clearance on racks

[larry lob]

Hi,

I wonder if i could get some oppinions on minimum clearance above each tank on a rack in order for you to do your mainance and get at the fish?

Larry

[Smokey]

Howdey Larry;
I have just finished setting up an all steel rack; and installing 12 - 40 gallon tanks.( 36''L. x 18''W. x 16''H) for a commerical customer(Allied Hardware).
Three rows high, with each tank having its own 36" fluro lite.
The clearance from the top of one tank to the bottom of the shelf above is 6 inches. This allows for an arm to get into the tanks and catch or maintance. Any thing less is impossible !!!
If you can squeeze one or two inches more , great. 6 inches is the magic number.All my tanks at home are set up with 6-7 inches clearance. It works!!
Allow 1/2 inch for side clearance.

Smokey

[Lance_Krueger]

I like 8" of clearance for scrubbing down tanks. But I'm not your average sized guy at 6' 2" and 300 pounds. Others could probably get away with 6" just fine. I'm building some new stands out of 2x4's, and figured in 8" from the top of the bottom tank, to the 2x4 above.
Lance Krueger

I've got one rack of tanks that has only a 4.5" clearance and I manage. Sure, it would be nice to have more room but ceiling height and the need to put a storage tank underneath necessitated the dimensions. Actually there was more room but then I ran a 1" PVC pipe for refilling under the shelf and that cut the gap to 4.5". Another rack has only 5" and again it works fine. Go for more if you have the room but don't believe that less then 6" is impossible.

Dave

[Smokey]

Yes Dave, less tha 6 inches is not impossible - just very uncomfortable. Planning ahead, like Larry is doing can allieavate such impractial situations.
My soluation - was to build my own Rack tanks. They are only 15 inches heigh x 15 inches wide x 24 inches long. These dimensions give me 80 Liters of water and a large surface area.

Smokey

Some things in life may be permanent; however their are alturnatives.

I understand Smokey. I didn't assume you actually meant that it was "impossible". To be honest I don't find it uncomfortable working on my tanks. One reason for the small gap between tanks & stand is my desire to elevate the bottom rack (which is actually the middle rack on the stand) of tanks as much as possible. I find that the lower the tank is the worse the fish do. And my tanks are all 18" tall. Height in Discus tanks is something that I was told was very important. So I could have made the tanks 3" shorter and used that space for maintenance but I found the space was better used for the fish. Another issue is the height of the person that will be maintaining the tanks. I'm 6'3" so I don't worry about the top tanks but a 5'2" person might want to have them as low as possible and saving inches anywhere possible can help. If anything I find it most uncomfortable to maintain the top tanks and they have the most clearance because of the spaces between the rafters... but the height makes it much tougher to clean them. It's all about decisions & priorities. I'd hate for someone to alter their plans on a rack of tanks or abandon it completely because they thought that the room they had available made it impossible. So I was just providing an alternative that has worked for me.

Dave

[Smokey]

Actually you have brought up a very important point for a person to consider. The bottom shelf / tanks; yes I totally agree, it is very stressfull for discus. I never suggest the lowest shelf be used for anything other than a sump or storage. It is just too freaky for fish; not to mention, the bottom shelf/ tanks usually gets ignored/least observation.

More information for Larry to digest !!!. Larry: visit some local fish shops, take along a tape measure, and get an idea what might work best for you; and the space you have available.

Smokey

[ChloroPhil]

I'm in the works of designing my own racks for an 8' ceiling. I've opted to go with two levels of 18" high tanks. With that I can have an 18" (55g) sump with six inches of clearance and then give around a foot above each of the other tanks for maintenance and ease of access. If I feel that tanks that high up will cause a possible tipping problem I can always cut the distance between the lower tank and upper tanks to 8"

As I'll be growing a lot of plants in these tanks too I'm planning on having my light fixtures hang from small chains so I can hook them to the top of their portion of the rack for easier maintenance.