Multi Tank Stand?

[Craytastic]

Hey guys!

Does anyone own, or has anyone built a stand that holds more thank one tank? I wont have alot of room for more than one stand in my bedroom, and if I am to own multiple crayfish then.....yeah. I'll need a few tanks.

Thankyou!

 

[SamB]

Well, I certainly haven't made one, but I would be happy to talk it over with you. What kind of size tanks? How many?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Be aware of the weight, this sounds like it's going in a second floor, so be considerate of how much weight can be held by the floor before beginning. You don't want to build something that holds so much weight that the floor can't support it.

 

[Craytastic]

SamB, I'm hoping for 3 but realize this may not be possible. I'm looking at 10 gallons or smaller.

Eaglesaquarium, the house we are going into most likely wont be 2 story, so the weight wont be an issue. I do have a few months to plan ahead as...well....I'm too poor for anything right now lol. Ah, the joys of not having a job.

 

[SamB]

So what kind of equipment do you have? Are you thinking wood?

 

[Craytastic]

Equiptment as in tools? My Dads bandsaw, twin blade saw and other asorted power tools. I am thinking wood unless he gets a welder between now and when I can afford to build it. Then it will be a metal structure...hopefully. It all depends on how much I can afford. After the whole thing is finished I deffinatly want to paint it black, so it matches everything else in my room.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I spent awhile at it but I searched the secondhand shops until I came up with an old sideboard/drinks cabinet that was built correctly.  The older ones are often made out much more solidly than even the fish stands you buy in LFS.  You just need to make sure it is strong wood, has the right internal support along the length and good weight distribution along the bottom (ie getting ones with legs is probably going to be a bad idea).  Anyhow, I have one that is about from the 60's or 70's and holds my 20 gal and 10 gal.

 

[DrRob]

There are still, floating around on the market, metal stands for the standard 24, 30, 36 inch longs etc that carry two tanks. I've seen several cladding modifications to those that looked good.
 
Otherwise, having owned several of those in the distant past, I will recommend that you pay particular attention to the gap above any lower tank. It's very easy to make it look right and then add things like lighting and realise that you can't reach the back corners with anything, especially a net.

 

[Craytastic]

PrairieSunflower, I was thinking about an old, small cupboard or bookshelf then modifying it so it would work as a stand but then thought about the ammount of space I would have and when I do decide to breed, the ammount of tanks I will need.....I need more space than what I will have. I will make sure I support it properly, by reading lots of stuff.

DrRob, thanks. I will make sure I leave a decant amount of room. Again, reading and researching are two things I will do before starting this whole thing. I dont want to build it then find out its too small, or it won't support the tanks properly. That would be bad. Very bad.

 

[Alasse]

I didnt build em but i have owned a few tiered stands
 
This one is wood holding 3x 70gal tanks

 
This one is metal holding a 55gal and 2x 33gal

 
I have a wood stand that is holding a 93gal and being built, 2x 30gal to go underneath it (no photo of this as the underneath tanks are yet to be built)
 
I have a wood stand that is holding a 75gal and underneath it has a 31gal

 
I have a 2 tiered 3ft stand, it doesnt have specific tanks, i tend to change it around as tanks change, currently it is holding a few nano tanks (i am debating getting custom tanks built to house shrimp, but it will get the legs shortened and top tier is too high to service easily)

 

[eaglesaquarium]

 
 
 
Alasse... that top one is my DREAM set-up.

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

@alasse: love the last rack. Would want something like that for some of my spider tanks instead of just piling them in a single column

@craytastic/bb: you surprised me haha! Are you planning this to house your baby turtles?

 

[Wildbetta]

Very nice setups Alasse!
 
I didn't do the DIY route like I originally planned when I got my 40 gallon tanks but I did find a pretty easily affordable solution (at least for me).  I bought a steel shelving unit that I actually set up as two multi layered tank stands.  For under $40 I got 2 stands that hold 4 of my tanks.  I also have a metal stand that holds multiple tanks as well though it is smaller.
 
Here is pic of 1/2 of the shelving unit set up with  40 gallon breeder tank on top and a 20 gallon long tank on bottom.
 

 
And a pic of the smaller metal stand holding a 20 gallon high and two 5 gallon tanks
 

 

[Fluval-1200]

Galvanised angle iron, you can get it in all sorts of lengths. Arc welder and a bag of rods.
Cheap strong and will last for years, but make sure you have a proper welding mask, arc eye hurts!!!

 

[Craytastic]

Wow! Thanks guys! I do still have a few months before I can do anything, so I will continue to read and find designs and plan out what it will look like. All of these are great and give me some idea of what they will look like! Again thankyou!

@craytastic/bb: you surprised me haha! Are you planning this to house your baby turtles?

No actually, We have a old tank that dad is going to turn into a coffee table/tank thingy.....he just needs to hurry up and do it.

This is for a crayfish I will be getting once we have moved, and hopefully start breeding (hence needing multiple tanks)..once I'm confident I know enough.....let me tell you there is not alot of info on crayfish breeding.... I'm going to start off with one cray though...so I might just put my turtle-pigs into the tank down the bottom until dad does the 'real' tank up.