Re: [Killietalk] Dividing tanks? and show me your fish rooms

["Ken" <ken_combs at sbcglobal.net>]

Dave, if I can chime in with my 5 cents (up late procrastinating this
spreadsheet to tell the truth)...

In my area Home Depot, Lowe's and Costco all sell a similar robust metal
rack. I only saw the 36" X 14" type at Costco for $65 ("Gorilla rack" I
think), whereas Home Depot & Lowe's sell similar 36" & $48" versions.
Here are some things I considered:

9ea 10gal "long ways" will fit on a 8ft length, that means 2ea of those 4ft
racks joined together w/u-bolts on a level surface can hold 36ea 10 gal
tanks...You can only really use 4 out of the 5 available shelves if you want
practical access to your tanks 

-with the Home Depot 4ft version, the particle board shelf "rest" on the
metal I-beams, whereas in the Lowe's version, the particle board fits inside
the metal I-beams...this is an important consideration with regard to the
boards bending...
-In any event, I wouldn't trust that claimed 750lb weight tolerance, it does
not take into account the effect of water & humidity on particle board or
the fact you are suspending water 4ft above a huge potential disaster...a
gal of water is about 8lbs I think, so even though each shelf is holding
about 320lbs, or half the allowable weight, the particle board still bends
noticeably, not a good thing considering water & glass
 
I eventually bought the Lowe's version, but IMO the Home depot version has a
superior design if  slightly inferior overall quality (both are about
$75)...

Either way, I still ended up having to reinforce each shelf with 1/2"
exterior grade plywood...When I tear it down, I'm going to need to apply
polyurethane to each shelf...

-forget the 3ft version if you are going to standardize on 5 or 10gal tanks
(10's are optimal size IMO w/respect to cost & size)..3 & 6ft lengths waste
too much void space given the std dimensions of 5 & 10 gal tanks...96" X 18"
is kind of the "sweet spot" when using commercially available materials 

Here are some drawings I did a lil while ago...pardon the goofy "cartoon"
type drawings, not exactly CAD level, but you'll get the idea.. (to use the
URL, cut and past the entire string,, point & click won't work thanks to the
way "plain text" line truncates long strings)

I kind of "conceptualized" those metal racks before purchasing them...
http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/bc/40ffae93_3d44/bc/Fish+Pictures/gorrila+rack2.jpg
?BCjANRDB7G.bUrmp

Here is one way to do it with wood (cheaply)
http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/bc/40ffae93_3d44/bc/Fish+Pictures/design+template.j
pg?BCjANRDBl1MzTeUT

And another slightly different way
http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/bc/40ffae93_3d44/bc/Fish+Pictures/rack+design-final
.jpg?BCiANRDBknu4cT36

Here is a vertical support design to grab more horizontal space on a 8ft
length
http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/bc/40ffae93_3d44/bc/Fish+Pictures/Rack+verticles.jp
g?BCiANRDBnElIuXsb


Yes, again long, but always giving more thn you asked for <smile> (+ I can
type fast)///
Ken


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