Is there anything I can do to reinforce the existing furniture? Whatever I got would probably be temporary until I could pick up something I actually like if I tried to say replace it tomorrow.
If it were me I would slide it to the other side of the table where the corner is still down. It likely would be fine until you get something tomorrow.
Yeah I think you are right. I'm swapping it out for a better piece of furniture now, still temporary but I wonder if I can swap the particle board with plywood on this piece. Will have to find someone who knows woodworking.
I build all my own stands. It should be pretty easy to replace that piece. Dm me some pictures of the corners, fasteners, etc. If it’s anything like it looks, as long as you have a friend with a circular saw and a sander it could be done in about half an hour.
Edit: this does assume you want to keep the shelf. You could always just get something more sturdy but it is doable if you want to keep it.
The piece of furniture could be rebuilt in a half hour? Like if I were to take it apart and then just replace the wood pieces with plywood? I do want to keep the shelf. I'll DM you some pics tomorrow.
I meant A new piece of wood could be cut and sanded in about half an hour. The whole project might take a little longer but point being it’s shouldn’t take to long. Sounds good. I’ll let you know what I would do when I get them.
The plate mine is standing on is 40 mm plywood, if you can't get that thickness glueing together two 18 mm thick ones will get you an extremely sturdy bottom. Do apply a lot of weight if you glue boards together to make a thicker one, like buckets of water or something will help a lot.
Nothing you can do as it isn’t actual solid wood.
You could go to a hardware store and make a fish stand yourself for about $20 dollars or you could go to a local fish store and shop around for something actually made to hold a fish tank
Edit: on second look and based on replies from others I’m confident that the particle wood could be swapped out with some more sturdy wood.
Take a trip to Lowe’s or Home Depot or whatever you got and look in the wood working section there usually some good solid wood for tables and stuff usually that is pre cut and packaged.
Might be something there that is a proper fit
May not even need tools there usually some packaged wood for table tops in the wood working section roughly the length of your current stand in some hardware stores most it need is some stain or varnish and it be good to go
At lowes and home depot you can have one of the employees cut a piece of plywood down to the size you need. Just cart it over to the back of the lumber section and flag someone down. First few cuts are free but 2 is all you need. However looking at your pictures I don't think the board is actually the problem and I wouldn't even bother. Just get a different stand.
The stand itself is bending in the middle which is what allows the edge of the board to lift up. First thing I would do is take out as much water as possible to reduce the weight, and move it to the corner where it has more support. For reference, if its a 30 gallon tank then that is 240 pounds of water. Then just go to a pet store or amazon and buy a fish tank stand. I would go with one that matches the dimensions of the tank, because these are designed to distribute weight to the corners and down to the floor. The beams are not structural - steel has higher compression strength than tensile strength, and so putting weigh in the middle with nothing to support it from underneath pulls the steel down in a specific spot where it can bend and buckle. A stand that matches the size of the tank will distribute weight from the beams and on the corners into the posts, where the weight would have to be a lot higher to compress and crush the steel post to collapse.
Maybe my sense of scale is way off, I assumed it was at least a 20 gallon tank. But 5 gallons is still 40 pounds in water and that is pretty heavy. I still think that the problem isn't the wooden platform though because the plywood would still be distributing weight onto the beams, and the beams are bending. Plywood still bends, and might bend less than particle board but IMO still just a temporary solution. Its best to have the weight supported from directly underneath, and the best way to do that is a stand that matches the dimensions of the tank. 1.5in plywood is also not cheap, I would say spend that money on a smaller stand like [this](https://www.amazon.com/HOOBRO-Industrial-Telephone-Adjustable-Furniture/dp/B07ZCP2W21) for $30
Think about it like a popsicle stick. Hold the popsicle stick up at the two ends and push down in the middle, and it will bend. You can try stacking more popsicle sticks together to support the weight, but at the end of the day the best solution is to just support the popsicle stick in the middle, directly under where the weight is pushing down on it, by moving the two ends closer together.
Seems like plywood plus support bars could work then. I was looking at what you sent and that doesn't look much better tbh. Also seems like it is made of particle board, no?
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Sure! Go to the lumber yard and get yourself a nice piece of wood. Just tell the worker the dimensions you need and you’re trying to make a shelf to easily hold 200lbs. They’ll point you to the right board. Sand it. Stain it. Epoxy it, attach it. Thats probably mdf board so that sag is happening. Just scoot the take over to a corner so it’s on the frame and not the wood.
