FL CommunityFans

I recall awhile back Dino, I think, listing some heavy duty / industrial shelving at a bargain price for a fish room. I'm looking at using them for a 75g/55g setup and wondered if anyone has done anything like this? This particular setup says it has a 4000 lb capacity. The 2 tanks together would total out at about 1.3k lbs.

Shelving in question.

pepetj

Make sure the individual shelve load requirement is met. How many levels or shelves in that unit?

As a rule of thumb I would divide the number of its maximum weight load (4000lbs) by the number of shelves (?) and if your load still falls in safety range it should be fine to use them.

I believe your tank load estimates to be a bit below once fully loaded with water, decor, substrate and equipment.

I figure it would be safer to assume around 700lbs for the 55gal and 900lbs for the 75gal. However wait for someone with more experience than me to comment.

I like your idea. My neck still hurts for a simple DIY two level stand I built out of an old desk a couple of days ago. LOL.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

agabr123

i'm not sure it would be wide enough to hold a 75, but i agree with pepetj, i'd overestimate the amount of weight you'd put on it. also, i'd put the 75 below the 55, otherwise you'll be top heavy and who knows what kind of problems that could cause for you.

FL CommunityFans

Meh. 5 shelves so 800lbs per shelf. Filled 75gallon would be 850lbs.



the tank is 48" long, I measured the stand at the store and it would be a direct fit, much like the wrought iron stand it was on previously by the previous owner.

pepetj

I believe it's doable. Freshwater weights around 8lbs per gallon (USgal, UKgal weights around 10lbs). A Perfecto 75gal (48x18x21) tank empty, according to the manual, weights 97lbs.

If you go with thin substrate, say 75lbs tops, you could likely get 1" substrate (I did a 48x12 footprint with 2.5 bags or 50lbs of Eco-Complete so I figure if you go this way you could probably use three 20lbs bags which means 60lbs).

Let's do the math:

1 inch substrate displaces 3.74gal of water. Say you have a driftwood and some decor there that displace another 2.26gal (to round our numbers). That removes 6gal of water. Put a limit to the decor weight of 10lbs.

Substrate: 75lbs + Decor: 10lbs +69gal water: 552lbs, +Tank: 97lbs. So far this totals 734lbs.

I believe you have enough room to safely add the weight of canopies, lights, and equipment.

As long as you are structurally sound (the stand is in good conditions), I don't see why not. It's not like you ae keeping a 3' Pacu in there right? Just let go the idea of using heavy river stones. Consider using an external filter such as Canister or Wet/Dry sump so you don't add that weight to the shelve holding the tank.

I believe it's doable. Hope the engineers around help us out. Please double check my info before setting your tanks.

Please post some pics and let us see how it goes.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

agabr123

i hope you can get this to work! i'm in the process of building my own stand for a 29 gallon tank and this would have made my life so much easier!

FL CommunityFans

Again blech. Did some more reading on those particular shelves, and the shelving itself is particle board. If that gets wet, and it is guaranteed to, then it's only time til it collapses. I may be going with cinder blocks painted a glossy black and 5/8 plywood instead for a cheap economical setup

pepetj

Sorry for that. At least you didn't throw your money away.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

Tavel

i know this project is defunct now, but here's a good tip. any time you see a "maximum" rating on anything, that's actually the theoretical maximum minus a safety margin. So you can safely load up to the listed maximum.

gremlin

You can also replace the particle board shelves with 3/4 inch plywood and add 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch plywood to the back to help stabilize it. If you screw the framework onto the plywood backing, even if it isn't a solid backing and just strips up the two sides, that will help to stabilize it and increase the amount of weight it can hold. I did this with a set of shelves for a cabinet on our back patio. I screwed 1/2 inch plywood onto the back of the shelves and the sides of the shelves. The ones I got came with actual plywood shelves, not particle board. I put peel and stick floor tiles on the shelves so the oil from the chainsaw wouldn't soak into the wood. Then I hung a piece of material over the front to keep dust and debris from blowing into the shelves. Also, with the back on it, I could screw hooks into the back to hang the extension cord for my chain saw and a couple of hammers and axes for splitting wood. I have the chain saw on its shelf and the wood splitting wedges on another shelf. It has held up quite well over the years.

FL CommunityFans

So you think the shelving would be able to hold up the 850lbs (which may be less when all said and done with)?

Spectacular idea, but what is the weight on the shelving? I'd likely only build the stand 2 shelves tall since the rest of the shelving would be unused. There would be the base shelf at the bottom and the tank shelf where the tank would be placed. Tacking/placing plywood on to the sides of this would help to increase strength? I completely forgot about putting plywood on top of the particle board, another good idea.

gremlin

I'm not sure how much it would increase the weight bearing by. I removed the particle board completely and replaced with 3/4 inch plywood. If it is the same type of shelving I have, there are slots for the shelves to sit in. If you know where you want to place the shelves, you can cut the plywood the size you need to fit inside the frame and attach it with screws through the slots. That way, not only does it help to stabilize the sides, it can also help to support the weight of the shelf above. It will take away about 1 1/2 inches from the length of the shelf (for the width of the plywood), but if you have the room on the bottom shelf, it may be worth it for the added support. I would suggest using screws (or nuts and bolts) to fasten it as that is more sturdy than just nails. Also, if you don't plan on changing it, you could add wood glue to the joint. If you use nuts and bolts, you have the option of being able to take it apart to move it or to change it. Even if you moved the shelves, you could either cut a new piece of plywood for the inside, or bolt the plywood on the outside. If you put the plywood on the inside, you will need to cut a bit off the corners to fit around the top shelf.

FL CommunityFans

Decided I can do a cinderblock stand for cheaper and make it look 'prettier' in wifes terms.

Layout I plan to use will bne something like this:

Looking at it sideways:

__ _
_ __
__ _

top-down:

|
|

|


Where there is a space, the smaller line denotes a half cinder block rather than a whole one, this will allow me to stagger the block creating a stronger foundation. I plan to do 3 rows with 2x6's on top with a thick sheet of ply. Plan on painting everything in a flat black. Possibly will place 2x6's somewhere in the middle of the stand to create some shelving. Still undecided on that so far.

pepetj

Wife terms is always important for the sake of peaceful fishkeeping... and truth be told, mine is usually right!

Pepe
Santo Domingo

Tavel

you could even screw some plywood or something to the blocks to make it look like wood furniture...

FL CommunityFans

I ended up dumping the shelving and cinder block ideas. Cinder block wasn't available anywhere for free and the few places I called wanted 3$ a brick. Not that much but not worth the gas and the price on the bricks. I went to wally world and bought a 99cent can of black spray and touched up the wrought iron stand that came with the tank. I didn't want to use it originally because I don't care for those stands, but it actually looks pretty good now that it's been painted and matches the tank.

This was one of my biggest hurdles.. I'm glad I'm done with it.