Rack Question

[umfalcon]

Hello everyone,

 I’m thinking about getting the 90in tall and wide Gladiator rack for two 75g tanks. The tanks are 21in tall. Gladiator shelves come with four shelves. However, if I take one shelf out that equates to 30in of space between each shelf. If you subtract the 21in from the 30in that leaves 9in of clearance. Is this truly enough room to operate a siphon or will water changes be a pain? I ask because I would hate to spend all that money to find out the rack won’t work for me.

[StevesFishTanks]

each horizontal metal beam subtracts 2.5-3.5" depending on the manufacturer and if you are putting any wood on it.

 

when trying to figure out spacing I usually try to have no less than 6-7" but you can prob get away with less with shallow tanks, and will likely need more if using deeper tanks.

[Andy's Fish Den]

The gladiator racks, you can put the shelves wherever you want when building, so you can make as much room above the tank as you want. You don't even need to use all four of the shelves if you don't have room or don't want to. Just an idea though, when I build racks out of 2x4 I plan on 8" of space from the top of tank to the bottom of the 2x4 above it, gives plenty of room to get my arm and nets in to catch fish, remove plants, decorations etc.

[Andrew Puhr]

@Andy's Fish Den have you built a quad rack for 55 gallon aquariums? I am tempted to make one for my basement fish room but that might be a little extreme. 

[Andy's Fish Den]

15 hours ago, Andrew Puhr said:

@Andy's Fish Den have you built a quad rack for 55 gallon aquariums? I am tempted to make one for my basement fish room but that might be a little extreme. 

No I have not made a quad one for 55. The racks that I have built I followed what several people I have seen do on YouTube, Ted's Fishroom and Dan's Fish, doing dado cuts in the uprights.