DIY stand for a stand

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Ullopincrate

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Oct 23, 2008
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South Eastern US
I am getting ready to move and unfortunately for me I have to move 9 aquariums. I am finally going to have a large fish room though!!! (bright side).:headbang2

Anyway, sometimes water gets into the basement. I was thinking that raising the aquarium stands high enough to avoid water damage/ electrical issues would be prudent. The highest the water has ever gotten is 6 inches. I was thinking of putting concrete blocks under the stands. I'll start with the bigger one. It is a 180g, 6' X 2'. I originally thought of making a block perimeter but I have noticed some say you only need to brace the 4 corners and 2 in the center. Ideas/ advice?? Would I need to put plywood between the commercial stand and the blocks or just place the stand on the blocks? Another question I have is would I put the blocks flush with the stand or would the corners and middle of the stand need to sit in the middle of the blocks?? :nilly:

Thanks all
 
You could flush up the blocks to the stands and you shouldn't have any problem. Are you planning on using pre-made stands or making one yourself? If not, then just make your stands a bit shorter to compensate for the blocks. Shouldn't need plywood, but it wouldn't hurt to help keep the blocks in place. Or you could just add a couple extra 2x4s to ensure the blocks do not move.
 
I have a pre-made store bought oak stand. I just want to raise it a bit to avoid water damage when big rains hit. I just have to repeat the process for 8 other aquariums.

......Of course this means I can finally get an indoor pond later on :headbang2

Also does anyone have pics of a pre-built stand sitting on blocks??
 
I built a riser for one of my stands out of treated 2x4s. I needed the tank to be higher and the treated boards were just laying around.
 
Wouldn't it be easier to fix the water problem itself? LOL
 
That seems like an obvious answer. However the prior owner (my parents) have already spent 8k trying to fix it. The blocks have been tarred and papered on the outside (basement dug up), the lot has been graded, drains have been added, and sumps have been added. The inside has been sealed multiple times. When really long rains come, some water gets in anyway. It's not a swimming pool but I have a lot of money in some nice stands. Before their work it got up to 6" on one corner, since then it has only been small puddles. But small puddles can warp wood, so I choose to raise them all up a little. My question was about blocks. In response to your reply....No, it would not be easier to fix the problem.
 
As house age, basements just plain stop holding out water. You can attempt to fix it and throw money at it and possibly fix it for a while, but basements will inevitably leak. Sometimes you just have to accept issues and deal with them.
 
I would use a full cinder block perimeter plus a piece of 3/4" or 1" plywood as a base on top of the blocks just to be safe. But I'm famous for overdoing things, so you might get away with less, but I like to be 100% sure.
 
I usually over-do things myself. I guess I am just trying to save money....so many blocks, so many tanks. I think I am going to go with 12 blocks per aquarium stand. Two blocks high X 3 "legs" on front and back. In a clockwise fashion starting from the back middle, it would be 2 on top of each other in back middle, 2 high on corner, 2 high on corner, 2 high front middle, and finally 2 high on corner, 2 high on corner. The blocks are 16" long. The aquarium is 72". This will leave a gap to the left and right of the middle "legs" of 12". Also 8" between on the side. This seems like it should be ok. The arrangement would resemble:

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However if anyone has any knowledge of why this would not work please let me know. :D
 
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