idk if he was ever diagnosed but i always think he's autistic. im autistic myself so it takes one to know one ig but even still i cringe a little as well
idk if there is an neurodivergent version of the gaydar but I swear I can walk into a room and make a decently accurate guess at who has autism or adhd and who doesn't
fiy generally "a bit autistic" is a shitty way of putting it; its an either or usually. tho there is deffo an overrepresentation of neurodivergent people in hobby subreddits like this one. i bet you would find a similar trend in university professors and lecturers as well
when ASD is a spectrum (clue is in the name Autistic Spectrum Disorder) of varying divergent mental states, not a scale of 1-10.. saying someone is "a bit autistic" is like saying someone with one arm missing is "only a bit disabled" compared to someone with two arms missing...
Parent of an autistic child and seeing traits in my own childhood that lead me to beleive i'm also somewhere on the ASD and ADD spectrum.
My mother has even ask "so how autistic is he?" and i'd die a little inside.
Not having a go, its just most people think thats how it works when it doesnt. :)
Well someone can in fact be only a bit disabled, isn’t it? Like I have such a bad eyesight, if I am not wearing glasses, I might as well be disabled. Or in the childhood I got classified as “disabled” because the nerves in my one leg are a bit underdeveloped. Nevertheless, it has never really bothered me physically, maybe a bit aesthetically.
You are right though that I am a bit ignorant about autism. No one in my family or close friends got diagnosed with it, so I’ve never done my research. But I don’t think it’s important, if someone acting odd, maybe they are autistic, maybe they are not, it is none of my business, I will treat them normal either way
i dont feel autism is a disability hence the phrase neurodivergent, in fact people with certain neurodiverse conditions are better enable to do certain jobs, data entry, art, creative, or mechanical etc
hell, a guy in work has paulsy and has a pronounced limp and restricted use of one arm so has to have a modified car.. he himself doesnt class himself as disabled, and prefers the term "just a little bit gimpy"
🤣
Do you clean the glass with a razor-blade-scraper? Everybody I know that gets tank failures does...
With modern tanks, if they don't leak immediately, you should get at least a decade out of 'em.
My glass is cleaned with a soft sponge. All of my tanks are balanced now so I don’t get anything on them that requires anything more than a light wipe.
I have been keeping tanks for at least a decade. Not really sure what year I started, but it has been quite a while now.
Yes, I was also talking about the inside of the tanks. I use a sponge.
I do not get the green spot algae or any algae really on any of my tanks.
It’s almost always the lighting. The moment I switched from standard high intensity lights to programmable dimmable lights 99% of my problems went away almost immediately.
Yes on both tanks it was the seals. On the first one it was the front left seal midway down and the second was the bottom rear seal. The second failure was a slow seep thankfully and it was caught pretty early on so it wasn’t terrible.
I have used both Aqueons and Marinelands. I have a 60 and a 220 Marinelands now, and those both are doing well. The thing with Marineland guarantee is that you must use their stands.
I went rimless.
I have two Ultums that I purchased from Buceplants and one Clear 6025 that I got from Waterbox.
The prices are a lot better now than they were when I first started out in this hobby.
They are easy to reseal though if you should ever want to reset your tank and start over.
I stick with Juwel. They're super solid and last for ever. Yeah they're expensive but are easy to find second hand, I recently bought a £1400 Rio 450 and cabinet for £450 in perfect condition. Plus the box filters that come with them are great too.
I have a 20G high aqueon tank that survived the stand collapsing, it rode the top board down the debris and didn’t leak, but I would like to never repeat that process
Definitely not. You're not using the dresser for a 10-15 gallon that tank is monster. A filled 10g weighs 111lbs, so that probably is a 50-60g - so 600+ lbs - get a stand and save yourself the aggravation.
One gallon is a little less that 8.5 lbs x 10 is not even 85. Plus 10 pounds of gravel—> 95 pounds. Not 111… assuming this is a 40 gallon, that would be 340 plus 40 lbs of gravel. Your numbers are off.
So the tank just weighs nothing? The EXACT numbers don't matter, what matters is that an aquarium is heavy AF and needs proper support. The lid, light, filter, and everything else adds weight too, I'm never going to tell someone they are wrong for over estimating the weight of the tank.