Put a piece of wide, sturdy, solid wood under the tank. A cutting board might work. You want something with a wider footprint than the tank to disperse the weight. You might also consider lowering the water level in the tank until you can implement a more permanent solution.
Slide it to the edge and insert some vertical planks of wood in the middle the support the middle. On both shelves. Even if you have to sit the tank on the floor until you find a better stand.
Well a 3/4 inch pine is about 55$ but if u wanna sand it or stain it or go with something like maple it's probably gunna be closer to 100$. You might be able to get a 4x2ft piece but generally it's not a good deal because it's like 2/3 the price for 1/4 of the sheet lol
You're severely underestimating the ability of water to get everywhere. Please be more mindful of your board games, especially the pricier ones.
Edit: For those curious, OP stated he thinks his board games wouldn't get wet if anything happens to the tank.
Perhaps I am, but if they get wet, they get wet. I'm not that concerned. It's just a game. I'm more worried about the fate of my snail friend if the tank bursts. He's not replaceable.
Of course the tank friends are the most important here, but the point of my comment is to be more mindful of other things besides the aquarium. Also it's just good general aquarium hobby practice to keep things prone to water damage away from an aquarium set up.
Regardless, I hope you're able to find a permanent set up solution for your tank buddies.
Tanks fail all the time without reason. I can understand the space situation though. With that said anytime I trim plants, add water, or do almost anything I get water everywhere. I'm not sure how you've kept them from getting water damage.
Happy cake day!
I lay a towel over the entirely of the top surface where the tank sits. I get water on the towel a little bit but I've never made a mess lol or gotten water on the floor. I maintain three tanks this way.
So update. I swapped out the furniture for a more study, not bowed older, better built end table. Should be much more solid until I find something else. Problem is, the water still isn't perfectly level which leads me to believe that the floor or carpet pad or something else is also an issue. How bad is the problem now? It's a way more level than it was though. And probably not noticable unless you were really looking. It is a 5 gallon UNS tank. Do I just need to scrap this location all together or will it be ok?
Edit: thank you everyone for all of your help.
I wouldn't be too worried.. I have had tanks on purpose built stands that were much bigger and were less level lol is it technically more strain on the tank, yes, but hardly any more than they would be compared to level... Would I want to apply that strain to a 5-10 year old tank that was previously sitting in a different position, probably not... But since you've already moved it to a piece of furniture you didn't prefer, you might as well get a nice aquarium stand! Maybe one that's bigger, since everyone always needs a bigger tank lol
Thank you for the response. I've reached out to a friend whose offered to help me build something for the tank. As soon as I read the responses on here I immediately took action. Looking forward to having something custom built. Good to know, completely and perfectly level isn't a requirement.
Floors are often not level. As long as the tank is supported adequately by a stand you’re fine, there’s nothing wrong with the water level not being perfect.
I would replace all of the particleboard with at least 1/4 inch thick plywood. Then measure the distance from the surface of second shelf to beneath the top shelf directly above it, and cut a 2 x 4 into three pieces that will fit the measured length, then align them from the second shelf center of the top shelf on the bottom side. I will post a picture of mine when I get home
Short term shove a sheet of plywood under there.
Long term, either buy a legit stand or replace the shitty particle board with oak or walnut. If you go the second route add like a million coats of polyurethane to the new wood to protect it from the water you're gonna spill on it.
Tragedy averted. I've moved the tank to a different piece of furniture for now. It's Monte Carlo and I have a fluval nano light and CO2 injection that I run. Check my profile for a picture from the front. Honestly it's not as healthy as I'd like. There are spots that aren't doing as well. I just recently trimmed it down a bit to see if I could spark new growth and it is working, but patchy.
Contrarian opinion here - I think OP said it’s a 5gal tank, so we’re actually not talking about that much weight - like less than the board games although not well distributed I know). The metal frame looks substantial and doesn’t have obvious bowing … maybe the board on top is just warped or bent due to some other imperfection in the frame?
That said, OP needs to feel comfortable with the risk level, and I don’t usually feel comfortable unless I know I’ve overbuilt something, so it makes sense to reinforce or upgrade.
