# frog racks :)



## brynnjenkins (Aug 11, 2012)

Hey guys iv been keeping darts for around a year now and have got to the point where there are random tanks everywhere lol im thinking of building a frog rack and all new tanks but want it to look nice. Is there any chance you guys could send pictures of your racks/ methods to give me some ideas and if anyone else is thinking of the same might help them to. 
Regards brynn


----------



## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Already here,well mine Brynn,Da dartroom

best

Stu


----------



## frogman955 (Feb 7, 2010)

That's exactly why I did this myself.
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/amphibians/1001807-new-dart-frog-build.html



Mike


----------



## brynnjenkins (Aug 11, 2012)

It was yours mike that made me really want to do it lol im not sure it I want wood or aluminium yett also im thinking I want the rack in the middle of my room so the tanks will be able to be viewed from both sides only the sides of the tanks will have substrate on then drift wood for furnishings.


----------



## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

1)how bigs the room
2)how many tanks
3) how big are the tanks

i have an idea


----------



## brynnjenkins (Aug 11, 2012)

The room is my bed room quite big lol I was thinking to have the rack atvthe bottom of my double bed . I can make it 130 cm wide and 45 cm front to back and 180 cm talk the bottom tanks would only be viewed from one side as the bed covers the other but then the middle row is at bed height so can be seen from both and so can top. I was thinking 3 bottom tanks , 1 big display middle tank and 4 tanks on top but not 100% yet lol


----------



## frogman955 (Feb 7, 2010)

brynnjenkins said:


> It was yours mike that made me really want to do it lol im not sure it I want wood or aluminium yett also im thinking I want the rack in the middle of my room so the tanks will be able to be viewed from both sides only the sides of the tanks will have substrate on then drift wood for furnishings.


 
Thanks for the nice comment.
I have my Leucs in my old 130gallon marine tank which is designed as a room divider.
So know where your coming from there as that is how I set the tank up for the frogs.
One thing you`ll have to take into consideration is how stable your rack will be.
My rack is tied to the wall by metal L shaped brackets to stop it from toppling over.
Even with this done I always wonder, "is it stable enough ?"
What your thinking of will be unstable big time and you don`t want to be wakening up in the middle of the night with a massive headache.
I would suggest for you that however you design your rack tie the end to the wall which will help steady it.
Also build up to the roof and attach the four main legs to the roof with brackets which will make the rack a lot more secure.
The extra height and shelves will be handy for cultures etc so you won`t lose out.
Unfortunately with mine the rack is only 2 inches from the roof so no storage space for me.
Something else to think about is how to make your rack stronger.
If you look at my rack I`ve got the 2 large vivs on the bottom with a single support in the centre for the middle shelf.
The middle shelf has 3 vivs with 2 supports for the top shelf which has 5 tall Pum vivs, no supports needed for the top rail which is not used for anything other than a door to hide the lights when I get around to it.
Basically the shelves and supports are like an upside down pyramid so that the weight pushes down onto the centre legs at the floor.
If you put your large vivs in the centre and smaller ones underneath you won`t be able to do that.
This is just my thoughts but hopefully it will help you.


Mike


----------



## brynnjenkins (Aug 11, 2012)

I did think about these things lol. For stability I was gonna try use a large flat peice of wood as a foot with it having a larger area than the rack hoping it would make it stable also then bracketing it to the roof. . As for the support around the tanks I was thinking maybe a extra beam going horizontal under the tanks to add a bit of strength. Still not sure how much this will all cost lol trying not yo think about it


----------



## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

I was incredibly lazy and I do not trust my diy ability, so I purchased some industrial racking. http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?sbk=1&nav=SEARCH&itemId=220970944557 for example.

Mine is 1500w x 1500hv x 600d the extra depth provides stability and I have my 4ft terrib viv in the middle and the leopard gecko on top (very light weight). I havent felt the need to secure to the wall. 

