How tall a stand is too tall?

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Maduro

Maduro

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Mar 31, 2008
517
87
61
NY
Ok, so I'm planning on building a new stand for my 150 gallon tank. A big pet peave of mine is having to crouch down to enjoy my fish because my stand is just like 24 inches tall. I want to build a stand that will get the tank close to eye level. I know this will make cleaning it tougher because a step stool will be required but I'm ready to just deal with that.

So how high can I sit 150 gallons safely? Do I need to frame this thing out with six 4x4 posts? in order to make it work? If you've already built or have seen a "tall" stand build please direct or advise....many thanks in advance. I'll take pictures.
 
i think most stands are generally built to be about 2 ft high, but you can build a stand as high as you wish. as long as it is sturdy, you can build it higher. you just want to be careful not to make it TOP HEAVY, where it will easily topple over. that's a judgement call.
 
This is the stand on one of our 180s. We didn't make it, but the guy who sold us the tank did. I can't find the tape measure, but it's at least three feet tall, and maybe closer to three and half feet. I took some photos in case you might be able to tell what he did to make it, even though I know nothing about any of it!

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I got this 90 Gl on a 4 foot stand, and the tank itself is a strange shaped hexagon.
But the guy i got it from welded a very sturdy adjustable frame.

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Eyelevel allright, the tank if 2,5' high, and I strongly advice against such a high frame.
Having to balance and climb every time at maintenance is a pain.
Mind you if i'm standing on the edge of my couch, I still can't reach the bottom of the tank with my hands...
I got this tank for free ,so i'm not complaining and it's my pleco and community tank, so there's not as much work to be done as with the big boys.
But when i start a new project it will not be that high!
Just my opinion, i know you can do it if you want to!
And it looks pretty cool!
 
That is one thing to consider -- the higher the stand, the higher on the stepladder you have to go to clean and do maintenance. I don't particularly like working on the 180 pictured, because it's on a tile floor and I get nervous on the ladder. The other one, though, is almost as tall as that one and I don't really mind, because it's on carpet.
 
My 130 (that I've yet to build a wet/dry for) has a 40" high stand that the previous owner made. Its going to be interesting doing maintenance on it once I get it up and running (I'm 5'6") but I agree the added height is definitely going to add to visual appreciation of the tank.
 
My stand is 24" and the tank is 30". I can reach almost halfway (6' 2") in the tank. I guess it would be a little easier if I didnt have a giant canopy on top. I think next time Ill just build a 2' tall canopy so I can atleast go inside it.

I dont need to crouch I just sit in the chair, perfect height when sitting back
 
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