Do stands collasp?

[Fathomed]

I have a 78g tank and it's only half-full at the moment. I'm afraid of filling it any higher than that because it's sitting on my drawer and I fear the drawer might break apart and spill all over my room.

It's an old drawer but I'm confident it can hold up to 300 lbs. I don't think it can last out on 500 lbs. If I have sand as a substrate - that alone is pretty heavy.

What are your thoughts? I can't buy an actual stand unfortunately, I have no such money.

Also, oto cats are rumored to die often when placed in new aquariums. What would be the chance of 1 survivng if i bought 5?

 

[Johnny Tuttle]

When you start getting up to that amount of weight and water, you'll do much better with an aquarium specific stand. I don't know how you could ever tell how much load another piece of furniture could hold safely.

Otos are better left until the tank is cycled and has its other occupants first. They need something to eat, like all algae eaters, and so waiting is best for them. If you have your tank up and running well, you should have a much higher success rate.

 

[Sombunya]

Not sure what your circumstances are but you can build a pretty sturdy stand out of 2x 4's and #16 nails for cheap, I think.

Just get good ones that are kiln-dried (not green) and get a piece of wafer board or fiber board for the top. That is dimensionally more stable than plywood. Should remain flat.

 

[haykay]

or even cynder blocks and plywood

 

[QTOFFER]

DEFINITELY buy or build a proper stand for a tank that size! Check Craigslist and local tag sales for cheap used stands. As mentioned, you can build one yourself with 2 X 4 lumber and plywood.

Furniture, no matter how massive, is not designed to support such great weight. The problem is not the downward force, but the sideways forces that will occur when the tank is leaned into or bumped. Eventually, the furniture joints will weaken and the who thing will collapse sideways..

 

[rob28]

craigs list ma friend.....peeps practically give stands away. i saw a 75 gal stand go for 40 bucks. im sure you could scrape that together......bartering works well also!!
good luck

 

[jsoong]

That tank will weigh over 700 lb with substrate & water. NO way will I risk that on any old piece of furniture. Definitely go with a purpose built stand .... and at that size tank I would be avoiding particle board (eg Walmart stands) & go for solid wood.

You can certainly make something with 2x4's & screws - see the DIY section for plans. Sometimes you will find good used ones as well.

 

[Fathomed]

Ah, thanks everyone. I guess I just can't take chances here.

 

[marchmaxima]

a clean-up bill it will be far more expensive than a stand. Buy the stand as soon as you can. Agree on only adding Otos to an established aquarium. They are social creatures so 5 would be ideal. I love mine. Such wonderful personalities!