# Setting up rack of tanks in confined space



## zwanged

Hi,

I currently have a 30 gallon oceanic cube w/ stand and a 10 gallon tank along a short 3 foot section of wall in my fish display area (on the right hand side of the picture) I feel like I need more tanks in this area and am thinking about doing a rack of a few tanks there to replace that 30 gallon cube and 10 gallon. The 30 gallon and 10 gallon will probably get relocated to the mechanical room which is beyond the door on the right.



My space constraints are: 30-36" width along the right wall where the 30gal cube currently is (4 ft wide would probably be too big because it would impede moving equipment through the doorway at the far end of the room and due to the proximity of the rug), roughly 2 foot depth (front-to-back), and 7 foot height (there's a soffit over this area, so can't go *too* high).

I was thinking about doing one of the following options

Option A: Metal stand with two 65 gallon tanks. Aquarium Stands & Furniture: Titan Eze Metal Aquarium Double Stands

Option B: Non-hideous industrial shelving (IS there even such a thing?) with three 40 gallon breeder tanks. Not clear if I can actually fit three 40gal tanks in this setup? Maybe I can somehow dress up something like this to not be hideous, also not sure if a 36" tank can fit on the shelf...maybe if I can cram it in as I am assembling the shelves?

Shop edsal 72-in H x 36-in W x 18-in D 5-Tier Steel Freestanding Shelving Unit at Lowes.com

OR

Shop edsal 60-in H x 36-in W x 18-in D 4-Tier Steel Freestanding Shelving Unit at Lowes.com

Option C: Build my own custom wood shelving / cabinetry for 3 tanks out of 2x4s. My carpentry skills are limited but I'm willing to learn if it's not too difficult. I was able to build a 75 gallon tank stand in the past from 2x4s and decking screws but in that case aesthetics were not a constraint. I'm worried about the aesthetics of this DIY option , as I said I am pretty inexperienced with woodworking. Currently all about I can do is screw 2x4s together and stain wood but that's about it. Never did mortise and tenon or anything like that. Never dremeled/chiseled/used a router in my life.

What do you folks suggest? 

My goal is to have 2 or 3 (or more) tanks for growout and/or Quarantine. 

I'm torn. Option A is definitely the easiest but will give me the fewest tanks. It would be somewhat painful to work in the lower tank as it would sit only a few inches off the floor. Aesthetically it's OK with my wife so that's a plus.

Option B has potential but I am not sure if the shelving will work. Also there are serious aesthetic concerns. Unless there's some way to dress up the shelving to make it non-hideous.... Also, i'm not so sure that particle board shelves is something I would want to be anywhere near water. Maybe replace them with plywood (that'll add to cost).

Option C may well be theoretically the best option, but is the most work, and I'm not sure I'll be happy with the result. I'm not sure how I would design it, 
my woodworking skills are pretty limited. Open to suggestions here.

There's also 
Option D: Ask my cabinet maker to build a multi-tank stand 

Any suggestions on design would be appreciated. Remember it can't be too ugly or my wife will kill me. 

Thanks for any help you can offer!

P.S. there is a mechanical room behind that door on the far right so perhaps doing some clever builtin in-wall option is also possibility, but obviously that would be a lot more costly. I don't know if that wall is load-bearing. I also could put filtration equipment on the other side of the wall if I do a centralized sump. However, doing separate filtration for each tank might make sense if I plan for some of the tanks to be QT/hospital tanks.

-Zeke


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## Manafel

Honestly I would build my own Stands. Yes it will be more work, but you can make them to be what you are wanting. I hate using the double tank stands because it severely limits your access to the tank that is on the bottom. I have a 55gallon stand that could do a double 55, but it would leave about 4-5" in between the top of the bottom tank and the railing for the stand... not very good for access.

If you decide to go with the double stand idea, consider buying a stand where you can say put a 40B on top, and put a 20L underneath to allow for easier access. Say something like this: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nRUk_Xm-V...b5xd_sV0/s400/metal+aquarium+stand+before.jpg
It is aesthetically pleasing while also giving you variety in tank sizes and water volume. I currently have a similar stand with a 55 on top and a 20L on bottom, which allows me to center the 20L, and space for the canister and other stuff for both tanks. It has a glass bottom on the bottom shelf, so it's nice looking, I don't know if the guy I bought the 55 and stand from had the glass cut himself, but you can substitute with a slab of stained wood or something like that.


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## coralbandit

I have 55,29,and 10 over under metal stand(called "hippers" in the fish world).They are ok,but manafel is right about the space under them.
For the 55 I have a 33 long under it(48x12x120 which does give good access,BUT the tank is still low to ground(where I put buckets for water changes) and to change even 10-15 gallons means multiple buckets as they are almost as tall as tank(water finds it's own level)and the syphon stops when the tank water is level with bucket.
For the 29(30") I have a 20 long under it.The 10 has a 20 extra tall on top and 10 under.
same goes for the other hippers,so here is my solution;I use the lowest tanks for fry that i don't want to suck up when changing water.That being said along with limited flow amount the water flows MUCH SLOWER being so close to even with bucket.Takes longer to change 10-15 gallons on the 33 long than 60 gallons in my 180!
The last "industrial" shelf with the particle board looks good and if the tanks fit(breeders are 36x18 aprox.) then the particle board doesn't even matter as all weight goes to corners and edges where the metal rail would be all the support.
You could place first tank up more than 6" which is higher than any hipper and probly still get 2 more tanks if they fit in the shelfing(I would measure actuall tanks you are intersted in and the display shelf at store).
Personally I like the built in idea!It is the most work,but you worked hard already to move tanks and set up filter in basement before so......
Built to the necessary size none of the built in would even show.I have my 29 built into the wall which has a larger space than tank so then I just made a "picture frame" to fill the space and all that shows is glass and picture frame.


