Q: Solana 34g stand solid?

[SeahorseGuyetGal]

Hi there!

I recently purchased the Solana 34g aquarium system and stand.

I would like to hear your opinions about the solidness of the Solana stand. After assembly of the stand I noticed a slight wobble (@ 3mm back to front).  I was thinking of removing the plastic feet and letting it sit on the wood legs directly.  Secondly, the instruction manual indicates a weight capacity of 350 lbs.  A fully loaded 34 gallon marine tank would be about 350-400 lbs.  Should I re-enforce the stand with the addition of some bracing or is good as is?

Any feedback is welcomed.

Thanks

[Vincenzo.]

first question, is your floor level?
second, is it assembled tightly, the screws tight as possible.
third, yes it should hold. but if you are worried bracing does not hurt.

[Hookup]

If it was a package, then it will hold.  Kind of hard to believe that a Mfg would sell a stand with a tank that isn't designed to hold it's weight.  If you are worried it's not going together correctly, or something is wrong, you'll want to take it back into where you got it and have it checked out.  Sucks, but 34gal of water all over the floor sucks more... unless you're a duck.

[SeahorseGuyetGal]

first question, is your floor level?
second, is it assembled tightly, the screws tight as possible.
third, yes it should hold. but if you are worried bracing does not hurt.

Thanks for the reply   What initially threw me was the max weight capacity of the stand.  The instruction manual for the stand says to not exceed 350 lbs.  Hmmph!

The floor is level and all is as tight as possible.  I was going add a whole back of 3/4" plywood to the the stand and use 1 and a half inch screws to go into the stand.  I am thinking the weight could be further redistributed along the length of the wood brace and the 4 legs. 

This may be overkill, and a Google search didn't reveal anyone having a stand blow on them but...

Cons:  My wife is worried I'll uglyfy the setup.
Pros:  No swimming with the ducks or showering the condo below.

[Vincenzo.]

ya it's hard on the eyes when you have a unfinished table...you could always just put the bracing inside the stand. if it has doors it'll be hidden.

[salvini55]

I bought a used stand for a 55 gallon. I believe it was the BA's stingray stand, its just malamar press board or whatever... Long story short... It wobbled soo much I felt the same way about it at first. Once the tank was full of water youd bet it was rock solid.

[Hookup]

Honestly, you're right to be worried... at least if it got you to a point where you're posting here, it's not worth the risk.  If you bought it used, then likely your options might be limited, a bit.  However, I know that a LFS should have some (I'm not sure who all caries that line) but you should go check out how they think it is supposed to "fit" before moving forward.   Yes, with 300lbs of water+rock, i'll stop moving some.. but who knows...

Sounds like something is not the way it should be.  If my brand-new stand moved 3 or 4 mm in any direction i'd be either returning it, or bracing it, once I confirmed it wasn't me that set it up wrong (which would be 99% of the time if it was me).  It just should not do that, period.

Get'r checked out so you can sleep well.

[SeahorseGuyetGal]

Honestly, you're right to be worried... at least if it got you to a point where you're posting here, it's not worth the risk.  If you bought it used, then likely your options might be limited, a bit.  However, I know that a LFS should have some (I'm not sure who all caries that line) but you should go check out how they think it is supposed to "fit" before moving forward.   Yes, with 300lbs of water+rock, i'll stop moving some.. but who knows...

Sounds like something is not the way it should be.  If my brand-new stand moved 3 or 4 mm in any direction i'd be either returning it, or bracing it, once I confirmed it wasn't me that set it up wrong (which would be 99% of the time if it was me).  It just should not do that, period.

Get'r checked out so you can sleep well.

Update:  The wobble height is about the width of a steel ruler with a cork backing (3-4mm).

I did contact a LFS that supplies the tank as well as one in Mtl to get their opinion.  The one here suggested that no mods are necessary in regards to weight capacity. Regardless, I added another large brace to the back of the stand and got rid of the plastic floor guards for better weight displacement. 

30 lbs live rock
20-25 lbs gravel
45 lbs light and aquarium
250 lbs water (I figure that the gravel and live rock will displace about 10 gal of water)

Total:350 lbs  Does this sound right to you guys?

Moving the stand around the dining room floor revealed one spot (where I wanted to setup to begin with) that the stand no longer wobbled   Having found this spot I put the empty tank onto the stand and took a level to see if things were off center.  Doesn't seem so.

Today I will start filling it with water to  test the tank and of course, the stand.  Will keep you all updated.

[Hookup]

It sounds right to me... .and if you're stand is flat on the foor, no legs, a thought might be to shim the stand level with the tank on it...