I would look into getting another stand.... I can picture the construction of your exsisting stand right now. Two wood dowels in each corner of the cross beam and top/bottom, screwed in from the sides. Absolutely no shear strength. Should it rock from side to side it'll fall over and fold like a deck of cards. Build a bigger/stronger stand, good excuse to get a bigger tank too.
Wow You mean it has not collapsed yet you might want to buy a new stand or make one ASAP. I think with any lateral movement or is someone bumps into it, or if something bangs into the side of the support boards that tank is going down. I strongly advise you to get a new stand. Don
im not sure if you can see by the picture on what kind of stand i have, but im planning to place another 30x12 footprint on the bottom part.
currently holding a 45tall(not shown). will another lets say 29 gallon hold? im getting effy with all this earthquake rumors LOL but it would probab stabalize it?lol
I'm an ex carpenter and I can tell you that top board that the tank is sitting on has nothing supporting it.It's just bolted or screwed to the sides.You could possibly get away with giving this stand some support but it's really not worth it cause with the time and materials you spend on doing it you could easily spend a little more time and money building a whole new stand.
All you really need to do is build a box with some screws out of some finished ply,then reinforce it,and then paint or stain and varnish it.You don't even need to put doors on it if your not comfortible with doing so.Just make sure it has a front and back center support.
Here's a display cabinet that I threw together before and after the trim work,and then one with the stain and varnish.I had a pic of a fish tank stand that I built but I can't find it.
homedepot will make cuts for you.. 25cents each or something like that.. they also sell half sheets of plywood this way you will have something to put on the bottom.. you will also need a drill and some screws.. not drywall screws.. get the ones in the black and purple box (2-2.5 inch).. its like $6 for 100 you will have leftovers but its not like they spoil or something.. as for the drill.. unless you or yer family already has one.. borrow one or go ahead and get the $25 black and decker (its orange and black).. then a can of spraypaint unless you want to go with the natural look
2x4s - $3 each (they are 8 feet long.. do your math BEFORE you get there.. if you do this right you only need 3 or 4 (you need 12 pieces 3 sets of 4.. get the dried studs.. aka the light ones that cost like a dollar more)
plywood - $10 (i could be wrong on the price im 100% guessing on that one)
cuts- $.25 each
screws - $5
drill - $30
thanks guys! it looks simplier than i thought. il wait for my dad from vacation and ask him for help.--or i can always barrow one of my moms furniture as substitue LOL i think upgrading my tank is a good idea, so when another quake comes, my tank will stand a chance lol, thanks again guys
dressers made of real wood make great stands for smaller tanks.. figured i should throw that out there since i have my gsp tank next to the snail tank (nothing like living next to the grocery store)
That stand make me cringe. Was that stand sold at your fish store? I think CA should have some codes requiring carpenters to build solid stands. Tanks do not fail but poorly supported stand do cause tank to fail.
You could screw a pair of 4 x 2 inside each leg (perpendicular) to stop them bowing. Make two of them flush with the back. Use more than three screws each. You could then attach a back to stop it tilting and make it more stable. The back should be made of something substantial and be up against the two rear 4 x 2 you added, and attached to the top, bottom shelf and sides.
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