metal shelving?

[unknown_saint]

i bought a metal shelf unit at walmart that is rated at 250lb. per shelf. i plan to put a 20h and 20l on it, which should fall in at below the rated weight load. my concern though is the "evenly distributed" caveat. the shelves themselves are 36"x14", which is of course larger than the footprint of the tanks. i stood on the bottom shelf (i weigh about 150) and it seemed to hold, but i don't know if that's enough to convince me about it.
so, i'm wondering if anyone is using anything like this, or if anyone has any horror/success stories. i would really prefer to not have 40 gallons of water, plus broken glass on my floor.

 

[npbarca]

you can put some 2x4's instead of the cheap composite sheet. Just cut them so they rest on the cross beams, not the lip where the sheet would rest.

 

[jonclark96]

I've used metal shelving for 40 breeders, but the tank footprint was the same size as the shelving braces, so there wasn't the issue you are concerned about. Putting in 2x4's to span to the shelf supports should work.