[a_c_arnold]

I've been needing to upgrade my tank stand for a while. I'm going to start building this at the end of the week.

 

[Mcdaphnia]

The trouble with a kick plate on an aquarium stand, is that it makes the tank less stable. If a small child should try to climb the front to look in, the whole tank could fall over on them with disastrous results.

 

[iceblue]

The trouble with a kick plate on an aquarium stand, is that it makes the tank less stable. If a small child should try to climb the front to look in, the whole tank could fall over on them with disastrous results.

Agreed. That was my first thought when I looked at the rendering.

 

[a_c_arnold]

Yeah I had your concerns at first, the toe kick takes away some stability, but there are three feet that are kind of hard to see in the rendering. The stand will likely be on carpet, so I will likely put an achor strap into a stud just to be safe.

 

[Mcdaphnia]

Yeah I had your concerns at first, the toe kick takes away some stability, but there are three feet that are kind of hard to see in the rendering. The stand will likely be on carpet, so I will likely put an achor strap into a stud just to be safe.

Put a 2 by 6 horizontally on the wall behind the stand near the top and lag bolt it into several studs. Then lag or carriage bolt the top of the stand into the 2 by 6. When you move the tank some day, the holes from the lag bolts will be as easy to fix as nails from picture frames. They will take a little more spackle is all.

I see the legs now that you explain them.They suggest a bit of hommage to a 1960's architectural movement - exposing structural and utility elements. I guess I understand the intent behind that school, but it still impacts me with the visual force of a necropsy. Unless there is a reason for peeling away the outer layers, such as repair or remodeling, I prefer to see my pets, buildings, and furniture "intact".

The legs should solve the stability question and simplify the structural problems inside the stand a kick plate creates. I think I have implied I don't like the looks of the legs, but they will function. :wink: If I had to do it this way, I'd probably cover the legs with the same shell as the stand, or carve out some big blocks of hardwood into eagle claws. There. I hope you can untangle the esthetic from the structural. Some people really appreciate that kind of architectural design, enough I think it lingered on until the '80's or so. Maybe it's still around. Oh! I guess it is! http://www.aqua.org/

 

[zazz]

there is no way a small child can pull over a tank full of water .....just because it has a one or two inch recess kickplate...impossible.

 

[booba5]

ever heard of leverage?

 

[Mcdaphnia]

there is no way a small child can pull over a tank full of water .....just because it has a one or two inch recess kickplate...impossible.

One of the fish club members had exactly that happen, lost a child.

 

[a_c_arnold]

I wanted to post an update of the stand. I need to finish building the doors and a matching canopy but there never seems to be enough time. I had to set it up because I recently moved and didn't want to tear down the tank to swap the new stand for the old. Here's a few pics.

 

[bentcountershaft]

I think that's great. I like the kickplate and feet look too. Adds a little more character to it. More like furniture than a box with a tank on top. It'll look awesome when complete.

 

[balachel]

yeah one of the nicest tank stands i've seen good job.