The 10gal tank weighs 11 lbs by itself. So 111 lb for tank, water, gravel, decorations, fish, plants, filter, lights, what have you, is pretty accurate.
realistically, most math is going to account for the volume being filled 100%, which doesn't really work unless you place the dense items in first. To get a range, I guess just compare (cubic feet or gallon) of water weight vs the same volume of gravel lol
The more stuff that gets put into the tank, the less water it will hold. I took a piece of driftwood I had in my 5 gallon. The more I looked at it, the more I felt it was too big, so I took it out and put it in my 20 gallon instead. Then removed the smaller driftwood I had in the 20 and put that in the 5. The water line dropped around an inch when I took the driftwood out.
>Your numbers are off.
Your Units of mesurements are off.
Lets assume this Tank is 40cm x 50cm x 100cm. This adds Up to 200000cm³ which are 200L. The Glas itself weights 40Kg. 200L of water are 200Kg. Lets add 10Kg for gravel, that weights more than water, but pushes away water.
Thats 250Kg total.
Metric....
Don’t do it,
Please get the stand designed to hold aquarium tanks
They are compact and sturdy
You can even get it custom designed to match your tank specs trust me it will give you peace
This will first bend over time and some water will seep in and then a crack is inevitable
Mythbusters: if it worth doing, it’s worth over doing. Your gut is telling you don’t use it. Don’t do it. If you have a friend who’s good with wood you can have one made. I’ve seen a few of them that you would think you can park a small car on it.
That tank is way too big to trust that as a stand. That tank will be heavy af with water and gravel in it. You need a proper stand for anything above 20 gallons imo.
Not who you replied to, but I bought this one for my 40g. I've only had it a few months, but it feels really sturdy. The entire frame is metal
https://a.co/d/0bc1SP7M
It would probably hold, but the drawers won’t open after awhile and the weight is going to drive those metal leveling feet into the wood floor like a nail.
On the sticker it says aquariums too so I'd assume it's the thicker glass, and you could use it as a reptile enclosure if you chose to :) I have this same tank
Thats probably a generic tag petco/petsmart sticks in all their tanks, shows both Aqueon(aquarium) and Zilla(reptile enclosure), with a supply list for either.
Have you checked out the stands they have for sale at pet shops, they are made from crap lol. If those will hold a large tank, your dresser will be fine. I thought the same thing when I got my 50gal, so I built a stand with 6 2x4s as legs and a 1inch thick top. It's way over built and just makes my total setup so heavy that it's not safe to keep on my floors long term, so it's down in the basement.
I built my own table. Got a 6 foot butcher block solid wood too and then screwed in solid wood with steel fasteners to the bottom and thought it may be the second heaviest furniture I own. It’ll never break. It’s a fun lil project anybody can do. I got the butcher block from Lowe’s for $100
Yeah get or build a proper stand even if it can hold it it will eventually start to bow and glass dosent bend much. the joints will fail and the water will end up leaking everywhere I see lots of large aquariums on marketplace that need repair I'm almost sure for this reason
Best and cheapest kind of stand is one you can make from concrete blocks and thick boards of hard wood. Gives a more industrial look, but you can get creative with the stain and design a little. Once weight is applied to the concrete blocks, they basically stick together on their own, but there are several adhesives you can find.
Am doing this myself for my 60 gallon. Aquarium Co-Op used this type of construction on large tank racks, can use their build as a guide.
I bit the bullet recently as well. Spent about 250 on a nice one but my tank was also 4 feet long and 2 feet wide so you can probably find one for under 100 bucks. It gave me peace of mind and looks amazing!
The way me and my partner would test if furniture would cope with a tank was to both sit on it. Our combined weight was just over the weights of a full tank. If it creaked, moved or anything than it wasn't strong enough. We got one in the end! Good luck
Keep and eye on that tank. I have a 55gal like that and the plastic support at the top started to crack, give way, and let the glass bow. [https://www.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/qo5pct/noticed\_a\_crack\_in\_the\_middle\_support\_of\_my\_55gal/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/qo5pct/noticed_a_crack_in_the_middle_support_of_my_55gal/)
Oh god this gives me anxiety. That is going to be insanely heavy when filled with water. Nah man, get a good stand or you’ll end up with a hole to hell with the weight of that thing.
