prairielilly

I've attached a pic of the table set I've got in my living room. I'm thinking of putting a 5g on one of the smaller end tables - it would be about the same size (length) as the table. The top is solid wood with a veneer over it, and doesn't overly the legs, rather it's attached to each leg on the side with four steel screws. So the screws would bear the weight rather than the wood. That same table currently holds a 3g. I'm a little iffy on whether or not it can bear the weight. Opinions?

(image from ashleyfurniture.com)

Attached Images

tables.jpg (30.5 KB, 96 views)

harpua2002

I think it would be fine.

Butterfly

That 16lbs more than whats on it now. I don't know.
Carol

aquarist48

I think it would be ok. Just an idea but have you tried sitting on the table?
Don't hurt yourself!

prairielilly

um, I weigh a bit more than a 5g...

I had thought it would 'probably' be ok, but I don't like the idea of coming home one day and finding it wasn't...the hard way.

Thought was to have both my 5g's in my living room - this would be about the only way to make that work.

JennDFK

Could you possibly find somethings unbreakable that hold 5 gallons of water and slowly add the water to see if it begins to be unstable at some point? Just a thought.

Jenn

prairielilly

yes, that would be a good place to start (a bucket would work), but my thought was it would be fine for short term - I was concerned about stress on the joints over time. There's two of those tables and the other one (without the tank) has a split in the wood at the top of the leg. That one holds a phone and a lamp and that's it.

I'm leaning towards 'not'. The 5g is currently in my bedroom (along with 2 other tanks) and I find I wish I could have all my tanks in one room...understand why some folks have created a 'fish room'. Currently in the living room I've got the 20g, one 5g and a 3g, and I'm thinking of retiring the 3g/moving Ivan my betta to the 5g. (Of course there's absolutely NO room for the two 10g's in the living room though...)

aquarist48

Well Lily you held that little tid bit of information back from us! LOL If the table has split wood I would question it also as you have. Have fun! Go shopping and buy two new tables (enabling you)

JennDFK

Better safe than sorry... I agree with aquarist... get a new table for the tank. You deserve it!

Jenn

prairielilly

did I mention my former expensive hobby of interior decorating? (before the wonderful world of fishkeeping that is) Enabling's not limited to fish I see! heehee I'd love a whole new living room but the tables are in pretty good shape still...

You know how you'll be sitting and watching your happy little fishies, and it's great, but you can only see SOME of them - and so you go look at the others, but still you can only see SOME of them....

hmmm, maybe I DO need a new living room... (uh no, can't afford that, but may need to rearrange the furniture this weekend - that's always fun!)

aquarist48

Have fun and send us some pictures when you're done!

ABCDemily

I agree, rest a bucket on it, or see if you can sit on it, if you can, then go for it
I would say try and reinforce, but I'd have no idea about where to begin. And getting wood to match it would be hard.

Crimsonbull57

Yeah resting a bucket on it or a few cinderblocks would work, see if its sturdy, you could add a few more support screws to be safe.
and do they have goodwill's in Canada?

Psychlist1972

Woodworking is one of my other hobbies

If the table has any wobble or rack (moves side to side in a parrallelogram), then I wouldn't. Definitely wouldn't on the split side.

If it's solid wood, and the joints are wood and not just screws, you should be fine. If they are just screws, I wouldn't do it. Similarly, if the top is an insert and isn't integral with the side skirts on the top, I wouldn't.

I've looked at a number of 55g aquarium stands. They're all particle board, and I'm amazed they hold tanks. The main thing that must be prevented is racking, as that is a quick way to collapse something.

I wouldn't reinforce, as it would be hard to get the key joints (legs to skirt and skirt to top) reinforced in a way that wouldn't cause more harm than good. For example, if you just double-up the top with another piece of plywood, you've done nothing for racking and nothing to prevent joint collapse, but you did add additional weight to the top.

Pete

peacemaker92

It should be okay. But if you see the wood starting to bend or there's a crack on the wood, then you'll know it's time to get it off.

Lucy

What is racking?

Psychlist1972

@Lucy

Side to side or front to back movement where the top still stays parallel to the floor.

You get this if the joints are weak and there is no cross-bracing to counteract the movement. It's why you see diagonal cross-bracing in scaffolding and similar, and why a solid (or partially solid) back is important for the structural integrity of mose casework like cabinets and aquarium stands.

Pete

Lucy

Thanks Pete.
I recently had to switch a table out for that reason. It held the weight of a 10g ok, but when the cat jumped one the lid the table wiggled.
I was afraid one day I'd wake up to find my beloved Cami......::shudders to think::