Tank Racking, Advice Needed.

[Dave26]

I've possibly made this a little convoluted, to bypass my inane chatter skip to the bottom

Right, I bought a four foot tank with filter, heater etc about a month ago now, that currently looks like this;

It was a pretty good price and came with the stand. It's currently cycling and I'm just waiting for nitrite to drop any day now. Of course whilst waiting for the tank to cycle I went on eBay, in search of a bargain, a bargain which I have no space for really, and ended up buying this 64l tank and stand with full set up (including the fish) for £30:

Great thinks me, I've got a little tank to mess around with. It was a complete state when I got it, and is home to a plec, a pair of silver dollars and a couple of loaches. These will be moving to the 4 footer when it's cycled (even though the silver dollars will destroy my plants ) I got it cleaned up and it's inhabitants seem much happier.


I'd been to my mates and admired his Malawi cichlids and made a note that at somepoint in the future that was a road I fancied venturing down. Lo and behold I get a text from the same mate that week saying there was a local shop advertising a four foot tank for a tenner with no lid etc, just the glass. Hmmm thought I, that'd be a good base for a future project. So we go and pick up this tank, to my surprise it comes with a hood and working light, complete with a working bulb, result!

By this point I'd somehow convinced the girlfriend that this was a good idea, she decided that was fine as long as she could take charge of the 64l, so everyone is a winner! Well everyone apart from my bank account, as I'd also bought a load of rock and sand for the future project that is becoming very much present! So this bring me onto the point in hand, I need a rack to hold my two 4foot by 1foot tanks. But there is a real nagging part of me telling me to get a rack slightly bigger and taller, that could hold a couple of smaller tanks in "the future". I'm trying to do this all pretty much on the cheap, well as much as is possible. I could get a double tank stand for £70 but when the tank cost a tenner this seems like it defeats the object. So how have you lot managed to stack/rack multiple tanks? Bear in mind this lot is in my living room, that currently looks like this:

Although the 64l will be moving to the kitchen!

Any ideas?

 

[Llegmore]

Well ... that escalated quickly. 3 tanks after 1 month!! Welcome to the club.

Lots of people on this forum have fish rooms or multiple tanks that need to be stacked so they use wood or metal racks like in fish-shops. Although I prefer the classic tank-and-a-stand look, they seem pretty sturdy. (I have 5 tanks at the moment and just stack them on any piece of furniture in my room that looks strong enough ) Racks are not always the most beautiful to look at though which has gotta be something you're considering in a living room. Also, 4 foot is holding a lot of water. Do you really want one of them hovering over the other?

If you're still set on stacking them, the only real way will be to DIY yourself a rack. Google it and you'll get some ideas I'm sure. As for leaving room for more in the future, once multiple tank syndrome has set in, there really is nothing to be done.

GOOD LUCK

 

[Rorie]

Having just put in 8 4ft tanks in my fishroom, maybe i can help

You will not be able to buy something for cheap! haha. I spent a good long time looking at racking. Granted i was looking to support 4 tanks in height, but your going to struggle with the span. Your standard stand for a 4t aquarium will no doubt have vertical supports at the end and the middle. So when you want to support a tank above, you are going to need a 'column' right in the middle of your tank at the bottom.

You will be able to find frames which span 4ft without a mid support, but the price will of course go up!

A note: Dont get a stand which has chip board base. They are load bearing, but will flex, giving you a crack in your tank, a wet floor and some fish wondering what happened! That happened to me (thankfully before fish went in!).

I ended up making wooden platforms to take the weight back into the columns. You can see some photos in these links. I mainly went for metal framing which has metal shelves....but its not cheap! If it makes you feel any better, my tanks cost me £5 each...the shelving did not haha.

So, the answer: Make it yourself! You can customise it to be exactly what you want. The wood will be more reliable than the cheap frames (despite having taken that path myself!), and it will be cheaper.....not cheap, but cheaper! Wood is expensive these days!! Here is a link to one guy that made the stands himself.

My fish room

racking