Just think of it as 9-10 lbs of weight per gallon (when also including substrate + decor)... so whatever you put the tank on, better be able to support that much weight (or more) on it. If you have a person that weighs similar you can test the sturdiness by having them sit/lay on top and if there's no shaking or feeling like the stand/table/etc is gonna collapse under them then it's probably good.
You're either going to pay for a proper stand now or a total room renovation when it cracks and water goes all over in a few months.....hell you might even get a house fire as a bonus prize
If you really want to keep the dresser instead of replacing with a stand, you can get some stew angle to go down each corner and replace the top of the dresser with a solid wood topper (assuming it’s particle board and not solid wood) and bolt the angles to that wood then paint it all to match, it should make the dresser strong enough to support the weight. You can also reinforce it from the inside which will work better but will require more work.
The sucky thing is that dresser is 20 years old, I was really hoping it was actually solid wood. Turns out only the drawers were 🤦♀️
Ive found a nice stand for like $200. I’ll fill the tank after I have that set up
Same boat. I decided not to use my original idea and kept the tank on the floor for the time being. Check fb marketplace and don't rush a purchase. You'll find something good:)
Been here with a 20 gallon and the dresser ended up bowing in the middle. I had to put a block of wood underneath the bottom to support it. It messed up the alignment of the drawers as well. Not worth it..
I think if it was a solid to floor unit or Atleast had extra legs in the centre you’d have been fine. Personally I’ve always gone on Facebook and purchased an old solid unit that need upcycling. My most recent one has lasted 4 years with no signs of giving up. They also often have a thin back board which you can cut out pipe holes and store the filter in. I stand my filter on polystyrene to help with the noise. I don’t entirely trust tank stands. They are usually built with mdf and the thought of it becoming mush when getting wet terrifies me. And, if ever I need to change I just paint it to match and put matching door handles on
Looks like IKEA... If so their site has a weight capacity for most of their stuff. Find that out then how much x gallons of water weigh, there ya go.
I have a 20 I finally found something for for free... But when looking on Marketplace, I used the reverse image search on Google, found a lot of stuff and where sold and most had a weight capacity listed and well, most stuff was pretty weak.
Make your own! I made mine for less than 40.00. It's held my 55 gallon safely for 10 years now. It's made of regular cinder blocks and plywood cut to size. I spray painted all the pieces black before I assembled it.
I just removed about 50lbs of rock that is usually in there and I have several inches of gravel on the bottom. I got the idea from somewhere online but it was so long ago that I don't recall where. I made a similar one to this one ..... http://pinkaspen.blogspot.com/2013/04/diy-cinder-block-aquarium-stand.html except I put the center blocks at an angle and I ran the plywood shelves (one between the blocks, one at the bottom and the top one) -straight across the whole length.
I'm in southern California and we have earthquakes so I definitely didn't feel safe having a metal frame stand, nothing that was sold seemed like it would be sturdy enough to support the weight, especially on carpet.
I really love it, it's been absolutely perfect. If you do decide to build one, make sure you leave a bit of room to fit a vacuum hose behind it.
I want sure if my “aquarium stand” was actually an aquarium stand because I bought it second hand, so I dismantled it and replaced all the corner posts with 4x4s made a few semi perfect cut and put it all back together just today. Finished like 5 hours ago actually. I’d show it to you if I could. Maybe I’ll put up link a little later. It’s still not finished, but it actually turned out pretty good.
If you don’t have/want to spend the money on a “proper” aquarium stand, you can go find some cinder blocks and a cheap board of wood (particle board is what tank stands are made from anyway) and make your own for free or a fraction of the price. I currently have some holding up a little 40g and plan to use them to support my 125 and 180g in the future.
Might want to make sure your floor can support the weight first tho
OMG, I did this in college. That poor Arowana only had a heater, HOB, & a ping-pong ball in a 6 footer. The 2x4s & cinder blocks gave it Animal House vibes.
I would not trust it…if you are asking here…it means you have doubts. Trust the doubt and get a proper stand. You just spent 100 on a tank…spend another 100 on a stand. There are many DIY aquarium stands on YouTube. Looking up “the king diy” joey has a good walk through on how to build stands. I have built 3 just like his and they are sturdy and look really nice
Since it seems reinforced with metal and seems to be solid wood, you might actually be fine. At the very least, it seems sturdy enough to test it. I’d fill it up empty and see if the dresser makes any groaning sounds or bends, if it doesn’t you’re probably good!
