Will it hold?

[Aqua360]

So I bought this the other day:

Amazon product

it mentions 30kg shelf capacity, 90kg total weight capacity, certainly feels sturdy, i sat on it (80KG) and it feels solid.

Is this enough to trust a 30-50 litre aquarium with substrate in?

Doesn't feel like the most scientific approach haha, opinions welcome

 

[tam]

A 30L tank would be approx 30kg, so probably. As a shelf is rated for 30kg and you can't split a tank over multiple shelves, I wouldn't go higher than that.

 

[mort]

I think the flex along the length might be more of an issue than the weight. If it states 30kg then it will be built to about those margins and a drooping middle won't be good for a tank.
It's the slow effect of gravity that will cause problems in the long run. It will likely support a decent amount of weight to begin with, without any noticeable problem but that might change after days, weeks, months.

 

[Andy Taylor]

90Kg may mean evenly distributed amongst the 3 shelves, but I could be wrong.

 

[The grumpy one]

Have you got a better pic?
Looking at the pic in the link, it looks like the metal x members of the shelf are held onto the leg with screws.
The screws seem to be taking all the weight. Assuming that there are only 4 screws holding the shelf to the leg, then you only have a very small x section of steel holding the weight of the shelf up.
Might be worth putting some triangles between the shelf x member and the legs to transfer the weight to the legs through a few more screws.

 

[Aqua360]

Have you got a better pic?
Looking at the pic in the link, it looks like the metal x members of the shelf are held onto the leg with screws.
The screws seem to be taking all the weight. Assuming that there are only 4 screws holding the shelf to the leg, then you only have a very small x section of steel holding the weight of the shelf up.
Might be worth putting some triangles between the shelf x member and the legs to transfer the weight to the legs through a few more screws.

Excuse the poor pics!

Yeah I think you're right about that. I hadn't considering reinforcing it, but if it's easily enough done I may go down that route!

 

[The grumpy one]

Something like this:
bracket
That would give you more screw mounts, just use self-tapping screws. Lots of styles out there
Better still get someone to weld them on.
The unit is about 1m wide. So, using the 3rds rule it needs to be about 30cm x 30cm. That will distribute the weight from the middle down the legs.