Building on an existing stand

[Nakinata]

I currently have a 10 gallon aquarium stand that was made out of very thick metal by my dad's friend. Recently, I just bought a 20 gallon high. Now aquarium stands are expensive and I don't want to fork out the money to get another one, so my question is, can I work with this current stand to make it hold a 20 gallon high?

The 20 gallon high is slightly longer than the 10 gallon tank, if I just put a longer piece of wood on top of the stand, would it be able to support my tank? Here is a picture of what the stand kind of looks like, although the metal here is flimsier. Please note, this is not actually my stand. Thank you for all your help.

 

[SubRosa]

If you have to ask if and how, don't!

 

[Nakinata]

What do you think would be cheaper, building your own stand or buying one for a 20 gallon?

 

[allaboutfish]

craigslist

 

[TL1000RSquid]

Petco has the metal manhattan stand for $45 or so for 20g, depending what supplies you already have you can build a wood stand for around the same or less. Or as the previous post said craigslist, you can probably find a old CRT tv stand in the free section a quality stand meant for a 32"+ inch CRT should hold up a 20g fine.

 

[dbosman]

Ask your dad's friend if the stand is strong enough for a larger tank. They know how good the joints are.
If so, and the friend doesn't volunteer to make the top larger, two layers of .75" plywood will support a 20H.
Most places that sell plywood will cut something for you. You'll want to measure your tank to make sure, but 13" x 25" is in the neighborhood of the size top you'll want.

 

[Nakinata]

Thanks dbosman, I think I might just go buy a thick piece of wood then and put that on top of the stand.