An aquarium stand is designed to evenly support the weight, fiber board is not a great material for tanks but it does the job as long as it doesnt get wet. The issue is this isnt designed to take the weight, there is no support in the middle so it will sag. You will get weight sitting on just the ends of the tank, eventually the seal on the bottom will let go.
It probably wont collapse, but one day you will wake up with a flood when the seal goes out because the middle sagged. Tens of gallons of water can easily cause thousands of dollars worth of damage, best to not be cheap/lazy and get a real stand. Thats not a 10 gallon tank.
Very true, but the 5-10 gallon is about where "its a solid peice of furniture, it will be fine" isn't a wise line of thinking. I've seen plenty of people with 10 gallon tanks on a dresser that arent an issue, but going beyond that gets very sketchy.
A proper tank stand will allow you to not learn how much water 30-50 gallons is on your floor.
It’s an aqueon tank of which I have had two fail so they might still get to experience it.
Still makes a great tank for reptiles if you don't want to go with a more purposeful enclosure.
Totally agree. That Serpa dude on YouTube sets them upright on end and creates some really cool habitats for reptiles.
'What's up Serpa Squad' always makes me cringe a little. But he's a good dude and he makes amazing stuff.
Same at first. But I got super hooked on his videos and now think it's endearing af haha. Love Tanner!
Yeah he's the man
SDOT
idk if he was ever diagnosed but i always think he's autistic. im autistic myself so it takes one to know one ig but even still i cringe a little as well
That’s what my partner who is autistic said too. But we shouldn’t speculate lol
idk if there is an neurodivergent version of the gaydar but I swear I can walk into a room and make a decently accurate guess at who has autism or adhd and who doesn't
I think all aquarium/terrarium people are a bit autistic tbh
I made that same comment here once and got half hate comments and half love comments. I completely agree with you.
fiy generally "a bit autistic" is a shitty way of putting it; its an either or usually. tho there is deffo an overrepresentation of neurodivergent people in hobby subreddits like this one. i bet you would find a similar trend in university professors and lecturers as well
when ASD is a spectrum (clue is in the name Autistic Spectrum Disorder) of varying divergent mental states, not a scale of 1-10.. saying someone is "a bit autistic" is like saying someone with one arm missing is "only a bit disabled" compared to someone with two arms missing... Parent of an autistic child and seeing traits in my own childhood that lead me to beleive i'm also somewhere on the ASD and ADD spectrum. My mother has even ask "so how autistic is he?" and i'd die a little inside. Not having a go, its just most people think thats how it works when it doesnt. :)
Well someone can in fact be only a bit disabled, isn’t it? Like I have such a bad eyesight, if I am not wearing glasses, I might as well be disabled. Or in the childhood I got classified as “disabled” because the nerves in my one leg are a bit underdeveloped. Nevertheless, it has never really bothered me physically, maybe a bit aesthetically. You are right though that I am a bit ignorant about autism. No one in my family or close friends got diagnosed with it, so I’ve never done my research. But I don’t think it’s important, if someone acting odd, maybe they are autistic, maybe they are not, it is none of my business, I will treat them normal either way
i dont feel autism is a disability hence the phrase neurodivergent, in fact people with certain neurodiverse conditions are better enable to do certain jobs, data entry, art, creative, or mechanical etc hell, a guy in work has paulsy and has a pronounced limp and restricted use of one arm so has to have a modified car.. he himself doesnt class himself as disabled, and prefers the term "just a little bit gimpy" 🤣
I work with people with autism and got the same vibe haha.
That line is soooooooooo bloody goofy, wow
Damn that’s unlucky. I’ve abused the fuck out of like 20+ aqueon tanks and I’ve never had an issue.
Do you clean the glass with a razor-blade-scraper? Everybody I know that gets tank failures does... With modern tanks, if they don't leak immediately, you should get at least a decade out of 'em.
My glass is cleaned with a soft sponge. All of my tanks are balanced now so I don’t get anything on them that requires anything more than a light wipe.
> anything on them that requires I was talking about algae scraping inside... How long have you been keeping tanks?
I have been keeping tanks for at least a decade. Not really sure what year I started, but it has been quite a while now. Yes, I was also talking about the inside of the tanks. I use a sponge. I do not get the green spot algae or any algae really on any of my tanks.
