Wooden shelves

[afnaveils]

Hi all,

I'm in the process of designing my shelves for my fish house and I'm thinking of building them with 2x4s. I'm keeping some of my 33 gallon tanks which are 36 x 12 x 18 (LxWxH). Of course, it's preferable to support a full tank on its full bottom surface (rim). But my question is: Can I support the tank only width-wise (across) at 3 places : at its 2 ends and in the center?:youtellme: Thank you!

[Virginia ranchu]

Hey Gerard,

Since most larger tanks are 12'' from front to back, why not run two parallel 2x4 rails which would support the tanks along both the front and back edges. If your rails aren't perfectly even, you can use the blue styrofoam insulation as a support. This material will compress, and relieve any stress on the seams.

Rob

[afnaveils]

Thanks Rob! That's what I think I'm going to do: length-wise railing. I thought of it before but I have 2 tanks which are wider (18.5 inches) : a 40 gallons and a 50 gallons. I'll do specific railings for them. Thanks again.

[Cincy Ranchu]

Fishy Greg on this page, he built my fish room. A couple of things come to mind; buy coated screws, and notch all the support wood so the tank weight is supported by the wood not the screws. One of my old blogs details this