Tale of a Farmer II - Construction of the Fish Rack

[Blue Whale]

At this point, I'd paused and re-look at the design, from the load stress that Felix and Stormy have mentioned to the exact next two phases. I do take their input seriously especially when it concern weight load and weight stress. I did various calculations to confirm it before replying them. :P



I don't think most people would try this kinda design, considering it is pretty unconventional in the first place. However, the idea is simple to execute. I don't have to bend this pipe here and there, certainly there are a lot of things that can be achieve via DIY. Functional is the word here. There are people who have similar design and it works (as in the steel rack)


I use powerpoint 2007 to draw the above, but this time round, I make sure it is not a quick and dirty design, each was drawn as close to the current rack as possible and the conceptual plan that I have in mind.

[Blue Whale]

Commencing Stress Testing...

On the calculator a 150kg was anticipated.

Okay, let's look at the challenger: No. 9 tank, bigger than your 1ft tank but smaller than 2ft.
44 x 28 x 30cm, weighing at 4kg Glass Tank.
How would our challenger fare tonight? Let's dance!



4kg as per scale



25kg mark



Almost full



33kg max



This would be normal water level that I maintain for my tanks.



Two of No.9 tank could easily fill this tier. Now I waited for another 5-10mins. No sound no creak. The plank is actually arched upwards. Like the back of a lorry / military truck say 3 toner, 4 toner, 5 toner, there are two metal piece which when touched will tell you that you hit your maximum load. The plank is almost touching but haven't touched the rack beam yet. Meaning I could go up to 40kg easily and it will not reach maximum yet.

So like I said previously, load isn't an issue and I am glad this stress test actually prove it. A relieve of course. : ) Do you think I am not worry about load too? Hee Hee.

Oh yes, the side plank, it is a small plank that I put at the side (left), should the plank cave in, the plank would be the first to fall, so that is a warning mechanism to tell you something is wrong. Simple hor? ^^

So why test the center, because currently, the center is the weakest point as there is no support vertically by any beams. So pretty simple test.

[eddy planer]

Rose wood, and those wood for temple construction are better candidates, flexible to handle heavy loads. instruments usually use rosewood in China.

Hi bluewhale,

Sorry buddy, this one i do not agree with you. Rosewood isn't suitable for this built at all. It will get rot when it contacts with water for too long and its basically not sturdy for this built. That why I used Chengal wood to construct a new rack or alternate way use Balau wood. Both are a very dense, oil-rich tropical hardwood. Weather resistance and immune to termite attack makes it ideal for outdoor industrial purposes like wharf, heavy marine work, boat building and piling and also very durable. Lifespan is 50-100 years in ground contact is reported. And the lifespan is 20 years and more for marine work in tropical waters is reported.

That's why I used Chengal wood for my built.

[eddy planer]

Load is dependence on the design of structure support. I did not study construction. I studied accts but work in IT. You will need multiple legs and in my humble opinion is no, I won't consider this metal rack. 6 foot is likely to collapse. If yes, the thicker kind, not this one. This one too weak.

Even Eddie have not fully load his 6 footer with water, check with GC, they have the experience many times over.

Hey my 6ft tank's rack is solid wielded steel rack !

[Blue Whale]

Hey my 6ft tank's rack is solid wielded steel rack !

I do understand why must use wielded steel....but no, I cannot imagine a tropical forest in my house...ha ha ha ... Please don't kill me for maintenance.

[eddy planer]

Hi bluewhale

I like your DIY black-painted rack! It look pretty solid.

Can I give you some pointers that you really need to look at?
1. Remember the heaviest tank is always located at the lowest shelf follow by lighter-weight tank. e.g.: 50kg at the lowest shelf, 30kg at the middle shelf and 20 kg at the top shelf.
2. Never take this rack for granted, You need to mount the rack to the wall with either bracket or screw the rack to the wall for more secure. I had this experience many years ago. The rack toppled and fall over when reaching or receiving something at the top. Just for security and safety reasons, okay.

The rest , I'm very happy to see your built!

Hope this will help you!