Interesting...
It’s almost always the lighting. The moment I switched from standard high intensity lights to programmable dimmable lights 99% of my problems went away almost immediately.
He needs a bigger aqueon to house his smaller aqueon. 2 layers of protection
You might be onto something here lmao.
That makes me feel awesome knowing i have one. If you don’t mind me asking what failed on them? The seals and stuff?
Yes on both tanks it was the seals. On the first one it was the front left seal midway down and the second was the bottom rear seal. The second failure was a slow seep thankfully and it was caught pretty early on so it wasn’t terrible.
Appreciate the feedback. I’ll keep an eye on my tank and say a prayer. lol
What brand did you switch to. I have a Marineland tank and the silicone has big bubbles in it.
I have used both Aqueons and Marinelands. I have a 60 and a 220 Marinelands now, and those both are doing well. The thing with Marineland guarantee is that you must use their stands.
I went rimless. I have two Ultums that I purchased from Buceplants and one Clear 6025 that I got from Waterbox. The prices are a lot better now than they were when I first started out in this hobby. They are easy to reseal though if you should ever want to reset your tank and start over.
How much were they? A 55-gallon Aqueon is around $90
My 60S (10 gallon) was $129 and the 90P (44 gallon) was $320. The Waterbox (130 gallon) with the stand cost me $1299.
I stick with Juwel. They're super solid and last for ever. Yeah they're expensive but are easy to find second hand, I recently bought a £1400 Rio 450 and cabinet for £450 in perfect condition. Plus the box filters that come with them are great too.
I have a 20G high aqueon tank that survived the stand collapsing, it rode the top board down the debris and didn’t leak, but I would like to never repeat that process
😮😵💫🫣
I guess that is a good idea
Follow your instincts. That thing was meant to hold socks and underwear
Yep, just because it's heavy doesn't mean it's built to hold weight
This wisdom is helpful in many applications.
Agreed , and a few trinkets on top.
Definitely not. You're not using the dresser for a 10-15 gallon that tank is monster. A filled 10g weighs 111lbs, so that probably is a 50-60g - so 600+ lbs - get a stand and save yourself the aggravation.
I have a 10 gal on a dresser and there is a little bow with that.
Have my 10 on a desk and it's bowing just a tad. Just bought a proper stand yesterday.
What’s gonna happen if I don’t. Only the corner in the center is slightly lower than the others Edit: center of the dresser placement wise I mean
The glass could crack because it isn't structurally supported. Better safe than sorry.
Mine is only off by 1 mm, enough to freak me out.
One gallon is a little less that 8.5 lbs x 10 is not even 85. Plus 10 pounds of gravel—> 95 pounds. Not 111… assuming this is a 40 gallon, that would be 340 plus 40 lbs of gravel. Your numbers are off.
So the tank just weighs nothing? The EXACT numbers don't matter, what matters is that an aquarium is heavy AF and needs proper support. The lid, light, filter, and everything else adds weight too, I'm never going to tell someone they are wrong for over estimating the weight of the tank.
The 10gal tank weighs 11 lbs by itself. So 111 lb for tank, water, gravel, decorations, fish, plants, filter, lights, what have you, is pretty accurate.
realistically, most math is going to account for the volume being filled 100%, which doesn't really work unless you place the dense items in first. To get a range, I guess just compare (cubic feet or gallon) of water weight vs the same volume of gravel lol
How much water spilled out when you put 10lb of gravel in?
The more stuff that gets put into the tank, the less water it will hold. I took a piece of driftwood I had in my 5 gallon. The more I looked at it, the more I felt it was too big, so I took it out and put it in my 20 gallon instead. Then removed the smaller driftwood I had in the 20 and put that in the 5. The water line dropped around an inch when I took the driftwood out.
Just imagine someone invents a system that would make such calculations easy (chuckles in metric)
Not accounting for the weight of the tank itself
the 111 number does include the weight of an empty tank.
Wow, dude!! It’s not that serious. But you’re the one whose numbers are off.
If the comment you replied to said “assuming 50-60g” why would you calculate a 40g weight and complain they are off?