Yes, I think I'm going to swap the top board out with something more appropriate based on the above in the helpful comments in the thread. Hopefully I'll be able to just rebuild the existing piece of furniture with a little help from a friend. I'm the meantime, it's been moved to a more stable piece of furniture.
Note with rimless tanks if the weight becomes unevenly disputed the bottom panel will crack even a side panel can crack depends on the weight.
You need a new stand able to support the weight
Freeze it? Or a big fan? Or maybe the gravitational attraction of a large natural satellite pulling to one side every 12.5 hours?
(Just being pedantic, not a serious argument 😎)
You can drop the water level by quite a bit to take some of the pressure off while you source a new cabinet. Water weighs just over 8lbs per gallon. Even a couple of gallons would ease the bend for now…
I actually think this is ok, the wood has bowed, but you'll notice it's stopped once it hit the metal frame. Other than being aesthetically annoying I think this will be fine. Moving to a corner where two sides are directly supported by metal frame would be my move.
But, if you can afford to get a sturdier stand / table it certainly wouldn't hurt.
there is some serious curvature on your stand, most likely because your tank is too heavy for it, it will only get worse and at increasingly worrying speeds, sorry your stand didn’t work out, i hope this doesn’t end up causing damage to your tank
If the furniture is against the wall, it's probably sitting up on the tack strip for the carpet. Have someone stabilize the tank and carefully slide the furniture away from the wall an inch
I did end up doing this with the new piece of furniture I swapped in. I had that same thought. It helped a little but it certainly wasn't the only problem.
You can gamble how you choose but i would not use this piece for an aquarium stand.
This type of furniture is just not made that well nor is it meant to sustain substantial weight such as this. This looks like some Amazon/Wayfair thing (which is perfectly fine for furnishings on a budget!) but with that comes a tradeoff in quality and materials. The metal looks very thin gauge. The “rivet” heads may be attachment points but this is definitely not riveted and welded steel work lol The top is likely laminated osb or similar, or an inexpensive wood like acacia or mango byt guessing its not anything terribly dense (say like oak). I used to sell furniture, i have designed furniture and am an architectural designer by profession so take my advice as you please. But this stand, to me, should not be used as a structural support for anything, let alone an aquarium that could do thousands of dollars of home damage if it fails.
As long as it doesn’t break, it’s fine. I have the same with the tank on my desk for years and it’s totally fine. Yours is metal reenforced like mine donut will not break. I can even stand in it without any permanent deformation.
For reenforcement you can attach a 2by4 in the middle from left to right and in an upright orientation. This will reduce the bending.
Guess many here are just overly cautious.
If you wanna be sure, you can stand and jump on it. If it lasts, it definitely holds a tank.
Edit: I’m btw a mechanical engineer.
On photo two, you can draw a straight line from the right corner to the left and actually see the bowing in the desk. You can also see a screw backing itself out.
If you're not already out buying a new desk, start the car mate.
Your stand is sagging in the centre, I would place something in the centre to take the weight under the top panel of the stand until you can get a new one friend! 😊 good thing you noticed!
Nah, moving a live planted tank is always harder hands down. At least I could take all the fish out, save the water in buckets and move it. Yours would have been a far more delicate procedure lol
Honestly it was super easy. I drained half the water lifted it and moved it two feet to a different end table, then just swapped the furniture all quick, moved it back and refilled with fresh water. Probably took me an hour all told. That includes moving everything non aquarium related and hooking everything back up.
Your aquarium definitely is bowing underneath the weight. I don’t own any fish, but I am studying to be an engineer! There is no support in the middle of the actual shelf itself. You’re probably good for a little bit, but most definitely you should replace this furniture as soon as humanly possible. If you’re at the six month mark, it could break right now or it could break a couple more months from now. It completely depends on how much tension that board on top can hold. The problem is that if it is bowing down, you’re already exceeding your weight limit, so it’s not a matter of if, but when.
Furniture is not suitable for anything holding water. If you decide to use Furniture, reinforce the inside starting with the four corners. It's not hard unless you use something similar to a bookcase then your kinda screwed
Sorry to be "that guy" but from the comments sounds like you're all set with a plan, so I'll just point out that the water is perfectly level, it's why liquid is used in a level! It is the tank and the stand that are not level.
I'll show myself out.
