Questions about used stand we purchased from LFS

MamaLovesHerReefTank · Oct 4, 2017

My husband and I will be upsizing from a 125g tank to a 180g in the next year or so. We are not in any hurry to do so but when we went to our lfs on the weekend, he was selling a used stand with canopy for $200.00. It needs some new hardware, sanding and new paint. Being that I love to sand and refinish wood tables etc, this seemed like a great project. SOLD. The sanding is almost finished and I can't wait to either refinish or paint the stand.
Just a few questions. The way the stand is, only the ends of the tank will sit flush on the wood. There is only one center cross brace. Should I add more braces across the top to add more stability? Should I add more support to the stand? Our lfs has used this stand for years without any issues. I'd like to trust it but when looking at it I wonder how it could possibly hold the weight. Pictures are below.

MamaLovesHerReefTank · Oct 4, 2017

I will be painting the inside of the stand with killz. Would 2 coats be enough? Should I caulk the seams in the bottom inside the stand?

Brew12 · Oct 4, 2017

MamaLovesHerReefTank said:
My husband and I will be upsizing from a 125g tank to a 180g in the next year or so. We are not in any hurry to do so but when we went to our lfs on the weekend, he was selling a used stand with canopy for $200.00. It needs some new hardware, sanding and new paint. Being that I love to sand and refinish wood tables etc, this seemed like a great project. SOLD. The sanding is almost finished and I can't wait to either refinish or paint the stand.
Just a few questions. The way the stand is, only the ends of the tank will sit flush on the wood. There is only one center cross brace. Should I add more braces across the top to add more stability? Should I add more support to the stand? Our lfs has used this stand for years without any issues. I'd like to trust it but when looking at it I wonder how it could possibly hold the weight. Pictures are below.

It depends on what type of tank you are putting on the stand. Most stands people build can support much more than needed.

One thing I would do if that stand were mine would be to take a sheet of 1/2" or 3/4" plywood and put it across the top.

MamaLovesHerReefTank · Oct 4, 2017

Brew12 said:
It depends on what type of tank you are putting on the stand. Most stands people build can support much more than needed.

One thing I would do if that stand were mine would be to take a sheet of 1/2" or 3/4" plywood and put it across the top.

Across the top or fit it inside?

bif24701 · Oct 4, 2017

MamaLovesHerReefTank said:
Across the top or fit it inside?

Top.

And yes it will support the weight.

bblumberg · Oct 4, 2017

+1 on the added plywood and considering the type of tank. You are probably going to need to either cut pieces for either side of the horizontal center support, or remove that and replace with a single sheet of plywood.

I am no structural engineer, but that stand looks pretty borderline to me, even with a sheet of plywood across the top. It may work (particularly since it HAS worked at the LFS), but is far more flimsy than I would feel comfortable with, at least here in earthquake country....

Bruce

cromag27 · Oct 5, 2017

Cross support doesn't support the tank. They only keep the front and back from bowing. A sheet of plywood on the top is only required for flat bottom tanks. Not required for trimmed tanks, as long as the stand is built properly.

I just noticed the top is not completely even on all sides. It looks like the center brace sits on top of front and back panels? Bad

cromag27 · Oct 5, 2017

Skip the kilz. A few coats of latex is all you need. Caulk the seams if you want.

iLLwiLL · Oct 5, 2017

That stand is really sketchy. I'd probably put a plywood top on it and use that as a work bench to build a new stand with dimensional Lumber or plywood if you have the tools and know how.

MamaLovesHerReefTank · Oct 7, 2017

cromag08 said:
Cross support doesn't support the tank. They only keep the front and back from bowing. A sheet of plywood on the top is only required for flat bottom tanks. Not required for trimmed tanks, as long as the stand is built properly.

I just noticed the top is not completely even on all sides. It looks like the center brace sits on top of front and back panels? Bad

I have added a couple more pics to hopefully show the parts that concern me. The right and left side of the tank will sit on the inside edge of the stand. There is one cross support going front to back in the middle of the stand. The way I see it, there will be nothing supporting the front and back of tank. Our lfs has been using this stand for a few years now. He's never had any issues.

cromag27 · Oct 7, 2017

Yeah, no good.

