Building a Tank Rack - with 75g FOWLR (pic heavy)

[Drasi]

So this is my build for a rack I am making where its main display is a 75 gallon FOWLR. The 75g will feature my green spotted puffer, live rock, and whatever he decides not to kill.... Going to be testing different creatures with him, I'd like to get a second green spotted puffer, but if they don't get along, I'm not sure I want to go that far. I'd rather try some other basic fish first (IE: Clownfish) that I can put in my biocube if things go crazy. Currently as of 9/19/20 my puffer is acclimated as brackish at 1.012 sg - and we are working our way up to 1.022sg. He's still a youngin, maybe a full 2 inches now when he stretches really hard However, as I've transitioned him (got him at 1.005) he just gets more active, interactive and vibrant each time... I do think I'd like to dabble at some reef's in my biocube once things transition over as my next project. This is my first saltwater setup, and I'm excited to get into it, but want to take it slow and methodical.

Just for background my plans are so far, 2-10 gallon bottom tanks - one will be a snail tank primarily for puffer food, the other is my hospital/Qt tank, both FW. Next level, which I consider the main display, is the 75 gallon FOWLR, then the top I have a 40 gallon breeder (TBD, thinking some dwarf cichlids) and probably a 10g sideways that might become my saltwater hospital/qt tank. These are all tanks I currently have . The rack build is based on a build I saw on Trafish Aquatics on Youtube here:


And some of King of DIY videos, but it most closely resembles the one from Trafish. I have made adjustments to the measurements to accommodate my setup. I have never made a stand, or built really anything before - I've done basic repairs, fixing, but nothing like this.

So here are some build pics to date...

The plans... I did have some modifications that are not shown, but this is pretty close to the real deal.

Here's the raw material at my start

A little weight test

Two furniture dollies sure made this easier to work on

Now to stain it to meet the WAF (wife approval factor)

Poly for obvious reasons

I used 3/4" plywood shelves for distributing weight since tanks will be varying sizes...

Finished product as a rack:

Leveled in the garage and doing a basic weight test with the 75... I don't have anything else to weight test the top shelf - my 40g is in use for live rock now...

While I see some areas I could have done differently now, I would say overall I'm very proud of what I built. I'm excited to see it in action! A couple basic measure twice, cut once lessons, try different things with the putty, and pitch the glossy poly and go for flat poly.

So thats the rack where it stands today. My Todo yet is to run a dedicated electrical circuit (the circuit the wall outlets are on are way too much on them already), tear down my current 10s, move my biocube and install this guy. More to come on that adventure.

 

[Drasi]

Here's my live rock I have now (temporarily homed in my 40B that will go on top of the rack). Have a pump and a DIY spray bar setup to move the water with heat and light to keep it "alive" until I'm ready for it. Got a great deal on it from someone who was moving, so I can't complain.

Please dont laugh at the valve... It was a simple way to block the water flow with something I had without having to run to the hardware store for a little end piece

 

[Drasi]

So new developments.. I went to put the rack in my office/fishroom - I couldn't physically get any way to get it in. I ended up having to cut it down and will need to re-piece it together somehow. It was a big blow when I couldn't fit it, and took me a while to come up with an idea (after recovering from the big ego blow of "it will fit"). Here's where it stands now

The 75g has been "plasti-dipped" and that took over 3 cans to complete. I may have gone a bit overboard, but I'm happy so far with the results.

 

[Drasi]

Some progress has been made!

A little touchup:

Installed Lag screws at previous cut

And current status of this morning:

 

[Drasi]

Here's progress of my 75 Gallon makeover:
Before:

After a little cleaning and background paint:

And that trim was just hideous to me

 

[Drasi]

Added the rock, and water today.

Still more to do.