Dual 55 Gallon Aquarium Stand Build

[Andrew Puhr]

I recently watched a video that KG Tropicals made showing a staggered aquarium rack for 6 - 10 Gallon Tanks (shown below) 

I was thinking of applying the same design for 2 - 55 gallon tanks in my basement fish room. 

Obviously it would need to be scaled up with 2x4s and changing the supporting. 

Plan was to have the top of the lower 55 be level with the bottom of the upper 55. that way you have plenty of access with each tank and are utilizing the space effectively. 

In essence it would basically be having a short 55 gallon stand and a tall 55 gallon stand that just happen to share some of the same supports

Am I on the right track or is this a fool's errand? 

Edited January 8, 2021 by Andrew Puhr
Clarification that it is a KG Tropicals Video Screen Shot and not my own work.

[K5MOW]

Very nice.

 

Roger

 

[lefty o]

i think you can do it. figure on 2 55gals your looking at approx 1200# depending on rocks etc in the tank, but a 2x4 structure like the one above should hold it. i would be very exacting making sure everything was squared up, as with that much weight, a lean could be catostrophic.

[StevesFishTanks]

Installing a sheet of plywood across the entire back wall of the stand will remove the racking concern you described and increase the strength of the stand.

[Fish Folk]

Looks impressive! Our LFS recently built a long rack / row of 20 gal long using 2x4s. Very handsome.

We've built a few things, but never a dual 55 gal system like you're planning. 

We built a rack that holds a 40 gal breeder on top, and 2x 20 gal long on shelves beneath. 

 

[StevesFishTanks]

I think where this stand shines is in its ability to use tiered tanks of different depths/lengths. I watched his video from the thumbnail and was surprised when he didn't orient the tanks as I saw them in my head. I would use the differerence in size as open tank service area. Imagine the bottom with some 40B 36" on end. The next shelf with 20H 24" on end. The top shelf with a 55G or any other 13" deep in conventional orientation

[Andrew Puhr]

3 minutes ago, s1_ said:

I think where this stand shines is in its ability to use tiered tanks of different depths/lengths. I watched his video from the thumbnail and was surprised when he didn't orient the tanks as I saw them in my head. I would use the difference in size as open tank service area. Imagine the bottom with some 40B 36" on end. The next shelf with 20H 24" on end. The top shelf with a 55G or any other 13" deep in conventional orientation

That would actually be pretty impressive too!

[Daniel]

21 minutes ago, s1_ said:

I think where this stand shines is in its ability to use tiered tanks of different depths/lengths. I watched his video from the thumbnail and was surprised when he didn't orient the tanks as I saw them in my head. I would use the difference in size as open tank service area. Imagine the bottom with some 40B 36" on end. The next shelf with 20H 24" on end. The top shelf with a 55G or any other 13" deep in conventional orientation

Flexibility was what I was thinking with this layout which is 2 layers that are both 96" long and 24" wide. The top layer is 18" above the bottom layer. Most lengths and widths are evenly divisible into these numbers, i.e. 96" is 2 x 48" or 3 x 36" or 4 x 24". By making each shelf 24" wide, I can turn 20 H or 10 gallons aquariums sideways if I need a lot of aquariums. I happened to choose 3 x 36" on both layers (top layer is fry grow out tanks and bottom layer dirted tank project tanks), but I could rearrange in a heartbeat if I change my mind.

[Streetwise]

The live edge wood is a nice touch!

[Andrew Puhr]

After going over the tanks I do have. I am thinking of doing the following set-up of 2 levels:

5' wide version:

• Top: 30 Gallon (36x12x16) & 20 Gallon (24x12x16)
• Bottom: 3 - 10 Gallons 

4' wide version:

• Top: 55 Gallon (48x12x12)
• Bottom: 10 Gallon (QT) & 15 Gallon (24x12x12)

Will make both the front level depth 12" and the back level depth 18" to handle upgrade options in the future. Outside these racks I will have a 29 Gallon Aquarium and a 90 Gallon with Sumo. 

The left over tanks that I will probably sell off include a 55 gallon, a 60 gallon, 3 - 10 gallon, 30 breeder, and my 80 gallon frag tank.

Any input will be greatly appreciated!

[Andy's Fish Den]

A LFS I went to and would help out at when I was a teenager and early 20s had racks built similar, he had all 20 longs on the racks, the top of the bottom row of tanks was right at the bottom of the top row.  It was nice because you could have two rows of tanks at close to eye level without having to bend over too much or needing to get on a step ladder to catch fish out of the top row of tanks.