Newt rack build (slow burn!)

[apoplast]

So, I am currently building a "Display Den" for my critters. The room is finally built after a summer of work, and now I am mid-building racks. On one side of the room will be a rack for my dart frog vivs, but the other will house two 75gal tanks for newts! So far I just have the rack built, but I wanted to show it off anyhow. Still needs paint to match the wall, and I also need to get the hinges on the top. But I think it'c coming along nicely.

Here is the rack currently, built from 2x6 boards:

Just in case you are concerned about the weight of a tank this size, I suspect I have successfully overbuilt it:

I'm currently looking at designing the top tank for a Cynops species, and the bottom for a Neurergus species. But, I am a ways from that. I'll update here as I slowly make progress toward my goal. Thanks for looking!

 

[minorhero]

Sooo your build will 'probably' work but its not the typical design of a fish tank, at least not the second shelf. Because the entire strength of the stand is based on either the shear strength of the bolts or the strength of your wood not to rip the bolt through it. Since a 75 gallon tank weighs around 850 lbs... that's no small amount of weight they need to hold up and keep holding up for years to come. The more typical design involves putting the weight of the shelf directly onto vertical supports (as opposed to your build which has the shelf bolted to vertical supports). When a shelf is supported completely by vertical supports underneath them, you get the compression strength of the wood working for you instead of shear strength of bolts, and the compression strength of the wood is massive, like 10s of thousands of pounds. Whereas the shear strength of the bolts is likely only a few hundred pounds each (given that these look like 3/8" bolts and not of particularly good grade.

Soooo is it going to fail? Probably not.... but I personally would never recommend building a stand like this because doing it the 'right' way is pretty easy and much safer.

That said, a 75 gallon tank devoted to newts is always going to be pretty nifty, having 2 is even better. Good luck to you!

 

[apoplast]

at least not the second shelf

I have stacked 75's for fish right now. In fish rooms in my local club, it's not that unusual.

Whereas the shear strength of the bolts is likely only a few hundred pounds each (given that these look like 3/8" bolts and not of particularly good grade.

While I agree that the compressive strength of wood is vastly superior to the shear strength of the bolts, I am basing my design decision as an upgrade from the 3 deck screws that have been holding a similar design together for stacked 75gal tanks in the fish room of a local club member for 35+ years. The shear on my stainless steel bolts is around 400lbs each. There are 8 bolts per shelf (with the bottom one being supported by a second set of compressive 2x6 boards as supplementary footings). In my estimation, this is more than enough to handle the load. This is especially true because my current stacked 75's are on a gorilla rack where shear strength is the limiting factor, and the bolts are no where near as strong. In short, I have zero doubt that this will be a durable long-term solution.

given that these look like 3/8" bolts and not of particularly good grade.

Soooo is it going to fail? Probably not.... but I personally would never recommend building a stand like this because doing it the 'right' way is pretty easy and much safer

As I have said, the bolts are of enough of a "good grade" to handle the load, and the "right way" in this case is too wide for my space. As the old saying goes, "anyone can build a bridge - only an engineer can build a bridge that barely stands". This particular stand is more than adequate for the load. Please do not worry about me.

That said, a 75 gallon tank devoted to newts is always going to be pretty nifty, having 2 is even better. Good luck to you!

Thanks! I am stoked about having newts again! When I was a kid in the late 90's, could only get 55gal tanks (all I could afford from my paper route!), so this will be a nice depth increase from my prior experience. I plan to get install a quality background, auto water change system, and run the filtration off of my central airline I installed for aquariums (à laJay Sommers). The aim is to have this be a very nice display, but also allow for some breeding success as well - knock wood.

 

[MidMichiganNewts]

Looks adequate good job

 

[Newthanial]

May I ask what was cost in wood? I thought about building my own longer racks to fit numerous 10g tanks side by side. My Carpenter skills are sub par at best but I think the metal racks at depot are around 300 if I'm not mistaken they're only 5×5ft and have weight limits of 800lbs

 

[apoplast]

May I ask what was cost in wood? I thought about building my own longer racks to fit numerous 10g tanks side by side. My Carpenter skills are sub par at best but I think the metal racks at depot are around 300 if I'm not mistaken they're only 5×5ft and have weight limits of 800lbs

Good question! My woodworking skills - well, I wouldn't call them skills. They are poor at best, but this sort of thing is pretty easy if you have a circular saw, a power drill, and a measuring tape. And I measure lots of time in many ways to make sure I am not messing up too badly!

In terms of cost, I think the wood ran me around $150 for eight 2"x"6x8' boards. I could have done it for like $50 for wood, but I got some that is treated for rot prevention, assuming I would get some water on them. If you are more confident in your paint, or better about not making a water mess than I am, totally go the $50 route! The bolts were expensive - like $80-$90 range. But I wanted to get a high quality stainless bolt, not only for the rust resistance, but also because these are the supports for the weight of the tank. They bear the entire weight. Seemed like a spot not to skimp. The star-drive deck screws, I already had; but they don't run much. I got the plywood for the top cut at "big box store" and it was also part of the one I was using for my other rack - but the whole sheet was like $45. Lastly, the 2x2's were like $10.

All in all, I think it comes in just under your $300 for the pre-fab rack. Here is the thing though. I have a prefab rack that hols like 1000lbs per shelf, and I have three 20gal tanks on the top, then two shelves of 75gal tanks below that. It's holds! But... The torque. When I am scraping algae off the glass, or otherwise creating lateral motion, I can see the frame twist a bit. Not much. But enough to know this is a fragile situation. To test this current rig, I loaded 1000lbs of rock on the upper shelf and tried to shift it back and forth. Nothing. It felt solid. So, for me I think this is going to give me a bit more piece of mind, even if it cost about the same, and I had to work for it a bit.

I look forward to seeing what you do, if you post your build efforts here. Good luck! And if there is any way I can help let me know.