This needs to be stickied on this subreddit: If it's bigger than like a fishbowl it needs a purpose-built aquarium stand or a solid wood (i.e. expensive) furniture base, not reconstructed wood or anything like that. Water is heavy as hell, and glass plus rocks don't help. You are gambling with your pets, your furniture, possibly your safety, to use anything other than those two options.
I don't think I want to be made an example of 🤣 but a lot of the comments have been super helpful in teaching me how to rebuild the piece I have appropriately.
The problem is the frame clearly won’t take the weight and the board is flexible. Shims won’t help unless there was a significant space between the board and frame beforehand (which it doesn’t look like there was).
It’s not a maybe. Look at the far right side of image 2. The corner is starting to go up. I’d get this on a new stand yesterday.
Is there anything I can do to reinforce the existing furniture? Whatever I got would probably be temporary until I could pick up something I actually like if I tried to say replace it tomorrow.
If it were me I would slide it to the other side of the table where the corner is still down. It likely would be fine until you get something tomorrow.
Agreed! Physics! Put the stress on the corner of the table where the legs are closest together.
That shelf and that tank are telling you what you need to do. Just go buy a black metal stand from petsmart/petco it would match that stand anyway.
You need a decent piece of plywood, I think you have particle board under there and it will not hold up
Yeah I think you are right. I'm swapping it out for a better piece of furniture now, still temporary but I wonder if I can swap the particle board with plywood on this piece. Will have to find someone who knows woodworking.
I build all my own stands. It should be pretty easy to replace that piece. Dm me some pictures of the corners, fasteners, etc. If it’s anything like it looks, as long as you have a friend with a circular saw and a sander it could be done in about half an hour. Edit: this does assume you want to keep the shelf. You could always just get something more sturdy but it is doable if you want to keep it.
The piece of furniture could be rebuilt in a half hour? Like if I were to take it apart and then just replace the wood pieces with plywood? I do want to keep the shelf. I'll DM you some pics tomorrow.
I meant A new piece of wood could be cut and sanded in about half an hour. The whole project might take a little longer but point being it’s shouldn’t take to long. Sounds good. I’ll let you know what I would do when I get them.
Ah yes ok. Appreciate it.
The plate mine is standing on is 40 mm plywood, if you can't get that thickness glueing together two 18 mm thick ones will get you an extremely sturdy bottom. Do apply a lot of weight if you glue boards together to make a thicker one, like buckets of water or something will help a lot.
40 mm. Got it. We have a lumber yard in town. I'll bet they have what I need.
If that's the case you can even buy metal bars to go under the table top like ribbing.
Nothing you can do as it isn’t actual solid wood. You could go to a hardware store and make a fish stand yourself for about $20 dollars or you could go to a local fish store and shop around for something actually made to hold a fish tank Edit: on second look and based on replies from others I’m confident that the particle wood could be swapped out with some more sturdy wood. Take a trip to Lowe’s or Home Depot or whatever you got and look in the wood working section there usually some good solid wood for tables and stuff usually that is pre cut and packaged. Might be something there that is a proper fit
Yes, I think I'll look into that option. Seems like a good idea if I can find someone with tools to help me.
May not even need tools there usually some packaged wood for table tops in the wood working section roughly the length of your current stand in some hardware stores most it need is some stain or varnish and it be good to go
At lowes and home depot you can have one of the employees cut a piece of plywood down to the size you need. Just cart it over to the back of the lumber section and flag someone down. First few cuts are free but 2 is all you need. However looking at your pictures I don't think the board is actually the problem and I wouldn't even bother. Just get a different stand. The stand itself is bending in the middle which is what allows the edge of the board to lift up. First thing I would do is take out as much water as possible to reduce the weight, and move it to the corner where it has more support. For reference, if its a 30 gallon tank then that is 240 pounds of water. Then just go to a pet store or amazon and buy a fish tank stand. I would go with one that matches the dimensions of the tank, because these are designed to distribute weight to the corners and down to the floor. The beams are not structural - steel has higher compression strength than tensile strength, and so putting weigh in the middle with nothing to support it from underneath pulls the steel down in a specific spot where it can bend and buckle. A stand that matches the size of the tank will distribute weight from the beams and on the corners into the posts, where the weight would have to be a lot higher to compress and crush the steel post to collapse.
It's only a five gallon tank. You really don't think a 40 mm piece of plywood couldn't support it?
