Looking for a inexpensive but durable rack for several 10g shrimp tanks

1516 Views 14 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Jubs, Apr 16, 2014

drip loop

Discussion Starter · Apr 12, 2014

I am not very DIY handy so decided to bypass trying to build myself one from wood or scratch. Instead I would like to know what readily available rack or shelving would accomodate 4-5 10g tanks tops while I breed my shrimp. I am open to all suggestions especially ones people have tried before. I am also eager to get this underway so the more assistance people can provide the more grateful I would be.

The goal is to have them closer to eye level than a lower tiered shelf if at all possible.

And if possible, the ability to hang lightweight strip lighting on each level to illuminate things

Any big box stores sell something that meets these requirements regardless of its intended use?

I hope I get a lot of ideas, I may act on this tomorrow first thing!!!

Emailing me directly would allow me fastest response time which I would appreciate!

Thank you everyone!
Ryan

[email protected]

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lauraleellbp

· #2 · Apr 12, 2014

If looks aren't an issue, just some standard stacked cement blocks with rows of 2x4" "shelves" can be pretty practical. I've seen lots of fishrooms utilize racks built that way.

There's also tons of shelving options at Lowes/HD/WalMart you could take a look at. I'd just watch the per shelf weight limits carefully.

ctaylor3737

· #3 · Apr 12, 2014

There is the rack at lowes that holds 1000 lbs per shelf. You will need to replace the boards with plywood though and 2x4s. They will bow and cave in the minute they get wet. There is also the all metal ones, I love the wood ones though, waterproofed my plywood and it looks great,, can hold a few 10g.

acitydweller

· #4 · Apr 12, 2014

the steel rack from lowes runs for about $80ish and several of us use them for 40g breeders. you can replace those mdf shelves with plywood like ctaylor and marine wood sealer for something that will be both modular and likely outlive your tanks.

Also worth noting is the 6' racks can be split to build two 36" ones. so technically you could have 2 racks which actually makes more sense for viewing and tank maintenance.

Good luck in whichever you decide.

ctaylor3737

· #5 · Apr 12, 2014

acitydweller said:
the steel rack from lowes runs for about $80ish and several of us use them for 40g breeders. you can replace those mdf shelves with plywood like ctaylor and marine wood sealer for something that will be both modular and likely outlive your tanks.

Also worth noting is the 6' racks can be split to build two 36" ones. so technically you could have 2 racks which actually makes more sense for viewing and tank maintenance.

Good luck in whichever you decide.

Gotta stress again to change the boards. Mine bowed and the tsnk overflowed. I lost $150 worth of shrimp because of the board.

-Chris

lochaber

· #6 · Apr 14, 2014

I've found that 10g tanks fit pretty nicely on a 2x12.

You can simply get a long one (or a couple), and cut it up for 2 uprights on either end, and as many shelves as you want, and put simple dadoes in the uprights to support the shelves.

I don't know how many tanks you could support end-end on a 2x12, but I'd probably want to put a support piece in between each tank.

I've got one I built for a 20XH (same footprint as a 10g), that I built out of 1 2"x12"x10'. Probably cost about ~$15 or so, and a couple hours worth of work one evening. I've only got one tank on it now, but if I wanted, I could easily stick one on the bottom shelf as well.

drip loop

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 15, 2014

its funny this was mentioned because my father told me about something at lowes but couldnt recall specifically. Seeing as I am working with only 400 pounds of tank total, that rack plus the plywod mod sounds promising. Can anyone sniff out a link by chance? Id love to see it.

Thanks!!

Higher Thinking

· #8 · Apr 15, 2014 (Edited)

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=137122&highlight=

Jubs

· #9 · Apr 16, 2014

I have 18 (3 shelves of 6 with room for a 5.5g on each shelf if I wanted) 10g's on a 6' L x 2' W x 6' T rack that holds 2000 lbs per shelf. I bought it from Costco but Lowe's now has basically the same rack but you can build it to your desired configuration by buying the uprights and shelf bars piece by piece. You can build 3 foot or 6 foot lengths and the uprights I believe range in depth of 18"-24" (I am not 100% sure the depth specs though).

Here is a picture of my top row (it was taken to show someone the 6 tank water change manifold I made but gives you an idea of what the rack looks like).

See less See more

lauraleellbp

· #10 · Apr 16, 2014

Jubs said:
(it was taken to show someone the 6 tank water change manifold I made )

That's nifty!!!

Jubs

· #11 · Apr 16, 2014

lauraleellbp said:
That's nifty!!!

Thanks!

lauraleellbp

· #12 · Apr 16, 2014

Is it just for water changes, or also part of the filtration system?

Jubs

· #13 · Apr 16, 2014

Just water changes.

Discusdude7

· #14 · Apr 16, 2014

Jubs said:
Just water changes.

How do you get the water to drain into the PVC?

Jubs

· #15 · Apr 16, 2014

Discusdude7 said:
How do you get the water to drain into the PVC?

I hook it up to my Python water changer that connects to my sink to start the syphon and gravity does the rest, with the exception of the bottom row I have to use the sink to drain those because they are so low to the ground. I refill the tanks with a single outlet PVC gadget I made so I can fill different tanks at different temps and only have to watch 1 tank instead of 6 tanks at a time.

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