[tetrakid]

For that rack, must also need to 'jaga' to ensure that the width of the larger aquariums are supported by the horizontal strips of the angle-iron rack. This is because in the long term, the painted plywood's inner layers can still get soaked by water seeping through cracks or peels in the paintwork. But probably by the time that happens, you would be ready for upgrading.

[Blue Whale]

For that rack, must also need to 'jaga' to ensure that the width of the larger aquariums are supported by the horizontal strips of the angle-iron rack. This is because in the long term, the painted plywood's inner layers can still get soaked by water seeping through cracks or peels in the paintwork. But probably by the time that happens, you would be ready for upgrading.

You are talking about paint on the outer of building, when constant exposure to the elements, pots of water formed within the paint itself. That is a valid point. I would be checking for paint job again later on. I have extra 3 planks of same tier size standing by as well. Point taken and noted.

[tetrakid]

For your present rack, I don't foresee you will have any problems, especially since you are such a practical and dedicated person, even if any problems do arise at all, I am sure you would be able to rectify them promptly and effectively.

You are talking about paint on the outer of building, when constant exposure to the elements, pots of water formed within the paint itself. That is a valid point. I would be checking for paint job again later on. I have extra 3 planks of same tier size standing by as well. Point taken and noted.

[stormhawk]

Michael, if I can suggest, wrap your plywood boards with a layer of thick plastic. This is for safety should water drop on them and seep through fine cracks like what Ted says. That way you don't have to worry about bugs boring holes and nesting in the boards or water seeping in. Makes it easy to wipe accumulated dust too.

I used to wrap my styrofoam boards with a layer of plastic, because the foam disintegrates quickly in our climate, and especially in a high moisture environment.

I also agree with what Eddy has said. I have a similar rack in the storeroom that was built by my father when I was a kid. He mentioned that it has to be secured to the wall for added stability.

[Blue Whale]

Michael, if I can suggest, wrap your plywood boards with a layer of thick plastic. This is for safety should water drop on them and seep through fine cracks like what Ted says. That way you don't have to worry about bugs boring holes and nesting in the boards or water seeping in. Makes it easy to wipe accumulated dust too.

I used to wrap my styrofoam boards with a layer of plastic, because the foam disintegrates quickly in our climate, and especially in a high moisture environment.

I also agree with what Eddy has said. I have a similar rack in the storeroom that was built by my father when I was a kid. He mentioned that it has to be secured to the wall for added stability.

I did consider that before...hmm...I think can be done, but addition effort. :P puff puff puff....
What your father said is wall mounting. Well, if you want to sell the house, better not to do any mounting, quite ugly later. That was actually taken out of consideration at design stage. As in I did factor if what I to do wall mounting or not. Foam ar...my foam so many years still haven't disintegrate yet...lol. Air flow I guess.

[tetrakid]

Styrofoam bits breaking off is a real nuisance, as I have often experienced. Wrapping it in plastic is a very good way to prevent it chipping and also prevent internal structural disintegration. Wrapping painted plywood with plastic similarly prevents future wood rot too. All this is necessary in a watery envronment like fish-keeping.

Stabilizing an angle-iron rack by anchoring it to a wall is also a preventive safety measure. With hundreds of pounds of force exerted on the structure (bolt-on angle-iron), ensuring that lateral movement will not collapse it is a good thing to do.

I did consider that before...hmm...I think can be done, but addition effort. :P puff puff puff....
What your father said is wall mounting. Well, if you want to sell the house, better not to do any mounting, quite ugly later. That was actually taken out of consideration at design stage. As in I did factor if what I to do wall mounting or not. Foam ar...my foam so many years still haven't disintegrate yet...lol. Air flow I guess.

[stormhawk]

By disintegration I mean that the boards will start to produce fine white dust-like particles. That's why I wrapped all of my boards. I had a board sitting under my previous 3 ft tank for close to 8 years. When I removed it, it too produced the fine white dust.

[Blue Whale]

natural decomposition, scare termites, lucky ain't got any...

[VSGenesis]

I believe mounting it to the wall is a good idea. As for the holes when you decide to decom, just go putty it or something. Better be safe, that load collapse or falls, it's going to be a disaster. My tv also wall mounted what. Got 4 "lobang"

The plastic to place on wood board also good idea.

