Ikea

[nivliw]

Does someone use their stuff to have the tank on it? If yes, which one? I kinda don’t wanna pay 300€ again for a tank support

 

[JayP]

I know Mark of MJ Aquascaping has mentioned using Ikea furniture for some of his tanks, but I wouldn't trust it for any thing more than a 75l tank. Anything more than that I would add some additional bracing/support.

 

[BranchScape]

Does someone use their stuff to have the tank on it? If yes, which one? I kinda don’t wanna pay 300€ again for a tank support

MJ Aquascaping has used IKEA. Then there is this hilarious test below.

 

[SmartAlec13]

3rd on seeing MJ Aquascaping use it. But I wouldn't trust it to anything large. Personally, and maybe I am paranoid, but I wouldn't go above 10-15 gallons.

 

[gnatster]

MJ also braced his Ikea furniture.

 

[Koan]

I kinda don’t wanna pay 300€ again for a tank support

I put my tanks on secondhand furniture whenever possible, sometimes antique sometimes modern side tables, end tables, TV stands, dressers sideboards credenzas lowboys.. have found some very cool stuff on Craigslist

craigslist | italy

Post in thread 'Stand up for your stand'

Mar 16, 2025

on a minimalist kick

Same all but my largest tank are hosted on Craigslist antique tables, sideboards and consoles, top protected with a piece of plexiglass





I want my furniture to look like.. furniture

For quarantine and Nano tanks a flat-pack "kitchen island cart" can be just the ticket. Some are available as a closed cabinet as well I liked the looks of this one better, half price on sale + no particle board and comes with a stainless steel top. Just set it up without the wheels, no muss no fuss




Wooden slat storage...

• Koan

• 

another option is flat-pack kitchen island cart from Walmart or equivalent

 

[ample]

I bought a SUNDSO galvanized steel cabinet from IKEA and reinforced the inside for a 12 gallon UNS 45T. It's a 2x2 lumber frame with plywood at the top in full contact with the inside surface of the top of the cabinet.

Got the idea from MJ, as others have mentioned, as well as Emscaping on Youtube.

 

[JacksonL]

Looks great! Any details on the reinforcement?

 

[JayP]

as well as Emscaping on Youtube.

That video just popped up on my suggested youtube video list yesterday. Big brother is definitely keeping close tabs on us.

 

[ample]

Looks great! Any details on the reinforcement?

I think doing these reinforcements is much, much easier to achieve with a wood/MDF cabinet to begin with, but in my case I chose a metal cabinet, so the design ended up being like a lumber structural frame with the cabinet as a decorative shell that slides over the top, which I didn't tie together with any screws. The key was getting the measurements as flush as possible with the inside of the frame so that all of the weight could be transferred directly through the frame to the floor. I wrote about it in a bit more depth in my journal, but basically, since the IKEA cabinet has leveling feet, it made it much easier to achieve this.

I've built standalone tank stands out of 2x4s in the past using the classic design, but for this I just did two 2x2 frames for the top and bottom with four verticals to connect them. Because the fit between the frame and the cabinet is so flush, they reinforce each other and there's no torquing or lateral movement. It's shockingly solid. I have a plywood top as well because the metal cabinet faces are extremely thin and not at all rigid. By building the interior frame slightly taller than the minimum height of the cabinet, it ensures that the cabinet top can sit directly on top of the plywood and make full contact, while I can just extend the leveling feet of the cabinet to meet the floor.