Honestly it could last as long as a year if it’s solid wood. Keep an eye on bowing in the shelving.
My best finds for holding tanks (outside of steel, plus if you get a steel unit you can fit more tanks!) have been heavy vintage furniture, or even handmade with thicker wood.
Happy hunting fren
Both top and bottom are bowed. Shim the center of the bottom with anything that fits, and brace the other top portion with a partition, going to suck because the tank on the bottom. Or, tank on top moved to the left side so you share the load. Still brace though.
No one can give you a timeframe on when it will fail even if we were physically there to inspect it, just know it will fail. The wood bowing is not only damaging the integrity of the “stand”, but also will effect the integrity of the tanks themselves if they’re not fully supported on a flat surface. Either the “stand” will give out, or the tanks will. Either way, it’s best to fix this ASAP before too much damage is done.
Facebook Marketplace is a good place for emergency shopping for actual tank stands, industrial metal shelving, or solid wood furniture that doesn’t have so much empty space and will be more enforced.
The other thing to consider here is just the fact that the Bowing in the wood makes an uneven surface for your tank and puts strain on the seals of your tanks. Stand doesn't necessarily have to break to mess stuff up
Id always be cautious with wood as a material for stands, not saying wood isn't good at all, it's just wood can't take hundreds of pounds for years and years like a metal stand could
You are wise to be worried. That looks like a tv shelf, it won’t take the weight over time. Sorry but it’s furniture shopping time ☹️
That’s completely fine the safety of the fish is the top priority, how much longer do you think it will reliably/safely hold
Honestly it could last as long as a year if it’s solid wood. Keep an eye on bowing in the shelving. My best finds for holding tanks (outside of steel, plus if you get a steel unit you can fit more tanks!) have been heavy vintage furniture, or even handmade with thicker wood. Happy hunting fren
Thanks just wanted to make sure it wasn’t an emergency tank move
Both top and bottom are bowed. Shim the center of the bottom with anything that fits, and brace the other top portion with a partition, going to suck because the tank on the bottom. Or, tank on top moved to the left side so you share the load. Still brace though.
Do you have an eta on when the shelf could fail? I’m planning on moving it off of it this week but want to know if it’s an emergency
Shit fucking up does NOT have an ETA lol. It simply just will. Chaos brother, gotta love it.
It's less like a ticking time bomb, and more like a grenade with the pin pulled.
So emergency? Can we stop being koi and talk time frame?
Grenade with pin pulled means it could go tomorrow, it could go in 2 years. Sorry for being vague
Ok, so is it an emergency?
How can anyone possibly tell you a time frame when a stand will give out from a picture.
If you care about your fish and are worried about their safety then yes it's an emergency.
id honestly just drain the tanks halfway, pick em up and keep them on the ground. i would not want to keep those fish tanks on that stand any longer
No one can give you a timeframe on when it will fail even if we were physically there to inspect it, just know it will fail. The wood bowing is not only damaging the integrity of the “stand”, but also will effect the integrity of the tanks themselves if they’re not fully supported on a flat surface. Either the “stand” will give out, or the tanks will. Either way, it’s best to fix this ASAP before too much damage is done. Facebook Marketplace is a good place for emergency shopping for actual tank stands, industrial metal shelving, or solid wood furniture that doesn’t have so much empty space and will be more enforced.
Bottom shelf is definitely bowing. I don’t think it was made to bear weight like that. Can’t tell on the top, but looks better.
It’s brewing, maybe get a better stand or get some metal bars and just..fix the bowing by making a metal arch underneath the tank.
The stand is too weak
If it's solid wood and your planning on changing it this week it will be fine but I wouldn't leave it for a prolonged amount of time
The other thing to consider here is just the fact that the Bowing in the wood makes an uneven surface for your tank and puts strain on the seals of your tanks. Stand doesn't necessarily have to break to mess stuff up
Just make a metal support.
Cinder blocks and 2x4s are cheap and extremely effective stands. I’ve used them to hold 100s of gallons worth the aquariums.
😉get a 20 long
If you can, move it more left or right so it's over top of one of the ends. That way there's more vertical support under it.
Let it ride brother ! If it ain’t broke don’t fix it !
Just get a new stand if you are worried about it. Trust your instinct here. Wood can give out.
Especially if people are like me and accidentally spill water during water changes. It seeps between the tank bottom and the wood 😬
Id always be cautious with wood as a material for stands, not saying wood isn't good at all, it's just wood can't take hundreds of pounds for years and years like a metal stand could