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## zwanged

That's a good point. I think I didn't adequately consider the clearance issues on the double tank stand....if i were to go that route i probably would want to do a 40 breeder on bottom and 65 gallon on top.

I'll think more about what configurations that would be possible in this space. I would want tanks to be higher to make siphoning easier. lower tanks would be a pain to do water changes with.

-Zeke






Manafel said:


> Honestly I would build my own Stands. Yes it will be more work, but you can make them to be what you are wanting. I hate using the double tank stands because it severely limits your access to the tank that is on the bottom. I have a 55gallon stand that could do a double 55, but it would leave about 4-5" in between the top of the bottom tank and the railing for the stand... not very good for access.
> 
> If you decide to go with the double stand idea, consider buying a stand where you can say put a 40B on top, and put a 20L underneath to allow for easier access. Say something like this: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nRUk_Xm-V...b5xd_sV0/s400/metal+aquarium+stand+before.jpg
> It is aesthetically pleasing while also giving you variety in tank sizes and water volume. I currently have a similar stand with a 55 on top and a 20L on bottom, which allows me to center the 20L, and space for the canister and other stuff for both tanks. It has a glass bottom on the bottom shelf, so it's nice looking, I don't know if the guy I bought the 55 and stand from had the glass cut himself, but you can substitute with a slab of stained wood or something like that.


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## zwanged

Here's a layout I'm considering. Thoughts? My only concern is that on the lowest shelf, i'm not going to get a very good siphon....but I should have great siphoning for the 30s. Scale is 1 small grid square = 1 inch. 

<a href="http://s1294.photobucket.com/user/zwanged/media/new_fish_room/multi-tank-shelving_zps746958a6.png.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b617/zwanged/new_fish_room/multi-tank-shelving_zps746958a6.png" border="0" alt=" photo multi-tank-shelving_zps746958a6.png"/></a>

Any suggestions?

-Zeke


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## Manafel

that looks like it would work, but I would be a little discouraged by the top shelf when it comes to water changes and maintenance. I don't want to have to get up a ladder to do maint. Ya know? lol


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## zwanged

the top of the upper tank in this layout is 77 inches...by comparison, the top of my 180gal tank (the aquarium itself, not the canopy) is 60 inches. Hmm....I'm just trying to utilize as much of the limited available space as I can. 

I should be fine if i use a stepladder. Or maybe I can engineer a builtin step (water board) into the stand?  Of course the stand would need enough weight on it to counterbalance my own weight. The setup certainly does have a high center of gravity, I probably need to be careful about that.

Or perhaps have a step stool that can be stored at the bottom of the stand and pulled out as needed?

-Zeke


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## coralbandit

That set up should work.The 30's are breeders(36x18x12) right?
As long as you have a "python/aqueon" waterchanger the hieght shouldn't be a problem.I wouldn't want to pour buckets back in that high though.


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## zwanged

Yes, the 30s are breeders (38x18x12). 

I think I may drop the overall height of all 3 shelves by 5 inches. Should get SOME siphon on the 10gals at that height, though it may be a bit slow. 

I would never pour buckets on the top shelf. I have a dedicated vinyl hose attached to my utility sink that I use only to fill my tanks  For draining i use a separate siphon.

-Zeke



coralbandit said:


> That set up should work.The 30's are breeders(36x18x12) right?
> As long as you have a "python/aqueon" waterchanger the hieght shouldn't be a problem.I wouldn't want to pour buckets back in that high though.


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## zwanged

To raise the elevation of the breeder tanks while keeping the footprint at the base smaller, I came up with the following layout. Thoughts? 

<a href="http://s1294.photobucket.com/user/zwanged/media/new_layout_zps78b47604.png.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b617/zwanged/new_layout_zps78b47604.png" border="0" alt=" photo new_layout_zps78b47604.png"/></a>


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## Botiadancer

Just had a 4.4 quake yesterday so my thoughts always jump immediately to things being top heavy - if you're not in earthquake country, you can ignore that.

Are the 30g going to be display tanks or strictly for breeding? Will you be able to comfortably view them at the 60-75" height?

As others have stated, always allow enough room between tanks to do your setup/maintenance chores COMFORTABLY.

I prefer to have the bottom for storage. Too hard to see anything on the bottom without crawling on the floor. (for me anyway!) And you can never have too much storage space for fish stuff. 
"Look honey, I cleaned out the kitchen cabinet of all that fish stuff."
"Thats nice dear."
"With all the extra room, I have room for more tanks in the livingroom."
"Huh??"

Assuming this isn't a basement, run your siphon outside where it is a few feet below floor level.

And lastly - for Mr. Bandit... "hippers"??? Never heard that before.


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## zwanged

Not in earthquake country . Good point on storage. I am going to clean out my fish room tonight to see what my current storage situation is and what my future storage situation might be. Right now it's a mess


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