Suggestions on what to construct a tank rack out of

[MimicTang]

Should I stay away from pressure treated wood? Is there something better to use which can get wet?

 

[jjmatti]

use regular wood and give it a coat of polyurethene to keep it water proof..

 

[TomRep]

I used regular wood as well but painted it with an outdoor paint.
Tom

 

[clownfish75]

I have used normal pine 35X70mm single piece stuff, not the compasite reconstructed stuff.

havent worried about any painting or anythign and aside form some discolouration it is still gogin strong after 4-5 years.

Christian

 

[David M]

Standard 2 X 4 framing studs (2 X 6 where needed). No paint as I never want to wait that long and the fish room is an ongoing expansion project and I'm certainly not going to paint in there

 

[spk]

Standard 2x4 is what I used and it works well. I have not painted either.

Steve

 

[MimicTang]

do you use special bolts & screws? Or are they all glavanized?

 

[David M]

Galvanized deck screws are good, for serious loads use 1/4 or 3/8 lag bolts, but most likely your just racking tanks under 20 gallons so that shouldn't be necessary. I glue joints together with Elmer's or =. Also I make "seats" for lateral runs, let me see if I have a pic of what I'm talking about.

OK, look under the lateral runs:

 

[Dman]

Industrial racking, the kind from Home Depot. I have a source.

 

[aomont]

DavidM, how many tanks (or how many gallons) you´ve put in a single rack ? And how many seats for this rack ?

Dman, how this rack deals with saltwater ? Can it be used to build a "second floor" ?

Anderson.

 

[David M]

I try to have verticle support approx every 4 feet but you really want to be able to remove a tank if necessary so lay it out so none are behind a support leg. Here in CA all the manufactured framed small glass tanks ( 15,20,20L, 25T & 29 )are a uniform 12.5" wide so I allow 42" between supports ( 4 tanks). 10 gallon tanks are more like 10.25" but much lighter so you can give it 51.5" and get 5 tanks between supports. If you need a longer span to pass over a large sump or something just go to 2X6. The whole thing should be attached to a wall at the back for sheer strength, if you can't do that you might consider using some plywood panels for sheer across the back or take the verticles right up to the ceiling and attach them to the joists above.

Industrial racking like Dman used would take years to rust through enough to challenge it's strenght but I'd think it would get pretty nasty unless you were diligent about cleaning. What say you Dman? That is exactly what I used in St Thomas, my whole shop was done in pallet racking and I had my office (loft) built on top of it. Very strong stuff. I used 2x4" & plywood for the shelfs I put tanks on so very litte SW got to the metal uprights.

On painting: SW does not rot wood, it actually preserves it. Fresh water is the problem with unpainted/ sealed wood, not salt. How many old wooden boats have you seen? It's rain water in the bilge that causes rot, not seawater.

Exception: Plywood is another story, over time moisture will cause it to delaminate, fresh or salt, doesn't matter.

 

[aomont]

Hmmm, I was thinking of 6x20 gallons in a rack with three vertical suports (1 on each end and 1 in the middle - 3x20G apart).
Does it seem reasonable ?

 

[aomont]

Oh, they would be square 18x18x18in, but they´re not build ou biught yet so that can change to fit.
Anderson.

 

[David M]

That should work just fine IMHO.

 

[Coraldynamics]

Excellent pic of how to make them David!