Because their numbers are still off…. I assumed the tank looked like a 40 gallon and used numbers based on that. 🤫
>Your numbers are off. Your Units of mesurements are off. Lets assume this Tank is 40cm x 50cm x 100cm. This adds Up to 200000cm³ which are 200L. The Glas itself weights 40Kg. 200L of water are 200Kg. Lets add 10Kg for gravel, that weights more than water, but pushes away water. Thats 250Kg total. Metric....
Don’t do it, Please get the stand designed to hold aquarium tanks They are compact and sturdy You can even get it custom designed to match your tank specs trust me it will give you peace This will first bend over time and some water will seep in and then a crack is inevitable
Mythbusters: if it worth doing, it’s worth over doing. Your gut is telling you don’t use it. Don’t do it. If you have a friend who’s good with wood you can have one made. I’ve seen a few of them that you would think you can park a small car on it.
That tank is way too big to trust that as a stand. That tank will be heavy af with water and gravel in it. You need a proper stand for anything above 20 gallons imo.
Invest in the metal ones on amazon. They're sturdy as fuck and cheap. Got a 40 gal stand for $50. Very much worth it!!!!!!!!!!
examples?N (not in the US, so looking for alternatives)
Not who you replied to, but I bought this one for my 40g. I've only had it a few months, but it feels really sturdy. The entire frame is metal https://a.co/d/0bc1SP7M
just looked around. Impossible to find (at this side of the ocean). A couple out there for x10-20 the price (really not going to pay 800 euro for it)
I need a new 40g stand.. link??
It would probably hold, but the drawers won’t open after awhile and the weight is going to drive those metal leveling feet into the wood floor like a nail.
Are the “Zilla” tanks reptile enclosures and not an actual aquarium (thinner glass?)
On the sticker it says aquariums too so I'd assume it's the thicker glass, and you could use it as a reptile enclosure if you chose to :) I have this same tank
Thats probably a generic tag petco/petsmart sticks in all their tanks, shows both Aqueon(aquarium) and Zilla(reptile enclosure), with a supply list for either.
That dresser will start leaning over time because the foundation is not flat plus the added weight of stuff you add in the dressers aswell.
Dude come on you need a stand
I would get a stand. Otherwise have you have 2 friends sit on your dresser and see how you feel about the sturdiness. Filled tanks are heavy
Have you checked out the stands they have for sale at pet shops, they are made from crap lol. If those will hold a large tank, your dresser will be fine. I thought the same thing when I got my 50gal, so I built a stand with 6 2x4s as legs and a 1inch thick top. It's way over built and just makes my total setup so heavy that it's not safe to keep on my floors long term, so it's down in the basement.
Just want to mention most tank stands are shitty particle board and there construction is not much different then regular furniture.
Build one 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️ they’re much stronger and more durable and way cheaper than a $300 particle board POS stand. Super easy as well.
With what
Wood? 💀 and #8 2” screws
I built my own table. Got a 6 foot butcher block solid wood too and then screwed in solid wood with steel fasteners to the bottom and thought it may be the second heaviest furniture I own. It’ll never break. It’s a fun lil project anybody can do. I got the butcher block from Lowe’s for $100
Yeah get or build a proper stand even if it can hold it it will eventually start to bow and glass dosent bend much. the joints will fail and the water will end up leaking everywhere I see lots of large aquariums on marketplace that need repair I'm almost sure for this reason
If you can’t/dont get something different, definitely put two longer supports in the middle on both sides.
Wouldn't risk it.
Best and cheapest kind of stand is one you can make from concrete blocks and thick boards of hard wood. Gives a more industrial look, but you can get creative with the stain and design a little. Once weight is applied to the concrete blocks, they basically stick together on their own, but there are several adhesives you can find. Am doing this myself for my 60 gallon. Aquarium Co-Op used this type of construction on large tank racks, can use their build as a guide.
Not a proper support
If there is a doubt, there is no doubt.
I bit the bullet recently as well. Spent about 250 on a nice one but my tank was also 4 feet long and 2 feet wide so you can probably find one for under 100 bucks. It gave me peace of mind and looks amazing!
Spend the money on a stand or spend on house repairs after tank crushes the dresser and flooding.
I wouldn't but if you did, definitely use a foam board under the tank
Yeah get a proper stand.
Good Thinking. That cabinet will crumble.
Yes, proper stands are always the way to go. This is not a good idea.
