Acrylic Stand vs Pine Stand

[luckyk0505]

Which one is better?
hows price range for 72x18
how about oak??

 

[aarone]

ive never seen an acrylic stand. I made my own out of pine and it holds up well. Most wood bought at a lumber yard will be fine. it all depends on looks.

 

[calvindo]

i came really close with purchasing an acrylic stand. but after some thoughts... i realize it will scratch real easy and might look a little cheesy
Now i end up spending $1700 just for stand and canopy for my 125G. It is made of birdseye maple and looks awesome!
one thing to think about... choosing a stand and canopy is like buying furniture for your home. Make sure it flow with your furnishing... so i suggest you do some research and get something you really like.

 

[dreeves]

Bird's Eye maple...love that wood...

 

[cindyski]

lucky,
i am going with oak the guy building mine for a 125gal charged 650 for pine and 725 for oak. for $75 i chose the better wood. the canopy will be extra tall for the MH's.
where at in cleveland are you? i lived in strongsville, columbia sta, valley city (just curious) do you shop at RMS?

 

[luckyk0505]

I live in Eastlake OHIo
I used to shop at RMS but not anymore..
sometimes its ok but most of the time.. there fish have
bad color and they are sick but good price thought..
I shop all my fish online

 

[dzones]

I have a custom oak stand for my 125 and i know for a fact it is some pretty big dollars for oak. I did buy my tank and stand second hand cause the satnd and overhead cover/canopy unit alone new was 950 bucks.
So unless you have very deep pockets...choose a diff woood.

 

[zanemoseley]

I'm glad I'm gonna be able to make my stand and canopy myself for my 75, its only gonna cost me about $200 for an oak stand.

 

[justinx]

Personally, I think that a black acrylic stand looks very impressive, especially the size you are talking about . . . BUT . . . . only for like the first few months. After that they get scratched and begin looking rather cheap and tacky. True there are buffer and repair kits out there, but with the amount of time you are going to put into the tank itself, do you really want to invest more time into the things that holds it up?
Go with wood . . . . plus wood can be made to match your existing furniture.
Justin

 

[daniel411]

Do acrylic stands really not hold up? I'm leaning towards black acrylic vs. oak for my 480g tank. I can't imagine I'd really have to much of a problem with scratches; no kids, and as of yesterday I had to euthanize my cat. The kitten had brain damage after surgery and couldn't regulate its body temp. As soon as it came out of the incubator its temp would start dropping.
I personally don't know anyone with an acrylic stand. Has anyone had one for a length of time without any problems?

 

[cindyski]

Daniel
sorry about your cat
if you are going to have a 480gal tank, i would do lots and lots and lots of research on stands. i dont think it is something you are going to want to take down if there would be a problem with the stand

 

[justinx]

Dan . . . . I am going to assume that your residence is rather permanant. If thats the case, and you dont plan on moving for a while, I would put some serious thought into a steel stand. Not the whole thing, but the frame and supports, and then put a facia on the outside be it whatever you please.
Just a thought here . . . . 480 gallons of water at 8 lbs per gallon = around 3840 lbs. But you have to add in the weight of the tank, the weight of the lighting (unless you do a pendant, which I personally would). But you are not going to have 480 gallons of water, more like 300 with a lot of sand and rock. You tank will be well over 2 tons when its done. Personally . . . . I would trust nothing but steel beams. I can point you in the right direction to a small little engineering firm thats local if you're interested. I cant even put an estimate on cost, but I dont think that steel beams are all that expensive (relatively speaking)
justin