Tank on a dresser?

[Bix22]

I have an old dresser that I was thinking about putting a 55 gallon tank on.
It is a pine wood, no particle board.
Would this be a wise idea? I know it is 8 lbs per gallon of water.
Thanks.

 

[keegster803]

I'd say test it with some bags of sand or salt, if it starts to give way then it definitely won't support a 55 gallon


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[lksdrinker]

Very tough to say without knowing anything other than its made of pine. The way its constructed is far more important than the material its made of. Most commercial stands are made of particle board and can certainly hold the weight. 55 gallons is a lot of water to have to experiment with!

 

[dcutl002]

Do you have pictures of the dresser? It might help to visualize the build of the dresser.

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[Mebbid]

Honestly, I wouldn't risk it. You're looking at potentially thousands of dollars in damages if something goes wrong.

 

[Cecibella123]

1 US gallon is 8.34 lbs. add in the weight of the tank, hardware, substrate and deco, and you have about 600 lbs sitting on top of a dresser.

 

[Hibiscusmile]

I think a picture would say it all, also the member who said to use sand is a good idea.

 

[Bix22]

I was just considering since the existing stand for my 20 gal is particle board I put together (I bought it at petco), maybe a real piece of furniture could hold it better

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[Bix22]

Here's a pic of the dresser

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[Bix22]

I am planning to eventually do an in wall tank so you wouldn't even see the dresser it will be in a mechanical room

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[Fresh2o]

IMO lack of support in the middle will be a problem.
If you are doing an in-wall setup, I would go ahead and build a stand (integrated with the wall that will be cut open). The stand can be pretty basic.
Or just build a new stand in lieu of using the dresser.


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[Bix22]

Yea I was thinking of building a stand as well

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[Sambo7475]

I highly recommend against using furniture not made for holding a tank. Most dressers are not braced properly for that much weight and will start to twist and fail as time goes on. I built a diy stand from 2x4's and 2x6's I had in my garage for my 75 gallon. I spent a total of $28 on additional materials. You could build a stand for under $100 with all new materials. The costs would be minuscule in comparison to a stand failure. Here's a pic of my scale drawing as well as a skeleton of the stand.


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[reddevil24]

I bought my 55 gallon from a girl who had it on a dresser way less sturdy then that one, and it has 80 lbs of live rock work.

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[Mebbid]

I bought my 55 gallon from a girl who had it on a dresser way less sturdy then that one, and it has 80 lbs of live rock work.

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Just because she didn't have a catastrophic failure, doesn't mean it's a safe idea.

 

[Barliman]

Just because she didn't have a catastrophic failure, doesn't mean it's a safe idea.

Exactly. Unless that dresser was built like a tank, she got lucky.