Having an aquarium isn’t an easy task. From choosing the right one to taking care of the fish inside it, everything takes time and effort to be exactly how you envisioned it. Although a fish tank stand might not have been the first thing that comes to mind when you think of raising fish, it’s important for numerous reasons.
When you think of 10-gallon fish tank dimensions, you might expect that most fish tank tables are appropriate. However, specific requirements for a 10 gallon fish tank stand, range from sturdiness to value per money.
We’ll discuss other factors to consider that will help you decide between metal aquarium stands or wood aquarium stands; aquarium tables or aquarium cabinets; vintage or modern aquarium stands, and many more. All these choices might seem overwhelming, but with our help, you’ll be sure to find the best 10 gallon fish tank stand for your home aquarium.
- Best Overall: Aqueon Forge Aquarium Stand
- Best Value for the Money: Imagitarium Newport Wooden Tank Stand
- Best Aesthetics: Flipper 10 Gallon Aquarium Stand
- Best for Beginners: HG Fluval Flex 15g Stand Black, AHG15015
- Best Built: Ollie & Hutch Farmington 10/20 Gallon Aquarium Stand
- Best on a Budget: Aquatic Fundamentals Aquarium Stand
Best 10 Gallon Fish Tank Stands Reviewed
After weeks of research, we came up with a list of the best 10-gallon fish tank stands. Each product was tested and chosen with the utmost consideration so your aquarium will stay stylishly and steadily in place. We’ve given a well-deserved award to each of the elements below based on their strongest suits.
Out of all the products that we reviewed, this was our top choice. It’s fashionable to the point where it looks fancy in every setting you put it on. It’s durable; we put several 10 gallon aquariums on it and it dealt with them miraculously.
It’s multi-purposeful for it has two shelves, the top one holds 10 galleons and the bottom a 5.5. It’s sturdy, doesn’t wobble and it’s a great addition to your setup.
It has a rust-resistant finish, reversible wood panels and it takes very little effort and time to put together. This stand is a dream for fish owners, checking all the boxes and it’s all you’ll ever need for quite a while.
With a simplistic design, great price, easy assembling, and flexible adaptation for all dimensions of 10 gallon tanks, this is the best bang for your buck. It won’t break the bank but yet it won’t feel like you purchased it in a dollar store. It can comfortably deal with most things you throw at it and even where you throw it, considering it has protective adjustable nylon leveling feet.
It’s roomy and it can hold more than one tank on the bottom, provided they’re under 10 gals. Besides our main 10 gallon tank, we put two 1.5 gallon tanks on the bottom shelves and it held on great and they looked even better. If you’re looking for the golden mean of 10 gallon tank stands, this would be a perfect choice.
This beautiful piece of furniture is guaranteed to turn heads (including your own) when walking past it. It’s going to look glorious if you pair it up with LED strips but even if you’re more minimalist, it will satisfy your eyes nevertheless.
Now besides aesthetics, it provides for other things as well. It’s a multi-purpose double fish tank stand considering you can flip it to fit a 20 gallon fish tank. It’s made mainly of particleboard, it’s got three shelves, it holds up to 120 pounds and it distributes the weight perfectly not making it prone to under pressure cracks. It’s a high-quality and good-looking stand that will make your fish seem like royalty living in their own fancy castle.
However, if you’re not big on theatrics but still want a unique, simple to understand, and easy to handle stand, the HG Fluval Flex stand is the choice for you. If you just got into this whole fish tank business, everything might seem overwhelming and hard to choose from.
This is one of the safest routes you can pick and look cool on the way. Nothing beats the enthusiasm you get when people compliment your newly bought fish tank and you’re sure to be congratulated even more with this stand. We paired it with the Fluval Flex Tank and the easy setup and the cool visuals made it impossible for us not to recommend.
Another flipper on the list, this stand is sure to be indestructible when put together correctly. It’s multipurpose as it doubles as a 20 gallon tank stand when flipped. Some reviews nearly made us not consider it, but after we tried it ourselves, everything was so sturdy and well built we even gave it the best-built award.
This was one of our toughest stands that we’ve tried and it did well on both 10 gallons and 20 gallons. It has a cabinet that is perfect for holding fish essentials and even books. It’s aesthetically pleasing and a perfectly safe choice if you’re around kids or pets.
Let’s be honest, raising fish isn’t the cheapest task out there. It can surely be pricey when you consider all the expenses. It’s best to make a good choice regardless of the price, but if you’re on a budget and can’t really go for the best of the best we got you. The Fundamentals Stand does exactly what its name promises. The fundamentals.
It’s the cheapest option of all, it has a nice design, it’s sturdy, moisture-resistant, and engineered to support up to 200 pounds. It gives you one less thing to dust on chores day and it’s easy to install. It’s a good 10 gallon stand for your tank despite its price. The assembling is easy for anyone and it’s a great choice for most tanks.
What to Look for When Buying the Best 10 Gallon Fish Tank Stands
Size
The size of your tank is the first thing you need to take into consideration. The stand that supports it has to be big enough to fit the whole tank with no corners left out. You wouldn’t want to have a heart attack every time you walk past your aquarium and your sleeve accidentally gets caught up in it.
Let alone if you have little children or pets that might mess around. When talking of a 10 gallon fish tank, the usual dimensions are 20″ L by 10″ W by 12″ H. This means that the stand has to be slightly bigger than 20″ by 10″ so it can support your aquarium adequately.
