Has anyone ever put a 20-gallon tank on a wall-mounted shelf? Or know enough about carpentry to speak to a shelf with, say, a ~400lb. weight capacity?
(Yes, 400 pounds. I want to way over-engineer for safety)
I'd love to put a 20g 'fuge on a shelf above my DT, and maybe even finagle a way to use the shelving as the basis for a hood arrangement.
I think if I reinforce a piece of plywood with a rectangle of 2x4's, put another 2x4 across the middle, build out the extension of the shelf, and then brace said shelf on the left and right sides both above and below (and probably brace the center underneath), and then use a good dozen or so long, heavy wood screws into the studs in the wall behind, which is 38.25" from the inside edge of each window trim (tank itself is 35.5" wide), I can spread the weight out enough that it will hold?
I'm definitely not an experienced carpenter - just a son of one. I'd really love to, I dunno, put it on gas pistons or something so it will raise up, and that way I could build a hood for my DT around the shelf for the fuge or something, so I could keep the fuge low and lift the whole thing out of the way for maintenance.
Among other things, I might also be crazy.
Even if I don't put it on springs or pistons or something, I'd still like to figure out a way to use it as the basis of a hood that won't badly obstruct my access to my AIO filter in the rear
Otherwise I have to mount it higher on the wall, which would make maintenance a pain.
I'm working on an CAD design, I'll add it here as soon as I finish it, at least for a fixed, basic version. In the meantime, I figured someone here might have relevant experience, and be able to tell me if I'm wasting my time on a bad idea, or if there's something easy (or easier than DIY), affordable, and already extant that they can recommend?
(Yes, 400 pounds. I want to way over-engineer for safety)
I'd love to put a 20g 'fuge on a shelf above my DT, and maybe even finagle a way to use the shelving as the basis for a hood arrangement.
I think if I reinforce a piece of plywood with a rectangle of 2x4's, put another 2x4 across the middle, build out the extension of the shelf, and then brace said shelf on the left and right sides both above and below (and probably brace the center underneath), and then use a good dozen or so long, heavy wood screws into the studs in the wall behind, which is 38.25" from the inside edge of each window trim (tank itself is 35.5" wide), I can spread the weight out enough that it will hold?
I'm definitely not an experienced carpenter - just a son of one. I'd really love to, I dunno, put it on gas pistons or something so it will raise up, and that way I could build a hood for my DT around the shelf for the fuge or something, so I could keep the fuge low and lift the whole thing out of the way for maintenance.
Among other things, I might also be crazy.
Even if I don't put it on springs or pistons or something, I'd still like to figure out a way to use it as the basis of a hood that won't badly obstruct my access to my AIO filter in the rear
Otherwise I have to mount it higher on the wall, which would make maintenance a pain.I'm working on an CAD design, I'll add it here as soon as I finish it, at least for a fixed, basic version. In the meantime, I figured someone here might have relevant experience, and be able to tell me if I'm wasting my time on a bad idea, or if there's something easy (or easier than DIY), affordable, and already extant that they can recommend?
