Will This Be Okay As A Tank Stand?

[mini_matt]

Hi, I will be getting a 3ft tank next week, so thats 36inches long, I have a coffee table that is 35 1/2 inches long, will this be long enough or will the 1/4 inch overhang each end be bad?
this is the coffee table: http/www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/00095036
could anyone give me advice on strengthening and opinions if it will do that would be great, it is quite surdy and will take me and my girlfriend sat in the middle of it but I understand a tank is dead weight. thanks

 

[MOW4T]

hmmm

doesnt look like it'd be up to much judging by the picture, the way i have tested tank stands in the past is to stand on it and jump up and down, not very scientific but gives you an idea of strength

 

[mini_matt]

it is a 3ft tank so will be a little over 100kg me and my girlfriend combined are around that I think.

 

[OldMan47]

If it is a half inch too short, it is too short. Just by appearance it also looks like it would be marginal in terms of strength, even if it was long enough.

 

[mini_matt]

the legs are made of a sort of condensed chip board with a sort of veneer on the outside, these screw into the top which seems to be similar to an inside door.

 

[Neesmo]

every product sold will have a max weight capacity listed for it. if its not readily available then ask IKEA to find it for you. this shouldnt even be a question. Its so easy to just find out what it can hold for weight and use a calculator to find the weight of the tank. Its 8 pounds per US gallon. Add some weight for the lid and light etc and your done. You have to also keep in mind that a crap MDF particle board table like that will always take water in and there goes your strength over a while of water changes etc.

Kyle

 

[mini_matt]

every product sold will have a max weight capacity listed for it. if its not readily available then ask IKEA to find it for you. this shouldnt even be a question. Its so easy to just find out what it can hold for weight and use a calculator to find the weight of the tank. Its 8 pounds per US gallon. Add some weight for the lid and light etc and your done. You have to also keep in mind that a crap MDF particle board table like that will always take water in and there goes your strength over a while of water changes etc.

Kyle

thanks, will see if i can find out from Ikea but looks like i'm after a new table, why would I use pounds and us gallons when 100 litres is 100kg simple

 

[OldMan47]

You are right Matt. MKS is a much easier system. Don't forget to ad in at least 20Kg for the tank itself and another 5 or 10 for the gravel.

 

[mini_matt]

thanks for the advice, i'm now on the look out for a new coffe table/tv unit for my tank. i have been reading around and looking at tank stands and there are a lot of cupboards that are a lot skinnier than the tank on top so the tank overhangs the unit by say 6inches or so, how are these safe?

 

[OldMan47]

If they don't have a proper support for the tank, they are not safe. I use a filing cabinet as a stand for a 10 gallon tank. It is not quite big enough so I covered the top with a custom cut piece of 1/2 inch thick plywood that supports the tank all the way around. It is not the footprint on the floor that matters, it is the support directly under the tank that must reach the edges of the tank.

 

[mini_matt]

oh right, well yeah if I had to use that coffee table that is just short I would'v put some ply under it the right size before putting styrofoam, cant find any furniture with a decent weight rating, max i found is a TV stand that says max tv weight 70kg when the complete tank setup will be more like 150kg!