Kendall’s Aquarium Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 I am looking for recommendations for heavy duty steel racks for 20 gallon aquariums for my fish room. looking for it to hold 4-5 tanks on each rack. Thanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Smith Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 (edited) I got this rack from Home Depot for $40!! https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-4-Tier-Wire-Garage-Storage-Shelving-Unit-in-Chrome-36-in-W-x-54-in-H-x-14-in-D-EH-WSTHDUS-004/204466874 I loaded up three 20-Longs on mine (plus two 5-1/2 gallons on the bottom) and they are plenty stable if you add an earthquake strap. So yes, easily handles four 20-Longs, no problem. The space above each tank is only about four inches, but the tanks pull out easily if you drain them 75%. I also use tongs for moving/planting things, and I have no real complaints about the cramped quarters. Hope that helps! Bill Edited August 23, 2020 by Bill Smith 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Wow! It is hard to beat the $40 Bill paid for his rack at Home Depot. Looks like Bill's rack is rated at just over 1000 lbs. If you need something to hold a little more, some of these racks rate up to 2500 3200 lbs. https://www.webstaurantstore.com/49867/dunnage-shelving.html They also cost more than $40 🙂 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Smith Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Sorry for the photo trouble. I have to learn how to post them properly. 🙂 Here's my rack: 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Here is my rack system, which isn't a rack system. Both are Walmart rolling tool chests. 36" inches in length which coincidentally is the exact of length of a Petco $1 gallon 40 breeder ☺️ 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frost Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 10 minutes ago, Daniel said: Here is my rack system, which isn't a rack system. Both are Walmart rolling tool chests. 36" inches in length which coincidentally is the exact of length of a Petco $1 gallon 40 breeder ☺️ Well there's certainly no shortage of storage with that setup, that shallow top drawer would be great to prep plants on if you have a lot to do, or to use as a work table 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mineralNTL Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 (edited) I've had great success using the HD Gladiator Racks... https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gladiator-4-Shelf-60-in-W-x-72-in-H-x-18-in-D-Welded-Steel-Garage-Shelving-Unit-GARS604TEG/206688384 99% sure these are the same racks I've seen in @Randy's fish room on some of the videos. Super sturdy - can handle tons of weight - and reasonably priced given the weight capacity, but definitely not the cheapest. Edited July 15, 2020 by mineralNTL 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dublicious Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 1 hour ago, mineralNTL said: I've had great success using the HD Gladiator Racks... https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gladiator-4-Shelf-60-in-W-x-72-in-H-x-18-in-D-Welded-Steel-Garage-Shelving-Unit-GARS604TEG/206688384 99% sure these are the same racks I've seen in @Randy's fish room on some of the videos. Super sturdy - can handle tons of weight - and reasonably priced given the weight capacity, but definitely not the cheapest. I recently got a gladiator rack too. I think the boards are particle though, which is kinda spooky around all that water. We'll see how it holds up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, mineralNTL said: I've had great success using the HD Gladiator Racks... https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gladiator-4-Shelf-60-in-W-x-72-in-H-x-18-in-D-Welded-Steel-Garage-Shelving-Unit-GARS604TEG/206688384 99% sure these are the same racks I've seen in @Randy's fish room on some of the videos. Super sturdy - can handle tons of weight - and reasonably priced given the weight capacity, but definitely not the cheapest. Yup, I love gladiator racks! One wall in the fish room has the 18" deep x 48" wide model, and I also run 2 of the 24" deep x 77" wide. I am telling you, someone from Gladiator needs to realize they should be sponsoring some fish rooms! 🙂 Edited July 15, 2020 by Randy 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandra Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 2 hours ago, mineralNTL said: I've had great success using the HD Gladiator Racks... https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gladiator-4-Shelf-60-in-W-x-72-in-H-x-18-in-D-Welded-Steel-Garage-Shelving-Unit-GARS604TEG/206688384 99% sure these are the same racks I've seen in @Randy's fish room on some of the videos. Super sturdy - can handle tons of weight - and reasonably priced given the weight capacity, but definitely not the cheapest. @Bill Smith What is the thing on left you are using to hang the tools? Are racks easy to clean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 These are beautiful and again I am jealous--mostly this forum is just generating massive tank envy, well played Cory, well played. Not that I am anywhere near having racks, but these all seem to have low clearance from the top of the tank to the next shelf...How much do you need to be able to reach into the tanks for maintenance or catching fish? I am sure that varies, but is there a rule of thumb? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy's Fish Den Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 56 minutes ago, Brandy said: These are beautiful and again I am jealous--mostly this forum is just generating massive tank envy, well played Cory, well played. Not that I am anywhere near having racks, but these all seem to have low clearance from the top of the tank to the next shelf...How much do you need to be able to reach into the tanks for maintenance or catching fish? I am sure that varies, but is there a rule of thumb? I haven't used any of the Gladiator brand racks, but the ones I have built, I plan for 8" of clearance to be able to get into a tank for maintenance and catching fish. I was going to use long tanks on end, like 20 longs I might go with more to give a little more to be able to reach the 30" back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickS77 Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Brandy said: These are beautiful and again I am jealous--mostly this forum is just generating massive tank envy, well played Cory, well played. Not that I am anywhere near having racks, but these all seem to have low clearance from the top of the tank to the next shelf...How much do you need to be able to reach into the tanks for maintenance or catching fish? I am sure that varies, but is there a rule of thumb? When designing mine I held a net above my tanks and measured the distance I'd need to use it easily. I used these racks https://www.lowes.com/pd/edsal-24-in-D-x-77-in-W-x-72-in-H-4-Tier-Steel-Freestanding-Shelving-Unit/1001326526 with 3/4 plywood (not OSB) as the shelves. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mineralNTL Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Brandy said: These are beautiful and again I am jealous--mostly this forum is just generating massive tank envy, well played Cory, well played. Not that I am anywhere near having racks, but these all seem to have low clearance from the top of the tank to the next shelf...How much do you need to be able to reach into the tanks for maintenance or catching fish? I am sure that varies, but is there a rule of thumb? So I agree with how @MickS77 has measured - that's definitely something I hadn't planned well and am now sort of stuck with...mostly because I'm lazy and don't want to go through the effort of removing that 29 gallon the second level and the 30 gallon on the third level. They're both still serviceable but I'll be the first to admit that it's a huge pain and I should have planned a bit better on the outset. /shrug lessons for rack #2, I guess? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Smith Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 3 hours ago, Chandra said: @Bill Smith What is the thing on left you are using to hang the tools? Are racks easy to clean? Just some pegboard hooks that I attached to the shelving with zip ties. The racks don't really get dirty, because they do not have a solid bottom. Each shelf is just wire like the rest of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RovingGinger Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Would either this one https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-72-in-H-x-36-in-W-x-18-in-D-4-Shelf-Steel-Unit-in-Silver-MR361872W4/205182073 or this one https://www.homedepot.com/p/Muscle-Rack-72-in-H-x-36-in-W-x-18-in-D-5-Shelf-Z-Beam-Boltless-Steel-Shelving-Unit-in-SilverVein-UR361872PB5P-SV/300097687 work for a 40 breeder + some smaller tanks? Just picked up a 40 breeder on the dollar per gallon sale, didn't quite figure out the stand situation yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackLabelCarling Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 I'm using this Husky rack but I added plywood onto the top of the wire racks to create shelves. There is definitely room for way more than I have, but I'm concerned my 3rd story apartment handling the weight! Oddly enough it is manufactured by Edsal and branded by Husky. I use S-biners to connect my hoses to the sides. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-78-in-H-x-48-in-W-x-24-in-D-5-Shelf-Steel-Unit-MR482478W5/203828250 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Smith Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 15 minutes ago, RovingGinger said: Would either this one https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-72-in-H-x-36-in-W-x-18-in-D-4-Shelf-Steel-Unit-in-Silver-MR361872W4/205182073 or this one https://www.homedepot.com/p/Muscle-Rack-72-in-H-x-36-in-W-x-18-in-D-5-Shelf-Z-Beam-Boltless-Steel-Shelving-Unit-in-SilverVein-UR361872PB5P-SV/300097687 work for a 40 breeder + some smaller tanks? Just picked up a 40 breeder on the dollar per gallon sale, didn't quite figure out the stand situation yet. No, I'm pretty sure the newer versions of these racks don't fit the 40 breeder anymore. They're just a tiny bit too small; less than an inch, I believe. You can sometimes find older ones (that do fit) on CraigsList and such. You can tell the difference by the fact that you can't see the "keyhole" pattern on the vertical members of the old ones. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 I am a long way from racks, but I would like to hear about leveling them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Smith Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 7 minutes ago, Streetwise said: I am a long way from racks, but I would like to hear about leveling them. In my case, even the cheap ones had adjustable feet. Just unscrew as necessary for leveling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted July 15, 2020 Administrators Share Posted July 15, 2020 I also like to put a piece of scrap acrylic under stands for home use, in case you get water on the floor, the metal doesn't sit in it and rust. Can also help rust marks from developing on concrete on a garage and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 I am going the ultra-inexpensive but very modular way of creating racks for my tanks with 2x4s and cinder blocks. I have watched Cory's older videos about how he initially set up his, but I haven't come across anything about how far apart the cinder block supports need to be. I will be primarily using 40 gallon breeder and 20 gallon long tanks. I plan on using 3 boards per shelf for the 40-breeder tanks, but do I need 3 boards for the 20-gallon longs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toverbeck95 Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 2 is fine for the 20 longs. Cinder blocks are how i do my setup, the only catch is cinder blocks are only 16in but a 40 breeder or a 75 is 18in, so I use a standard cinder block a small gap of about an inch, and a half cinder block. This way i get 2ft deep shelves so I can have 10s and 20 talls narrow ways for space savings, as well as 40s and 75s long ways. Also don't forget tanks are usually 1/4in to 1/2in longer than is normally thrown around, give yourself some breathing room on the shelves, it stinks to have to tear it all down because you didn't account for this, may possibly be speaking from experience... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Thank you, toverbeck95. I was wondering how I would deal with the cinder blocks being a little short. My main concern is still how far apart the cinder block supports need to be. Surely I can't just have an 8-foot long row of tanks with the cinder blocks only at the ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toverbeck95 Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 10 ft boards, cinder blocks on ends, and one in the middle. The blocks are like 7 5/8ths inches wide and this leaves two 4ft 9/16in gaps for tanks. (Which perfectly fits 2 20s or one 55). Otherwise same idea with 8 ft boards to perfectly fit a 40 breeder in each gap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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