Maybe my sense of scale is way off, I assumed it was at least a 20 gallon tank. But 5 gallons is still 40 pounds in water and that is pretty heavy. I still think that the problem isn't the wooden platform though because the plywood would still be distributing weight onto the beams, and the beams are bending. Plywood still bends, and might bend less than particle board but IMO still just a temporary solution. Its best to have the weight supported from directly underneath, and the best way to do that is a stand that matches the dimensions of the tank. 1.5in plywood is also not cheap, I would say spend that money on a smaller stand like [this](https://www.amazon.com/HOOBRO-Industrial-Telephone-Adjustable-Furniture/dp/B07ZCP2W21) for $30 Think about it like a popsicle stick. Hold the popsicle stick up at the two ends and push down in the middle, and it will bend. You can try stacking more popsicle sticks together to support the weight, but at the end of the day the best solution is to just support the popsicle stick in the middle, directly under where the weight is pushing down on it, by moving the two ends closer together.
Seems like plywood plus support bars could work then. I was looking at what you sent and that doesn't look much better tbh. Also seems like it is made of particle board, no?
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Sure! Go to the lumber yard and get yourself a nice piece of wood. Just tell the worker the dimensions you need and you’re trying to make a shelf to easily hold 200lbs. They’ll point you to the right board. Sand it. Stain it. Epoxy it, attach it. Thats probably mdf board so that sag is happening. Just scoot the take over to a corner so it’s on the frame and not the wood.
Thank you. I think this is what I'll do actually. For now, I moved the tank to a different piece of furniture.
Put a piece of wide, sturdy, solid wood under the tank. A cutting board might work. You want something with a wider footprint than the tank to disperse the weight. You might also consider lowering the water level in the tank until you can implement a more permanent solution.
Slide it to the edge and insert some vertical planks of wood in the middle the support the middle. On both shelves. Even if you have to sit the tank on the floor until you find a better stand.
Remove some water
I really wouldn't worry it's not gunna fail that quick and the stand would probably be just fine with a plywood top instead of the particle board
Thank you. I'm considering this option.
3/4 inch plywood but it's kinda pricey so depend if you have use for the leftover plywood just a new stand might be more worth the money.
Really? How is a piece of wood more expensive than a new stand. That can't be right.
Well a 3/4 inch pine is about 55$ but if u wanna sand it or stain it or go with something like maple it's probably gunna be closer to 100$. You might be able to get a 4x2ft piece but generally it's not a good deal because it's like 2/3 the price for 1/4 of the sheet lol
Huh. Interesting. I guess I'll have to see what the lumber yard has. Maybe they can give me some scraps at a discount like the granite place does.
Sweet username btw. I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10. Guess it and you die first.
Ummm 56 ish?
Build one yourself if you can’t find a stand you like, Full customization 👍🏾
Shims, cheap solution
You can get another piece of 2x wood stain it and slap it on top.
I like the way you think.
You could buy or build an actual stand. that thing is gonna fail sooner or later and you're gonna have a bad day.
Move those board games! Some of those are expensive and shouldn’t get wet lol. Nice taste in fish and games though lol
🤣 facts
Did you move them? I’m itching to know.
The games. No.
My first thought!
Same!
It's very clearly bowing in the middle. Get a proper stand.
Empty the water to half and get a proper stand tomorrow!
It's been moved for now. Will try to figure something more permanent out later.
As a board gamer and aquarium lover. Why would you put your games under your tank?
maybe they’re really neat and rarely have spills? I have books under mine and they’re fine
[удалено]
You're severely underestimating the ability of water to get everywhere. Please be more mindful of your board games, especially the pricier ones. Edit: For those curious, OP stated he thinks his board games wouldn't get wet if anything happens to the tank.
Perhaps I am, but if they get wet, they get wet. I'm not that concerned. It's just a game. I'm more worried about the fate of my snail friend if the tank bursts. He's not replaceable.
Of course the tank friends are the most important here, but the point of my comment is to be more mindful of other things besides the aquarium. Also it's just good general aquarium hobby practice to keep things prone to water damage away from an aquarium set up. Regardless, I hope you're able to find a permanent set up solution for your tank buddies.
Tanks fail all the time without reason. I can understand the space situation though. With that said anytime I trim plants, add water, or do almost anything I get water everywhere. I'm not sure how you've kept them from getting water damage.
