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Fish room planning

jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
dogofwar said:
I've seen those kinds of stands before and was a little iffy about putting so much weight on the metal connecter things. Kinda like having all of the weight on the bolts of a 2x4 stand.

Of course, I'm also iffy about the particle-board stands holding up 90% of the fish tanks in America ;)

Matt
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From a strictly engineering perspective, you would have to shear the bolts in order to cause a failure, or "tear" the metal that the bolts insert into. Steel has a pretty high shear strength, so there shouldn't be much to worry about. The same kind of connections are holding lots of things together in everyday life.
 
Avatar

Avatar

Plenipotentiary-at-large
Not quite...

...flimsy and/or perforated metal legs don't have to shear, they can simply "fold" - especially if there's a nicely directed tremor that gets everything rocking a bit like the one that just came through a few months ago and cracked the center brace on one of my 55s. Probably OK using them for 20s, but unless they're pretty heavy gauge steel, not a chance I'd put a 40 (generally over 400 lbs. loaded) on top of one. Course you could try climbing on top of it with a friend (or two if they're smallish) and swaying back and forth a bit to see just how sturdy it is. And that would only be about half the weight you're expecting it to carry if it's used to hold two 40 gallon tanks.

Earthquake Museum in Anchorage has a section from an 8" I-beam in it bent at right angles in opposite directions - happened from all the weight rocking on top of it. Similar sort of thing.
 
ddavila06

ddavila06

Members
londonloco said:
Looks like the exact unit I used for my 20g long rack. It's been over 2 years now, and the set up looks as good as new. You won't be disappointed in your decision.
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i saw this and i tempted myself! it also looks nicer than a home made 2x4 stand!

did anyone have any issues with rusting at all???? thank you thank you thank you for posting that! im going to try and check it out! Gracias
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
Avatar said:
...flimsy and/or perforated metal legs don't have to shear, they can simply "fold" - especially if there's a nicely directed tremor that gets everything rocking a bit like the one that just came through a few months ago and cracked the center brace on one of my 55s. Probably OK using them for 20s, but unless they're pretty heavy gauge steel, not a chance I'd put a 40 (generally over 400 lbs. loaded) on top of one. Course you could try climbing on top of it with a friend (or two if they're smallish) and swaying back and forth a bit to see just how sturdy it is. And that would only be about half the weight you're expecting it to carry if it's used to hold two 40 gallon tanks.

Earthquake Museum in Anchorage has a section from an 8" I-beam in it bent at right angles in opposite directions - happened from all the weight rocking on top of it. Similar sort of thing.
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I don't disagree that lateral loading could cause a failure if the legs aren't heavy enough, but my original comment was in response to Matt's iffiness (if that is even a word) about the weight of the tanks bearing on the metal "pegs". Cross bracing should resolve the lateral load issue.
 
Dmhcichlids

Dmhcichlids

Members
.

I built a 3tier 2X4 stand that I house a 40 on bottom 30g middle and 10/(2)5G and 2.5g on top. I will add picture.when I get home tonight.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
I think that they'll be fine. Only thing I don't like is having to dismantle the stand (and upper tank) in order to swap the bottom one out, but that wouldn't be a deal-breaker imo.

Keep up the good work, Jesse!

How many tanks are you up to?
 
verbal

verbal

CCA Members
Tony said:
I think that they'll be fine. Only thing I don't like is having to dismantle the stand (and upper tank) in order to swap the bottom one out, but that wouldn't be a deal-breaker imo.
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They seem very sturdy. The set is rated for 4000 lbs or 800 lbs per shelf. I think there may be issues with the less heavy duty sets even if it would technically be under the weight limit.

If they seem a little wobbly when I fill the tanks, I will add some bracing.

Tony said:
Keep up the good work, Jesse!

How many tanks are you up to?
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I have 13 running right now(2 temporary). With the reorganization I may end up with the same number of tanks, but roughly twice the capacity.

tank list:
180
150
6 - 30 breeders(could swap in one or two 40s)
37
29
5
 
verbal

verbal

CCA Members
The 2x4 stand is temporary and will be replaced with a double 30 breeder stand. The 180 will go on the wall across from the 150.
 
verbal

verbal

CCA Members
I have water in the tanks now. I have to do some re-organization to get the 180 in. I am using the divided 55 and couch to keep the 2 year old away from the lower tanks.

IMG_3848 (800x528).jpg

IMG_3847 (800x377).jpg
 
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