its a deep blue stand, basically particle board wrapped in some kind of plastic. honestly it's been 5 years and I don't trust it to last the move, it feels like IKEA made it.
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Makes sense. Wasn't sure if it was wood or metal in which case you could re-finish cheap and with ease.
I was hoping to get the 30X30 stand so I can have more than a 10G sump as the current stands interior dimensions are 23X23 (give or take half an inch)
Thats the exact reason I built my own stand for thee 24x24 30 gal. It has room for a 20gal sump, 10gal fuge and misc other stuff I keep there
I would be concerned with all the pressure of the tank not being on the edges of the stand. Seems like the wood could warp or bow in the middle of the stand. The stands are made to distribute the weight evenly across the entire surface. By putting a 3.5 Inch gap around the tank... you would be moving alot off pressure off the sides ( your strongest supports) and in to the middle. I may be wrong in thinking this way but to be 100% sure I would contact the manufacturer of the stand. You might also void any warranty of the stand or tank if you do this....
I made my own stand there is a DIY video. That way you can make it how you want and finish how you want. I made mine larger then they tank for storage space.
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Personally mine was only made for a smaller but I believe cross beams is all you need maybe double them up or use bigger/stronger materials. But same design for larger scale. You could also post your designs in the DIY Section of Reef Central...they are always really helpful there. And if I planned it out right I could have put thin plywood to block of sides. But it was my first and I was rushing with excitement. Take your time. I suggest finding a way to make the bottom of the stand measured out to make sure your sump etc will fit as well. And if you are having your power bars etc under the stand figure out how to secure them to the underside of the top before setting it up lol!I watched a video and it really doesn't look all that hard. I'm going to do a practice one for my basement mixing stand. How did you support your tank on the larger stand? A beam going across?