on the front with 2 shelves for storage. So everything is hidden, cords and all. I left the back open so that i could open the doors and reach in and plug/ unplug the cords for the filter, lights, etc. I also mounted a power bar upsidedown on one of the 2 x 4's to keep water from running into any outlets in case there was ever any spill. I stained the plywood, and put a couple coats of polyurethane over the top. It's really strong. Price was comparable to a cheap particle board one from WalMart, except you could set a truck on top of mine.

 

[Ethos]

If you buy a stand, dont get a cheesy on with that oak looking stuff. Those look bad.
Get one thats opainted...maybe black? My liooks pretty good with it...

 

[Tolak]

If you go the wood cabinet or stand route with storage underneath, spend a few bucks & put a small flouro fixture underneath, inside the cabinet. They come prewired with a switch, makes maintainance & looking for aquaium stuff easier. I like to use my tank as the only light in the living room in the evening, flip on the bottom light to look for food, flip it off after I put it back.

Tolak

 

[FreshwaterFishie]

Hurray I got my tank!!! I also made a new subject about what I got...and why.

 

[FreshwaterFishie]

My post:
The New Tank!!!