Why are aquarium stands so hard to find?

I've been trying to set up a reef tank for about two months now, but am having no luck with stands.

I had a 36 gallon bowfront stand in storage in its box for about three years. I just put it together, and I found out the weight limit is 444 lbs. Knowing the tank filled with water is 340 lbs, that makes me nervous considering rock and sand.

So now, I'm searching for another stand, even if I have to shift aquarium sizes. I found a nice 20 gallon long tank, but can't find a stand for it (I want something that will hide cords, so metal stands are tough).

I'd build my own, but I live in the city, and don't have a car, so buying lumber, etc. is a bit tough.

Any ideas?

 

Most small lumber stores will deliver any amount of lumber to your home. Though there is usually a delivery fee, call around and find out!

edit: your local lumber store can also deliver other building materials besides lumber, but concrete items often come with additional (small) fee since they take more time to load up without breaking them and stores don't make any money on them.

 

Cinderblock stands are great. Just get 8 of them and a couple pieces of 3/4" plywood place one cinder on each side add a piece of plywood for a shelf then stack the rest of the 6 cinders 3 on each side and add the last piece of plywood. Done!... costs about $25 and if you wanna hide everything just drape a piece of fabric on the front n sides.

 

I've been trying to set up a reef tank for about two months now, but am having no luck with stands.

I had a 36 gallon bowfront stand in storage in its box for about three years. I just put it together, and I found out the weight limit is 444 lbs. Knowing the tank filled with water is 340 lbs, that makes me nervous considering rock and sand.

So now, I'm searching for another stand, even if I have to shift aquarium sizes. I found a nice 20 gallon long tank, but can't find a stand for it (I want something that will hide cords, so metal stands are tough).

I'd build my own, but I live in the city, and don't have a car, so buying lumber, etc. is a bit tough.

Any ideas?

Try online stores like Wayfair. I actually purchased a 55 gallon stand from them to put two 10 gallon tanks on. It's a pretty solid piece. I quickly found this one. I'm sure they have more options.

Ester 20 Gallon Aquarium Stand


Edit: that particular one is for a 20 high.

 

You could order a Marineland stand. They are made for tanks I believe up to 300 gallons. Maybe more. You can order them online from petco, Amazon etc. Would probably make it easier since you don't have a car. They're made of real wood too. I have one on my 25g cube. Really solid.

 

Cinderblock stands are great. Just get 8 of them and a couple pieces of 3/4" plywood place one cinder on each side add a piece of plywood for a shelf then stack the rest of the 6 cinders 3 on each side and add the last piece of plywood. Done!... costs about $25 and if you wanna hide everything just drape a piece of fabric on the front n sides.

Good idea. I'd think for a reef tank tho cinder blocks would look kinda blah.

 

Sorry tuggerlake26 I cant see the problem you think you have?
Every rock you put in will be less water .
Every cup of sand will be a cup less water.
Does dry sand weight more than water? Not it’s about the same.
A rock weighs more than water but given you are displacing water with each rock the difference is not so great, perhaps 50% at most.

Are you really intending to add MORE THAN 156 lbs of rock?

At the most you could add a sheet of plywood under the tank?
Ask yourself do you really think a manufacturer would make an aquarium stand that can not work as an aquarium stand?
Anything plastic in the tank weighs less than water.

Further ,
have you actually measured the volume of water on the inside dimensions allowing for the height of water. I will put money on you not being able to fit 36 gallons/ 136.27 litres of water or 136.27 kilo into the tank even if you fill to the very top.
Perhaps working in the metric system would make your calculations a lot easier as you can measure to the millimetre?

 

I second the cinderblock stand idea. I use them - they're cheap and effective.

I'd recommend either getting some magnets or some velcro to hold a panel of plywood in front of the stand - you won't get the storage underneath, but you can make it look like a normal aquarium stand and get the satisfaction of knowing that the stand is literally rock solid.

A lot of commercial stands don't leave much in the way of wiggle room - you'd probably be fine to use the stand you have, but I've always been a bit wary of them. Water is a live weight, too, so 300 lbs of water can put more than just 300 lbs of force/flex on a stand. Again, it'd most likely be fine - but still. 30 gallons of saltwater on the floor is a big issue.

 

I second the cinderblock stand idea. I use them - they're cheap and effective.

I'd recommend either getting some magnets or some velcro to hold a panel of plywood in front of the stand - you won't get the storage underneath, but you can make it look like a normal aquarium stand and get the satisfaction of knowing that the stand is literally rock solid.

A lot of commercial stands don't leave much in the way of wiggle room - you'd probably be fine to use the stand you have, but I've always been a bit wary of them. Water is a live weight, too, so 300 lbs of water can put more than just 300 lbs of force/flex on a stand. Again, it'd most likely be fine - but still. 30 gallons of saltwater on the floor is a big issue.

That's actually a great idea- I hadn't thought of ways to cover the cinder blocks.

I've had a commercial stand fail me in the past from moisture coming off a filter, so I'd rather be extra cautious by making something sturdy than gamble on any other issues. My other stands I had were built in solid wood by a guy who owned my LFS, but they moved and I haven't found a replacement. Cinder blocks it is!

 

And with cinderblocks a little paint job actually makes em look decent. I have my 29-20-10 all on cinderblocks. And I found a 20 tall on the sidewalk that I set up as an outside tank with soil capped with PFS.

 

Extruded aluminum:

Aquarium Stands

MISUMI: Industrial Configurable Components Supply

Light, not ruined by the first contact with water, disassemble with a few hand tools, and customizable.

 

Extruded aluminum:

Aquarium Stands

MISUMI: Industrial Configurable Components Supply

Light, not ruined by the first contact with water, disassemble with a few hand tools, and customizable.

Great looking designs but the price is

 

Great looking designs but the price is

Frametech is the expensive option because they design it for you.

Misumi is one of the cheaper suppliers of aluminum extrusion but you have to design it yourself. A few hours of work but probably several times cheaper.

 

Can you draw up some plans and use social media to find someone local to build you what you want ?

A single sheet of 1/2" birch plywood and some trim is all the builder would need for a 36g bowfront tank.

Hardest part would be to decide if you want it painted or stained. .

 

You could always reinforce the original stand with more wood or...drumroll....extruded aluminum.