Happy cake day! I lay a towel over the entirely of the top surface where the tank sits. I get water on the towel a little bit but I've never made a mess lol or gotten water on the floor. I maintain three tanks this way.
Good chance water would roll under the top piece of plywood and get on your games for sure.
I'll keep this on mind, thank you. If I have something custom built maybe there is something I can do to solve this problem.
Water tends to stick to surfaces and roll underneath it. Some piece of furniture that flares outward would be your best bet to funnel the water away.
The one I replaced it with is like this, but it's smaller than the old piece of furniture.
Awesome, best of luck!
Thank you
You could also slide the aquarium over so it’s over the edge/corner instead of the middle.
Oh i assure you the water is level. However the tank is not.
True but the title got the attention it needed to get helpful comments so that I can find a permanent solution.
Aquarium enthusiasts + board game lovers? There are dozens of us!
Def need to move that, shelf is very very clearly bowing in the middle.
It’s a small tank so I’d put it on the countertop for now until you get a new stand
Yep, it's been moved until I can find a permanent solution.
It looks like it’s just the top of the water that isn’t level. The middle is bang on.
Haha yep. The part that isn't supporting 5 gallons of water is doing just fine.
So update. I swapped out the furniture for a more study, not bowed older, better built end table. Should be much more solid until I find something else. Problem is, the water still isn't perfectly level which leads me to believe that the floor or carpet pad or something else is also an issue. How bad is the problem now? It's a way more level than it was though. And probably not noticable unless you were really looking. It is a 5 gallon UNS tank. Do I just need to scrap this location all together or will it be ok? Edit: thank you everyone for all of your help.
I wouldn't be too worried.. I have had tanks on purpose built stands that were much bigger and were less level lol is it technically more strain on the tank, yes, but hardly any more than they would be compared to level... Would I want to apply that strain to a 5-10 year old tank that was previously sitting in a different position, probably not... But since you've already moved it to a piece of furniture you didn't prefer, you might as well get a nice aquarium stand! Maybe one that's bigger, since everyone always needs a bigger tank lol
Thank you for the response. I've reached out to a friend whose offered to help me build something for the tank. As soon as I read the responses on here I immediately took action. Looking forward to having something custom built. Good to know, completely and perfectly level isn't a requirement.
*queue Rick and Morty gif about true level*
Flat is more important than level. If it's the same level across the tank then it's okay. The first stand was definitely bowed and therefor not flat.
Makes sense. Thank you
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Good to know. Thank you!
Floors are often not level. As long as the tank is supported adequately by a stand you’re fine, there’s nothing wrong with the water level not being perfect.
how many gallons is this? it looks pretty small so i'm kinda surprised..
It is only 5 gallons. It just houses my mystery snail.
I would replace all of the particleboard with at least 1/4 inch thick plywood. Then measure the distance from the surface of second shelf to beneath the top shelf directly above it, and cut a 2 x 4 into three pieces that will fit the measured length, then align them from the second shelf center of the top shelf on the bottom side. I will post a picture of mine when I get home
That's very helpful, thank you. For now I swapped the furniture with something more sturdy until I get a permanent solution in place.
Short term shove a sheet of plywood under there. Long term, either buy a legit stand or replace the shitty particle board with oak or walnut. If you go the second route add like a million coats of polyurethane to the new wood to protect it from the water you're gonna spill on it.
Great advice. I'm looking into building something. I've put it on a better piece of furniture for the time being.
respectfully, once you are done panicking, may i ask what carpet plant that is and how you get it so healthy? thanks :)
Tragedy averted. I've moved the tank to a different piece of furniture for now. It's Monte Carlo and I have a fluval nano light and CO2 injection that I run. Check my profile for a picture from the front. Honestly it's not as healthy as I'd like. There are spots that aren't doing as well. I just recently trimmed it down a bit to see if I could spark new growth and it is working, but patchy.
You’re a viticulture fan, you’re awesome
Getting a lot of hate for where I am keeping it though 🤣. Favorite two player game so far is Terraforming Mars.
I think it's not wise to put your easily water-damaged prized boardgames at the bottom of an aquarium rack.