Capacity
It might not look much, but 10 gal tanks weigh quite a lot when you count all they hold. Therefore when you’re choosing a 10 gallon fish tank stand you should make sure it can hold the max weight of your tank and you shouldn’t forget all the other things you need for its maintenance that are gonna be on the stand as well. You need to mind this if you don’t want your stand to collapse along with your tank and give your poor fish a heart attack.
Height
The height of the aquarium is nearly irrelevant when choosing a stand, however, the height of the latter is important. Not only for convenience but also for the fish’s visibility and their food.
The best 10-gallon fish tank stand has to be low enough so you won’t have problems reaching it when feeding your fish, but high enough to not be a problem for filters dependent on gravity and siphons. As for visibility, the tank needs to be comfortable in your field of view so you can take better care of your fish and immediately notice if something’s wrong.
Water Resistance
Having to put a fish tank in a wooden or metal stand doesn’t seem like the best idea. Water can cause irrefutable damage to certain materials causing molding, corrosion, etc., which leads to bigger problems in the stand’s durability.
That’s why it’s important that your 10-gallon fish tank stand have a water-resistant finish so you wouldn’t have to wander all day around your aquarium with a cloth in your hands ready to wipe it at any given moment.
Sturdiness and Balance
Not only on aquarium stands, but in every piece of furniture you purchase, you have to make sure it’s not wobbly or flimsy. You don’t want the things in it (or the thing itself) to give you a heart attack if a breeze blows past it.
Especially when holding a 10 gallon tank with living beings in it, you need to be absolutely sure that it distributes the weight perfectly and doesn’t do the electric boogaloo every time you touch it.
Simple vs Cabinet
When shopping for an aquarium stand, 10 gallons capacity is one of the smaller tank sizes. That being said, it won’t take up much space wherever you put it. Therefore you have the option to either utilize that space for a bigger stand that fits all your fish supplies in it, or a more simple look that barely takes up space around your house.
Either way, the choice is solely based on whether you value functionality more than minimalism. Whichever you prefer, you’ll find both options on our list.
Aesthetics
10-gallon fish tanks are usually the first tanks most people get when they decide to own fish. Considering that, the stands that usually come up in this category are mainly functional rather than anything else. However, there are some stands that make you go “wow, that’s a fine piece of furniture” when you look at them.
Aesthetics are totally relative to each person, and crucial to some. When you’re first presented with something, looks are our first impression after all, and a good first impression never gets old. We’ve made sure to include stands that fit into different decors and tastes so they can complement any place you put them on.
Custom vs Store Bought
If you take a look at everything and decide none of it is a good price or fit for your situation, you can always either make it yourself or custom-make it at an artisan. Chances in the wide array of choices you’ll find something fitting considering it’s a 10-gallon tank and it won’t require that much. However, if you’d rather DIY it there’s a variety of videos on Youtube that instruct you step by step.
Materials
Fish tank stands aren’t coffee tables. That means they’re specifically built and designed to support aquariums. In order to achieve that they need to use the right materials. The most common materials are metal, wood (plywood in particular), and particleboard. All of these have their pros and cons and special use scenarios.
- Metal stands are mostly used to support heavier aquariums considering the strength and durability metal provides. However metal is open to corrosion so unless a waterproof finish is applied, the metal will gradually rust and compromise the overall state of the stand.
- Particleboard is mostly used to make lightweight stands. For 10 gallon tank, it’s not a bad choice considering it’s cheaper than wood and usually coated with a waterproof finish.
- Most fish tanks are made of plywood and although it’s more expensive than particleboard it’s stronger and more durable against water. You’ve probably encountered it in your kitchen cabinets.
Overall each material serves a unique purpose, which if applied properly to your needs will make a good stand regardless of the pros and cons.
Easy To Use and Assemble
Having a fancy and well-built 10-gallon fish tank stand means nothing if you can’t…well…build it! You don’t need to waste 6 hours of your life just to put a stand together, and 6 others to figure out how it works.
Make sure the products you get are practical and not hard to be put together to the point that you give up altogether. Putting up furniture has always been frustrating and this doesn’t have to be part of that dreadful experience.
Our top picks take minutes to put together and are so simple to use you’d think they’re custom made to fit your abilities.
Value per Money
Although a fish tank stand is necessary and important, it’s not the main element when you set up a freshwater aquarium. As such, it’s important to be grounded when deciding on a tank stand, especially for a 10-gallon fish tank one that’s mostly introductory to the world of fish caregiving.
You need to make sure that the product you’re getting justifies the money you’re spending. You don’t need to spend a fortune to get a functioning and esthetic fish tank stand. Always compare the money you’re giving for what you’re getting, and if the quality justifies the price, it’s a good buy.
Don’t cheap out either. A really cheap product has a reason why it’s priced like that. It’s better to buy a good somewhat pricey stand that will last you years, rather than several cheap ones that will barely go through the month.
Final Thoughts
When looking for a fish tank stand, 10 gallons is the perfect capacity for your fish tank to find a wide array of choices, in all price points, all materials, and sizes. All choices are good depending on your situation and house décor. At the end of the day, the important thing is to maintain whatever you choose to purchase as every single listed product here is sure to last you several years.
