Pallet rack - wall of tanks

[_erik_]

Anyone have any experience with using pallet racks for tanks?

Found some on sale and is itching to buy a rack. 11 foot beams (rated for 6800 lbs/pair) with uprights 18" deep. Three levels with low tanks 10-14". Currently I have a three level steel stand with two 65 gallon (64x18x14") tanks on the top and middle and two smaller tanks at the bottom.
Would be nice to have the 65 gallon tanks next to each other on the middle level of a pallet rack. With a 10 foot tank on top (height 12 or 14" and a couple of smaller tanks (10" height) on the bottom level. Dwarf cichlid/livebearer paradise!

(Yes the rack will be fairly tall but so am I and worst case scenario I will invest in a nice and stable footstool or a small ladder. I have talked to a structural engineer and per his recommendation I will cut up a portion of my floor and make a concrete slab directly on top of the foundation of my house to accomodate the weight of the wall of tanks.)

I might use plywood or some other kind of sheet between the beams... or maybe not. The beams are 4½" wide each so maybe thats not necessary when the rack is only 18" deep (the 65 gallon tanks in my current steel rack only has support on their corners - middle and sides are sagging). Some sort of padding on the beams and it should be more or less ready right?

If anyone feels like sharing any experiences, thoughs or advice on using pallet racks that would be greatly appreciated!

 

[fishguy1978]

Water is ~8lbs/gallon so the pallet rack is way over rated for what you need. Glass tanks with frames do not need padding or a plywood shelf.

 

[fishdance]

I noticed in another earlier thread that you were considering wooden racks but worried about deflection and losing vertical height. Rather than increasing the thickness of front and back horizontal rails, you can increase the number of horizontal rails instead ( use 4 instead of 2) and thicken vertical posts.

Anyway for your pallet rack questions, I don't think you will need to increase concrete floor but if you do, I would not cut into existing floor. I would increase concrete thickness with a concrete overlay similar to a floating floor which still spreads load but is very easy to remove in future.

For pallet racking, I always lift the steel foot plates off the concrete to prevent rust. Water will remain between the foot plate and concrete floor for many days after a spill. HDPE chopping board, composite (synthetic) timber, house bricks etc.

On my pallet racks, I use 25mm high density polystyrene under tanks ( all glass tanks - no plastic frames). I dont want any water spills down the back so I have the back pallet rail 5mm higher than the front. I've had higher blocks under the back feet of pallet rack and also had thicker polystyrene strip at back. Both work well. Any water over flows will go down front of tanks - readily noticed and easily dried. When rust occurs, it's more easily patched at front. For similar reasons, I deliberately over hang the front edge about 40 - 50mm (dangling in air).

On my 10 and 12 foot tanks that are 75 and 90cm high there is still slight deflection on pallet rack beams but most of my tanks are 3 foot wide (front to back).

On my bigger tanks, I only run broodstock or breeding fish which don't like to be kept low to ground so I raise the bottom tier high enough to slide buckets, foot ladders, fish boxes etc underneath. Elsewhere on growout racks I have 4 and 5 tank tier racks so this working storage area is invaluable.

I've since started using custom made steel stands for my larger racks instead of pallet racks but I'm at the stage of knowing exactly how much tank clearance I prefer. Pallet racks are quite bulky in comparison.

 

[_erik_]

I noticed in another earlier thread that you were considering wooden racks but worried about deflection and losing vertical height. Rather than increasing the thickness of front and back horizontal rails, you can increase the number of horizontal rails instead ( use 4 instead of 2) and thicken vertical posts.

Anyway for your pallet rack questions, I don't think you will need to increase concrete floor but if you do, I would not cut into existing floor. I would increase concrete thickness with a concrete overlay similar to a floating floor which still spreads load but is very easy to remove in future.

For pallet racking, I always lift the steel foot plates off the concrete to prevent rust. Water will remain between the foot plate and concrete floor for many days after a spill. HDPE chopping board, composite (synthetic) timber, house bricks etc.

On my pallet racks, I use 25mm high density polystyrene under tanks ( all glass tanks - no plastic frames). I dont want any water spills down the back so I have the back pallet rail 5mm higher than the front. I've had higher blocks under the back feet of pallet rack and also had thicker polystyrene strip at back. Both work well. Any water over flows will go down front of tanks - readily noticed and easily dried. When rust occurs, it's more easily patched at front. For similar reasons, I deliberately over hang the front edge about 40 - 50mm (dangling in air).

On my 10 and 12 foot tanks that are 75 and 90cm high there is still slight deflection on pallet rack beams but most of my tanks are 3 foot wide (front to back).

On my bigger tanks, I only run broodstock or breeding fish which don't like to be kept low to ground so I raise the bottom tier high enough to slide buckets, foot ladders, fish boxes etc underneath. Elsewhere on growout racks I have 4 and 5 tank tier racks so this working storage area is invaluable.

I've since started using custom made steel stands for my larger racks instead of pallet racks but I'm at the stage of knowing exactly how much tank clearance I prefer. Pallet racks are quite bulky in comparison.

Thank you for all the advice!

About the floor, my house has this rare heating system that pushes heated air under the floor which exits below the windows of the house (on the inside) Because of this the floor is relatively weak. The construction engineer I talked to said that he could not recommend any form of reinforcement on top of the floor (which I of course would have preferred) due to the weakness of the construction.

About getting the foot plate of the floor; I do have some 10mm hdpe laying around. Is that thick enough? I am also considering using thick aluminium plates under the foot plates...
As for rust issues in general I am currently looking into some rubber or epoxy spray paint to increase rust resistance of the rack. Any recommendations would be appreciated!

25mm polystyrene is alot! I usually go l like 2-4mm thickness for medium tanks or use pipe insulation tape for small all glass tanks. I might use plywood or similar sheets between the beams just to make it easier to slide the tanks onto the rack.

I am currently in the process of tearing up the floor. I will try to take some pics along the way of this project and post here on the forum.

edit: clarification

 

[sbrady5pts]

I actually have this same setup. I went with the industrial pallet rack and I have 4 125 gallon tanks in it. 2 on each level. I also have 2 55 gallon tanks on the back side. Everything is setup on 1 large central sump.


I love it. Took some custom work to run the plumbing.

 

[_erik_]

Just some pics on the progress of the floor. 2" layer of lightweight concrete on the original concrete foundation of the house with a 1,5" layer of reinforced liquid cement on top of the lightweight concrete.

 

[_erik_]

I actually have this same setup. I went with the industrial pallet rack and I have 4 125 gallon tanks in it. 2 on each level. I also have 2 55 gallon tanks on the back side. Everything is setup on 1 large central sump.


I love it. Took some custom work to run the plumbing.

Good to hear! I will be looking into making water changes easy with some plumbing but will probabaly use canister filters (eheim) for filtration since I have quite a few laying around.