Red Sea stand quality

[Pennywise the Clown]

My Reefer 250 has been up and running since Sunday. I love the system and the quality of the tank is fantastic.
One thing that does bother me, however, is the stand. It seems to be to be a pretty basic Ikea type build, albeit made of heavier duty material. From a structural point of view, it looks to me as if the entire substantial weight of over 300lbs is supported pretty much by the two side pieces and everything else is there to hold it together.
How long can I reasonably expect this stand to last, taking into account the occasional spill that is bound to happen?
Or am I just being paranoid, having never owned a tank of this size and weight before?

 

[hijinks7]

As long as it doesn't get soaked a bunch of times, it will last forever.. I've built stands for people that are 3/4in plywood for 150g and are still standing today after 12 years of use. Most people's stands they DIY are complete overkill and could hold up a car much less their 40breeder.

You could make a stand out of MDF easily to hold up a reefer 250. If their quality was bad you'd hear about it but people pay the premium price for a red sea setup for a reason.

 

[Mikedawg]

I've never heard of a Red Sea stand failing, and if one did I'm pretty sure such discussion would be all over this board. I wipe mine when I clean outside glass and make sure that I sponge up any water that might spill under the tank. Assume you've checked for level and that should evenly distribute/transfer weight to floor. Compression strength of these stands is very good I believe.

 

[cmcoker]

Mines about 18 months old and looks like new, despite the occasional splash or drip. Just clean up any water and it will hold up fine.

 

[Midrats]

Mine is solid and looks brand new nearly two years in.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

I agree that the stands are not that great. I have seen one example after a slight spray from a pump line that got loose and it ruined the stand in minutes. MDF is not a great material to get wet even with a car quality spray paint job. I have seen other manufacturers stands suffer the same fate. I will not use the MDF stands for any of my tanks as a result. Keep it dry and clean and you should be fine.

 

[OriginalUserName]

You are right on the design, pretty much ikea with stronger wood. The only thing I didn't like is the locking bolts don't have a set stopping point because they sink into the plastic. It was kind of a judgement call which I didn't appreciate. You are definitely right about the tank being supported only by the two side pieces, but that still works. The heavy duty (presumably marine grade) plywood is super strong in terms of what it can support on it's side. The rest of the stand just exists to keep those pieces from falling over. I just loaded my 1800lb 650 reefer on my stand and had similar thoughts.

Did your stand come with those extra pieces of wood? If so stick some weight on one and soak it and see what happens.

 

[Pennywise the Clown]

I've never heard of a Red Sea stand failing, and if one did I'm pretty sure such discussion would be all over this board. I wipe mine when I clean outside glass and make sure that I sponge up any water that might spill under the tank. Assume you've checked for level and that should evenly distribute/transfer weight to floor. Compression strength of these stands is very good I believe.

One thing that I KNOW I am paranoid about is having my tank level. I must have checked it 30 times with a spirit level since filling it to make sure nothing has moved ;Shamefullyembarrased
I think it was the shock of bring home 11 25 litre containers of water and thinking 'how is this stand possibly going to hold all this weight?' Maybe it's the fact that I am a mechanical engineer and the fact that if I ever build anything in work that has to hold weight, I do tripple weld runs and go overboard with supports and usually needs a stacker truck to move ;Joyful

 

[Pennywise the Clown]

You are right on the design, pretty much ikea with stronger wood. The only thing I didn't like is the locking bolts don't have a set stopping point because they sink into the plastic. It was kind of a judgement call which I didn't appreciate. You are definitely right about the tank being supported only by the two side pieces, but that still works. The heavy duty (presumably marine grade) plywood is super strong in terms of what it can support on it's side. The rest of the stand just exists to keep those pieces from falling over. I just loaded my 1800lb 650 reefer on my stand and had similar thoughts.

Did your stand come with those extra pieces of wood? If so stick some weight on one and soak it and see what happens.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, I didn't get any extra pieces.

 

[OriginalUserName]

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, I didn't get any extra pieces.

I have 2 extra junk pieces. I might do the test myself for craps and giggles.