[Killietalk] Re fishroom racks

[Sue Katz <dskatz at earthlink_net>]

John: "But.... i have also been eyeing some of those Metal industrial racks
that they sell at Samms Club and figure i could go 4 tiers high because
their shelves are not as thick as my 2X4 rack... saving some space and
going to 8 inches between racks i could get the 4th tier in but the top
of that tank would be very high..   but then again i am tall!!"

Earl:  "I would recommend these racks, but carefully plan the working distance above
the tank. I have a 4 foot wide rack from Sam's Club ($75) literally squeezed into an
old 4 foot shower in my laundryroom. They are nice but it is hard to arrange
4 good workable shelves. I have a lot of sweater boxes so I can have shallow
shelves but be able to pull the boxes out  for maintainance, cleaning etc.
The largest or tallest shelf is the bottom which has brine shrimp hatchers
and the tall sterilyte file boxes. The top shelf or the top of the unit, has
my electrical equipment, spare bottles, lights, fruitflies and  other
infrequently used items, as I have to use a step stool to get things down. 

I only feed or siphon water while the tanks are on the rack. For anything
else I disconnect the sponge filter and just carry the whole tank (sweater
box, critter keeper) to a table.  Last night I caught and bagged 20 fish and
cleaned out the tanks this way. I drain part of the tall sterilyte
containers before moving, though. "

I agree with Earl - I've seen his setup, he hasn't seen mine, he really does have the rack squeezed in.  I really like the Sam's racks - and I do put fish up on the higher shelves, that is why I have a stepstool in the fishroom to get up on.  Gettting the pump to push air that high, that is a problem.  I have mine up with 5 shelves each.
The one complaint I have about these racks is what Earl has mentioned - you think you can put shelves closer than you actually can - I can barely squeeze my hands in to deal with the tanks if I put shelves too close.  On the other hand, with the open shelf, you can also pour the water through the shelf above.
Sue Katz
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