# Steel Shelving Units?



## Little Soprano (Mar 13, 2014)

I have a decent amount of space behind my new tank and I would like to be able to stick two dedicated quarantine tanks behind it, one SW and one FW. And also be able to store all my buckets, siphons, etc. I also want to setup this small 2 gallon tank I have for brine shrimp, and potentially another small tank to grow out pods. 

I know a lot of people on here have used the steel shelving units from Lowes/Home Depot and was looking for some recommendations. 

I found this one: http://www.lowes.com/pd_62870-80752-143654B-DS_1z0vgh3+1z11pf9__?productId=3473467&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar|1%26page%3D1&facetInfo=350

It has a 350 pound capacity per shelf. And if my math is correct I'd be able to put two 20 longs on two of the shelves, and use the rest for storage and live food grow out tanks. Are there any better units? I don't need one thats necessarily as tall as that one, or as wide either, but I want a solid weight capacity on the shelves. 

Is it recommended to put down wood on the shelves as well?


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## Nacho-bsas (Dec 2, 2014)

https://www.google.com.ar/search?q=...system.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F04
I have 2 of this shelves, i think they are not strong enough to hold a big tank, but then i this this... Take a look

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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

Lowes sells one that's rated at 1000lb/shelf, and it's only $20 or so more.

I bought the 4' ones and really had some reservations, but it would've been a perfect fit for a spot in the fish room with older wooden ones that had been re-purposed too many times over the years. But I took the plunge anyway.

I think I really test the 1,000lb thing to the limit. There's a 40B on the bottom, and 3 20H's on the other two shelves I used. I did support each shelf at the 3 foot mark though, even the bottom one and yes, I replaced the MDF with plywood. Saved a ton of time in re-building and probably saved a few bucks on material too.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_101933-1281...l=1&currentURL=?Ntt=shelving+units&facetInfo=


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

Bushkill said:


> Lowes sells one that's rated at 1000lb/shelf, and it's only $20 or so more.
> 
> I bought the 4' ones and really had some reservations, but it would've been a perfect fit for a spot in the fish room with older wooden ones that had been re-purposed too many times over the years. But I took the plunge anyway.
> 
> ...


I have the same unit. I cut plywood to sit on top of the particle board and overhang onto the metal shelving itself. this is supporting 3 10g's just fine. I have a 20g long on top but am using three 2x4 pieces to spread the weight to the metal as well. set up for over a year without an issue now.

I'm still not a fan of them though. they seem flimsy and offer zero racking support.


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## CrypticLifeStyle (Jan 16, 2013)

Little Soprano said:


> I have a decent amount of space behind my new tank and I would like to be able to stick two dedicated quarantine tanks behind it, one SW and one FW. And also be able to store all my buckets, siphons, etc. I also want to setup this small 2 gallon tank I have for brine shrimp, and potentially another small tank to grow out pods.
> 
> I know a lot of people on here have used the steel shelving units from Lowes/Home Depot and was looking for some recommendations.
> 
> ...


I have the exact shelf, but HD's version HDX with a 29g on the 2nd shelf down, with a eheim 2028 on the bottom shelf. Before that i had a ada 60p on the same shelf with wood topped with vinyl tile under the tank, and a 20g under that tank on the 3rd shelf down with no wood underneath with no issues. They work great.


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

scapegoat said:


> I have the same unit. I cut plywood to sit on top of the particle board and overhang onto the metal shelving itself. this is supporting 3 10g's just fine. I have a 20g long on top but am using three 2x4 pieces to spread the weight to the metal as well. set up for over a year without an issue now.
> 
> I'm still not a fan of them though. they seem flimsy and offer zero racking support.


Just a note on the MDF supplied with these shelves: It's not typical MDF. It doesn't swell to grotesque proportions at the sight of moisture. After I removed them I put them out with the trash. We don't have curbside pickup, so they stayed there for a bit and got rained on.....more than once. I can't say I noticed much in the way of distortion. I was quite surprised. I still wouldn't depend on them to support the weight of all but the smallest tanks, but I wouldn't panic over them getting wet.

I also agree they seem flimsy, but they've held up at over 500 lbs per shelf since spring, so I guess I'm over-thinking it some.


