Craigslist disaster :( Can this stand be saved?

[FreckyB]

Hello everyone,

It has been many many years since I have kept fish and I decided I wanted to give it a go again. I have never kept anything too crazy usually Betas and Tetras. After looking at my LFS I decided to jump on Craigslist and see what was available. I found what looked like a great deal on a 72 gallon bowfront with stand/light/random other small stuff. All this for $300 (Canadian), I had seen the identical tank for $850 the day before at an aquarium store. I went picked it up and was super excited to get home and start filling it.

When I arrived home I decided to pull off the worn out stick on back ground that the previous owner had installed (it was installed on the back and the sides which I thought was odd), I soon realized the background was being used to cover some MASSIVE scratches that covered the back and sides of the tank. They are far too deep to buff out and some of them make me worry about the integrity of the glass they are so deep. I don't know what this person was doing to the tank. So I called the same aquarium store and ordered a replacement (none in stock and will be 2-6 weeks before it arrives). Figured I could keep the stand and the light and the cover at least which would make me feel a little better about paying $300 to haul someones garbage away.

Now that I am home and have had a chance to take a look at the stand I see that the front left corner drops down drastically. It doesn't look like anything has broken but it sure makes me worried that ~700 lbs will be sitting on the stand.

I have sent the seller a message and shockingly no reply . I realize now that I should have thoroughly inspected everything before I had them load it in the truck I think I was just too excited and wasn't expecting someone to try to pull a fast one on me. To buy a new stand for this tank would be $400 dollars and I'm beginning to think I should cut my losses.

Is this thing even safe to use? I am really hoping that it can be salvaged but this whole situation has me ready to take it all to the dump and buy a pet rock.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

I think it's still salvageable. Things are a lot more expensive in Canada - what is the US dollar equivalent because I swear I've seen this stand either online or at a pet store for about $150 US dollars.

What if you took a piece of plywood (stain it first) then nail and glue it so that it overlaps each side of the bad area. Just to add it for extra support. How much more damage would you to if you tried to hammer the broken piece into alignment with the other side before you add the brace? If you would risk chipping off the whole end, just leave it.

I'm not a construction person at all just remember my dad doing repairs like to furniture that he and my mom put into the houses that they flipped. The pieces always looked very classy but If you looked close you'd see where the defects were that made it cheap to buy.

So sorry you got stiffed. I don't think I'd pay that much for anything on Craigslist - although we once sold a mountain bike for $700 - I guess the test drive went well and we looked trustworthy. I think most people are good and honest, but when it's something so fragile like a fish tank I assume that most people don't take as good of care of their aquarium stuff as I do. Most fish tanks (of any size are about $20-$100 here) - virtually free just to get somebody to take them off their hands - as long as you move it for them they don't charge much for it - especially if they HAVE to move and it's towards the end of the month.

 

[FreckyB]

I think it's still salvageable. Things are a lot more expensive in Canada - what is the US dollar equivalent because I swear I've seen this stand either online or at a pet store for about $150 US dollars.

What if you took a piece of plywood (stain it first) then nail and glue it so that it overlaps each side of the bad area. Just to add it for extra support. How much more damage would you to if you tried to hammer the broken piece into alignment with the other side before you add the brace? If you would risk chipping off the whole end, just leave it.

I'm not a construction person at all just remember my dad doing repairs like to furniture that he and my mom put into the houses that they flipped. The pieces always looked very classy but If you looked close you'd see where the defects were that made it cheap to buy.

So sorry you got stiffed. I don't think I'd pay that much for anything on Craigslist - although we once sold a mountain bike for $700 - I guess the test drive went well and we looked trustworthy. I think most people are good and honest, but when it's something so fragile like a fish tank I assume that most people don't take as good of care of their aquarium stuff as I do. Most fish tanks (of any size are about $20-$100 here) - virtually free just to get somebody to take them off their hands - as long as you move it for them they don't charge much for it - especially if they HAVE to move and it's towards the end of the month.

