I'd Like Some Advice On Diy Multi Tank Stand

[MrsEspoNYC7]

Hi so I just recently got into the hobby and I talked my hubby into getting me a 27 gallon cube for my birthday, got some black skirt tetras, zebra danios and guppies... Gave back tetras and danios and decided to just keep guppies,

So now I need fry tanks and I wanted to separate my males and females, my problem is I only have one spot in my house for a tank and I love the look of the cube so I figured if I can make a multi tank stand which fits in my house where my original tank is that would be great. I brainstormed a little while and came up with a rough design to house my 27 gallon and 4x 10 gallon tanks.

So the 3 10 gallon tanks on the left would be facing sideways so the short side is the front, and the 10 on the right is facing the regular way...
I have decent carpentry skills and the build should be no problem, but I'm at a total loss when it comes to setting up filtration, light etc.

The only thing I'm sure of is that I want to run separate filters to each tank to prevent any cross contamination of disease.... So any advice?

Anything at all would be awesome

 

[Chad]

How are you going to get into the bottom tanks to clean them and do water changes? Will they have lighting?
 
It's hard to tell from the drawing how much room you have to work with.
 
Other than that I can't think of anything right off that might be an issue. Separate filtration is a good idea for the reason you give. You will have to make sure you have room for 5 filters and 5 heaters and the outlets required to plug it all in, and lighting if you are going to include it. Most fish like to have a day/night cycle so I do recommend some lighting.

 

[MrsEspoNYC7]

the left and right side are each going to have a door and there will be 6 inches clearance on top of each tank for access. The main view is going to be from the front only and on the doors on each side I was going to make some cut outs to look like bubbles so you could see each side a little.
As far as lighting I was thinking about rigging up a few led's for each tank all connected to a main control panel with a timer.

What is your opinion on the aesthetics of the layout

The space I have to work with is approx 40 wide 26 deep 74 high


This is a really crappy rough sketch of the door thing to show the cutouts

 

[Chad]

Will you be able to get an algae scraper in there or a siphon to such the gravel? Or will they be bare bottom as they are fry tanks?
 
Overall I think once it's worked out it will be a very cool looking cabinet and I can't wait to see a photo of it all set up.
 
It might be fun to post photos all the way along so people can see the project progress.

 

[MrsEspoNYC7]

Also the drawing is just a rough sketch and I didn't properly show the spacing to allow for tank access but its in my head lol
I'm definitely looking forward to starting this project and ill be posting pics along the way....

I think there should be enough room for me to get to each tank but once i start the build ill have to test it and make adjustments as i go along. Since this is my first shot at anything like this I'm allowing myself some room for error lol.

Also do you think I should use hob or canister filters. I was thinking of using sponge filters for the fry tanks and hobs for the main display and male / female tanks.

 

[wake19]

In that space and with raising guppies you would be better off getting a 40 breeder then racking three 10 gallons underneath it on end. Thats how my small scale system is setup. You get about 5" left over on the bottom rack which works perfect for putting an BBS hatcher and an airpump to run all the 10s and the hatcher. Not all of mine have lights on them as IMO ambient light is often enough if its just a fry tank.

 

[78Strat]

generally 50% of the tank depth plus or minus an inch above the tanks works.  this depends on your build height and weight.  you can do one light across the top if you use bare bottom tanks with a floating base and pirimeter support only.  get a good air pump and run box filters in the adult tanks sponges in the fry tanks.  you can use the air pupmp to run a shrimp hatcher too fry love baby shrimp.   this gets rid of a lot of wires and is more ajustable for flow rate.  the heart of a good rack system is the pump.  if you have a lot of air you will filter better then any of these expensive filters out there.  

 

[MrsEspoNYC7]

Ok so the whole lighting issue is totally baffling to me. I found these led light strips that say they are 6 watts and 2700 kelvin.... What the heck does that mean and would these be sufficient for the 10 gallon tanks if I decide not to put live plants

 

[DrRob]

2700 Kelvin represents a warm white colour, similar to a classic incandescent bulb.
 
6W is simply the power rating of the lights, doesn't really equate to all that much at the moment as it depends hugely on the type of bulb.
 
To be honest, if you don't have plants then all you need is to be able to see what you're doing, in which case a 6W LED looking set would be plenty of light.

 

[MrsEspoNYC7]

Thanks so much for your help. I'll be back for more questions before I actually get started on the build I'm sure.

 

[MrsEspoNYC7]

Ok so I have a major delay in my plans.... I tore the ligaments in my left thumb at work and now have a cast up to my elbow. Just bought some 5 gallon kits and a wire rack just for a temporary setup to separate my fry and females , i will be leaving males only in my 27 gallon main display tank
k
these seem good enough for fry

Can anyone suggest a good heater for a 5 gallon

 

[Chad]

I actually like wire racks for this, you may end up just keeping it around. Tetra makes a great little heater for this sort of set up. It's not controllable though. It's set for 78 degrees and stays there. Still, I have used it in several tanks (including my current 10 gallon) and never had an issue with it.

 

[MrsEspoNYC7]

thanks for the heater advice....
 
I like the stability of the wire rack but its a little too industrial for my living room so ill probably make some kind of façade once I get this damn cast off my arm.  

 

[Chad]

A façade is a good idea as well. Too bad about your arm by the way. I hope it heals quickly.

 

[MrsEspoNYC7]

Thanks me too...lol