Tank Rack

[KEVINT]

Hi
I was considering making a tank rack to hold 5 or 6 tanks.
The rack would hold about 4 or 6 29 gallon tanks.
Two on top, two in the middle, and two on the bottom. Or maybe a larger tank on the bottom. Like a 55 gallon.
Would anybody have plans to make this or is there a website where i can find plans to make this.
I have limited space. And this setup would fit perfect. (for now)
Thanks

Kevin

[FischAutoTechGarten]

How high are your ceilings. 3 High with 29" tanks is tight.

[KEVINT]

The ceiling is about 10' feet high.

[ronrca]

Why dont you check you my mini rack system? Maybe it can give you some ideas! ;)

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=19;action=display;threadid=9428

[KEVINT]

Very nice Ronrca.
I dont think i will have everything done automatic. But your setup is very nice. How long did it take you to build?
Maybe a setup containing three selfs would be good. I can have one light source that shines down to the bottom.

[ronrca]

I dont know if you'd really call it automatic, just easier. I still have to open/close valves, monitor the water levels, turn pumps off/on, etc, etc! LOL!

The construction of the rack didnt take very long. I drew up the plans (which took months btw), calculated the measurements of the 2x4's and went to work. I think it took 1 saturday and a couple of evening during the week. Putting the tanks and plumbing together took a little longer though than the wood work.

[KEVINT]

I think i am going to make three shelves and place two tanks on each shelf. I want to have one light source to shine all the way to the bottom tanks.

[ronrca]

A few pointers if I may from my own experience! LOL!

Make the rack a couple inches longer! I tried to calculate the lenght pretty exact and now I have problems getting 3 tanks to fit plus the styrofoam. Had the shelf been another 1" longer, it would of been perfect. One reason it didnt work out as planned is because the tanks themselves are not 100% identical meaning slightly different measurements.

Another tip is insulation like styrofoam really helps retain heat. Just look at my system again. I do not have heaters in the tanks themselves, just in the sumps. The temp stays constant at 30C no problem.

And one more! Plan ahead! Draw it out to scale!

Good luck and keep us posted! ;) ;D

[Smokey]

P.S. - RON
did you fail to remember the tutoir. ??

Ron has a nice set-up. However he did deviate from the original plans. This is called orginal thinking. the last of an independent breed. PerhaPS so.

However; one must remember, Ron is a very intelligent/educated person .. who stands beside his errors! lol/.

Ron; I am in the process of building/planning my next dedicated discus room - # 8. Personal room, that is. Not for a client!

I have the space; of 10 feet by 10 feet. Concrete floors; hot water heating; hot water air heating, and unlimited water useage. Ahhhh, a discus keepers dream....

A few expierences I have incountered over the years -; Water in / water out .. to me this is very important.

Secondary - heat. First- keep the room warm; high temperture
Next - keeping the wates warm.

Third - humidity - the air temperature must be warm AND HIGH HUMIDITY. This will also reduce trhe energy needed to heat the tanks.

Fourth - layout [ tank layout]. Persoanlly, from many years of personal expierence - a three tier rack has it's inconviences.

The top tanks become neglected -- and the bottom tanks eat up excess energy/heat/and become neglected/and are stressfull to the discus.

My personal room; # 8 ; wiil have all the tanks one the same level. ~ one meter from the floor. The bottom shelf - will have the sumps/electrical/mechanicl/operations. The uppermost shelf will have wet/dry bio-towers.

At this time, I have not estimated the total flowing water .. the last personal one, had 900 imp. gallons flow capacity.,

I hope to keep it down to 700 gallons. YAH, right!

BTW - Ron is a techno,- geek,, as in he has access to all the electonic goodies.. not yet on the market!

In my final defense, Ron .. I will be knocking on your door for the final "auto-m a t i c stuff.

OK. ??

Smokey

[ronrca]

LOL! Smokey! ;D

Yes, I did change a few design plans I guess! LOL! ;)

I agree with Smokey on having a 3 shelf rack! Top tanks are a little tougher to clean (need a step ladder which is a little inconvienant plus netting becomes trickier). I like the idea of going with tanks all on 1 level like Smokey mentioned also! In my case, the top tanks do not have the pressure to properly 'clean' the tanks (unless another method is incorporated like a small submerisble pump like mentioned in another thread). Well, thats the fun of designing! ;D

However, there is a concern that I would like to raise. That is the humidity aspect. Humidity inside homes is bad. Humidity can cause mold to grow. Mold is dangerous. Once it starts, you can not kill it unless you rip out your drywall and replace it. This mold affects the respiratory system and can be dangerous to your health. It is important to control the humidity in your fishroom/home (keep it around 30-60%). This can be done by venting to the outside, dehumidifiers, proper construction of fishroom, etc!

Here is some info to read:
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/moldresources.html
and
http://www.mold.ph/

;)

[KEVINT]

thanks alot guys.
I am now undecided of what to do.
I thinks i will just setup a few tanks all around the tanks.
Thanks again for all the help.
I will setup a space for racks in the near future.
Thanks again
Kevin

[Smokey]

Undeciede_ start with reason. the ultimate fish room is beyound the average hobbiets pockect book.

Learn how to take care of one tank .. before moving on.

Smokey