Steel Rack - Leveling Help & Strength Questions

HI All,

I recently purchased a steel rack to hold a couple fish tanks vertically and save some space.

My question is regarding the leveling/base of the unit. The legs are "L" shaped with no flat feet... just a steel L-shape.... like this photo I found here:




I was going to place 2x4's under each corner, like this picture has and then level with shims... however my concern is the weight of the unit may eventually "dig into" the wood causing it to split. Should I worry?

I'm going to run two 40 gallon tanks on the rack... so roughly 900 lbs or so split into the 4 pressure points/legs.... let's say 250lbs per post correct?

Don't know if the 250lbs per L-shape leg is enough to start cracking into the 2x4. Is that why this person put coins on their 2x4?

It is in the basement on an uneven concrete floor.

I also thought of buying a thick piece of plywood the same dimensions as the stand base, and then shimming that... however I wonder if the slightly raised plywood would eventually snap, due to the weight of the whole system on the board (and a slight raise off the ground due to shims).

Thanks!

 

I use these for my 29 gallon and a 10 gallon tank with a wrought iron stand .I have wood floors . I also used them when I had double 55 gallon tanks on a wrought iron stand with very uneven wood floors . They make them in different sizes . I don't use them for what they were made for, you can't slide the tank with ease .lol I hope this help you out.

 

That is so clever! I wish I thought of that. Do they come in larger sizes to fit "fatter legs"?

 

How did you level the stand? Shims under these feet? I feel frustrated now...not sure whether to use plywood if itll snap etc....these caps would be nice on top of a plywood sheet.

 

Jomolager I think you can find them in your Home Depot or Lowes or online

I am sure you can put them over the plywood .These sliders are made with very heavy duty plastic.

 

I guess my main concern was the weight of the whole unit on a raised plywood piece (angled a bit in air due to shims)....if it would be too much stress... shouldnt be at 1/4" difference or so.

What size plywood...3/4 or 1"?

 

Does the shelving have a weight limit? Is the shelving agaist a wall? and if it is you can always attach it to the wall on a wall stud.

 

It is a free standing unit sitting on the concrete basement floor....no wall studs. Each shelf can hold up to 1500 lbs.

 

How unlevel is the floor? or the shelves? with my stand is minor, but I used a board under the ten gallon to get level.

 

It took two or three shims stacked on each other to level it out. I will take a photo and see if it will show properly.

 

I took some photos:

 

Did you check floor for level ? I would forget the wood shims and find some metal pieces . I think wood would rot after a while if it gets wet .

 

I got a level for the floor that is a bit longer as well.... here is my update after a whole's day thought process.

Well - after a long day, here is what I decided on.

1) Plywood base cut to fit size of the frame itself... 3/4"... will be painted with Kilz and wrapped in plastic sheeting to prevent any moisture.

2) L shaped metal bracks on each corner for the L-shaped legs to rest on. This will be attached to the plywood base.

3) Got rid of the particle board and am using 3/4" plywood instead. To fix the issue with the raised center brace I simply had the plywood cut in 2 and left a small gap. There is no issues of strength here because the whole tank rests on the beams, not the wood... this also removes the needs for shims/foam and the teeter-totter issue.

Pics:

 

That looks good..