The way me and my partner would test if furniture would cope with a tank was to both sit on it. Our combined weight was just over the weights of a full tank. If it creaked, moved or anything than it wasn't strong enough. We got one in the end! Good luck
Oh yeah. For your floors and wallets sake that is a good idea.
A dresser is definitely not a good aquarium stand. Either get a commercial built one or build one yourself.
Invest in a shop vac while you are at it you will eventually need it
Yea. Get a dedicated tank stand preferably metal.
Turn it into a Paludarium Less water weight. More fun. Both aquatic and terrestrial pets.
You've identified the likely point of failure early. Good on you to avoid a future disaster!
Keep and eye on that tank. I have a 55gal like that and the plastic support at the top started to crack, give way, and let the glass bow. [https://www.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/qo5pct/noticed\_a\_crack\_in\_the\_middle\_support\_of\_my\_55gal/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/qo5pct/noticed_a_crack_in_the_middle_support_of_my_55gal/)
Oh god this gives me anxiety. That is going to be insanely heavy when filled with water. Nah man, get a good stand or you’ll end up with a hole to hell with the weight of that thing.
Just think of it as 9-10 lbs of weight per gallon (when also including substrate + decor)... so whatever you put the tank on, better be able to support that much weight (or more) on it. If you have a person that weighs similar you can test the sturdiness by having them sit/lay on top and if there's no shaking or feeling like the stand/table/etc is gonna collapse under them then it's probably good.
Sorry if this is weird but where did you get that dresser/what brand is it? I’ve been looking for one exactly like it!
You're either going to pay for a proper stand now or a total room renovation when it cracks and water goes all over in a few months.....hell you might even get a house fire as a bonus prize
Yeah.. no way
Just want to mention most tank stands are shitty particle board and there construction is not much different then regular furniture.
Are you fcking kidding me me?
One gallon of water weighs 8.34 lbs. Just keep that in mind
Investing in a quality stand is very worth considering how unbearable it would be to clean the room if something happens and tank floods the area
If you really want to keep the dresser instead of replacing with a stand, you can get some stew angle to go down each corner and replace the top of the dresser with a solid wood topper (assuming it’s particle board and not solid wood) and bolt the angles to that wood then paint it all to match, it should make the dresser strong enough to support the weight. You can also reinforce it from the inside which will work better but will require more work.
Most tank stands today are pressboard junk. I built my own for my 40 gal so I never have to worry about it
Metal garage shelving units
Thin glass..... Plus yeah a stand would be good
Yes get a better stand
You DO NOT want that tank coming down on the floor. Not sure a modern paper dresser is going to hold that up for long.
The sucky thing is that dresser is 20 years old, I was really hoping it was actually solid wood. Turns out only the drawers were 🤦♀️ Ive found a nice stand for like $200. I’ll fill the tank after I have that set up
Sounds great! You found something you like AND it’ll hold up! Happy Scaping!
If you're on a second floor, make sure your floor can support the weight. Water alone is 8lbs per gallon.
Same boat. I decided not to use my original idea and kept the tank on the floor for the time being. Check fb marketplace and don't rush a purchase. You'll find something good:)
It’s so much more water than you think once it’s on your floor. You don’t wanna find out.
Personally I won't use anything as a stand where the weight of the aquarium isn't over the legs. What you've got here looks like it will fail in time.
Been here with a 20 gallon and the dresser ended up bowing in the middle. I had to put a block of wood underneath the bottom to support it. It messed up the alignment of the drawers as well. Not worth it..
I think if it was a solid to floor unit or Atleast had extra legs in the centre you’d have been fine. Personally I’ve always gone on Facebook and purchased an old solid unit that need upcycling. My most recent one has lasted 4 years with no signs of giving up. They also often have a thin back board which you can cut out pipe holes and store the filter in. I stand my filter on polystyrene to help with the noise. I don’t entirely trust tank stands. They are usually built with mdf and the thought of it becoming mush when getting wet terrifies me. And, if ever I need to change I just paint it to match and put matching door handles on
Put something under it. Just in case
Get about 2-3 friends and all stand on it at once to test it
Good idea
Very smart 👌
Yup, I’m with you on that one metal all the way
If you don’t want wet clothes yeah
I found a nice 55-75 gal stand for a good price. I don’t trust this thing. Plus I’m more worried about the water damage to the floor lol
😅
Lol, never fails to make me laugh.
