Thinking of a rack...

[kiko]

Looking closer, it could work, depending on the loads, if the back of the center section was covered with a panel, which would save weight and cost.

have you tried to bend a .100 thickness sheet? it takes a forklift or 3 men to bend a single 48x96 sheet...squared tubing is wayyyy stronger than a flat sheet...
you can literally grab 2 tubes and it would hold a car which averages 3-4 thousand pounds on it easy much less 2 fish tanks which at 45galx2 is around 750pounds

 

[Oblio]

have you tried to bend a .100 thickness sheet? it takes a forklift or 3 men to bend a single 48x96 sheet...squared tubing is wayyyy stronger than a flat sheet...
you can literally grab 2 tubes and it would hold a car which averages 3-4 thousand pounds on it easy much less 2 fish tanks which at 45galx2 is around 750pounds

That doesn't mean it is a good design. And what does it weigh, and how much will it cost? Why not design it right from a statics point of view, with materials that are easy to obtain and work with? Remember, the OP is considering either OTS, or DIY.
There is a reason we don't build airplanes out of Black Box materials.

 

[kiko]

true...but I always build expecting the worst...my dog could bump it...someone bang into it...I don't build stuff based on structural properties for load size...
it's my house and I don't want to see it destroyed or flooded or whatever because I tried to cheap out on material.
A frame like the one I showed at .100 thickness will hold anything and I literally mean...anything... you could flip that thing on its side and hold thousands of pounds...
a simple design like this:

with walls on both sides at .5 thickness WITHOUT support beams can hold over 100 thousand pounds.
So yeah...right top tank which is what you're worried about as the center one is supported...assuming it's smaller so a 20/30 you'd have to support around 150 pounds on the centre support
as the load would be distributed between the right vertical beam and the push load against the centre display square....
.100 thickness is actually overkill but I'd rather have .100 steel and not move a single thou than thinner metal and be thinking when is my dog gonna bump into it and bring the whole thing down
And if really paranoid a person could also add a back wall to the centre square or X bars to prevent any circular motion/bending...
but at .100 thickness he could be throwing himself at that rack and it wouldnt budge
plus it's not about the design engineering wise...it's about looking nice in a living area...like the living room
so it can act as a tv stand for the family and be decent so Maria is happy about it...and strong enough that it'll hold the accidents the bumps...and your kid climbing on it

 

[Oblio]

Agree, it's your house, but I hate to break it to you, but that house is designed and built the same way. Engineered to be reliable, safe, and using materials that are the least expensive (and often lightest) to do the job. You can overkill, use e.g. 1/2" glass on a 10 gal aquarium, but you are wasting your money, and if you were in business, you would soon be out of said business.

With all due respect, I would also question your loading claims above, presented without experimental destructive testing, engineering analysis, or experimental loading measurements.

 

[kiko]

Agree, it's your house, but I hate to break it to you, but that house is designed and built the same way. Engineered to be reliable, safe, and using materials that are the least expensive (and often lightest) to do the job. You can overkill, use e.g. 1/2" glass on a 10 gal aquarium, but you are wasting your money, and if you were in business, you would soon be out of said business.

With all due respect, I would also question your loading claims above, presented without experimental destructive testing, engineering analysis, or experimental loading measurements.

Well that previous design is what we actually use at work to transfer coils from one place to another in train tracks...mostly single coils up to 60thousand pounds or pairs of around 40" at around 40thousand each and its gotta handle beat downs from crane operators just dropping coils on them without slowing down when they drop it...
so that V shaped design should actually hold a few hundred thousand as the weight of a coil dropping is actually a lot higher than it's own weight.
as for design wise....then again...
it's my house...I'd rather have something withstand anything than one day come home and have 6 dropped tanks that flooded my floor with thousands in damage in flooring alone
just to save 100 bucks on a rack design.
I understand your point with the whole engineering side of it...but that would be maybe for a fish farm holding tons of tanks...
that's the only time you'd need to start thinking about the load capacities of the steel you're using so you can build it cheaper specially if you're building lotssss of racks.
But for a living room? key is:
design aesthetics - so it looks good in your living room...and give Maria something to brag about to visits...
strength - so it can withstand pets/kids...because believe or not..kids are stupid and will climb on that thing (here come top screws/brackets into the wall)
maneuverability - so when kids do climb on it or if someone bumps into it the tanks won't burst from movement/friction (here enter wooden base+yoga mat as the base for each tank)

 

[Oblio]

OK, thanks - As you might expect/understand, I'm hesitant to accept numbers thrown out without back-up data on internet forums. Since you have practical experience with the V design and materials, that works for me

 

[kiko]

OK, thanks - As you might expect/understand, I'm hesitant to accept numbers thrown out without back-up data on internet forums. Since you have practical experience with the V design and materials, that works for me

I'm a steel machine operator...that's why I said for him to call a steel place and get their "trash" spot buys which would be lots cheaper than prime material.
for his intended purpose...galvanized with dross defects or flatness issues would be perfect for this and literally be at half price or a little above scrap metal pricing around his area
only issue is pick up...he has to make sure to have a pick up or a van as most trash sheets are usually long like 96" and these places will not cut them down for you nor hand load them or even split skids....
if a skid has like 3 hold sheets...it's either buy the 3 or 0...as splitting it would add to cost of already a discounted material.

 

[emeraldking]

This is cool, what do you look for in your racks when you buy them? Anything in particular or am I just over thinking it?

They just have to be sturdy to hold the weight of those filled tanks. And if those tanks will fit in there. Nothing more...

 

[Wills]

They just have to be sturdy to hold the weight of those filled tanks. And if those tanks will fit in there. Nothing more...

Yep so overthinking it haha! I can definitely find a store bought rack for what I want.

Do you have any issues with the wooden shelves they come with or should I try and find metal ones?

 

[Slaphppy7]

@Wills , see attached....very simple design, but it may be something you can elaborate/engineer for your specific needs

2 X 4s, and 2 X 6s....wood screws and wood glue....very basic, but very sturdy...color coded for ease in seeing how it is put together

 

[emeraldking]

Yep so overthinking it haha! I can definitely find a store bought rack for what I want.

Do you have any issues with the wooden shelves they come with or should I try and find metal ones?

I replaced them with waterproof plywood.

 

[Wills]

I replaced them with waterproof plywood.

Thats a good point - is that whats called Marine Ply?

 

[Wills]

@Wills , see attached....very simple design, but it may be something you can elaborate/engineer for your specific needs

2 X 4s, and 2 X 6s....wood screws and wood glue....very basic, but very sturdy...color coded for ease in seeing how it is put together

Thanks - good for single level but I would like this to be about 3 rows up.

Wills

 

[Colin_T]

This was my 4 tier stand but I used the top shelf to store stuff. It was capable of holding tanks on the top if I wanted them there. It had pine and galvanised steel across the front so there was more room above the tank to work on them. There was room to hang lights above each tank. It can be made for any size tanks. The tanks I had on it were 18 inches long x 14 inches wide x 12 inches high.

The pine was 70x30mm
Galvanised steel was 20mm square tube
Held together by screws and bolts.

 

[emeraldking]

Thats a good point - is that whats called Marine Ply?

Correct. There are multiple thicknesses and therefore different numbers of layers. Those are much stronger than the shelves that are in the package. For water can be really heavy once it's in the tank.