Will this stand be strong enough to hold my tank?

[TheWaterBoy]

I have a book shelve and I put my tank on it. It seems to be holding fine but im starting to worry about the long term effects. Perhaps even a slight bow that could cause the aquarium to crack. My father made the shelve for me when I was younger and it is about 5 foot tall and 6 foot wide. It is made from 2x12's It has two six foot 2x12's running verticaly on each side and 5 five foot 2x12's running horizontaly. I took the top one out so the tank would sit a little lower. The horizontal boards are attached to the vertical boars with two 1/4 inch bolts on each side. I added a 2x2 under the board on each end to help support it. I also went to lows and got some shelve braces they are made of some pretty thick steel and they are the same width as the 2x12's. I put them 16"s apart at the center of the shelve and screwed them to the studs using #8-10 x 1-1/4". Now I was told that the tank weighs about 600lbs when full . Im sorry for such a long post but im getting worried. I hope I posted this in the right section and I would greatly appreciate any response.

 

[babyfish]

the question you have to ask yourself is "can i get a new tank if it doesn't hold"

 

[TheWaterBoy]

Well the problem is I have no more room for another piece of furniture and I cant take out the shelf and make a stand myself because I have had it since I was born and my dad made it for me. I dont have the heart to get rid of it Its not that Im lazy or I dont know how to build my own stand. Its just that a new stand isnt a option.

 

[MasterDrummer]

If you want you could try reinforcing the shelf by gettting some pieces of wood and attacch one end to the vertical sides of the shelf and have the go up to the center of the shelf


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It would look kinda like that but the diagonal pieces would make it more like a triangle

 

[Bol]

Tough to tell, especially without seeing the metal braces.

When you describe the bolts, do you mean that the horizontal shelves have bolts going into thier ends (parallel to the grain)?

Is it possible to also add a 2x2 running along the back, or are the metal supports in the way?

And, 600 pounds is probably a decent estimate. For starters, 1 US gallon of water weighs about 8.4 pounds, so you've probalby got 420-450 pounds of just water.

 

[Great Lakes]

Simple solution.

Go to hardware and get a six ft piece of wooden closet rod. It is like an inch and a half in diameter. Saw it into lengths that wil fit snugly and vertically into each corresponding shelf. Put them directly in the center all the way to the bottom. This will translate the center load all the way to the floor. No srewing or gluing, and the dowels shouldn't be too obtrusive or affect the function of your shelves

GL

 

[TheWaterBoy]

yes they are running into the edge of the 2x12's , but I screwed 2x2's in to help support the 2x12 on each end.


The metal supports are in the way, and the metal supports are pretty havy duty The part that mounts to the wall and bottom of shelf is about 1/8" think and the part that runs between the right angle is 1/4" think. They were the strongest they had at lowes LOL

I like the dowel rod Idea I may go with that. I could just cut them to be snug and tap them in with a hammer. Good Idea