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  • 1 month later...

Does anyone have experience with the Edsal Muscle Rack, specifically using the 48" size for a 55g?  The reviews online are mixed, but I've seen several YouTubers use these with no problems.  They're comparable to the ones Cory used for the 40g breeder rack setup (same manufacturer, newer model) and they're rated for 800lbs per shelf.  The logical part of my brain says they should be fine, but the anxiety mosquitoes are sending me visions of broken glass and dead fishes. 😄  I think I'm just looking for an actual human person to tell me they're fine and that I should just calm down. 

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On 7/15/2020 at 12:38 PM, Brandy said:

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 have one of these storage racks that I bought 3 years ago to store household stuff and extra food. When planning my 20L I thought it would make a great stand, but then when I put it in there, the clearance is what stopped me from using it. I like access to the entire top with no restrictions I guess. So I went and bought a regular aqueon stand and now have my brine shrimp hatchery set up on that shelf. There is nothing at all wrong with the rack itself - it's super sturdy!!

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Husky Heavy Duty Industrial Welded Steel Garage Shelving Unit (i-beam)

In store. Red or black. 77 x 72 x 24 or 90 x 90 x 24

home Depot doesn't make it obvious but there are two different racks that look the same one is rated for 1500 per shelf the other 2250.

The i-beam model is newer and the better choice of the two.

I recommend putting plywood decking across all the beams at half inch or thicker.

 

The usable space is around 5" less than the dimension they sell the shelf as so a 77" wide rack would have a usable space of about 72" between the legs.

 

Edited by s1_
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  • 4 months later...
On 7/14/2020 at 6:02 PM, Bill Smith said:

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.

spacer.png

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

How is this rack holding up today if you still have it? I know this is a year late but I'm curious lol,

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 7/14/2020 at 6:02 PM, Bill Smith said:

I got this rack from Home Depot for $40!

I started researching this now.  This is now $55.   Amazing what a year and a pandemic can do to costs. 

Are you able to remove the top shelf so the highest one is close to 36" high?    That's what I'm looking for.  

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On 6/19/2021 at 11:57 AM, Gideyon said:

I started researching this now.  This is now $55.   Amazing what a year and a pandemic can do to costs. 

Are you able to remove the top shelf so the highest one is close to 36" high?    That's what I'm looking for.  

The shelves can all be removed, but I don't recommend it. I think removing the top shelf would compromise the stability of the whole rack.

But the positions of the middle shelves are adjustable, so you can give a tank more or less height below the top shelf.

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On 7/15/2020 at 1:53 PM, MickS77 said:

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. 

20200714_155147.jpg.b98265839b55c384e8ba9f0aba9874ae.jpg

I have the same Gladiator shelving unit, and I am wondering what would be the best way to support the wire mesh or replace it. Did you make the plywood a snug fit inside the frame, or is it sitting on it? What are the dimensions of the plywood? Thanks.

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  • 6 months later...

I'd like to know as well. I bought this rack last year and put 5 & 10 gallons three to a shelf. Almost immediately the shelves started sagging like crazy and the tanks were very obviously not sitting level. I switched it out for the often recommended Gladiator rack and am having better results with that. 

I didn't follow Bill's advice to use all the shelves, though -- so I wonder if the absence of the top shelf did indeed compromise the stability of the whole rack. 

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Yes, until last month, when I took the tanks down out of boredom, they worked great on that same rack!

I found that two small tanks on a shelf caused it to sag, as opposed to the one long tank, which doesn't. So for the shelf that had a couple smaller tanks, I put a cheap $10 bookshelf board on it to distribute the weight. That made all the difference. If you look closely at my original pic on this thread, you can see the bottom shelf has a black bookshelf board underneath the two 5-gallon tanks. I like the bookshelf boards because they come cheap, finished, and ready to use!

I still highly recommend this rack for multiple 20-longs. But yes, I do feel that not using at least a top, bottom, and one middle shelf compromises the stability and integrity of the rack.

