Building a three tier tank stand.

krytan

krytan

.
Sep 2, 2007
3,148
19
38
47
Norwich, England
Real Name
Wayne
Soon i will be building a stand to house my 35g, 20g and finally be able to set up my 32g.
I was hoping some one here could recommend what materials to use or any useful DIY links. I am thinking of building it out of wood using 2x4" but am worried about the front not having a center support under the 35g. A friend has said he could build a suitable metal stand for me am now considering that option as well.

Tank stand 3.jpg
 
A 40" span is fine for a 2x4 on edge with no center support.
 
Thanks :)
I might build it a bit taller to give me more room to work in the tanks, i'm also hoping to start it this weekend providing my wife hasn't already made plans for me.
 
I bought this for $40 from menards..
I know it wil hold 3, 20 gal tanks..
thats a 37 gal in the bottom, there's another shelf below it..
and a 10 gal on top.

Might want to look around, and save some time..
Probably just as cheap as DIY.

P1010145.JPG
 
The Zigman said:
I bought this for $40 from menards..
I know it wil hold 3, 20 gal tanks..
thats a 37 gal in the bottom, there's another shelf below it..
and a 10 gal on top.

Might want to look around, and save some time..
Probably just as cheap as DIY.
Click to expand...
At 8 pounds per gallon of water, you might want to check the rating on those shelves -- especially for the 37 gallon. Even assuming just half-full of water, that's close to 160 pounds on that one shelf.

I have a couple of those $40 Menards shelving units, too. I don't remember them being rated for anything close to 160 pounds per shelf; I thought they were at least 50 pounds per shelf and at most 100 pounds per shelf. Maybe, I'm thinking of a different set of shelves.
 
I'm pretty sure those shelves hold 200-300 lbs. per shelf.
 
The wire rack shelving *typically* sold at Home Depot is rated for a couple hundred pounds per shelf, if not more.

There's probably cheaper versions around, always check the packaging.

A 20g tank will be sub 200lbs, I don't see a a pair(framed, yes?) of 2x4's across 40" having any trouble with that. If you're worried, turn them so the narrow(1.5") edge supports the tank, they're a lot stronger in that direction(You'll need a LOT of force to snap them across their width). Likely won't matter though.
 
The Zigman said:
I bought this for $40 from menards..
I know it wil hold 3, 20 gal tanks..
thats a 37 gal in the bottom, there's another shelf below it..
and a 10 gal on top.

Might want to look around, and save some time..
Probably just as cheap as DIY.
Click to expand...
Thanks, i checked out B&Q over the weekend and all the shelf units like that they had were either 3' long which is to short for the 32g tank (the 32g is 39 1/2" long) or 5' long which is to long to fit into the alcove where i want the tanks so i will be DIYing it.
 
Question:
I was given a whole load of 2x4 a while back but it is a soft wood, is this any good for what i want or should i buy some hard wood instead?
 
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