Could my IKEA Dresser Hold a 10g Tank With About 75 ish lbs?

[DinkDonk]

Hello everyone, I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post this question, but I would like to ask if my Ikea dresser can hold about 75 lbs, 50 from my 50 lb play sand color and about 25 more pounds from the water that I need to add for the Sandcastle like consistency. I have the link to my dresser from Ikea, and the image that I've taken of my dresser and a tank. I've chosen to put it in my room, because it's typically the warmest , and it also has good humidity in there as well. I have fashioned a makeshift lid for the tank. I'm thinking about wrapping it with aluminum foil for heat and humidity trapping. Thank you all for supporting me! I'm excited to get my crabs around Wednesday so that I could get my 3 Musketeers some Thanksgiving grub!

IKEA Link
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/malm-4-dra ... -20360464/

Tank
https://imgur.com/gallery/ZdcM0Bz

Lid
https://imgur.com/gallery/uFyVey5

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[Scarletfire]

The malm dressers don't give a weight capacity on their website, either because it's too low to look like a good Stat to post, or they haven't tested it. If they didn't test the weight capacity, it's because they don't expect their products to bear any weight. That being said, 75lbs is being, distributed to two plywood upright sides so I think thats fine. My greater concern would be the bowing of the top ledge when all the weight is in the middle,as the dressers aren't designed to hold that much weight on top.

You could calculate the weight capacity since ikea uses MDF boards for malm.

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[Hermiesguardian]

I'm sorry I don't have any info about the weight and the dresser. I wanted to ask about your tank set up. Is that log staying in there? It looks like there wont be enough room for 2 water bowls and a food dish. How big are the crabs you'll be getting? Do you know? Normally 3 in a 10 gal is a little crowded.

[DinkDonk]

I wish I knew how to calculate weight capacity, but I will try to find out! It seems like a user on a aquarium forum has a similar situation like me, but they were able to have a 20 gallon no problem for over a year. I am able to fit in 2 sizable water dishes in there, and a food dish as well. I understand that 3 might be a bit crowded in there, but that's why I'm planning to save up for a more spacious tank. I'm also planning to get 3 very small crabs because of so. Thank you all for your help today!

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[aussieJJDude]

A crabitat full of wet sand is around the same weight as a running aquarium. If someone has had experiences without issue, then you're also likely not to run into issue.

Keep in mind, MDF is horrible for aquariums/crabitats. Any watrr spillage, it soaks it up and starts to break apart! So keep the area as dry as possible - id suggest a plywood board on top to help protect the MDF a little.

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[wodesorel]

Yeah! If you can get like a 1/2 inch plywood sheet to fit on top the dresser, that would be ideal and would negate much of the risk.

I always worry about MDF as well, it's just not great with standing weight on it.

[DinkDonk]

Ahh OK! Thank you for your tips! I haven't known about Plywood, And I don't know where to get plywood, but I'll try to find out! And your explanation on the half inch plywood was very helpful, thank you! I'm not sure if I can do it right now since it looks like I would have to move my aquarium, and that includes all the sand and everything... It also appears that one of my crabs has buried into the substrate, about 1 inch down, I don't know if he's molting or not, but I wouldn't want to make any hasty decisions. Thank you once again for your tips, I'll try to find plywood if I can!

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[aussieJJDude]

Local hardware store will have it. Some stores can even cut to size - to the shape of your dresser - and once cut, cpuld be painted to further seal the wood.

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[DinkDonk]

Local hardware store will have it. Some stores can even cut to size - to the shape of your dresser - and once cut, cpuld be painted to further seal the wood.

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I didn't even think about painting it or cutting it either! If I'm going to add the plywood to my dresser, I believe this means I have to either take out the whole tank at once or I have to relocate my boys away for sometime while i scoop out everything. Should i take it all out at once or scoop it out piece by piece? Thanks for your feedback Auss!

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[wodesorel]

If you have someone strong enough to lift it gently, you should be able to get away with just sliding the board under it without having to empty it. It's not the safest thing but it is doable. I've had my husband (who is 6'5" and can lift me) carry a 10 gallon full nearly to the top of sand and molters downstairs and back again a few days later, when our furnace was being replaced and we had to consolidate everything to one room for heat.

Otherwise it may only take an hour or so to move the substrate to a bucket, and get the tank set up again after.