Lowes cabinets as stand?

[Jbaker2290]

Looking to put a 150g in the kitchen would the ready to go cabinets you buy at lowes be able to support the weight of the tank. The ones that are already put together. They honestly seem no better or worse built than some stands I have bought with tanks.


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[hllywd]

Although the stock Lowes cabinets are NOT designed to be used as an aquarium stand, depending on the configuration of the cabinets you plan to use, they're probably strong enough correctly installed, and once you put some type of appropriate countertop on. There are a lot of variables you didn't supply with your question, for instance I wouldn't put a 120 on a 48" sink base, but with 2 24" base cabinets I'd suggest you'd be ok, again with a proper countertop to distribute the load between the bearing components of the cabinets.
IMO this isn't the best way to go...

 

[bluewater921]

no i would not trust it even with a 20 gallon tank .. they are made of cheap pressed wood ..build your own .. faster and cheaper by far 2x4s and a sheet of ply wood if all you need to build a nice stand for your tank ..

 

[sw_df27]

no I wouldn't trust it either the cabinets lowes makes can not support the weight by it's self I use to work for lowes and I also build houses please don't use one unless you plan to heavily reinforce it

 

[fishyguy7]

without reinforcement I wouldnt even stand on one of those. However, if you added some additional framing inside it would probably be just fine

 

[hllywd]

What are your current cabinets? Similar in design? Most non-custom cabinets are. Make your wife happy, and get a few sand bags... they're pretty inexpensive, and you can dump them in the garden, or make the kids a sandbox afterward. Put them on your current counter top assuming everything is sound and see what you think... don't worry it won't harm the cabinets unless they're really punky in the first place, ultimately it's your call. Kitchen cabinets wouldn't be my first choice, but they will hold a heck of a lot of weight especially across more than one of them.

Wouldn't stand on one? Oh the drama.

 

[tonytboss]

sounds like a bad idea

 

[bluewater921]

sounds like a indoor swimming pool coming soon ...

 

[hebygb]

I think you would be best served building a legit stand and then face it with the lowes cabinet fronts and doors (assuming that you desire a match to existing fixtures). Kitchen cabinets as a rule, especially those mass produced are not designed for the consistent strength required by an aquarium. While there are many "grades" of cabinets, the materials tend not to be made for a wet environment... and then there is the manner that they are constructed typically tongue and groove with glue and staples, small blocks of wood in corners and usually an open bottom back.

Standing, leaning, sitting on a counter is no big deal but I am sure you have heard them creek even in those situations... your tank is going to weigh or exceed 1,400 Lbs and that is a house wrecking amount of water.

 

[Jbaker2290]

Thanks guys may consider a Frame sheet in plywood and buy matching faces for them ! Thanks again.


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[JBarnes]

I've had my tank sitting on Lowes cabinets for years. As you said they are no worse than the crap they sell at the LFS. The trick is that you want to use multiple base cabinets so you have support in the middle. For instance, I had a 4 foot tank and I used two 24" base cabinets. I then put 1.5" of plywood on the top formica'ed with white trim. Looked great, zero issues. My sump etc. was in the basement so I did not do anything to the cabinet except drill two 1.5" holes and one 1" hole that went through the floor to the basement sump.
And the wife got extra storage with the new cabinets.

I would not recommend this setup if you are planning on having a sump below the tank. As mentioned these cabinets are typically made of particle board which is not good in a damp area (sump) in the cabinet. Jerry.

 

[Dapg8gt]

That would be 1252.5+ pounds of water. I would def reinforce it if you went that route. I think your plan of the 2x4's and facing the ply would be best.

 

[Jbaker2290]

I've had my tank sitting on Lowes cabinets for years. As you said they are no worse than the crap they sell at the LFS. The trick is that you want to use multiple base cabinets so you have support in the middle. For instance, I had a 4 foot tank and I used two 24" base cabinets. I then put 1.5" of plywood on the top formica'ed with white trim. Looked great, zero issues. My sump etc. was in the basement so I did not do anything to the cabinet except drill two 1.5" holes and one 1" hole that went through the floor to the basement sump.
And the wife got extra storage with the new cabinets.

I would not recommend this setup if you are planning on having a sump below the tank. As mentioned these cabinets are typically made of particle board which is not good in a damp area (sump) in the cabinet. Jerry.

This is exactly what I was originally thinking I wanted the tank to be a peninsula and then a kind of breakfast bar coming off the one side that you could sit at in from of the tank.


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[hllywd]

OK, so I happened to be at Lowes today and walked by the unfinished cabinets.

Given the fact that my original suggestion was to use multiple cabinets, it's my opinion 3 or 4 of them with a proper countertop, and installed on a solid, level floor would certainly support a 150. The sides are made of 1/2" particle board much the same as commercial aquarium stands. With 3 base cabinets you'd have 6 of the side pieces supporting your correctly installed top to distribute the weight over all the cabinets. Comparing these cabinets to AGA or Oceanic stands of similar materials, it's my opinion the cabinets would work.

