Stand for tanks - really stupid or would this work?

[FreshWater1]

So I've got the stand pictured.

In my bright mind at like 3am looking at Petco's Aqueon sale decided this stand could hold a 29 gallon and 5.5 gallon because the dimensions of the top worked.

Then I figured well the stands at the LFS/Petco are like pressed plywood/particle board 1/2 inch thick so it should be fine.

Well thinking about it the tanks filled would probably easily weigh ~350lbs from water/tank themselves/rocks etc. I still figured it would work.

Then I picked the tanks up and finally cleaned them water checked them (Petco tried to give me a 29 gallon with a huge chip on one of the corners) and put them on the stand and now I'm not so sure anymore.

I feel like it should work the stand is strong I need to get my brother to stand on top with me since I only weigh ~160lbs

But looking into it I feel like I am missing a middle support structure. The sides seem fine it doesn't wobble. I removed the peg legs so it sits on the wood. But I still just fear the center would bow without any piece of straight wood from the ground up. Currently the center is supported at the edges only due to there being a drawer on the bottom and I probably wouldn't even consider the front much support.

The side wood is 3/4 inch thick - the back supporting legs are ~1 1/4 inch thick - the top slab is 3/4 inch thick

I get the feeling I should break apart the bottom drawer so it's just like a flippable lid and put some 2x4 supports in the middle - or not let me know if this sounds really stupid or workable.

 

[Andy Sager]

It " should" hold but if I were doing this, I would place 2x 4 or whatever the space is between the floor and the stand is at the edge of that center section to help support the stand. What worries me most is that the center section looks like it's using 1" wide wood ( which is less than an inch) which could easily warp under the weight. I would do a 10 gal, maybe a 20 long ( not a 20 high) but I hesitate with something wood that doesn't have something solid between the tank and the floor.
One of the problems with using non aquarium made stands is that you don't know the quality of the wood. This is why we always suggest you place the equivalent amount of weight on top of the stand to ensure it can hold the weight. The most important parts of the stand for aquariums are the 4 corners. If the tank can sit on the 4 corners, the middle doesn't really matter with smaller tanks. This stand is wider than the tanks so you need to have or strengthen the solid sections of the stand that the tank will sit on ( See arrows in pic) if it passes the weight test.

 

[day]

That's a nice piece of (appears to be antique) furniture. Even a mix of tiger oak in there. If I had it, with such small tanks, I'd leave it alone. But that's just me. Looks plenty sturdy enough to hold those two tanks, IMO. Plus you've got the center support (2 of them) already there, & the drawer itself would be additional support. Just to be sure, go ahead & get your brother to stand on it with you. If you still want more support in the center, instead of breaking the drawer apart, why not put a block in the center of it?

 

[day]

p.s. I agree with Andy about the extra support in the center, though, although the quality of the wood looks great. Even with the drawer in place, there's still a gap between it & the floor, so maybe also put a good block under the middle of it, too.

p.p.s. Not a stupid idea at all!