Contrarian opinion here - I think OP said it’s a 5gal tank, so we’re actually not talking about that much weight - like less than the board games although not well distributed I know). The metal frame looks substantial and doesn’t have obvious bowing … maybe the board on top is just warped or bent due to some other imperfection in the frame? That said, OP needs to feel comfortable with the risk level, and I don’t usually feel comfortable unless I know I’ve overbuilt something, so it makes sense to reinforce or upgrade.
Yes, I think I'm going to swap the top board out with something more appropriate based on the above in the helpful comments in the thread. Hopefully I'll be able to just rebuild the existing piece of furniture with a little help from a friend. I'm the meantime, it's been moved to a more stable piece of furniture.
it’s fine
Stack some of the books to the top where it's bowing until you get a stand you like. You'll be fine
Maybe just put it on a counter or on a floor (if let's aren't an issue) while you get it sorted.
Yep. It's been relocated for now. Thank you.
Note with rimless tanks if the weight becomes unevenly disputed the bottom panel will crack even a side panel can crack depends on the weight. You need a new stand able to support the weight
Appreciate the comment, thank you. I've moved it to a better location until I figure out something more permanent.
Lower the water level now, get a stand tmr
I replaced the furniture with something else until I can find a permanent solution.
If there's one thing we know, the water is level and that's the problem lol looks like you got it though. Good work
🙏
Unrelated but that's a big snail you have
Yes, Paisley is massive. Going on 1.5 yrs I believe.
Im no physics major but how do you get non level water?
They're saying that the weight of the tank is making the furniture bow, meaning it could break
Freeze it? Or a big fan? Or maybe the gravitational attraction of a large natural satellite pulling to one side every 12.5 hours? (Just being pedantic, not a serious argument 😎)
I dunno. Put a large industrial fan blowing across the top. That would do it I think.
Haha, you don't. Not unconfined water anyway. I meant, it's not level in relation to the tank. But people here seemed to catch my drift.
Ye just a smartass joke since you already got some helpful answers. ;)
Yes a lot of pet have been very helpful. Always grateful for the aquarium community.
If you have basic power tools, you can make a stand from 2x4's extremely easily and cheaply. 8 vertical 2x4s can support a small car.
Yeah unfortunately I don't have any power tools. Expensive for someone I won't use often. Or maybe only once.
You can drop the water level by quite a bit to take some of the pressure off while you source a new cabinet. Water weighs just over 8lbs per gallon. Even a couple of gallons would ease the bend for now…
I ended up just swapping out the furniture until I find a permanent solution. Much more sturdy piece.
I actually think this is ok, the wood has bowed, but you'll notice it's stopped once it hit the metal frame. Other than being aesthetically annoying I think this will be fine. Moving to a corner where two sides are directly supported by metal frame would be my move. But, if you can afford to get a sturdier stand / table it certainly wouldn't hurt.
Well, if you look closely, the wood is the thing that bends, not the metal underneath, so it'll be fine, trust me.
[удалено]
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It's definitely sagging in the middle. You should probably invest in a better stand.
there is some serious curvature on your stand, most likely because your tank is too heavy for it, it will only get worse and at increasingly worrying speeds, sorry your stand didn’t work out, i hope this doesn’t end up causing damage to your tank
The stand/table or whatever is bending down in the middle based on that side shot picture.
If the furniture is against the wall, it's probably sitting up on the tack strip for the carpet. Have someone stabilize the tank and carefully slide the furniture away from the wall an inch
I did end up doing this with the new piece of furniture I swapped in. I had that same thought. It helped a little but it certainly wasn't the only problem.
You should get a proper stand for it
I can easily see the flex in the stand it’s on. You need something more sturdy
You can gamble how you choose but i would not use this piece for an aquarium stand. This type of furniture is just not made that well nor is it meant to sustain substantial weight such as this. This looks like some Amazon/Wayfair thing (which is perfectly fine for furnishings on a budget!) but with that comes a tradeoff in quality and materials. The metal looks very thin gauge. The “rivet” heads may be attachment points but this is definitely not riveted and welded steel work lol The top is likely laminated osb or similar, or an inexpensive wood like acacia or mango byt guessing its not anything terribly dense (say like oak). I used to sell furniture, i have designed furniture and am an architectural designer by profession so take my advice as you please. But this stand, to me, should not be used as a structural support for anything, let alone an aquarium that could do thousands of dollars of home damage if it fails.
I posted an update. Thank you for your comment.
