Tank Stand Hack

Hey all. I wanted to share this, because it may help some people with finding a tank stand on the cheap.

My wife and I have found that old record player cabinets are about the best thing around for a large aquarium. Most of them were made in a time when solid wood products were the norm.

Here's the one I recently upcycled. It's solid 1 inch oak and is sturdy as can be (also weighs a few metric tons ). We picked it up at a thrift shop for $35 and I removed what was left of the electronics. I tested its strength with about 1000 lb of floor tiles and found it to be extremely strong.

We sanded, primed, and painted it, and my wife made the fabric inserts for the outer cabinets. It has two opening doors on the ends which house the electrical power, and my canister filter. It also has a large opening center section big enough for all of my tank maintenance equipment.

Before:



After:

 

That's brilliant! I always wondered if they would work for this purpose, I see them up for grabs here on a regular basis.

 

That's a cool stand!!

 

Great tip. They don't make furniture like they use to. Before I built the stand for my 75 gallon it was on an antique buffet table built in the 1920's.

 

Aquaphobia I hadn't considered them much until I saw one with about 500 records inside it. That all of a sudden made me think "wow, those records must be heavy... I bet that thing is strong!"

Trailblazin02 thanks! Best stand I've owned this far and I have less than $100 into it.

Dave75g I couldn't agree more. Old stuff is soooooo much better than the stuff of today.

 

I can't imagine any of my kids inheriting an Ikea TV stand. My fish tank stand however, I can see my great grand son getting that some day.

 

That's great!

 

Turned out beautifully!!
I'm currently exploring stand options for a 29/30Gal and I hate everything I see.
Which sucks, bc ya kinda need to have that squared away before you can do much else!

 

A cool idea that turned out great.
I like