Will this stand support a 40g breeder?

glb · Aug 17, 2015

I've had this piece of furniture a while and would like to use it as a tank stand. Here's a pic:

It's made of solid wood so I know the materials are good. It also has leaves on the top that fold out, like a buffet, like this:

They fold all the way down but not in this space. I thought about cutting them to size and building cabinets on each side to match the stand.

So here's my stability question. The tank covers the entire top of the stand, but the top overlaps the sides. Here's a close up of the too left corner of the stand:

And here's a pic of the back left corner. There's a slight overhang, less than 1/4" of the tank in the back.

Right now, I took off the leaves to see how that looked. If I fold the leaves back over to the top, that will double the thickness of the top of the stand.

So here's the question. Does the fact that the top of the stand is bigger than the sides mean it won't support the tank enough? Do I need to fortify the top in some way? I really want to use this stand because it's very well built and I could strip and refinish it to look great. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

glb · Aug 17, 2015

Fwiw, the stand supported a 36g bow front for years without a problem. But it didn't come close to the edges of the top.

143MPCo · Aug 17, 2015

1 gallon of SG 1.027 water = 1.027 x 8.33 = 8.55lbs x 40 = 342lbs

With regards to how it sits on the edge or doesn't really... it looks like it's edge molding chances are it might be find but, I wouldn't get much sleep with it setup like that.

My concern is that the load is not sitting flat and being transferred onto the vertical parts of the cabinet, that's not ideal for supporting the weight.

143MPCo · Aug 17, 2015

glb said:
Do I need to fortify the top in some way?

I would add a cut to size sheet of 3/4" birch plywood glued and screwed on the top to support and distribute the weight.

jsker · Aug 17, 2015

Yes that will work.

Harold Green · Aug 17, 2015

You might want to consider the cost of a new stand against the possible loss of an entire established tank. Depending on the age of the furniture it may be built of light weight wood and most of the construction held together with simple glue joints. Nothing wrong with that method but it may not support 400 pounds without eventually breaking down. That said many of the factory stands are very low quality and building a new one yourself might better serve you. Lots of how to's around. It would even be possible to reuse the front panel and doors off the cabinet you already have by using it on a sturdier built frame.

glb · Aug 17, 2015

Thanks everyone. I'll take more pics of the inside of the stand and the top without the tank on it. I could also cut the leaves and build more cabinet around the existing stand so it has more support. I'll check to see if it's just trim on the sides or if it's part of the solid top.

glb · Aug 17, 2015

I think I'm going to put the leaves back on top of the stand and then add another top to that. Would it make sense to 'build around' the existing stand a stronger frame with 2x4's and top that's slightly wider and deeper? I could keep the front doors, then make some side cabinets. That way I could distribute the weight properly without losing the style of the stand, which I couldn't recreate on a new one. Then I'm not putting any weight on that trim and there's no overhang.

ca2or · Aug 17, 2015

I tested a previous stand by standing on it along with my wife and 2 of her friends. Wife and friends are all around 100lbs....myself....165. It was for a 36 gallon tank. We even jumped on it. Take it for what its worth. Not the best method to test but it worked.

glb · Aug 17, 2015

ca2or said:
I tested a previous stand by standing on it along with my wife and 2 of her friends. Wife and friends are all around 100lbs....myself....165. It was for a 36 gallon tank. We even jumped on it. Take it for what its worth. Not the best method to test but it worked.

Now that I would've liked to see. I know it will hold 36g because I've had a 36g on it for years without a problem. It's the edges I'm worried about.

glb · Aug 22, 2015

I've decided to go with a home built stand instead. The frame of the tank is sitting on the trim and when I looked inside, I could see some stress on the joints because the nails were carrying some of the weight because of their orientation. Can I see some pics/plans of your stands? I've never done this before but it sounds like fun!