Pre-Made Cabinets
- Thread starter happyvac
- Start date
littlebuck
Active Member
if you are going to do that make sure you get the good cabinets most of them are made out of crap wood.
28fishman
Member
Originally Posted by HappyVac
Could I use pre-made kitchen cabinets (like the type sold at Lowe's or Home Depot) for an aquarium stand? Or would they be too weak? It's a 90g FOWLR if that matters.
Thanks
Make sure it is not made out of MDF or Particle Board material, If either get wet there normally will start to rot away, either by expanding or flaking away.
Could I use pre-made kitchen cabinets (like the type sold at Lowe's or Home Depot) for an aquarium stand? Or would they be too weak? It's a 90g FOWLR if that matters.
Thanks
Make sure it is not made out of MDF or Particle Board material, If either get wet there normally will start to rot away, either by expanding or flaking away.
28fishman
Member
Originally Posted by HappyVac
Hmm...so would some good, solid maple cabinets be okay? It doesn't seem like they could support 90 gallons of water and rock :/
Solid Maple is a hard wood, would be good, better than most pine stands, most of the reasonable priced premade stands are made with 1 inch (actually about 3/4 inch) thick pine and are stapled together ( or nailed together with brads) , pine is a softwood, and can withstand a heavy load rating, your house is made with pine (spruce) 2x4 lumber.
I am having a stand made for a 180 gallon tank, based on 2x4 uprights, each end upright is a doubled up 2x4, 2x6 bottoms and tops, sides and tops are covered with cabinet grade birch plywood, four doors on the front trimmed with casing, and one door on the side, Will use a 55 gallon tank as a sump and my refuge will be a CPR Aquafuge Pro, the overall dimensions are 96 inches long, 26 inches deep and 32 inches tall. The tank that will sit on top is 72 inches long by 24 inches deep. The extra area is for additional equipment below the tank and if I decide to go with a larger tank I will still be able to use this for up to a 265 gallon tank.
Hmm...so would some good, solid maple cabinets be okay? It doesn't seem like they could support 90 gallons of water and rock :/
Solid Maple is a hard wood, would be good, better than most pine stands, most of the reasonable priced premade stands are made with 1 inch (actually about 3/4 inch) thick pine and are stapled together ( or nailed together with brads) , pine is a softwood, and can withstand a heavy load rating, your house is made with pine (spruce) 2x4 lumber.
I am having a stand made for a 180 gallon tank, based on 2x4 uprights, each end upright is a doubled up 2x4, 2x6 bottoms and tops, sides and tops are covered with cabinet grade birch plywood, four doors on the front trimmed with casing, and one door on the side, Will use a 55 gallon tank as a sump and my refuge will be a CPR Aquafuge Pro, the overall dimensions are 96 inches long, 26 inches deep and 32 inches tall. The tank that will sit on top is 72 inches long by 24 inches deep. The extra area is for additional equipment below the tank and if I decide to go with a larger tank I will still be able to use this for up to a 265 gallon tank.
chipmaker
Active Member
Really hard to say, without seeing how its constructed. A lot of cabinets are made in a fashion that they rely on then being fastened to other cabinets and a wall to provide true structural inbtegrity. There is just too many different ways to make a cabinet to say for sure without actually seeing it and how its constructed........but for the most part, it oculd be easily modded with reinforcements etc and support for the top, etc and be more than suitable.......When yu look at the prices they get for some of those MDF / flake// particle board cabinets and stands they sell for stands it would not be unreasonable to assume you could eaily make a cabinet from Lowes etc work.
nel621
Member
Funny you should mention home depot cabinets 'cause I was there yesterday with the same idea for my 90 gal. I was thinking of buying a rta cabinet (ready to assemble) mills pride, but I couldn't find out what the sides were made of. I was thinking of buying this cabinet and reinforcing it with 2x4. Although, kitchen cabinets are usually 24" deep and I think they only come 36" wide. A bathroom sink cabinet is about 22" deep and maybe a better choice. Also so it dosen't look like a kitchen/bathroom cabinet in your living room you may want to add some wood and moulding to the base of the cabinet to cover the toekick so that the cabinet looks more like a piece of furniture. I am still thinking of doing this myself. Let me know what you decide.