Currently the exchange is 1 CAD = 0.75 USD, Things definitely don't always follow the exchange up here unfortunately. Likely because they are just buying it from the US and have to pay to ship it to Canada and put it in their stores. A couple years back Target tried opening up stores up here and they all closed within ~1 year because they had the same products they have in the US but had to charge more to make up for shipping everything here.

For this exact tank, stand and light the lowest price I could find in store is $869 Canadian. So when I saw it listed for $300 I figured I had to jump on it.

It's pretty cheap wood which is what scares be about hammering on it, I might try to use some wood filler to build it up and level it. I will definitely be building a brace and if the wood filler doesn't work I'll probably just try to hammer it before it gets tossed in the dump. I've never had an aquarium of this size and honestly I'm kind of shocked by how flimsy the stands for these tanks are. I doubt the stand weighs 20lbs but is supposed to hold 700+.

Since the tank is weeks away I have some time to make a game plan. I will definitely be crossing my fingers for some black friday deals on aquarium stands.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Plywood might be too light and still bend with the original bend. I can’t think of the name of it, but you can basically cut a piece of wood to shimmy in the bend and then glue it with wood glue and then place heavier wood over that. My husband can tell me what I’m trying to say when he gets home. Main thing is you want it level with no area for tank to overhang.

 

[Fishmanic]

I would cut a piece of 5/8 inch or 3/4 inch plywood to the size of the existing top . In the area of the bend, I would put a thin layer of glue on the bent area and drill four holes through the thickness of the plywood just a bit wider than a size 8 or 10 screw about 1 1/2 inches long. Drill a countersink into the plywood. Then drill four pilot holes a bit smaller than the diameter of the screw into the top of the stand in that corner of the plywood. Screw in the four screws tightly so screw top is flush with or just below the surface of the plywood. The bent area will be pulled upward by the screws. Fill the top of the screws with wood putty. Then nail on the rest of the plywood onto the top of the stand using 8 penny finish nails. If a gap opens up betwen the old top and the sides of the stand, then shim the gap with a wood shingle. Stain the plywood to match the stand. Then stand back and admire your work. Taa Daa!

 

[FishGuest5123]

I would cut a piece of 5/8 inch or 3/4 inch plywood to the size of the existing top . In the area of the bend, I would put a thin layer of glue on the bent area and drill four holes through the thickness of the plywood just a bit wider than a size 8 or 10 screw about 1 1/2 inches long. Drill a countersink into the plywood. Then drill four pilot holes a bit smaller than the diameter of the screw into the top of the stand in that corner of the plywood. Screw in the four screws tightly so screw top is flush with or just below the surface of the plywood. The bent area will be pulled upward by the screws. Fill the top of the screws with wood putty. Then nail on the rest of the plywood onto the top of the stand using 8 penny finish nails. If a gap opens up betwen the old top and the sides of the stand, then shim the gap with a wood shingle. Stain the plywood to match the stand. Then stand back and admire your work. Taa Daa!

Perfect!

 

[FreckyB]

I would cut a piece of 5/8 inch or 3/4 inch plywood to the size of the existing top . In the area of the bend, I would put a thin layer of glue on the bent area and drill four holes through the thickness of the plywood just a bit wider than a size 8 or 10 screw about 1 1/2 inches long. Drill a countersink into the plywood. Then drill four pilot holes a bit smaller than the diameter of the screw into the top of the stand in that corner of the plywood. Screw in the four screws tightly so screw top is flush with or just below the surface of the plywood. The bent area will be pulled upward by the screws. Fill the top of the screws with wood putty. Then nail on the rest of the plywood onto the top of the stand using 8 penny finish nails. If a gap opens up betwen the old top and the sides of the stand, then shim the gap with a wood shingle. Stain the plywood to match the stand. Then stand back and admire your work. Taa Daa!

Sorry have been away on work, that's a great idea I will give it a shot. Thanks!