Bill

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On 1/26/2022 at 7:55 AM, karpomatic said:

I bought the Husky rack from Home Depot. I keep changing my mind on adding plywood over the wire rack...

20220123_154759.jpg

I think adding painted plywood over the wire section would be better long term. 

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  • 7 months later...
On 7/14/2020 at 8:31 PM, Daniel said:

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 🙂

These would be worth the extra money just for the comfort of knowing how much weight they can hold.

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  • 5 months later...
On 7/15/2020 at 10:43 AM, Randy said:

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! 🙂

@Randy I'm sorry for dredging up a years-old reply. We are looking at the racks now and need guidance!

I gave hubby a standard 90 gallon (48x18x24) for his birthday last week, and I ordered the DeWalt shelf (50x18x48) for it. The plan was to put the 90 on the bottom shelf and two standard 20's above it.

We got the shelf, took it out of the box, put together the frame and one shelf, then realized the actual shelf size is 44x17. Nothing in the listing showed that, I didn't realize the poles were each 3" wide to take that much out of the usable dimensions. We could have put the 90 on top, but the two 20s wouldn't fit side by side under it, so that whole shelf is scrapped for this.

I'm now looking at the 60x18x72 Gladiator. Before throwing down another $300 though, I need advice from someone who uses them. Is the 18" depth actual usable depth to hold the 90 gallon aquarium? I do realize there wouldn't be any excess front or back, and that's okay, I just need to verify the 90 will be secure on an 18" deep shelf.

Another question is if I need to anchor it. Where it's going, the floors are cement, but the walls are also cement encased in Styrofoam. That's how our house is built (ARXX blocks filled with rebar and cement if you're so inclined to see what I mean). The walls don't have "studs" and have plastic strips that come through the Styrofoam. I mention this because if it needs anchored, our best option would be the floor and not the wall, and I need someone with knowledge to let me know if that's okay or not.

Edited by Rebekah
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On 3/3/2023 at 8:11 AM, Rebekah said:

@Randy I'm sorry for dredging up a years-old reply. We are looking at the racks now and need guidance!

I gave hubby a standard 90 gallon (48x18x24) for his birthday last week, and I ordered the DeWalt shelf (50x18x48) for it. The plan was to put the 90 on the bottom shelf and two standard 20's above it.

We got the shelf, took it out of the box, put together the frame and one shelf, then realized the actual shelf size is 44x17. Nothing in the listing showed that, I didn't realize the poles were each 3" wide to take that much out of the usable dimensions. We could have put the 90 on top, but the two 20s wouldn't fit side by side under it, so that whole shelf is scrapped for this.

I'm now looking at the 60x18x72 Gladiator. Before throwing down another $300 though, I need advice from someone who uses them. Is the 18" depth actual usable depth to hold the 90 gallon aquarium? I do realize there wouldn't be any excess front or back, and that's okay, I just need to verify the 90 will be secure on an 18" deep shelf.

Another question is if I need to anchor it. Where it's going, the floors are cement, but the walls are also cement encased in Styrofoam. That's how our house is built (ARXX blocks filled with rebar and cement if you're so inclined to see what I mean). The walls don't have "studs" and have plastic strips that come through the Styrofoam. I mention this because if it needs anchored, our best option would be the floor and not the wall, and I need someone with knowledge to let me know if that's okay or not.

I cannot answer your anchoring questions because I also need that information, but I can tell you that my 24x18x72 Gladiator rack does NOT by itself support an 18"-deep tank. The advertised depth includes the like, frame around the shelves, and the shelves are like a quarter inch recessed into the frame. Hard to describe. But basically there is a lip on either side that reduces the real shelf depth to like 17". I had some egg crate light diffuser which as it turns out is just about 1/4" tall, so I cut it to fit on the shelf and provide support to the 40 breeder I wanted to set up. It's been going for about a year now and it looks fine, but definitely not ideal. 

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