help me design my stand for 2 50's

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cvermeulen

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 4, 2007
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Los Osos, CA
OK, I have a pair of 36x18x18" tanks (50g breeders), and I would like to set them up, SOON. I'm struggling with a stand design for them. Here are the factors I'm considering:

I think I want seperate filtration for the two. one will be a snail and feeder tank, the other may get used as QT or hospital, or I may set it up with some goldfish, I really don't know yet. Seperate filtration allows me mroe options. I have 2 800gph pumps that I may use to build filters.

So, internal or external filters? my 800gph pumps are quite small. I could build some nice internal filters for these tanks to save space, but I could build some nicer external filters with mini bio towers, and industrial filter bags, that only occupy another 5-6" of stand space lengthwise. I want to keep this on the cheap, so filters would be made with acrylic from work, and pumps I already have. Hang on AC filters are nice, but I don't want to spend the $ just this second. may add some later for peace of mind.

The other thing I'm struggling with is whether to make both tanks the same level, or put one above the other. Wall space is pretty precious right now, so I'm leaning towards one above the other, with the snail tank on the bottom, and attempt to make the top tank presentable. A tank with nothing but feeders and 10,000 snails in it probably won't be that attractive. This way I guess I could probably set it up to switch between common and seperate filtration in case I decide to use one tank as the hospital tank. Thoughts on this?

I'm a little stumped on the lighting issue too. I have a 36" shoplight for one tank... could get another no problem, but if you do a stand with one above the other, how do you light the bottom one without having this pain in the *** light in your way when doing maintenance, etc? And should I really even bother with a nice strip light for the bottom tank if it's a strip light? I could always just make it LED or a couple of screw in fluorsecent lights for enough light to do tank maintenance. Thoughts? I'm even throwing around the idea of putting that shower fogging tape on the back of the bottom tank and lighting it dimly from the back or something... just enough so you know what's there, not enough to go "ewwww, 10,000 snails!".

The only other thing I guess is the two-level design doesn't allow you any space to put the various crap that goes along with fishkeeping. Has anyone got clever storage ideas that allow you to have a nice compact stand, and still store stuff in it? I have a feeling this project is going to fall victim to the snowball effect, and the stand is going to wind up taking me 3 months and $400 to build. :-s
 
i would make one tank over the other and leave about ten inches of space between the top tank spot and the top of the bottom tank and attach the light on the bottom of the top tank spot, and then for the supplies just build a cabinet on the side of the stand
 

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A lot will depend on how much room you have. Stacked units take up less floor space but are less stable. As far as filtration goes....for your application I'd go with a pair of air driven Hydro 5's in each tank. We run hydros alone on all of our breeder/fry/hospital tanks and they work great. Low cost and relitivly little maintance. You can always keep an extra AC70 on hand as an additional mechanical filter that you can switch from tank to tank as needed.
 
Well like I said space is pretty precious. I was considering actually building compact w/d filters for each tank, 6"x18"x18" or approx 8 gallons total volume, with a 4x16" filter bag and 4 gallons of bio media. That would make the stand 42" wide, but make plumbing minimal, while maintaining some serious filtration margin.
 
For your application I'd scrap the W/D idea. It's far to complicated and space hungery for what you want to do with this pair. Besides the Hydros will cost a lot less to set up...and to operate as well. Single bulb under counter lights designed for the kitchen are the best for this type of stand...they give off plenty of light and are small so they can be attached to the stand with little trouble. By the way...what ever you do pay close attention to the brand....The GE units are really cheap but stay away from them....these things are garbage,,,they break easilly and overheat more times than not.
 
Wolf3101;1167502; said:
For your application I'd scrap the W/D idea. It's far to complicated and space hungery for what you want to do with this pair. Besides the Hydros will cost a lot less to set up...and to operate as well. Single bulb under counter lights designed for the kitchen are the best for this type of stand...they give off plenty of light and are small so they can be attached to the stand with little trouble. By the way...what ever you do pay close attention to the brand....The GE units are really cheap but stay away from them....these things are garbage,,,they break easilly and overheat more times than not.
Click to expand...

Well thanks a lot for all the input, but I'm not sure why you say my W/D idea is space hungry... it would work almost exactly the same as an HOB, in similar space constraints, with the added benefit of a lot more bio density... as far as setup cost... it's free - I already have all the materials at my disposal. Operating cost is a best guess venture, but I'm not sure how you're making the assertion that it would cost more - can you elaborate?

I like the undercounter light idea, I'll have to look into that. My current sketch has 18" between the two tanks, so more than enough room for a shop light if I go that route, but I just don't think I need that much light - your idea seems like a perfect alternative.
 
A wet dry will require a sump...(more space) and a return pump...(two if you want the tanks on seperate systems) Hydro 5's are in the tank so take up no extra room and are driven by a MUCH more energy efficiant dual outlet air pump. This will also allow the rack to be built a bit closer to the wall for even more space savings. A hydro 5 is rated for a 125 gallon tank and from expierance...will handle one...although I wouldnt run it this was for long.

The lights I'm talking about are covered and only require about 3" of space to mount.
 
Oh you haven't seen my W/D design... no sump required ;) I agree a traditional W/D would take up a lot more space than I have, but the idea I had was just a compact mech and bio filter w/d style, occupying about 18x18x6-8". 4 gallons of bio balls, 800gph, and a single filter sock. It would sit next to the tank, hidden by the stand cowling. it has a unique appeal to it. your air driven filters are probably a more cost effective system though... I just like oddball stuff ;)
 
Your now required under MFK law to provide pictures or face the deadly MFK curse......LOL
 
lol, well I haven't built it yet, I have a sketch on drafting paper at work though. I'll touch it up, scan it and post it tomorrow :p
 
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