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## Little Soprano (Mar 13, 2014)

Definitely going to have to shop around. Its not a big space behind the tank, but its enough space for say a 24" or 36" shelving unit. Ideally 30" but I'm being too picky at that point. It would probably be 2 20 longs, plus a few small tanks for growing pods for the future mandarin to be, brine shrimp for both FW and SW, and maybe a daphnia tank. And then on the bottom shelf would be buckets, salt boxes (60lbs a piece), and no idea there after. It would just be so nice to be able to keep the aquarium stuff in one place, and have shelves for two quarantine tanks.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi Little Soprano,

Here is a video that shows how to use a Lowe's rack to hold 40 gallon breeders.


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

Seattle_Aquarist said:


> Hi Little Soprano,
> 
> Here is a video that shows how to use a Lowe's rack to hold 40 gallon breeders.


I find that terrifying. wonder what the rate of failure is on those things. I'm just not at all comfortable with a 40b on one of those, but many people have done it.

that being said, I may take the 20g long down and put a 40b on mine...


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

I have the type of stand that comes with particle board, not the mesh shown in the first post. I got mine at HD several years ago, so the product may have changed. Sold as garage organizers. 

The particle board is garbage. First hint of moisture and it starts to sag. I replaced it with plywood 1/2" CDX, 2 coats of paint. 

I bought 2 sets and set them up to make 4 stands, with 2 shelves per stand. Then I moved the shelves so they are near each other and spanned the distance with more plywood. I put 10 gallon tanks on this part. The main shelving has tanks mostly 20 gallons and 29 gallons, and I would see no problem putting my 40 gallon breeder on one. 
Current list:
(3) 29 gal
(5) 20 gal standard
(1) 20 gal long
(2) 10 gal
(1) 3 gal

As noted above, and in that video, the shelves have no diagonal bracing, but the wood does stabilize it and square it quite a bit. I am concerned while I am assembling it, but once it is finished it seems OK. 

I have looked at the wire rack system, similar to the first post, and somehow it just does not look all that great. I wonder what would happen if the tank was smaller than the shelf, and the weight was not set up at the edges. I think I would want to put a sheet of plywood over the wire.


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## Little Soprano (Mar 13, 2014)

Diana said:


> I have the type of stand that comes with particle board, not the mesh shown in the first post. I got mine at HD several years ago, so the product may have changed. Sold as garage organizers.
> 
> The particle board is garbage. First hint of moisture and it starts to sag. I replaced it with plywood 1/2" CDX, 2 coats of paint.
> 
> ...


I definitely won't be leaving the wire exposed. We were thinking of spraying it with rust oleum as an extra corrosion measure (the SW in particular), and then putting plywood on it. Or something of that nature, and sealing the wood with sealant. 

What kind of shelf capacity would be recommended? 300 pounds? 400? I'm assuming a 20 gallon tank is around 250 pounds.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Rough rule of thumb is 10 lbs per gallon. The water itself is not too far off 8lbs per gallon, and rock, substrate and the tank itself are denser than water. If you have a large filter there is more weight of water, though the filter itself (even a fairly large one) does not weigh very much. 
Adding plywood of coarse is a bit more weight that the shelves are expected to carry. 

Using the 250 lb for a 20 gal tank should give you a bit of a safety factor. 

Side note: Imperial gallons are bigger, so if you are looking at aquarium sites in any of the UK or related countries they might use a larger figure. More pounds per gallon.


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

this is quite scary to me. I am amazed at how it's a perfect fit though.

I've 3 10's under it as holding/quarantine/growout tanks.

don't worry about that wiring to the right... there's no power going to it. and my messy maintenance room off to the left. this area tends to get neglected, then cleaned and straightened often.

It's definitely not staying on there. I don't trust those flimsy legs to support 400lbs, let alone 800. I can twist them with my hand... all it's going to take is a slight bend in one of those legs for it to come crashing down


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

scapegoat said:


> this is quite scary to me. I am amazed at how it's a perfect fit though.
> 
> I've 3 10's under it as holding/quarantine/growout tanks.
> 
> ...


Mine stands up against a wall in the fish room. I drilled two small holes in each rail and screwed the entire unit to the wall. No wobble, no wiggle.

I have 60G on each of 2 of the shelves and there is an ever so light sag in the rail. I measured it at just under 1/32".


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

the rail I'm not worried about, it's the legs. I just can't put my faith in those flimsy pieces of metal. one kink, one weak point, and boom. If I could bolt it to the wall i'd feel safer.

But that's ok... I'm currently working on placing it somewhere more prominent in the house after putting the driftwood in it and realizing it's going to look a lot cooler than I expected. this'll make a nice african biotope


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