# 20 gallon long on dresser?



## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Could it be possible to hold a 20 gallon long on someone's dresser? If it's sturdy enough?

I have a 56 gallon column aquarium in my living room, and I thought it'd be fun to go all out and get started with another tank in my bedroom, and that'd be a pretty good size for my dresser


----------



## steven p (Jun 22, 2012)

Jump on that dresser and sheake the crap out of it. If its sturdy, good to go. That's how I check all my stands.


----------



## rustbucket (Oct 15, 2011)

Depends on the dresser, I have some I would trust and others I wouldn't. If your really worried about it then its probably not strong enough.

Also if your like me and keep "stuff" on your dresser, ie brushes etc then you might find it annoying n the long run to loose that space.


----------



## BlueSlurpee (Jul 18, 2008)

I've been running that same exact setup for 6 years without a problem.


----------



## CAM6467 (Feb 11, 2009)

Depends dude. Walmart crap fiberboard furniture will fail 100% of time resulting in much cussing and misery. Solid wood cabinetry will hold. Trial and error may be your best bet though....


----------



## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Another note: if the dresser is on a carpet it's most likely not level. I have several tanks on counter-tops and having the water level in the back lower then in the front is pretty annoying. If you do use the dresser, level it first, not the tank.


----------



## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Well as far as I know it's Solid wood. no cheap stuff. And I have it pretty leveled because it's right on hard floor, not carpet


----------



## BrotherEppY (Oct 24, 2012)

i got a 37 tall on an ikea shelf so if your dresser is real wood your rock an roll


----------



## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Had a 10G on my dresser, which seemed sturdy and flat enough. Two years later the tank blew a seam. The top of the dresser had sagged ever so slightly over time with the weight, and was no longer flat.

Perhaps it wasn't as sturdy as I thought. 

If I ever do it again, even if I think the dresser is up to it, I will use compliant padding between the tank and dresser to help balance the load should the surface warp. At very least styrofoam. I have some 1/2" thick heavy neoprene foam rubber salvaged from a high-end RV carpeting job, which has proven itself excellent for the task on some other questionable surfaces.


----------



## Freeasabird (Dec 10, 2012)

OP I know you said yours seems to be solid wood, but for all the other readers:

Water, weight, particle board. Pick two.


----------



## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

I have kept tanks on dressers. 
If it is a long dresser, with 2 sets of drawers, then it will sag. Don't do it. The legs are so far apart that it will sag. 
If it is a single set of drawers, that means the legs are closer, then it may hold up just fine. Listen to the warnings posted above. 

You might want to re-seal or paint it before exposing it to the moisture of the aquarium.


----------



## MidnightSkies (Feb 3, 2009)

I keep a 20g long on my dresser and it does fine and even on the carpet is completely level. Mine is an Ikea dresser. It's only one drawer wide though (3 high). The tank fits almost perfect on it. If you don't feel like yours is sturdy, I definitely wouldn't do it. Mine I'm confident in.


----------



## jake10 (Aug 8, 2012)

If its sturdy enough the next thing to worry about is water damage to the dresser top


----------



## AirstoND (Jun 17, 2011)

How high is it?

The more weight is spread/closer across the floor, the more stable it would be.


----------



## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Not really sure how high it is, but not too high. I got on top of it today and shook it a little bit. I think it should be fine, because it barely even moved at all. Even when I was on top of it along with a few other things, too.


----------



## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

I had a 55g on a dresser for 4 years with no issues... Well it destroyed the finish on the dresser, but that was because I made a mess cleaning it and got water all over


----------



## drewsuf82 (May 27, 2012)

steven p said:


> Jump on that dresser and sheake the crap out of it. If its sturdy, good to go. That's how I check all my stands.


The imagery here is EPIC!!!! roud:

I've got 10 gallons on top of the cheap walmart dresser (pressboard) and on top of the really cheap 3 shelf book case, there's a bit of a dip but the one tank has been running on the dresser for over 3 years now with no issues at all!

If it's real wood I'm with steven give it a good work over and see what you think!


----------

