Best Wood For Shelving Unit

[pablothebetta]

My 28L tank is no longer level on my current shelving unit by 1cm or so, therefore I can only think that the shelves are struggling to support the weight. I'm not sure what they're made from, but I'm pretty certain they're not solid wood. I'm thinking of getting some new shelves, but I want them to be strong enough. I'd prefer not to have an actual aquarium stand partially for aesthetic purposes - large tanks, yes, smaller tanks, doesn't seem quite right to me. If I get good enough shelving, I might even add another small tank or upgrade my current tank to 40-60L or so, so the material would have to be strong enough for that too.

What type of wood should I look out for that's strong enough to easily hold a potential 60+ liters of water?

Thanks

 

[OldMan47]

A lot depends on the way your shelf is supported. If it has brackets several feet apart holding it up you will need fairly thick real wood to prevent it bowing in the middle. If the supports are close to the length of the tank a simple piece of 1/2 inch thick plywood will do nicely.

 

[pablothebetta]

A lot depends on the way your shelf is supported. If it has brackets several feet apart holding it up you will need fairly thick real wood to prevent it bowing in the middle. If the supports are close to the length of the tank a simple piece of 1/2 inch thick plywood will do nicely.

I expect the supports would be several feel apart. I was looking for just a 'standard' sort of bookshelf/cabinet/sideboard type of thing. DIY is not quite my strong point so I'd prefer to buy one. What types of wood may be strong enough, bearing in mind that this unit could easily be around 1 metre long without any sorts of other support in the middle?

Thanks

 

[Noahs ark6]

lets say it weighs 90kg (tank gravel/sand, water) thats 198lbs.

 

[pablothebetta]

lets say it weighs 90kg (tank gravel/sand, water) thats 198lbs.

Thanks Noahs ark6, that's really helpful. Does that mean that a shelving unit made of any of those woods should hold the weight, if the lowest one there has the figure 800? For example, does that mean an ash shelving unit could hold up to 1320 lbs of weight (even with no support in the middle, etc)?

 

[Noahs ark6]

The Janka hardness test measures the resistance of a type of wood. It measures the force required to embed a 11.28 mm steel ball into wood to half the ball's diameter. It does'nt mean that if it can withstand 1630, like wenge, that it can necessarily mean it can hold that much. It just gives an indication to the strength of the wood

Virtually all hard woods would be able to hold 80kgs with relative ease

 

[OldMan47]

I think I am reading Noahs ark56 post as meaning that the wood ratings are based on penetration resistance, not support strength.
If you insist on having a meter span between supports, I would suggest a minimum of a 3.5 inch, 9 cm, depth to the supporting structure.
A nominal 2x4 inch board of any common soft wood would fit the requirement. Just lay the 1/2 inch plywood on top of it.

 

[Noahs ark6]

I think I am reading Noahs ark56 post as meaning that the wood ratings are based on penetration resistance, not support strength.
If you insist on having a meter span between supports, I would suggest a minimum of a 3.5 inch, 9 cm, depth to the supporting structure.
A nominal 2x4 inch board of any common soft wood would fit the requirement. Just lay the 1/2 inch plywood on top of it.

Your're correct ther oldman47, did you notice that i explained that it's penetration and not support strength? (post number 6)