My very first concern was the weight that is forcing on the structure, durability and the home tile. It's just me. I see structure, I feel safer when its using cross brace and mounted to

Anyway, looking forward to seeing future progress. All the best!

[tetrakid]

I am really very impressed with Blue Whale's dedicated enthusiasm in his project. It is very interesting, and it is not often that we can find such great treats in a forum. I like the presentation.

[Blue Whale]

No worries be happy, now on with the show. ^^Y

Phase 4 arming the racks with electrical circuits. At this point, only the extension cord. These are 6x ext. cords.



This is a 5x, all these 3 are 2pin friendly, as in you do not have to put a test pen into the top hole to access the 2 pins.



SISIR Certified....very important logo here. Instead of horizontally position, I reckon it would be better to use vertical as exposure will be minimised.

I should have a timer hidden somewhere need time to go and find. Now the next phase which Phase 5 is going to have to be of higher precision, each will be measured. I have two super long pvc on standby, idea to saw them one by one into precised length. Expecting the use of glue gun, white tape (shucks forgot to buy!), silicon gel gun, Electric Drill both my AC drill and DC drill. These will take a while, hence upcoming updates would be slower than usual.

Tabulating construction phases:
Phase 1 Design work - Completed
Phase 2 Order and Transportation of construction materials I - Completed
Phase 3 Construction and Painting of Rack - Completed
Phase 4 Arming the rack with Electrical Circuits - Completed
Phase 5 Air tube arming, connecting to Beetle 12000 air pump - yet to start.
Phase 6 Scaping and tank recycling phase - yet to start.
Phase 7 Bring in the plants - yet to start.
Phase 8 Bring in the Fishes - yet to start.

[felix_fx2]

Michael, if I can suggest, wrap your plywood boards with a layer of thick plastic. This is for safety should water drop on them and seep through fine cracks like what Ted says.

I don't quite agree with this point, Painting is good enough. If it is sawdust wood then yes if the laminate is not present.
If water does go in, the water will take too long to dry up. plus the fact doubt it would be hard to replace on Micheal's end

@Blue Whale, Don't the power strips come with holes behind for wall mount? Angle slots have holes right, make full use of them. i know you bought spares, go try try...

[tetrakid]

The creative use of those nylon cable ties is superb, but does not make it look like a 'pro' job.

Another possible way to attach those power strips is to use wooden bases which are the same size as the power strips. Simply screw them into the wood by sandwiching the angle-iron in between the power strip and the wooden base. Then it would be more sturdy than using cable ties to tie them down. And it will look 'pro' too. But sawing the wood into pieces will be tiring though.

[Blue Whale]

I don't quite agree with this point, Painting is good enough. If it is sawdust wood then yes if the laminate is not present.
If water does go in, the water will take too long to dry up. plus the fact doubt it would be hard to replace on Micheal's end

@Blue Whale, Don't the power strips come with holes behind for wall mount? Angle slots have holes right, make full use of them. i know you bought spares, go try try...

Hee...plastic actually won't last long, yes, replacement would be headache. At this point, all sides are double coated with paint. If you have a rect, draw another one around the perimeter, that is the extra coat of paint. All round defense. I have three extra wooden planks, free, I will paint it up for future replacement if any.
Even thought of using black tape but it will melt over time and replacement would be yucky so that idea was called off. Now you can see why I am very fickle minded. Because one plan comes in, another thought counters it. It's like double thinking, forward and backward thinking at the same time, countering each other before a final decision is reached. Even when decision is being made, it is again countered again during actual execution.

Actually I do not want to totally mount the extension cords, makes replacement (if any) easier, I now have 12+5-5, or 15 available power sockets expandable if future requires. Cable tie can hold it sufficient because all the wires are cable tied as well, so weight is distributed at this point of time. 3 main thicker black cable ties secures the extension cord, look back to the picture, there is one through the hole and 2 around the steel piece.

The holding weight for the extension of my current 2ft rack is even heavier than the current ones on the rack and it holds for so many years, so it is a tried and tested method of tying.