Would this stand be ok for my tank?

[flipz]

Hey everyone. So today I aquired an old aquarium tank stand (for free!), and I want to use it for my old 20 gallon. Even though it is very sturdy, I am considering reinforcing it, but that's beside the fact. I'm worried about the measurements.

My tank is your standard tank. 20 gallons, glass, with the black plastic around the top and bottom. It measures 12.5" deep, and 24.5" wide.

The stand is 13.5" deep, but only 23.5" wide. Now if I hung 0.5" off of each side, would that be safe? Because of the black strip around the bottom? Or would it put entirely too much stress on the seals and just cause problems? I know you can't guarantee me anything, but I was just wondering if anyone has tried it. Thanks in advance.

-Brent

 

[revhtree]

In my opinion, I think that a fifth of an inch on both sides will make no difference.

MY $0.02

 

[flipz]

Well it's half an inch... not a fifth. But maybe that's what you meant. That's a good opinion though. It's what I wanted to hear. Haha. I'll wait until I get a few more opinions. Thanks revhtree.

-brent

 

[QTOFFER]

Is it one of those open-top iron stands? If so, you would only be supporting one entire side of the tank if you used it as-is. Having seen the results of a 5 gal bottle of water on a carpeted floor, I would strongly advise against it.

Instead, I would cut a 13.5 x 25 inch piece of 3/4 inch thick plywood, slap on a few coats of varnish, and lay it across the tank stand top. This would support all four sides of the tank and the small degree of overlap would not warp or deflect.

 

[jsoong]

1/2 " on the sides will leave both side glass unsupported. Since your standard glass tank rest only on the rims, you are introducing unintended stress into the tank. OTOH both long sides are supported, so the lack of support on the short sides *may* not be important - but you will be experimenting at your own risk. Everything I've read said "support a glass tank on all 4 sides so the weight (& stress) is evenly distributed.

I think QTOffer's idea of adding a plywood top is an excellent idea.

 

[flipz]

It's not one of the iron stands, it is an all wood one. Placing the tank on the stand the black rims *MIGHT* be on the tank. since they go a little bit under the tank, and i measured the 12.5" as end to end. it's a tough call though without actually doing it. Anyways, I will most likely just do the plywood idea. Thanks everyone

-brent