clearance above tanks in racks... how many inches for comfort?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
JakeAlmighty

JakeAlmighty

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Oct 24, 2016
137
94
36
35
Canada
hey all,

I'm building double high stands atm for the fish room. (so wood builds)

how much clearance do you like to leave above the bottom tank for space to work with? might hang the lights for bottom tank rather than having them sit on top, so factor that in.

thanks!
 
millerkid519 said:
Are you planing to scape the tanks or bare bottom? How are you filtering the tanks?
Me personally I would leave 6-8 inches
Click to expand...

not crazy fancy scapes on these, but yes substrate and wood/rocks, plants etc. Filters a mix of Aquaclears and sponge filters run off a central air pump. I will try to mock it up leaving 6-8 inches and see how it feels to get my arms in there.

thanks!
 
  • Like
Reactions: millerkid519
I also think it depends on the height of the tank and the need to remove power filters from the tank if you don't have access to the back or side of the tank.

I have a rack of 15" tall x 18" wide tanks, stacked 3 high and have about 8" above the tank rim. I wish I had more space to work sometimes, especially when adding rocks.
 
deeda said:
I also think it depends on the height of the tank and the need to remove power filters from the tank if you don't have access to the back or side of the tank.

I have a rack of 15" tall x 18" wide tanks, stacked 3 high and have about 8" above the tank rim. I wish I had more space to work sometimes, especially when adding rocks.
Click to expand...

this is a good point. most of the racks will be back to back with one another, so no easy access to the backside.

my ceiling (the bottoms of the bare joists, so in between the joists there is more room) is 77" from the floor. First rack I'm building now is for two 48"x18" tanks, the heights being 24" and 21". (90g and 75-80g respectively.)

so I guess I could even put an entire foot above the bottom tank? assuming a couple inches between the floor and the bottom tank that puts the bottom of the upper tank roughly 3' off the ground. (and still have plenty of room above the top tank before hitting the joists)

is it a pain working in a tank so low to the ground? (how far off the ground do you guys usually put bottom layer?)


thanks for the input
 
Spacing between tanks on racks comes down to your comfort level working IN the tank and accommodating the number of tanks you are stacking vertically. More is always better to accomplish your layout. Don't forget that you may be adding decor and adding/removing fish so you want enough room to access the tank easy enough.

As far as the bottom tank, you want it far enough off the floor to get a good siphon when doing a water change. If you are siphoning into a bucket, I like to have the bucket no taller than the middle of the tank.

Tanks on the bottom tier, at least in my experience with shorter tanks, require kneeling on the floor and I don't see the fish as well. However it is still easier than working on the top tier which requires a step ladder for me since the top tank rim is at head height.
 
  • Like
Reactions: paulW
If I were going to build a double high tank rack and had height limits to deal with I'd do a minimum of 8-9 inches... or if that was tight... build the rack deeper front to back and build it so the lower tank's front was 5-6 inches forward of the upper tank's front. I did that in my shop years ago with 20 longs and managed to get 4 levels of tanks in with only about 3-3.5 vertical inches between the top of each level of tank and the bottom of the next shelf above, just enough vertical space to be able to push the light back under the tank above for access.

That takes more floor space than a traditional rack, but if vertical space is tighter than front to back space it makes the bottom tank much more accessible. It still made for tight access when trying to get large items in or out of a tank.
 
  • Like
Reactions: deeda
wannadivesteve said:
If I were going to build a double high tank rack and had height limits to deal with I'd do a minimum of 8-9 inches... or if that was tight... build the rack deeper front to back and build it so the lower tank's front was 5-6 inches forward of the upper tank's front. I did that in my shop years ago with 20 longs and managed to get 4 levels of tanks in with only about 3-3.5 vertical inches between the top of each level of tank and the bottom of the next shelf above, just enough vertical space to be able to push the light back under the tank above for access.

That takes more floor space than a traditional rack, but if vertical space is tighter than front to back space it makes the bottom tank much more accessible. It still made for tight access when trying to get large items in or out of a tank.
Click to expand...


sneaky. thanks for the tips! I will try it out a couple ways before I put the screws in for good and see what's comfortable.
 
I stepped my bottom tanks out. This alleviates many of the above issues. ( i have a rack of four 40 gallon tanks hooked to a common sump. )
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom