Setting up an Aquarium Rack in my Garage! (the beginning...)

What a mission this was!! But I'm very excited to see what this new chapter brings 😁 If I don't get back to replying to comments tonight I will most definitely be on in the morning (in Australia) responding 😊

I definitely would not trust that wire to spread the load correctly, I'd lay on some 18mm marine ply that's the full size of the shelf

Hi Kaity. Those racks don't look secure and the flexing is going to put a lot of stress on the glass base of the 4ft aquarium especially. I would definitely be putting some half inch thick board cut to fit that shelf. It will spread the load evenly stopping any risk of cracking the base (I speak from experience). I would do this for all shelves you plan to sit aquarium's on.

Katy, I am an old woman in the USA: The boards should be cut to fit tightly in the frame of the shelves of the stand, then the weight will be distributed evenly and should not bow. Please listen to all the prompting to get the boards in before you lose your tanks to the stress. I love your videos and that you are not afraid to go hard for what you want.

My girl, please please put a board on each of those racks for the tanks to sit on. Pleeeeease lol would hate to see a spot weld brake on one or two of those little metal wires qnd the vibrations from the pop snapping a tank :0

agree with everyone on putting some wood underneath the tanks, however in doubt with the amount of weight.. that it will actually do anything( but better to be safe ) otherwise looks great, look forward to updates

I have done a similar rack and I put a sheet of 3/4" plywood under the tanks. I just cut it all the way out to the outer edge so it was sitting on the shelf support bars and on top of the shelf grate. That worked well for me so I would for sure recommend it for the extra peace of mind.

I would put a sheet of plywood across. Some people said to use Marine board, but that’s ridiculously expensive. You could just use spray paint or some sort of paint to seal it and it will help the water bubble off unless you have a major leak you should be OK I’ve been looking at similar shelving, and my plan is to get a board that goes edge to edge, and if I have to notch the corners of the wood very slightly to fit, I will just for the peace of mind that the wood is supported by the edge of the shelving. The price is cheap that the shelving won’t sag in the center

Hi Kaity, Strongly recommend to place soft board beneath water filled aquarium to avoid cracks. Things looking great. Excited how the new tanks will look like. All the best !

@21:11 "It's a bit dodgy, but I think it will hold" Famous line before a lot of aquatic disasters. For the bowing shelf rack - I would use 3/4 plywood boards on top of the rack. Those wouldn't bow since they are generally used as sub flooring in housing. Spray paint them black and it will match the rack and look really good. You would also have a more solid shelf to place items on top of.

Awesome but them shelves need more support😊

Check the weight limit on the wrack and I would put marine ply under the tank the wire dont look suitable for the pressure sitting on it

Hi Kaity! I have the Tidal hobs and they are great. I wanted to tell you that because of you, I am venturing out to the pet expo in Melbourne today, on my own. I suffer anxiety, but last night I said to myself, that Kaity sometimes goes places on her own, like expos…so if she can do it, so can I, just minus the camera! I really want to check out the aquascaping and aquatic stands they are going to have. Thanks Kaity ❤

Your going to need to put boards under the tanks and being full glass, Id also highly recommend some polystyrene foam between the boards and the tanks... As they are now especially with the zip ties there those tanks will end up cracking.. The styrene compresses to even things out and if you have anything that is there like a grain of sand again the styrene will compress and the tank wont crack. The fact the mesh is bowing is enough to tell you you need to put a better base there. Also, the problem with the rubber matting you have under it now, its not thick enough t compress as much as it needs and Ive found when ive used it under small tanks, over time it gets mold in it.. styrene breathes better ..

I would also consider bolting the shelving unit to the wall behind for safety. You wouldn't want the whole unit, plus full tanks, to tip forward onto you!

Love the way your garage space came out. Nothing like using a space to add to your aquarium hobby. Looking good!

From USA. I know it will be a pain, but you must drain the tank and get a board underneath. I learned the hard way.

Hi Kaity I used form/construction ply for my Bunnings rack it system, i had brought 3 sheets of it, one sheet had to be cut in half which Bunnings did for me. Good thing about the form/construction ply is it can get wet and very strong. Kind regards Adam

Hi Kaity, i would have defo added a wooden board.

Cool setup, I used the exact same racking system for a while with a few different size aquariums, biggest one of them being a 150L so fairly heavy, I didn't use plywood underneath like a lot of people have suggested but just a yoga mat and nothing bad happened luckily, but the second time I used the racking I did add plywood which made it seem more sturdy than just the mesh, now I am using pallet racking with 18mm plywood and its basically indestructible and pretty cheap too, A while ago while doing research on easy to setup shelving's for aquariums the Bunnings rack it and Pinnacle brand systems popped up and people mentioned how it started slowly sagging over time and causing issues even if it initially seemed to hold the weight fine, you just wont have to worry about that with pallet racking, but hey got to start somewhere and your current setup is great, looking forward to seeing how you evolve your aquariums/fish setup over time. 👍