Steve's tips on stands

[Imperialdiscus]

Okay, I have seen and done a lot of DIY projects over the years.

A frequent question people ask about is tank stands.

Now I tend to be the kind of guy who loves to save time, and a buck when I can. But I have no problem spending money on something worth while.

The Home Depot, buy some 2x4's, buy some 4x4's, a box of lag screws, oh and washers, lag bolts and nuts, plywood for planking, and throw in some metal angles and corners for support and blah blah blah blah option gets more expensive than people think, real fast..........

A simple multi aquarium project costs you more than buying a premade rack, not to mention the hours of prep work, sawing etc.

A popular option I see often praised are Gorilla racks. I tried one of these out for curiosity, and they are a nice little rack. Living in California though, I was a bit skeptical. They hold up, but I wouldn't be certain I would like to put that under the earth quake test.

A few years ago I found a moderate weight pallet rack system, that has a whopping 2200lb per shelf capacity at 6' lengths. Best part was it was a reasonable price, even compared to the relatively cheap Gorilla racks.

I have not checked lately, but the prices for a 2 shelf starter system, 3" beam depth was 113.00

This included 2 uprights, 6' x 18" deep (I picked that one to accomodate my 50 gallon and 25gallon breeder cubes) with 2 pairs of 6' beam pairs.

They also had wider depths like 24" and longer/shorter beams depending on preference.

The product is called Fastrak, located in Orange County California.

It's definitely not for home display kind of thing, but if you are setting up a fish room and want relaible, and reasonably priced, this stuff works out pretty well.

Hope this helps.

[Greg Richardson]

What do you do to prepare for an earth quake?
What do you look for in a stand in regards to one?

I have been thinking about that for some time with not much results.

[Imperialdiscus]

Obviously there is only so much you can do to prepare for the possibility of an earthquake. If it's a monster, you are probably screwed no matter how much you try to plan around the possibility.

The gorilla rack was nice enough, but if you look at various forums, people have gone to a lot of effort to brace them up. Certainly cheap enough to do, and not particular time consuming just to notch some 2x4's for them.

For me, when I look at a shelf with a 7000lb capacity with something like 700 per shelf, vs. 2200 lbs per shelf with a 14,000 + capacity for only 113.00, I tend to lean to the heavier duty.

Makes for extra peace of mind.

EDIT: I also bolt my shelves to the concrete floor. I survived the Northridge Quake in 94(?) with not so much as a splash of water on the floor.

I use these shelves with a plywood plank, plus foam glued on top of the plywood.

[Greg Richardson]

I also bolt my shelves to the concrete floor.

If it ever gets built I'll have a concrete floor. Makes sense.
Thanks!

[daniel19831123]

Those gorilla racks does look like it fit the job. The problem however lies in the cost in this part of the world where I lived in. It is cheap in US but then in the UK I'm not too sure. I've written an email to the distributer and got the contact of the distributor in the UK. Have yet to get a quote from them.

As far as other racking and shelving unit, it's really expensive here. I've looked up on internet and the cheapest quote I've got so far for a 6'x6'x2' is £105 excluding delivery (approximately USD200). A 2.4m 4x2 on the other hand only cost less than a fiver.

[lhforbes12]

What do you do to prepare for an earth quake?
What do you look for in a stand in regards to one?

I have been thinking about that for some time with not much results.

Earthquakes really aren't that much of a problem for aquaria. The water itself tends to make everything pretty stable. Think of modern skyscrapers in earthquake country with their water dampers.

[Greg Richardson]

After going through one with the center of it two miles away let's just say I have plenty of concern no matter how stable the tanks are. LOL!

[SSteino86]

The Home Depot, buy some 2x4's, buy some 4x4's, a box of lag screws, oh and washers, lag bolts and nuts, plywood for planking, and throw in some metal angles and corners for support and blah blah blah blah option gets more expensive than people think, real fast..........



Buy some 2x4's. Put 2 together with deck screws and wood glue (ta dah, 4x4s) for your 4 legs. Forget lag screws, washers, nuts, bolts, plywood and metal angles. If you simply notch your legs for the cross supports, I don't feel that the metal angles are necessary. I just built & stained a 48"x13"x28" stand for my 55g. Cost me less then $30 (Although I already had all the power tools necessary for the drilling and cutting, as well as a $3 box of 2 1/2" screws).