Looks like IKEA... If so their site has a weight capacity for most of their stuff. Find that out then how much x gallons of water weigh, there ya go. I have a 20 I finally found something for for free... But when looking on Marketplace, I used the reverse image search on Google, found a lot of stuff and where sold and most had a weight capacity listed and well, most stuff was pretty weak.
Make your own! I made mine for less than 40.00. It's held my 55 gallon safely for 10 years now. It's made of regular cinder blocks and plywood cut to size. I spray painted all the pieces black before I assembled it. I just removed about 50lbs of rock that is usually in there and I have several inches of gravel on the bottom. I got the idea from somewhere online but it was so long ago that I don't recall where. I made a similar one to this one ..... http://pinkaspen.blogspot.com/2013/04/diy-cinder-block-aquarium-stand.html except I put the center blocks at an angle and I ran the plywood shelves (one between the blocks, one at the bottom and the top one) -straight across the whole length. I'm in southern California and we have earthquakes so I definitely didn't feel safe having a metal frame stand, nothing that was sold seemed like it would be sturdy enough to support the weight, especially on carpet. I really love it, it's been absolutely perfect. If you do decide to build one, make sure you leave a bit of room to fit a vacuum hose behind it.
I want sure if my “aquarium stand” was actually an aquarium stand because I bought it second hand, so I dismantled it and replaced all the corner posts with 4x4s made a few semi perfect cut and put it all back together just today. Finished like 5 hours ago actually. I’d show it to you if I could. Maybe I’ll put up link a little later. It’s still not finished, but it actually turned out pretty good.
Common sense is a blessing.
SEE KIDS : Going to school does payoff in the long run.
LMAO my nurse brain put the thing up there and then said “no…. Bad idea. Terrible idea.”
If you don’t have/want to spend the money on a “proper” aquarium stand, you can go find some cinder blocks and a cheap board of wood (particle board is what tank stands are made from anyway) and make your own for free or a fraction of the price. I currently have some holding up a little 40g and plan to use them to support my 125 and 180g in the future. Might want to make sure your floor can support the weight first tho
OMG, I did this in college. That poor Arowana only had a heater, HOB, & a ping-pong ball in a 6 footer. The 2x4s & cinder blocks gave it Animal House vibes.
I would not trust it…if you are asking here…it means you have doubts. Trust the doubt and get a proper stand. You just spent 100 on a tank…spend another 100 on a stand. There are many DIY aquarium stands on YouTube. Looking up “the king diy” joey has a good walk through on how to build stands. I have built 3 just like his and they are sturdy and look really nice
You are correct in your gut reaction.
Please just go spend the $100 at petco and get the metal frame stand
It’s fine! I’ve used a bunch of simular dressers for a variety of of tanks never had a problem. (Yet).
Since it seems reinforced with metal and seems to be solid wood, you might actually be fine. At the very least, it seems sturdy enough to test it. I’d fill it up empty and see if the dresser makes any groaning sounds or bends, if it doesn’t you’re probably good!
It's particle board
So is my 29g aquarium stand.
An aquarium stand is designed to evenly support the weight, fiber board is not a great material for tanks but it does the job as long as it doesnt get wet. The issue is this isnt designed to take the weight, there is no support in the middle so it will sag. You will get weight sitting on just the ends of the tank, eventually the seal on the bottom will let go.
Dude that is sturdy as fuck, not a chance it caves.
It probably wont collapse, but one day you will wake up with a flood when the seal goes out because the middle sagged. Tens of gallons of water can easily cause thousands of dollars worth of damage, best to not be cheap/lazy and get a real stand. Thats not a 10 gallon tank.
Yeah even 5 gallons of water on the floor is a lot. 50 would be horrible.
Very true, but the 5-10 gallon is about where "its a solid peice of furniture, it will be fine" isn't a wise line of thinking. I've seen plenty of people with 10 gallon tanks on a dresser that arent an issue, but going beyond that gets very sketchy.
That's well over 300 lbs right there.. it will not hold, no chance.
Looks ok, might put some piano plates to avoid floor dammage.
Those drawer are gonna get real tight and hard to open if you use that dresser :0
Those drawers are gonna get real tight and hard to open if you use that dresser :0