 

[Screener]

OK, so I happened to be at Lowes today and walked by the unfinished cabinets.

Given the fact that my original suggestion was to use multiple cabinets, it's my opinion 3 or 4 of them with a proper countertop, and installed on a solid, level floor would certainly support a 150. The sides are made of 1/2" particle board much the same as commercial aquarium stands. With 3 base cabinets you'd have 6 of the side pieces supporting your correctly installedK top to distribute the weight over all the cabinets. Comparing these cabinets to AGA or Oceanic stands of similar materials, it's my opinion the cabinets would work.

+1
Of course you will use something like poly on the door skins but you could also get extra mileage by sealing the particleboard inside and out. Agree sump need to be outside the base.

 

[Wannabe29]

"Overbuild! Overbuild! You'll have a swimming pool in your house unless you overbuild!"

This is a pretty old and tired chant on this forum. You don't need to use 2x4's to build a stand. Most commercial stands are made of suprisingly crappy material and they hold up just fine. Kitchen cabinets should be absolutely fine for a stand. My kitchen island is 48" by 24" and it's holding a 1.5" thick granite countertop. The granite weighs a few hundred pounds and there's absolutely no problems with it. If you're worried about the quality of the off-the-shelf cabinets, special order better ones. Make sure you go with all plywood construction and you'll be fine.

People on here DIY stands that you can park an armored truck on. That's fine, but completely uneccesary.

 

[spollock818]

Agreed a few hundred pounds is okay, but with salt water weighing 8.8 pounds per gallon, plus weight of tank, rock, its more than a few hundred pounds. Lets see. 150 gallon DT - rock and sand, lets say 100 gallons to be safe. That's 100 x 8.8 = 880 pounds, plus tank, being on the safe side another 75 = 955 pounds. Then there is the 50 pounds of rock weight, plus 60 pounds of sand (if you are not going bare bottom) = a whopping 1065 pounds of weight. If it was me, I would definately not take the chance, but I will be subscribing to this thread just to see what would happen if you go with the prefabbed stuff.

 

[wakerider017]

The avg. joe only looks at weight alone.. When you figure its going to weigh literally a ton it seems overwhelming.

But, why don't you try figuring out the PSI of the tank. Now figure out the PSI of standing on one foot.

Stand on one foot anywhere on your current counters (Make sure your not doing this where your counter is overhanging). Heck, have several members of your family stand on one foot on your current cabinets. You'll look like a flock of flamingos..

Point made...

 

[garydan]

Yes, many on here overbuild. My physics prof had a saying. "Anyone can build a bridge that holds, but it takes an engineer to build a bridge that just barely holds."

If you're building, and you're not an engineer, you're much better off overbuilding than trying to build something that just barely holds and ends up failing.

For the lowes cabinet, i'd bet it'd support a 20 gallon tank no sweat. I'd never use it though, because living in an EQ zone, i don't have any faith that the stapled plastic corners could support any kind of torsion. It's the kind of situation where a kid runs into the side of the stand with a tricycle and the whole thing comes crashing down.

 

[Wannabe29]

The avg. joe only looks at weight alone.. When you figure its going to weigh literally a ton it seems overwhelming.

But, why don't you try figuring out the PSI of the tank. Now figure out the PSI of standing on one foot.

Stand on one foot anywhere on your current counters (Make sure your not doing this where your counter is overhanging). Heck, have several members of your family stand on one foot on your current cabinets. You'll look like a flock of flamingos..

Point made...

Exactly. The weight of the tank is evenly distributed over every upright cabiniet member that comes in contact with the floor and the stand. That's how those flimsy store-bought stands can support the weight of some rather large tanks.

You don't need to be an engineer to build a decent tank stand. You only have to know some very basic carpentry skills. Also, the combination of glue and screws makes for some INCREDIBLY strong joints. If you make a stand out of 3/4" plywood and glue and screw every joint, you'll have a ridiculously strong and stable stand. Far, far better than anything you'll get at the store. Since you'll be skipping 2/4's in the construction, you'll have a lot more room underneath for a sump or whatever you want.

Back to the cabinets; I lean on my kitchen island all the time. I'm not a small guy. The thing does not wrack or creak, or pop. If you take a piece of plywood, glue and screw it down over the top of the cabinets, then put the tank on, you'll be left with a stand that will hold up to anything you would normally encounter in a household scenario.

But, if you want to deal with 2x4's, go ahead. They wrack, twist, warp, bow and are a general pain in the butt to deal with. There are a lot of people here who have had to make lots of little tweaks to their 2x4 stands due to the issues associated with the lumber itself. For me, plywood is much easier to work with. I'm definitely not losing any sleep over my stand's construction. And, no, I'm not an engineer.