# Ikea Furniture



## kweenshaker (Mar 11, 2006)

This might be ridiculous, but I've heard of people reinforcing ikea furniture to make aquarium stands. How would one go about this? 

I've been looking at stands at lfs...they're either crap or $$$$$$$$$$$$$
and I don't have the skills for a DIY, unless of course I want to be cleaning fish and glass off the floor. 

Any tips?


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## Zoban (Jan 22, 2008)

I wouldn't consider it for anything over 10-15 Gallon.. 

The 10Gal I have in my office at work is on a Walmart purchased bookcase/shelf. Wouldn't dare go to a 20 on it..


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

If I can crack a panel by hand tightening a screw. I definitely wouldn't trust it to hold up an aquarium. I would just bypass the Ikea stuff and build a stand properly.


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## JamesG (Feb 27, 2007)

You do not need to be even remotely skilled as a carpenter to make a sturdy stand. Grab some 2x4s, big screws and go to town. 
Check out my rack/stand designs on my blog. http://condofishkeeping.blogspot.com 
My number one tip/rule for building this stuff is make sure all your pieces are cut to the right length, if they are exactly the right size they will fit together easily and the stand will be true.


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## Shattered (Feb 13, 2008)

JamesG said:


> You do not need to be even remotely skilled as a carpenter to make a sturdy stand. Grab some 2x4s, big screws and go to town.


This would be by far the simplest method to go about it.

I've also seen people visiting a metal working shop and getting a steel frame built for the inside.

Do you have a picture of the stand? It would help us guide you in the right direction.


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## JamesG (Feb 27, 2007)

Shattered said:


> This would be by far the simplest method to go about it.
> 
> I've also seen people visiting a metal working shop and getting a steel frame built for the inside.
> 
> Do you have a picture of the stand? It would help us guide you in the right direction.


There are a few photos in the blog I posted above. Here is a direct link to one of the stands ive built. http://img338.imageshack.us/my.php?image=75standkw4.jpg


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## Grey Legion (Mar 20, 2006)

The 2nd biggest problem with mass produced furniture (other than quality) is that the materials used hate any type of water or moisture, thus weakening the already low quality, even with all the reinforcements out there your still stuck with the same sub-par materials. To try to tell anyone that you won't ever have a spill or leak would be impossible. Best to "google" the DIY stand idea's and plans and see what fits your level and skill.


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## kweenshaker (Mar 11, 2006)

hmm, ok I'll look into it.
i'm hopeless with DIY stuff though.
Maybe I'll look into places that will make one for me, though I'm thinking that would be quite pricey..


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## Harry Muscle (Mar 21, 2007)

Some of Ikea's solid wood furniture might work, however, once you get into their solid wood stuff their prices go up quite a bit, so you might as well just buy a stand designed for fish tanks ... unless of course you are going for a certain Ikea style.

Harry


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

take the furniture apart and build 2x4 supports inside. Considering some purpose built stands are particle board with laminate on top, what you build with 2x4 will be a lot stronger. I've got to built a new stand this summer and will go the 2x4 framing with nice stained panels for the sides, etc.


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## JamesG (Feb 27, 2007)

Hey Riceburner, I will be doing the same this summer for my dream 220gallon. Feel free to chat with me about tips for the finishing wood. I still have to figure out the decorative side as I have only built 'fishroom' visual quality stuff before.


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## hojimoe (Mar 7, 2008)

I have to disagree, I used an ikea shelving unit and fitted it to hold up my 55gallon african tank for a year and a half (tearing down now to go strictly planted)

It was a shelving unit, meant to be wall mounted, came with two lengths of 2" think board (laminated - probably particle) and end frames (just square)....reinforced with boards squared inside the frame on either ends, and one in the middle...wedge fitted and screwed/countersunk in.... stand holds a lot.... 55gallon + rocks+water+sand+lids/lights no problem ... other stand for 40g is a 2x4 construction took me around 1hr to put together including cutting time 

next make will probably be a nice stained stand with doors when I go bigger 

we'll see...but with some knowhow, a cheap peice of ikea crap can work


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

JamesG said:


> Hey Riceburner, I will be doing the same this summer for my dream 220gallon. Feel free to chat with me about tips for the finishing wood. I still have to figure out the decorative side as I have only built 'fishroom' visual quality stuff before.


I know how I'm going to build the skeleton, but haven't decided on the finish. I helped a buddy build his stand years ago...he just used a pebble finish paint...like this stuff http://paint-and-supplies.hardwares...aint/american-accents-spray-paint-663043.aspx

I'm probably going for a nice wood and stain....or black. lol


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## Morgan (Apr 15, 2008)

kweenshaker said:


> hmm, ok I'll look into it.
> i'm hopeless with DIY stuff though.
> Maybe I'll look into places that will make one for me, though I'm thinking that would be quite pricey..


