[xxbenjamminxx]

I have the aqueon oak colored tank stand. Looks like this: http://www.petsr4u.com/aqueon-cabinet-a ... finish.asp but in the 48 inch version.

What I want to do is put a 20g long tank under there and move both of my canisters to one side of the stand. But in order to do this and have it work I would need to take hole saw and make 2 holes in the back wall for the hoses to go through since the opening is only in the center and I wouldnt be able to or would want to bend my hoses over, around, and through this premade spot. If I were to do this think I would be jeopardizing the integrity of the stand too much? Each hole would have to be about 3 inches maybe could get by with a little less and would make them in one of the back corners.

Has anyone done this before or is not recommended to do that to pre-made tank stands?

Thanks in advance

 

[PfunMo]

When they say laminate, I think of a man-made material that might not be too strong as compared to wood. for wood, the 3" hole would not be a problem but with some laminates it might weaken them. One way to feel better about this would be to lay a second layer inside the laminate back. Is there space where you could cut a board to fit, glued and fastened inside the laminate back? If so, cutting the hole through both then will not hurt the strength at all. Make the holes in a place a bit away from the edges of the laminate so that if it does tend to crumble a little it will not reach the edge of that section. A hole in it does no harm but if it crumbles too far,---- that's bad!

 

[xxbenjamminxx]

Thanks for the reply. I was looking at it further and its just the particle board with the oak laminate on it so I decided for now to just place the canisters on the floor next to the stand. Didnt want to risk it. I am planning on building new real stand for it this summer sometime or at least buying a new on since this one is second hand and not the best that I have seen.

The thought of 75g of water on my living room floor and losing all my fish isnt one the best so Im sticking to the safe side for now.

 

[Flippercon]

Looking at the pics I cant tell if there are 1x4s or anything for better structural support. If there is i would say its okay, if not do what PfunMo said and add a crutch to your stand for insurance.

 

[fmueller]

A couple of 3" holes are a non-issue. Just put them where you need them and forget about it. The main issue I see with that stand is that you need to make 100% sure it never get's wet, and that would worry me with a tank stand. Particle board gets soft as warm butter when it's wet, and a wet stand would simply be squashed by the weight of the tank.

Two 3' holes won't affect the stability of the stand like that. I sawed much larger holes in the stand of my 240G. It's made in a similar way, but out of plywood. years later there is no issue, but if I posted about the details in any forum, some people would likely suffer a heart attack :wink:

 

[jkulysses]

Ya what the above poster said one 3" hole isn't going to affect the stability of that stand but if your super worried about it put some 2"x2" bracing on the inside corners then you know it isn't going anywhere. [/list]