Optimum Stands

[IDMiamiBob@aol.com]

I got to thinking.... Seeing as we are all vicariously enjoying this marvelous
FL fishroom project, what makes for a good stand/rack in the optimum fish
room. I had an idea or two.

My optimum stand would be 10 inches wide on the top shelf, 14 in the middle,
and 18 on the bottom, with the extra width all in the front.  Then I could
build the lights for the lower two shelves into the space between the 2x4s
above them, and bring the lower tanks forward. I could reduce the distance
vertically between the shelves, and either lower the whole thing, or get the
lower ones up off the floor so the bottom ones will siphon out faster.  The
covers would be homemade and hingeless, so I could remove the front and even
the whole thing if need be, without disturbing any hoses or heater cords.  The
hoses would have to be run through slots in the back edge of the plastic
section of the tank.

This tiered arrangement would allow for 10 gallon tanks on top, 15 or 20 longs
on the bottom, and either homemade tanks or those new 45 gallon tanks on the
36x18 inch base, 16 inches tall, for grow-out tanks.  I figure you could
reduce the distance between shelves from the 30 inch standard to about 24 or
25.

I would build a plexiglass receiving tank under each stand, with some kind of
funnel deal readily accessible from the front, so I could easily drain down
into them.  If this were a basement room, or a room without easy access to a
drain, I would then include a pump with an automatic switch to get the water
out of the receiver and to the sewer or maybe the garden.  The receivers could
be connected to one another by PVC provided I had a little false floor to
cover the pipes.

The LFS has a section where the stands are not directly back-to-back, but
there is a narrow walkway between where filter maintenance and other things
can be done without reaching over the tanks.  If I had a big enough room, I
think this would also be handy.

Open to ideas

Bob Dixon


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