The Strength of Pine ("stand" capacity)

[Rokuzachi]

I've got a chest of drawers (Ikea, one of the mid-price ones) in my bedroom that has a wide open space on it. One of my other aquariums has to move, probably on to it. It's not the sturdiest thing I've ever seen, but it's almost all pine (Masonite backing on it is the only exception). Any guesses as to how much would be safe to stick on this thing?

L: ~43"
W: ~21"
H: ~36"

Pic: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/hemnes--drawer-chest__0095343_PE238668_S4.JPG

The top is a piece of 3/4" pine. The legs are 2"x1.5" pine. Front to back, it looks like the legs are joined by a sheet of plywood and two ~2"x.75" boards. End to end, there are 4 pine boards in the front and back (~2"x.75) that are held together by the usual dowel & locking hardware system you see everywhere.

I know there's always a risk, especially when using furniture that's not intended to hold an aquarium. In my childhood I'd built some pretty awful stands that held tanks for a year, but I wanted to ask and see if anyone had some guesses as to what this thing could hold.

As far as dimensions, it's looking like a 40 breeder is one of the more ideal shapes (that I have access to) to distribute the weight out to the four corners rather than in the middle like a smaller tank would.

Any input is appreciated (including recommendations for reinforcement)

 

[Togliat]

Hope somebody can correct my math if I am wrong.

Looks like your dimensions = 140 gallon tank?

That is about 1,162 pounds, I think.

I would make sure this is not too much weight for your chest of drawers.
Some of the folks on the site here might have a good idea if you provide close up pictures on how it is constructed.

 

[Rokuzachi]

Well the dimensions of the top of the dresser are ~43x21, so I was thinking of putting something like a 30 or 40 (36x18) breeder on top of it. I wish I could have a 140, but I think it would crush the stand to splinters, and I don't think my SO would let me have one that big

 

[Wy Renegade]

How thick is the plywood on the sides? Generally speaking unless the chest of drawers is truly flimsy (which most built of real wood are not), it should a 30 or 40gal breeder with no issue. I have nothing but uprights sheets of 3/4" plywood supporting my 65gal tank, and most manufactured stands are simply 3/4 pressboard. with a 3/4" plywood top the weight will distrubute to the sides and you should have no issues.

However, I hope you don't care much for the chest of drawers, because placing a aquarium on it will most likely ruin the finish within a year or two.

 

[Rokuzachi]

It was a gift... so in a sense, I do care about it, but I also can't stop seeing "FREE AQUARIUM STAND" every time I look at the big empty space on top of it

The top is a slab of 3/4" pine, and the ply on the sides... it isn't very thick. I'll make a diagram of how its assembled real quick to save myself a lot of words.

My main concern was that the legs might bow out over time (the chest is 36" or so tall) and I thought about attaching some of those corner braces that bolt into the inside of the leg and the areas that run into it.

Thanks for the help!

 

[nottooslow]

if you have a fat friend, he could sit on it to see if it will handle the wight. i would guess that a 40 gallon tank would weigh around 400 pounds or less. so maybe two kind of chunky friends?

 

[Togliat]

LoL. I thought your dimensions were for the tank, not the stand. Duh. I claim a pre-caffeine moment. My bad.
You'll be fine. I agree that the finish might be affected unless you protect it somehow.

 

[Rokuzachi]

Thanks for the help everyone.

No harm done Togliat. Well, except for making me wish I had a tank that size. Here I was content wanting to stick a 40 breeder on the thing

Going to hit up the local Petco this weekend and cash in on that dollar per gallon sale (I'm surprised how long they run it too... Oct 25th!), pretty good deal considering everyone else in town wants 125+ for one.