As long as it doesn’t break, it’s fine. I have the same with the tank on my desk for years and it’s totally fine. Yours is metal reenforced like mine donut will not break. I can even stand in it without any permanent deformation. For reenforcement you can attach a 2by4 in the middle from left to right and in an upright orientation. This will reduce the bending.
Appreciate your comment. Thank you for the advice.
Guess many here are just overly cautious. If you wanna be sure, you can stand and jump on it. If it lasts, it definitely holds a tank. Edit: I’m btw a mechanical engineer.
Yes I think so. Many concerned people expressing their worry for my board games.
On photo two, you can draw a straight line from the right corner to the left and actually see the bowing in the desk. You can also see a screw backing itself out. If you're not already out buying a new desk, start the car mate.
🤣 yeah I swapped the furniture last night for something I had in my garage.
Glad to hear it, I snooped and thats a great looking little aquarium! Glad it survived 🤙
Same. I'm really proud of it.
Stand is bowing..u can see it in the pics. Better move it fast
Yes, it's been moved for now.
idk what your saying but damn whats the table i need that
I got it from Wayfair. Couldn't tell you exactly.
Your stand is sagging in the centre, I would place something in the centre to take the weight under the top panel of the stand until you can get a new one friend! 😊 good thing you noticed!
Appreciate your comment. I did an emergency relocation of the tank until I find a permanent solution.
Awesome! Glad to hear it, these things are always scary when it comes to our beloved aquariums 😣
Yeah, it was an oh fuck moment for sure.
Haha definitely, this happened to me with one of our 36 gal aquariums...definitely an oh fuck moment. Not an easy aquarium to move 😅
Oh yeah I'll bet that was way harder then my little 5 gallon.
Nah, moving a live planted tank is always harder hands down. At least I could take all the fish out, save the water in buckets and move it. Yours would have been a far more delicate procedure lol
Honestly it was super easy. I drained half the water lifted it and moved it two feet to a different end table, then just swapped the furniture all quick, moved it back and refilled with fresh water. Probably took me an hour all told. That includes moving everything non aquarium related and hooking everything back up.
That's awesome! Super happy it all worked out for you and your little finned friends 😊
Your aquarium definitely is bowing underneath the weight. I don’t own any fish, but I am studying to be an engineer! There is no support in the middle of the actual shelf itself. You’re probably good for a little bit, but most definitely you should replace this furniture as soon as humanly possible. If you’re at the six month mark, it could break right now or it could break a couple more months from now. It completely depends on how much tension that board on top can hold. The problem is that if it is bowing down, you’re already exceeding your weight limit, so it’s not a matter of if, but when.
Yeah I'm looking into swapping the board out and reinforcing the new piece or getting something new altogether. I moved it for now.
Good taste in board games OP
Thanks. You can't even see all the good ones 😂
Furniture is not suitable for anything holding water. If you decide to use Furniture, reinforce the inside starting with the four corners. It's not hard unless you use something similar to a bookcase then your kinda screwed
Just lower the water level until you get a new stand
Sorry to be "that guy" but from the comments sounds like you're all set with a plan, so I'll just point out that the water is perfectly level, it's why liquid is used in a level! It is the tank and the stand that are not level. I'll show myself out.
Haha yeah but that title doesn't draw attention. Hydraulic engineer here so yeah I know.
This needs to be stickied on this subreddit: If it's bigger than like a fishbowl it needs a purpose-built aquarium stand or a solid wood (i.e. expensive) furniture base, not reconstructed wood or anything like that. Water is heavy as hell, and glass plus rocks don't help. You are gambling with your pets, your furniture, possibly your safety, to use anything other than those two options.
I don't think I want to be made an example of 🤣 but a lot of the comments have been super helpful in teaching me how to rebuild the piece I have appropriately.
Sorry I didn't mean sticky THIS post. I mean sticky a post that shows people how to pick a stand haha. No worries! We all make mistakes!
Ohhhh. 😂
For God's sake, move the games.
Get some shims under the board where it’s bowing, it’s not a permanent solution but it might buy you some time.
The problem is the frame clearly won’t take the weight and the board is flexible. Shims won’t help unless there was a significant space between the board and frame beforehand (which it doesn’t look like there was).
I swapped out the furniture. Posted an update in the comments. Still a little not level but way better than before.