Clownfish growout/fry rack

[cylon032]

In the planning stages of building a clownfish growout/fry rack with 4 40 gallons ( 1 is a diy sump), and 6 to 7
5 gallon tanks on top just finished drawing it up. Need some advice and opinions if it would be strong enough to hold it up. All made with 2x4 with dado cuts for the supports. The wood color would be holding up the 40s and the black color holding the 5s. Would it be safe to screw pocket holes from the black vertical 2x4 into the the supports for the 40g just to hold it in place?

 

[fishguy242]

Hi ,I see 2 possible probs ??
1 two 40B are 73" total tank width
2 need vertical supports under shelves ,floor to under top shelf.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

In the planning stages of building a clownfish growout/fry rack with 4 40 gallons ( 1 is a diy sump), and 6 to 7
5 gallon tanks on top just finished drawing it up. Need some advice and opinions if it would be strong enough to hold it up. All made with 2x4 with dado cuts for the supports. The wood color would be holding up the 40s and the black color holding the 5s. Would it be safe to screw pocket holes from the black vertical 2x4 into the the supports for the 40g just to hold it in place?

I can't speak to your strength question, but I wonder if you should swap some of the 5 gallons for black round tubs (BRTs) and then swap two of the 40s for four 20s? That would be better for raising pre flexion larva, and then would give you more options to house fish as they grow.

Jay

 

[twentyleagues]

Hi ,I see 2 possible probs ??
1 two 40B are 73" total tank width
2 need vertical supports under shelves ,floor to under top shelf.

Agreed. You will need vertical support under your horizontal wood. I have a couple diy stands ive built in the past like this and have 2 currently holding tanks 1 holds 4 10g and a 40b the other holds 2 125g tanks. I dont have pics atm on this computer ( at work lol) but I can possibly post some later.

 

[cylon032]

So I would need additional support apart from the dado cuts holding the horizontal wood? Unfortunately I don't have the depth space in the area I'm putting it to do 20g, max i can go is 21.5" the 40g plus the plumbing is the exact size. 2 of the tanks are divided one of them into 4 sections the other into 3.

 

[fishguy242]

So I would need additional support apart from the dado cuts holding the horizontal wood? Unfortunately I don't have the depth space in the area I'm putting it to do 20g, max i can go is 21.5" the 40g plus the plumbing is the exact size. 2 of the tanks are divided one of them into 4 sections the other into 3.

yes on vertical supports,over 1200# lbs water alone.

 

[Rabidsquirrel]

yes on vertical supports,over 1200# lbs water alone.

I doubt they need vertical supports. The proposed rack is built like every independent fish store rack I've ever seen. The half lap joints should be sufficient, IMO.

 

[fishguy242]

Better safe than sorry, going to be a lot of action happening on that stand, empty tanks, refilling tanks...

 

[Rabidsquirrel]

Better safe than sorry, going to be a lot of action happening on that stand, empty tanks, refilling tanks...

I would definitely either screw it to the wall or run bracing across the back to prevent wracking.

Stands often get way over built. The bottom right tank is essentially sitting on the floor. For the bottom left tank, the right side is carried by the 2x4 sitting on the floor.

The middle rack is negligible. Say 400 lbs per system spanning only 36". I didn't even notice the upper rack was independently supported.

 

[cylon032]

Changed a few things which was my original thought. Should of posted this drawing instead lol not sure if it would work this way either but, blue would support bottom tanks (added vertical support under left side). Red supports the middle tank and black for the top 5 gallon tanks. Also rack is going to get screwed into the wall. Stuck with this idea without the added vertical support as I'm limited to space, if it won't work this way try to figure something else out. Appreciate the input.

 

[fishguy242]

Still looks like relying on screw shear strength.
@Lost in the Sauce @Projects with Sam ?

 

[twentyleagues]

Still looks like relying on screw shear strength.
@Lost in the Sauce @Projects with Sam ?

Exactly. The middle shelf is solely supported by screws, looking at it again so is the top. This may work but if there were 2x4 supports under the shelves it'd be much safer. Im leaving work in a few minutes ill post a pic of my 2x4 stand with in the hour, so you can better understand.

 

[fishguy242]

Even 1x4 will work , L brackets are an option ,be sure to use exterior screws.

 

[cylon032]

I was going to use a dado joint something like this

 

[twentyleagues]

I was going to use a dado joint something like this

If you did that it would be fine. My stands are like that but not dado joints. They are 2x4 butted up against the tank support beam. I built both stands in a day, painted them the next, that would have taken me a week or more....lol.

I still think extra support wouldn't hurt you are only going to have maybe 3/4" of horizontal to vertical wood support with 2x4s. Using 4x4 would be overkill. All my pieces are glued and screwed together.

 

[cylon032]

Ended up making two separate racks to get it into the house easier. Wasn't sure if 2x4 was enough but seems to be fine, all the searches I did with this type of joint everyone was using 2x6