# Stand for small tanks - DIY or other ideas



## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

Hi,

I'm thinking of building a stand which can hold up to 3 tanks, thinking of 2 10gals and one 20gal. This is to save some space it would occupy and keep the room organized after adding 3 tanks.

Today I saw this shelving unit from Ikea, it might fit 20Gals and 10Gals in each shelf but the shelf is rated for up to 18Kg which is way too short of tank weights of 10 and 20gal. I guess if I use this as is for 10/20gal tanks I'm basically looking for a sure disaster.

Has anyone built a similar stand to support 3 tanks stacked up vertically? I've seen picture of someone's fish room which is bascially full of tanks on every wall, floor to ceiling.

I'm looking for ideas. Let me know what you think is a feasible solution to my problem.

Thanks,

edit: added the picture of Ikea shelving unit

http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1803&stc=1&d=1218420443


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

I think thses have been used in the past. A bit bigger, but definitely much much stronger.

http://reviews.canadiantire.ca/9045/0680366P/reviews.htm


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

Yeah I've considered this too but it's a little too cold for a bedroom (but not with a bed). Definitely this metal shelving unit would be suitable to handle the load.

Maybe just get one of these and try to skin it?


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## Sunstar (Jul 29, 2008)

Just to say, I got one of those ikea shelves, well several infact, in my closet of hell. It holds up all my canned tomatoes very well, and I do over a hundred jars a year.


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## sawman88 (Sep 29, 2008)

man i cant belive Ikea. that shelf is liek the biggest pOc ever. made from scrap cut off prolly. for $100 lol nice.. they must be rich. the stands ive seen look simular to that but made out of 2x4 and plywood. dont underestimate the power of a 2x4 after all they hold up your house 








if you kwnotice in those paticular blue prints all of the 2x4's are attached togethore in an L shape. that will make they nearly impossible to bend, ive seen people use carriage bolts to hold each shelf on the posts but i dont really think its necessairy. but if you DO build that i want some $$$$ . make sure its 100% levil though you wouldnt want a rack liek that (or any rack really) to be sitting unlevil. i hope that helps


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## sawman88 (Sep 29, 2008)

o and you could build that shelf for under $15 easy. better then the ikea one. and if prettyness is an issue just sand it down a bit and pain it black


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## sawman88 (Sep 29, 2008)

man as if nobody has replied to my amazing plans...


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

sawman88 said:


> man as if nobody has replied to my amazing plans...


I'm shocked at your plans! 

Here's what I have

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

and I'm not the first one!


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## sawman88 (Sep 29, 2008)

hummmmmmmm . im pretty sure you just built that from my plans..... shocked in a good way or bad way? thats a lil creepy its liek exactly what i drew up


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

By the way, the screws alone cost me more than $15. That I cannot skip.

I used knotted pines throughout, which was substantially more expensive than rough cut 2x4s. You don't really need 2x4s for strength. 2x3 is enough, that's what I used.

Next time I'll just use cheap 2x4s. It will take much more time to pick right pieces for the job and finishing would be more difficult though.

Altogether it cost me almost $100, but for the price it was worth it.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

This blog gave me the idea. You can find it from another post in equipment section of this forum.

http://condofishkeeping.blogspot.com/


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

sawman88 said:


> hummmmmmmm . im pretty sure you just built that from my plans..... shocked in a good way or bad way? thats a lil creepy its liek exactly what i drew up


yeah. I thought you copied my plan


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## sawman88 (Sep 29, 2008)

true ture i guess i didnt factor in the screws as i get all the scews i want from work for free and 2x4's are just super cheep  but notted pine is better looking. i guess you would need to weigh cost Vs. eye buity... one thing i do now is i build a 2x4 stand and throw a black sheet over it.. give it a nice look. if i made a fish room i w0ould prolly spend the $$$$ on the comercial racks. i dont know how much they are but they are cool .


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Commerical racking systems would certainly be worth it especially if you intend to have large spans of it. Those shelving systems can hold a lot of weight, and are easy to put together and take down (I worked at a warehouse one summer, and part of it was putting them up and taking them down).


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## sawman88 (Sep 29, 2008)

man i want to move somewhere where i can have liek 100 aquariums in a basement. i only have 7 right now sucks... i need more :/ i have tones of tanks i just cant set them all up. it would be a dream to be able to have some sort of central system.


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## Shattered (Feb 13, 2008)

ameekplec. said:


> Commerical racking systems would certainly be worth it especially if you intend to have large spans of it. Those shelving systems can hold a lot of weight, and are easy to put together and take down (I worked at a warehouse one summer, and part of it was putting them up and taking them down).


I agree with ameekplec, those racks are usually the best solution. But they are ugly, it shouldn't be hard to skin them or even use a couple spray bombs.

This was the prototype for my 30 gal, the next one should hold a 30 and 15.


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## sawman88 (Sep 29, 2008)

very nice. i kwnotice that you ahve no matress.... did you sell your matress to further supply your MTS?


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## Shattered (Feb 13, 2008)

Yes, my son needs to toughen up. NO matress.  

My wife took the kids to visit her mom for a couple days so I was renovating. I was in the process of repainting his room, putting rope lighting under his bed, etc... So I figured why not design a dresser that would hold his tank. 

I'm still working on a canopy that will match the rest.


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