MamaLovesHerReefTank · Oct 7, 2017

MamaLovesHerReefTank said:
I have added a couple more pics to hopefully show the parts that concern me. The right and left side of the tank will sit on the inside edge of the stand. There is one cross support going front to back in the middle of the stand. The way I see it, there will be nothing supporting the front and back of tank. Our lfs has been using this stand for a few years now. He's never had any issues.

The blue line is where the side of the tank will sit. The red line going down is 1/2 inch difference from where the sides will sit. That will leave a 1/2 inch gap across the front and back of the stand. If I get a 1/2 inch thick plywood and fit it on the inside top supports, will that give me the support I need?

cromag27 · Oct 7, 2017

In my professional opinion, the top would need to be 100% level. If you can achieve that using your method, then yes.

MamaLovesHerReefTank · Oct 7, 2017

cromag08 said:
In my professional opinion, the top would need to be 100% level. If you can achieve that using your method, then yes.

Going to bring this to my other lfs and see what he can recommend I do to get this right. He built all his own stands so I know he'll point me in the right direction. I can do the work myself, just need a little direction.
Thank you everyone for your help. I knew I could count on you guys.

icedgxe · Oct 7, 2017

That looks like the old AGA modern series stand. I actually used to have my 125 sitting on that exact same stand for about 5 years. It definitely sketched me out when I first got it. It will only work with a standard rimmed tank. I would definitely feel more comfortable about it being used if it was beefed up.

MamaLovesHerReefTank · Oct 7, 2017

icedgxe said:
That looks like the old AGA modern series stand. I actually used to have my 125 sitting on that exact same stand for about 5 years. It definitely sketched me out when I first got it. It will only work with a standard rimmed tank. I would definitely feel more comfortable about it being used if it was beefed up.

I believe it may be the same except the size. This helps a lot. I'm going to bring it to our other lfs and figure out how to beef it up so we won't have any issues or concerns.

icedgxe · Oct 16, 2017

Were you able to get it looked at?

Forsaken77 · Oct 16, 2017

MamaLovesHerReefTank said:
My husband and I will be upsizing from a 125g tank to a 180g in the next year or so. We are not in any hurry to do so but when we went to our lfs on the weekend, he was selling a used stand with canopy for $200.00. It needs some new hardware, sanding and new paint. Being that I love to sand and refinish wood tables etc, this seemed like a great project. SOLD. The sanding is almost finished and I can't wait to either refinish or paint the stand.
Just a few questions. The way the stand is, only the ends of the tank will sit flush on the wood. There is only one center cross brace. Should I add more braces across the top to add more stability? Should I add more support to the stand? Our lfs has used this stand for years without any issues. I'd like to trust it but when looking at it I wonder how it could possibly hold the weight. Pictures are below.

That actually looks like a Marineland Monterey stand. It's their high end stand (I have one in black). It's supposed to have a solid board across the top, which explains all of the marks on top of the stand. It looks like they ripped the board off and put a single brace. Mine doesn't have a brace that I can see, just the board. But its got the same markings and door sizes.

Do the side panels pop off? You lift them up and out.

MamaLovesHerReefTank · Oct 16, 2017

Forsaken77 said:
That actually looks like a Marineland Monterey stand. It's their high end stand (I have one in black). It's supposed to have a solid board across the top, which explains all of the marks on top of the stand. It looks like they ripped the board off and put a single brace. Mine doesn't have a brace that I can see, just the board. But its got the same markings and door sizes.

Do the side panels pop off? You lift them up and out.

No the side panels don't come off. We are beefing it up so we won't have any issues down the road.

Forsaken77 · Oct 16, 2017

MamaLovesHerReefTank said:
No the side panels don't come off. We are beefing it up so we won't have any issues down the road.

By any chance, do you know how long it was used? Because the stands, especially in a fish store, will get a lot of water damage. Most fish stores use metal by me for that very reason.

Are you basically making a stand within a stand just to keep the outside look?