Stands/Racks/Shelves

[gzc]

Hello,

What type of stands do you prefer (metal, wood, other)? Do you purchase your shelving online, at the local fish shop, do-it-yourself, have them custom made, etc?

I am considering searching for a custom stand builder for two Perfecto/Marineland 30 Gallon breeder tanks (brochure tank dimensions 30” wide X 18” deep X 12” high). Due to space, I favor one tank above the other, or a double stand. Any thoughts on this multi tank configuration?

Thank you,
George

[MatsP]

I have built a couple of tank-racks myself. If you can do a bit of DIY and understand how to deal with the stress (the physical load, not nerves!), it shouldn't be that hard. I have a rack in my living room with space for 7 [technically 8, but I'm already worried about the stress of 1200 liter/300 gallon on the floor, adding another 250+ liter/60-70g would not be good for my nerves!]

Here's a time-lapse photo/video of me rebuilding my rack last weekend [long story why I did that...]


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Mats

[firefish11]

I've gotta say that I like the DIY approach as I just can't ever seem to find exactly what I'm looking for in the stores, and for those of us with multiple tank syndrome (5 and growing) space is always a precious commodity...lol

Normally prefer wood over metal, just my preference though, as welders are harder to come by then drills.

[firefish11]

http://www.fishandtips.com/index.php

This site has a handy DIY aquarium stand calculator that will show you the approx dollar amount of materials needed not sure if it will show it for a double stand or not but you should probably just be able to double the amount of needed material for a good guess of what it would cost to do it on your own.

Not sure if this helps any at all, but good luck whichever way you decide to go!

[Shane]

You may find this recent thread useful as it shows various stands people are using: wood, metal, and store bought racks.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... =4&t=33496
-Shane

[apistomaster]

I would build a wood stand which has the tanks on a middle shelf and one on the top.
I made some that are three high and have a 20 long on the bottom, a 20 long in the middle shelf and a 29 High on the top. This allows for keeping more tanks within a small foot print. It saves a lot of floor space.

[Firestorming]

I use pallet racking with beams rated at 2000 kg, I run the tanks "front to back" as opposed to the usual length-ways if that makes sense so that the weight is more evenly distrubuted.

[gzc]

Thanks everyone for the help,

Even though metal cost more than wood, I am leaning toward having custom metal 3-level shelving made for my aquarium tanks. Since I will need multiple stands for my aquarium breeding room, I figure the bare bones look of metal stands would be more efficient for my needs.

If I cannot find a metal/welder/contractor, I would need to rent or purchase a miter saw for wood do-it-yourself racks. Other than this and a few other tools, I have no problem with the bare bones wood DIY project.

Again, thank you for the help folks,
George

[MatsP]

An electric miter-saw for wood is definitely a good buy, in my view. I had a quick look and found some for around $50-100 of various sizes/brands. For this sort of work, you don't need a massive one, 7-8" blade will be fine (the biggest thing you'll need to cut is about 1.5" x 3.5" or 2" x 4".

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Mats

[apistomaster]

Home Depot sells a an adjustable level shelving rack with three shelves with a capacity of about 3500 pounds for $125. The stand is nominally 6 X 6 X 1.5 feet.
I set mine up as a stand for six 40 gal breeder style tanks.

[gzc]

Mats - I will probably purchase a miter saw at Home Depot. I worked for this retail chain for 3 years and have nothing bad to stay about the store I worked at.

apistomaster - I was browsing Home Depot's website and notice they sell an Edsal Heavy Duty 16-gauge Steel Shelving (Model #UR1860 Internet #100661829) 60" Width X 18" Depth X 72" Height. It has a 5000 lbs. capacity. If it can house 2 30 Gallon Breeder tanks per level, I would prefer 4 levels per shelf, 6 tanks on the shelf, and at least 18-24" high of bottom level storage space. I am thinking this is just as good as a custom metal stand.

Anyone have thoughts on the Edsal Steel Shelving and Perfecto/Marineland 30 Gallon Breeder tanks setup?

George

[apistomaster]

I think the stand you found is fine as long as you place the tanks in their long direction and not ends out.
I think the tanks are slightly wider than the shelves so you would have to modify them per below.
I do not recommend your plan to place the tanks above an unloaded storage area because it will make the stand top heavy and therefore unstable. Even I work on my top tanks first and am careful to keep the center of gravity as low as possible.

I don't remember who manufactured the stand I bought from Home Depot but it has at least as much load bearing capacity except you have 72-1/2 inches of available shelf length and is 18 inches wide. My 40 breeders are 18-1/2 inches wide so I had to lay 2 X 2's around the perimeter of the shelves inside the lip. Then I fastened an 18-1/2 X 72-1/2 inch piece of 1/2 inch plywood to the 2 X 2's in order to support the over width 40 gal breeder tanks.