# Metal Shelving Questions



## Dego510 (Mar 9, 2009)

Hi All,
So I went to the hardware store this evening with the intention of buying all the lumber and materials to build a double stand that would hold two 6ft tanks one above the other. On the way to the lumber, I decided to stop and look at the metal racks they had available and found a sale on a 77"W x 72"H x24"D Heavy Duty Steel Shelf for $120. Each shelf will hold 2,000lbs, so I bought it.

Since my tanks are 18"D and the shelves on this are 24"D, the frame of the tank would lay on the wire part of the shelf. Would a sheet of plywood be suffice under the tank to make it flat? How thick should the plywood be? Should I still put a sheet of insulation between the plywood and the tank?

Here is a pic of the rack:


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## Ronzo (Sep 8, 2013)

I don't wish to rain on anyone's parade, but, I don't know...I'd like to see the gauge of that metal, and inspect the (hardwareless!)connection of verticals to shelves...there's a lot of questionable junk out there...besides, 2000lbs means "dead-weight"...less in possibly sloshing water (live in earthquake country?)...so I'd DEFINITELY recommend adding a beefy diagonal, right to left, on the rear, to stabilize against racking forces!(and why it doesn't have one to begin with makes me suspect it is china trash with inflated, fictitious ratings, and ready to disappoint!)...if I was looking for a rack for that much weight in tanks, I'd want it to be rated for _at the very least_ five times the expected weight... remember, your risk is a bunch more than just crashing a bunch of boxes of whatever to the ground...your risk is _releasing a veritable ocean in your house_!!!

...and without a provision for spreading the bearing weight, all of it would be highly concentrated...and IMO, waaaay too much for a normal wood-framed floor (see weight and bearing calculations elsewhere on this site!)...so you unless intended location has a concrete floor, you will want to increase the bearing area of the feet... 3/4" plywood under the tanks themselves should be fine for giving them a flat surface. Besides...it looks a little "INDUSTRIAL" to me, but if you're OK with it in your family room, I sure am...

Cheers from Connecticut!


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

There are lots of similar stands out ther, and they all have one thing in common. They look like they couldn't possibly handle their rated weights. However, there are millions in use and they do work. This particular one has no end on the shelf, hence the diagonal bracing. I wouldn't rely on the screen to carry the weight. There are ways to deal with it. I would place wood across the shelf where the tank is going to sit. That would be a 2 x 4 or whatever fits between the horizontals beneath the ends of the tank. The problem is that the plywood would have to make up 3" on each side or 6" if you place it to the front. If you move the tank to the front so it is on the shelf horizontal, that will cary the weight of the front so I would probably add a crosspiece in the centre and a couple of pieces to span below the back edge of the tank. At that point the plywood would be well supported. I would use styro to take up any discrepency in flatness or any bowing in the steel. As mentioned in the previous post, I would add a diagonal cross brace on the back to prevent racking. Lots of these racks are in use as aquarium stands, without any additional bracing. What I describe is what I would do for the size of tanks involved.


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

I've done the same thing Bill's talking about. I used 2 x 6 cross beams, added a sheet of 1/2 ply on top of that, and small thin foam sheet on top of that. I have similar shelving but mine is more heavy duty, so adding the diagonal brace might not be a bad idea. I have the same stuff the swisstropicals guy has. There are many pics so you can see how he did his.

http://www.swisstropicals.com/fishroom-ohio-2006-2012/


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