Aquarium Stand For 10 Gallon Tank On Saggy Furniture

We have a 10 gallon glass tank I would like to put on top of a piece of furniture.

The furniture is an older buffet cabinet we used asa media stand. It didn't have a center support running from top to bottom. Because of this the top is bowed down slightly in the middle (it's smiling at you) as there was an old CRT television on it forever.

I've added a center support to prevent further sag, but want to know if this can still support a 10 gallon aquarium. I know it will hold the overall weight ... I mean will the fact that there is not support all along the frame of the aquarium be an issue? The sag is not insanely brutal but I suspect you would be able to slide a key under and aquarium in the middle of the front pane.

I feel like it would be OK because the tank I have has a frame around the bottom ... and I noticed this stand at Petco today. Not that they are the shining example of how all things should be done.

So what do you guys think?

Do I need to build a subframe to go between the tank and cabinet, or would this be OK?

 

A tank should sit flat all the way around on a stand. Now a slight imperfection can be overcome with something like a yoga mat or foam to help even things out. You could try wedging a brace in to push up the sag. Or the tank could be shimed with door shims. They are wood wedges and you just cut them off so they don't stick out past the tank.

 

A tank should sit flat all the way around on a stand. Now a slight imperfection can be overcome with something like a yoga mat or foam to help even things out. You could try wedging a brace in to push up the sag. Or the tank could be shimed with door shims. They are wood wedges and you just cut them off so they don't stick out past the tank.

How do they get away with that stand I posted the picture of? There is a gap in the center where you can see daylight. Is that doomed to explode?

 

I wouldn't put water in it.

 

I also noticed something when I checked out a Marineland 75 gallon tank and stand at petsmart.

The stand supports both side panes completely and then has a brace that supports the front and back panes in the middle ... but only about 3 inches of the middle. So nowhere near fully supporting the entire bottom around the edges.

It’s this setup I was looking at:


If a tank needs fully equal support, are all those 75 gallon setups a time bomb?

On the yoga mat... I don’t get how that would equalize the support. Where the tank hits first isn’t going to displace the mat to make it taller and actually increase the support in the gap. I can see how it would fill the gap aesthetically though. I guess it would take some of the weight... but it would still be uneven. Maybe that’s enough?

I absolutely agree that more support is better. But I also wonder what is actually necessary?!

 

Even my oceanic stand for my 75 only has the end panels and a center support in the front and back. The top of it is a T design which is very sturdy structurally .

 

Here is the Marineland one I saw at Petsmart:


If you look at the full you can see the tank sits inside and is supported by 3 flat pieces. So a few long sections of the edges are not supported.

If that were mine I’d try to reinforce it.
But that’s for a 75 gallon.

I found a picture that says it is an oceanic..... is yours like this:


I think that would offer a lot more support than the marineland.

 

@ 2:08 He starts saying that the center doesn't really need support on a glass tank shorter than 4 ft.
He also says level is not as important as making sure the 4 corners all touch to remove stress from those seams.

I know, I know.
It's the internet....but so is this!

I'm still considering building a base for the tank with some 2x4s.
Not a stand so much as just a flat base it can sit on. Then that would contadce the cabinet on the edges but at least the tank would be transferring load to the 2x4s all around.

I will update this thread as I decide what to do and with the results.
I can't be the only person with a saggy piece of furniture!

 

I did this with my 10 gallon for a stand I took 4 cinderblocks and cut 2 pieces of plywood and leveled it... it’s like a pedestal stand and painted the cinders and plywood .. also built the stand for my 55 and 8.8 and used cinders for my 20 long... building your own stand will be so much stronger than anything you buy for the most part

 

I've decided to beef up the furniture in the middle by adding a bottom support AND build a sub-frame for the tank to sit on.
So even if the furniture bows more the tank will still be 100% supported.

You can see the progress of the build over here:
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/10-gallon-betta-low-tech-bar-top-tank.409064/