It would be - Custom anything is expensive.

As mentioned in J.G.'s blog - Planning is 80% of what's to be done.

If you can get it down on paper and have every dimension measured - You have it done. It doesn't take much skill and we're all here to consult with for plans. =)

On the other hand, I'd like to defend Ikea furniture. I use one of their shelving systems for my small 25 gallon and it isn't even strained. It's just a matter of getting the RIGHT piece of furniture. Obviously a crappy piece of of particle board isn't sufficient for holding anything over the weight of your pinky finger. Anyways, thanks for the inspiration J.G. - I think my next stand is going to be homemade. =)


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## Julian (Jun 29, 2008)

I use a smaller Ikea coffee table. Mind you my tank is only 15g so maybe thats why its fine. My girlfriend stood on it to make sure it would be strong enough and everything seemed just fine .


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

JamesG said:


> There are a few photos in the blog I posted above. Here is a direct link to one of the stands ive built. http://img338.imageshack.us/my.php?image=75standkw4.jpg


This is somewhat close to exactly what I was looking for! good job, I really like it!

However, it would look even better with some doors to hide stuff underneath 

Unfortunately I Cannot build L shaped corner unit..

How much did it cost in terms of raw materials used?


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

Well, after looking at JamesG's fishroom stand, I decided to build my own.

Here it is :

http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1856&stc=1&d=1220632797

It can hold up to 2x15G and 1x20G. I'm planning to put my 2x10G and 1x20G. It's a little too tall without another piece to hold it steady (to prevent tip-over) but it's sitting at the corner and the weight will hold it down. I may add something in the back if it doesn't appear to be too stable at fully load.

Overall, I'm satified with the result, although price was a little higher than I hoped for - mostly used 2x3 and 1x3 knotted pine.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

wow, looks great conix!
How much did it cost to build it? I am considering making my own stand for two tanks and some storage beneath, so I would be interested to see how much it was.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Very nice conix67. That looks fantastic.
What kind of coating did you use on the wood.
Unless you have plans to attach some light on it, the top most section wasn't really required as you could've leave the top section completely open. That may save some wood and hence the cost of your fish stand.
I also notice that your fish tank is on carpet. Heh heh, just be careful when you do water change. Especially on the top tank.

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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

ameekplec. said:


> wow, looks great conix!
> How much did it cost to build it? I am considering making my own stand for two tanks and some storage beneath, so I would be interested to see how much it was.


Unfortunately, materials alone almost cost me $100. However, since I couldn't find one that I'd like from stores anyway, this was worth the investment. The Ikea wall unit I was looking at was almost this price, and it wouldn't hold any of my tanks.

I should have used rougher woods, which is substantially cheaper but quality is lower - you really need to spend some time to sort out decent pieces. I believe JamesG used those kind, one that's used for construction of house.

Maybe materials can be optimized, and keep the cost down to ~$60.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

Zebrapl3co said:


> Very nice conix67. That looks fantastic.
> What kind of coating did you use on the wood.
> Unless you have plans to attach some light on it, the top most section wasn't really required as you could've leave the top section completely open. That may save some wood and hence the cost of your fish stand.
> I also notice that your fish tank is on carpet. Heh heh, just be careful when you do water change. Especially on the top tank.


I used polyurethane black satin finish stain. It's much like black paint 

finish quality is nowhere near professionally done furniture like, partially because I was a little rushing to complete this.

I agree the top most section may not have been required, but for looks it is better with one, besides the cost wasn't much more since most materials I bought were 6 feet long, and I used 1x3x6 with little trimming on the side.

I could also use the top section to store some light stuff on it, and put lights under the shelf if necessary.

yeah, I have not done any water change yet, but adding water was challenge already. I did not want to use python, and used just 3 Gal buckets, with a large towel on the floor.


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## JamesG (Feb 27, 2007)

Wow, I am glad to hear that my efforts have been an inspiration  Please let me know if you have any improvements to the design that you have found. 

Best of luck with your new tank rack.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

JamesG said:


> Wow, I am glad to hear that my efforts have been an inspiration  Please let me know if you have any improvements to the design that you have found.
> 
> Best of luck with your new tank rack.


Many thanks to you and your blog. I got all my ideas for this rack from there.

The major change I made was using 2x3 for frames and attaching 1x3 instead of going 2x4 all the way, which would have been too bulky for me.

I think using 2x3 in my case was more than enough to support the weight of tanks - up to 20G.


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## sawman88 (Sep 29, 2008)

wow thats pretty retarted imo. ikea is the biggest distribator of crap... for my stands i usualy just build it out of 2x4s and drape a black sheet over it. workes awesome. if you want something with drawers hit up the used furnature stores and you can pick up some old and really solid dressers that work awesome . but thats just me...


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