# Multi tier aquarium stands



## juanitow

Now that I've accumulated many many aquaria, I think it's about time I thought of stacking them on top of each other. Does anyone know what the most cost effective and safe way to stack aquaria are? Ideally I could get a source of cheap, used industrial shelving. I could do something DIY if that's what it takes to cheaply accomplish this. Something similar to Big Al's two tier stands would be fine too, if it didn't cost 70 dollars for two tanks!


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## Cory

Basically for DIY stands anything strong enough to support the weight is good. If you do wood, a wood that is less prone to rotting when wet / developing mold when wet is a good idea. If you do DIY you can even build 3 tiers provided you're not a short guy. For something structurally sound, plywood is good but it's not pretty so you'd have to dress it up for a showy look. Industrial shelving is good if you can find something with enough clearance between shelves but if there isn't much it will become tough to work in the tank. When I move next yearish my plan is to have some custom steel stands built that can hold all my stuff, but I haven't priced it yet. For now I mostly have the expensive big al's ones.


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## ameekplec.

Good industrial shelving units capable of hundreds of pounds of weight aren't the cheapest thing.

Wood is the most economical way to do it - spans of 2 x 6 should be able to support a significant amount of weight. It would be cheap, and totally customizable.


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## KnaveTO

Canuck Tire has some shelving units that can hold up to 600lbs per shelf. Not too bad for price and they are made by Gorilla Racking.


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## juanitow

Cory said:


> Basically for DIY stands anything strong enough to support the weight is good. If you do wood, a wood that is less prone to rotting when wet / developing mold when wet is a good idea. If you do DIY you can even build 3 tiers provided you're not a short guy. For something structurally sound, plywood is good but it's not pretty so you'd have to dress it up for a showy look. Industrial shelving is good if you can find something with enough clearance between shelves but if there isn't much it will become tough to work in the tank. When I move next yearish my plan is to have some custom steel stands built that can hold all my stuff, but I haven't priced it yet. For now I mostly have the expensive big al's ones.


I thought of DIY, until I went to Rona and the guy there strongly advised against using wood and said I would be best advised to get angle irons and make it out of metal. I was hoping someone here made shelves out of 2 by 4s and had good plans adn advise on how to build them.


ameekplec. said:


> Good industrial shelving units capable of hundreds of pounds of weight aren't the cheapest thing.
> 
> Wood is the most economical way to do it - spans of 2 x 6 should be able to support a significant amount of weight. It would be cheap, and totally customizable.


Have you tried them, Eric?



KnaveTO said:


> Canuck Tire has some shelving units that can hold up to 600lbs per shelf. Not too bad for price and they are made by Gorilla Racking.


Do you mean these by Mastercraft?
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...366P/Mastercraft+Heavy+Duty+Shelving+Unit.jsp

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...astercraft%3F+Metal+Shelf%2C+60x12x30-in..jsp


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## KnaveTO

juanitow said:


> Do you mean these by Mastercraft?
> http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...366P/Mastercraft+Heavy+Duty+Shelving+Unit.jsp
> 
> http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...astercraft%3F+Metal+Shelf%2C+60x12x30-in..jsp


Yes. The are the same as the more expensive Gorilla Racks, and the same manufacturer


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## shaggy

i made a 2 tier stand out of 2x4's i made 'L's out of 2 boards then just screwed them all together....solid as a rock with a 30 gal on top and a 10 gal on the bottom. it is a 3 foot long by 1 foot deep and about 30 inches high to the shelf on top. i made mine mostly out of end cuts from home depot....if they have to cut a board and they have less than half left they sell them for like a buck or 2 a piece....mine took about 18 end cuts.
i copied the design off a post here but i dont know that post is but if u search around enough u should find it. it had a pic of 2 shelves that i think were 3-4 tier


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## juanitow

shaggy said:


> i made a 2 tier stand out of 2x4's i made 'L's out of 2 boards then just screwed them all together....solid as a rock with a 30 gal on top and a 10 gal on the bottom. it is a 3 foot long by 1 foot deep and about 30 inches high to the shelf on top. i made mine mostly out of end cuts from home depot....if they have to cut a board and they have less than half left they sell them for like a buck or 2 a piece....mine took about 18 end cuts.
> i copied the design off a post here but i dont know that post is but if u search around enough u should find it. it had a pic of 2 shelves that i think were 3-4 tier


is it this?

http://condofishkeeping.blogspot.com/

Also, can you keep a fishtank supported only by the length edge of teh aquarium? That appears to be what JamesG is doing, if he's not using any plywood as support, *edit*which he was oops!. I also hear of people using cinderblocks + 2x4s that support their tanks only along the long edge.

EDIT. JamesG used plywood underside. I'm curious as to how he fitted it in. There is a clipped corner in the shelf.


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## AquaNeko

juanitow said:


> is it this?
> 
> http://condofishkeeping.blogspot.com/
> 
> Also, can you keep a fishtank supported only by the length edge of teh aquarium? That appears to be what JamesG is doing, if he's not using any plywood as support, *edit*which he was oops!. I also hear of people using cinderblocks + 2x4s that support their tanks only along the long edge.
> 
> EDIT. JamesG used plywood underside. I'm curious as to how he fitted it in. There is a clipped corner in the shelf.


On the cinder block thing.. would be uber fugly but it'll hold stable IMHO. Just thought of this while reading this post. Have 3 rolls of cinder block then put 2 patio flat stones on top of it so that each stone shares half of the middle row of the 3 roll cinder block to spread out the weight distrobution. THen add other cinder blocks to the side to make another tier. Fugly yes. Strong well IMHO I think it would be. If you want you could make it a one piece unit by putting motar on it to bond it all together.


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## shaggy

juanitow said:


> is it this?
> 
> http://condofishkeeping.blogspot.com/
> 
> Also, can you keep a fishtank supported only by the length edge of teh aquarium? That appears to be what JamesG is doing, if he's not using any plywood as support, *edit*which he was oops!. I also hear of people using cinderblocks + 2x4s that support their tanks only along the long edge.
> 
> EDIT. JamesG used plywood underside. I'm curious as to how he fitted it in. There is a clipped corner in the shelf.


yup...thats the one i seen. I didnt use any plywood or anything, it is just supported by the side of the 2x4


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## tom g

try some used office furniture places , someplaces buy tonnes of stuff from factorys when they are goin out of business .u can also chk out the yellow pages under shelving u may find some stuff . but go used new will be a fortune


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