[Imperialdiscus]

I just built & stained a 48"x13"x28" stand for my 55g. Cost me less then $30 (Although I already had all the power tools necessary for the drilling and cutting, as well as a $3 box of 2 1/2" screws).


take note that in my first post I mentioned fish rooms and multi tank stands, not single stands for a 55.

[lhforbes12]

After going through one with the center of it two miles away let's just say I have plenty of concern no matter how stable the tanks are. LOL!
Greg,
I went through the Loma Prieta 'quake and had over thirty tanks at the time. Not one fell, or broke. There was a LOT of water on the floor though (thank goddness it was my garage). I'm a native San Franciscan and I guess I am just used to them though.

[jeep]

I like your idea, but for me, without a basement... here's a quad-55 rack built for around $25 in 20 minutes :)

[aben]

Great posts on this subject. I've got both wood and steel racks and wanted to add that the steel racks tend to be a whole lot easier to break down as well as set up ;) .

You also can find used pallet racks on Craigslist. However, the smaller, 18" ones, are hard to find.

Just my two cents.

[Imperialdiscus]

Great posts on this subject. I've got both wood and steel racks and wanted to add that the steel racks tend to be a whole lot easier to break down as well as set up ;)


In the long run, the steel stands are in my opinion the better buy. They are durable, they hold up better to multitank setups, and you can easily go 3 rows high without fear.

Also, try setting up a wood stand that has a shelf 9' long and holding 3 50 gallon tanks side by side with no additional vertical support along that span.

[disvegas]

Hey Jeep,

Your stand looked simple enough yet sturdy. Thanks for sharing the picture. In the upper left tank, I saw that you have a breeding white cone which looks like it's made from PVC. Did you make it your own or it's a common product that's avail on the market? If you diy, can you share how to make it with us?

Disvegas,

[Tony_S]

I saw that you have a breeding white cone which looks like it's made from PVC. Did you make it your own or it's a common product that's avail on the market? If you diy, can you share how to make it with us?

Everything you need to make them is a available in the plumbing dept. at your local hardware store IE. Home depot, Lowe's, Ace etc.

The whole thing is made from PVC pipe and fittings...The best choice for the base is a 4"x2" reducer coupling, the upright is 2" PVC pipe with a 2" cap on top. No need to glue anything, the friction fit is pretty snug and it makes it easier to clean if you can take them apart....

HTH
Tony

[disvegas]

Tony,

Thanks for the insight. I'll try to make a couple for my fish so that whenever they are ready to spawn, I'll have the cones avail.


disvegas
Collin,

[diamond_discus]

Okay, I have seen and done a lot of DIY projects over the years.

A frequent question people ask about is tank stands.

Now I tend to be the kind of guy who loves to save time, and a buck when I can. But I have no problem spending money on something worth while.

The Home Depot, buy some 2x4's, buy some 4x4's, a box of lag screws, oh and washers, lag bolts and nuts, plywood for planking, and throw in some metal angles and corners for support and blah blah blah blah option gets more expensive than people think, real fast..........

A simple multi aquarium project costs you more than buying a premade rack, not to mention the hours of prep work, sawing etc.

A popular option I see often praised are Gorilla racks. I tried one of these out for curiosity, and they are a nice little rack. Living in California though, I was a bit skeptical. They hold up, but I wouldn't be certain I would like to put that under the earth quake test.

A few years ago I found a moderate weight pallet rack system, that has a whopping 2200lb per shelf capacity at 6' lengths. Best part was it was a reasonable price, even compared to the relatively cheap Gorilla racks.

I have not checked lately, but the prices for a 2 shelf starter system, 3" beam depth was 113.00

This included 2 uprights, 6' x 18" deep (I picked that one to accomodate my 50 gallon and 25gallon breeder cubes) with 2 pairs of 6' beam pairs.

They also had wider depths like 24" and longer/shorter beams depending on preference.

The product is called Fastrak, located in Orange County California.

It's definitely not for home display kind of thing, but if you are setting up a fish room and want relaible, and reasonably priced, this stuff works out pretty well.

Hope this helps.

Where can I find this "Fastrak" in Orange county ? Do you have any picture ?