Retrofitting an 8' stand to hold a 6' tank

[Postal]

I recently lost all but 2 of my fish to an outbreak of oodinium in my 3-tank system. Since I am basically starting over I'm taking the time to change things up. I want to replace the 3 tanks with a single 72" 125g tank. So do you think this stand (3 stands connected as one) will support the 6' tank? Obviously weight isn't the issue since it is supporting about 115g right now. But how much of an issue are the non-continuous top and bottom rails? They are all glued and screwed together but is that enough?
So what changes (if any) would you make to the stand? And no an 8ft tank is not an option since I won't spend 2k on a custom aquarium.

 

[bmullikin1]

looks like it would be fine, might want to add another 2x4 cross member where the 125 would end on each side, but between solid ply top and front i think it would be more than strong enough.

 

[Postal]

It's not a solid ply top. It just looks like that when the tanks are on it because you can only see the 2x4 connecting the stands between the tanks

 

[bmullikin1]

got it, maybe use a solid ply top, to provide one solid surface and more structural rigidity, does the bottom center have 2x4 connecting each side like the top.

 

[CrazyEyes]

Wouldnt make any changes. I'd personally be comfortable putting a 6 foot tank on it.

 

[nhbsab]

Looks real nice. As long as each cabinet section has a solid piece of plywood. It will be more than strong enough.

 

[Postal]

got it, maybe use a solid ply top, to provide one solid surface and more structural rigidity, does the bottom center have 2x4 connecting each side like the top.

No, the bottoms are attach by the pieces of plwood serving as the floor of the stand. The left and right pieces of plywood are screwed into the end stands as well as the middle stand.
The fron skin is a single sheet of 5/16" plywood

Thinking about putting verticle 2x4's between to center gaps on the front and rear and use pocket holes to attach them to the verticle supports of each stand. They won't go to the ground but should make the stand more of a single unit which I think is the only potential weakness.

 

[setsail4mexico]

I would think as long as they are on a solid surface (like concrete floors as most are here in Florida) it would be fine since there is no way one would shift lower thus taking on more weight than the others. Can tell by the water level being even.

 

[Postal]

I would think as long as they are on a solid surface (like concrete floors as most are here in Florida) it would be fine since there is no way one would shift lower thus taking on more weight than the others. Can tell by the water level being even.

Yeah, the entire stand is pretty dead level where it currently sits.

 

[MJNTWise]

Naaa stand isn't big enough. 125 gal? Go bigger. Lol

 

[rfalvey89]

I would add some Styrofoam on ton top just to be sure. HD/Lowe's has sheets of them

 

[Postal]

Naaa stand isn't big enough. 125 gal? Go bigger. Lol

Can't go bigger without going custom, especially since I don't want a tall tank. Trust me, I priced out and 96" x 18" option, and they don't make the 96x24x24 240g anymore.

 

[janes_mw]

No problem at all

 

[TheAquatect]

Totally fine, heck its over built! Plywood on top would just help evenly spread the load if needed but the tank frame would rest on the horizontal 2x4's correct? So you'd be more than fine.

 

[Kworker]

Can't go bigger without going custom, especially since I don't want a tall tank. Trust me, I priced out and 96" x 18" option, and they don't make the 96x24x24 240g anymore.

Went through the same thing a couple years ago.. was looking for a 96"x18" because we had a heating vent on the floor that it would need to fit behind. Then we decided we would move the vent because I seen 240g (96"x24") was fairly common.. Couldn't find them anywhere.. in the end we got a 180, but it was funny how everywhere we went looking for the 240, nobody decided to tell us there was a 265 gallon (84"x24") tank available.. We were deciding on the 180 gallon long from glass cages (96"x18") but didn't want to deal with the process of shipping or picking it up far away.

Good luck. My initial thought would be that you would want the stand to support each corner of the tank however.