Shelving options?

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hairypumpkin

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I've got my tank! (woo!)

It's a 20g long, but before I can set it up, I need to get a stand or similar. My lotls are going to go in my craft and hobby room, so it would be great if I could have the tank on a shelf similar to this (that way I could put craft and lotl stuff on it!) :

Whitmor Supreme Small 3-Tier Shelves, Black - Walmart.com (I know it says it can hold up to 250, using it as an example to show what I am looking for)

I know tanks are extremely heavy once filled (I'm guessing a complete 20g would be about 250lbs or so?), would a shelf like this be alright? Does anyone know of a shelving system that can hold up a tank and then some? I want to be super sure it will hold. My craft room isn't that big, and I'm trying to utilize all the space I can.
 
ahh, it won't let me edit..

Okay so I'm doing some math here (!?) and I've got this so far

water weighs 8.4 per g, so that's 8.4 x 20 = 168lbs, guessing the tank weighs about 30 lbs. So 198lbs plus extra decorations/sand etc + 30lbs for a total of approx 230lbs.

So, if the shelf holds 250lbs, I should be okay? I found one online at my local hardware store that is the correction dimensions. Or should I allow for more weight?
 
I'd consider if the tank will be sitting on those little "feet" or not - I wouldn't want that (fine for a terrarium).

I wouldn't want to cut it as close as 250lbs compared to the weight of the tank. Especially if you stored "other things" on there, and just in case - what if you accidentally put some weight on it during a water change or something?

I'd personally look for a used stand meant for aquariums. I got my 30 gallon tank and stand together for pretty cheap - it takes up less room than the 20 gallon did when I had to have a large table to be able to support it.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
 
Ah, sorry, it's 250lb limit per shelf. 750lb for the whole thing.

I just want to have storage underneath and over it too. I found another wire shelf and it says in the description that it has a 350 limit as well as 250 limit? I think someone had a typo..

I wish I could build stuff so I could have one that would fit my needs.
 
The more weight it would hold the better. One thing to consider though is that you're going to be needing to clean waste from the bottom (I use a gravel vacuum for my sand) and may need to change water out pretty frequently. It'd be much harder to do with a shelf over the top. I'm all about more storage so I understand, I just know it'd be pretty tough for me to do all I need to if I didn't have an open space over the tank.
 
I think I'm going to get the 1000lbs shelf?

I'm going to go to Lowes tomorrow and see if they have them on display. I think the shelves are adjustable, so I'm going to make the shelf that is above the fishtank up high so I will be able to clean it out. : )

I can't wait to get the shelf and start my tank up. I'll post again soon once I get everything together!
 
So I went to Lowes, and they have the shelves on display, but the actual shelves that they sell are not the ones on display. The one on display had steel shelves, and the ones in the boxes had particle board shelves. :/ I just don't understand how particle board can hold 1000lbs....

I think I'm going to commission my Dad to make me a specific shelf to fit my needs.
 
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