Advice for aquarium rack (overhang)

A little background, I am in the process of building a stacked (two 75 gallon) tank rack. Well, building might not be the correct word. I started out with this Gladiator Heavy Duty Rack. The dimensions are 60 in. W x 72 in. H x 18 in. D and 2,000 pound shelf load, that is, when shelfs are equidistant. The two 75 gallon tanks are glass and framed so the depth is 18 1/4 in. and 18 1/2 in. on tank one and tank two, respectively. However, when measuring depth, without the frame, both are exactly 18 in.

My plan is to put 3/4 in. plywood on each shelve (to make it flush) instead of using the wire mesh shelving provided. Note, I will be adding plywood on the sides/back to finish so aesthetics of overhang isn't important.

I know this can be difficult to describe so this picture is a sample of what two stacked 5/8 in. pieces of plywood look like in the shelving.



I have read from numerous sources that weight of the glass aquarium is on the edges/corners so I wanted to get some thoughts on which approach is more appropriate.

• Just place tank on shelve the 1/4 in. overhang (due to frame) is fine
• Add a 18 1/2 in. by ~60 in. plywood with thickness of 1/2 in. or 5/8 in. or 3/4 in. centered on the shelf so 1/4 in. overhang on each side.

If you honestly feel like neither of these approaches work, any suggestions? I would appreciate any "neither approach works" comment be provided with an explanation why (we all want to learn).

Additional note:

The location where the aquariums has been been recently reinforced (Lally columns in floor below) and the structural engineer has confirmed that the floor will be safe over the 5ft x 2ft area where the stand will be. To be on the safe side, I told them that each tank will weigh 1,000 pounds per 75 Gallon tank and 500 pound stand.

 

Is that plywood or particle board? Particle board should not be used in wet situations. When it gets wet it swells and becomes totally useless and won't support any real weight

 

Thanks for the reply!

If only the bottom layer is particle board and top layer is plywood would that work?

 

Thanks for the reply!

If only the bottom layer is particle board and top layer is plywood would that work?

Welcome to fishlore.....
I wouldn't have partical board anywhere near an aquarium, especially one as big as a 75g. But that is just me. I do like you idea though sounds really great, take pictures when it is all setup, I am very interested to see it.

 

Welcome to fishlore.....
I wouldn't have partical board anywhere near an aquarium, especially one as big as a 75g. But that is just me. I do like you idea though sounds really great, take pictures when it is all setup, I am very interested to see it.

Good call! I actually think I did order plywood (will have to confirm), the picture from above is just a few 12 in. x 16 in. pieces of particle board that I had laying around. I wanted to see if the idea of layering the plywood would be a suitable approach to covering the edges of the tank. Just to confirm, do you think the tank's overhang would be supported by the top layer plywood?

Will keep you updated with the project!

 

I'd be comfortable your plan to use either 5/8" or 3/4" plywood. Thicker is always better, but you could probably get away with 5/8.