Be aware though. These shelves are not attractive I purchased these for my own bedroom. I then decided to move in with the missus and her mum. We spent a lot of money on new furniture and general decor and then I go and put up some industrial racking, I thought I was going to be moving straight back out again :lol2: I have got a plan to pretty them up when money allows, but for now they are a 5ft x 5ft eye sore :whistling2:


----------



## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

you could always make a nice wooden "face" for it callum ? get some pine, wax, sand and polish it. could either silicone or make a wooden J shape to 'clamp' it to the racking


----------



## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

That was kind of the plan. It is going to be melamine faced chipboard (can't find pine in the sizes I need) I also don't have the tools to cut 5ft x 2ft sheets of wood, so my local b&q can do the cutting, I will just do the screwing together. I have a plan, just Xmas on a bakers wage is tight if you get me :lol2:


----------



## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

thought you'd have loads of dough :lol2:

anyway, back on track, looking at Glenn (frogfreak) rack, looks liek these 1625mm High Chrome Shelving - Shelving from BiGDUG UK look slightly better


----------



## brynnjenkins (Aug 11, 2012)

Im trying to avoid the eye sore look lol as it already looks bad with tanks scattered everywhere lol just deciding how to do it


----------



## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

How to build a 2x4 Rack (pic heavy). - Dendroboard


----------



## frogman955 (Feb 7, 2010)

Meefloaf said:


> thought you'd have loads of dough :lol2:
> 
> anyway, back on track, looking at Glenn (frogfreak) rack, looks liek these 1625mm High Chrome Shelving - Shelving from BiGDUG UK look slightly better


I was using these shelves Joe.
You have to be careful with these as there is the cheap shit from B&Q or you can go to a proper supplier and get heavy duty ones.
Shop Fittings & Retail Supplies | Shopfitting Warehouse
When compared side by side you can see the difference.
Also with these there is a tendency to bow in the middle so I used 1/2 inch ply to spread the loads better, and it still bowed.
Anyway for my new rack I bought all the wood from B&Q and the cost wasn`t all that prohibitive.
2 1/2 metres high by 2 metres wide with 1/2 inch ply for the shelves I think was about £140.
Brynn, your idea for a large foot for the rack is okay in theory.
In practice I doubt there is much to gain.
Because of the height of the rack, if it were to move it would create leverage on the foot making it pretty much useless because wood will just break.
By far the best way would be attaching to the wall and the roof.
By all means use a wider foot, say for example a 6 inch square piece of ply as that will spread the load on the floor.
I just wouldn`t rely on that to stop the rack from toppling.


Mike


----------



## brynnjenkins (Aug 11, 2012)

It wont be by any walls :/


----------



## frogman955 (Feb 7, 2010)

Ah okay, I though it was against a wall at one end.
So your looking for full access all round.
In that case I`d make sure the legs are exactly vertical from floor to the roof and then attach each leg to the roof for maximum stability.
At the floor the weight of the unit will hold it secure there.


Mike


----------



## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

i was thinking you could do something like










depends on what the room layout is etc, you wanted it at the end of your bed, is it a single, double, king etc ?

if it's a single, brill, they tend to be just over 3ft wide, which is two 45cm deep's back to back. then it depends on where your bed is located and how much room, and how many vivs you have/want on this. so for instance you could do it as an 'island' of four vivs *60(w) x 45(d) and 45(h)* -tho i love having that extra height, so i'd have 60-......so you'd have a box/cupboard at the bottom of your bed whcih would be *3'2" x 4'2"* -i'm allowing for running a lip around the top-


----------



## brynnjenkins (Aug 11, 2012)

I think two tanks back to back will be to deep  although looks very nice  and its a large double bed  just not sure on what material to use :/ I would like a wood look as my bed is a light wood .


----------



## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

how many tanks you got/ wanting to do and their sizes ?


----------



## brynnjenkins (Aug 11, 2012)

Iv currently got 4 tanks I use but want to not use these any more. Im not 100% on the new tanks but I defo want a meter display tank then at least 5 other tanks so I can build up my collection


----------



## Meefloaf (Mar 24, 2013)

i dont really like racks tbh, if your room and finances allowed it, i'd build units down one wall and then perhaps have a peninsula or the bigger viv on the connecting wall, this would serve as both a place for your tanks to go on and be on show and mega storage for all your bits


----------



## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

Brynn,I can't stress how much if you do this,how much I rate Mike's thoughts on this,I have two 40cubes that came broken,I fixed. They are a result of a rack falling over,almost all frogs dead,plus a no more dart keeper. So the only real thing I could add,to what Mike has given you,regarding securing at the top,would be to sort out where the ceiling joists are,because screwing into plasterboard is of no use here. I would also add I would want to know the floor is sound enough to take this without problems. We are dealing with large accumulated weight mate,it must be properly secured,I might be para on this bro,but Mike's thoughts ring true here too.Plus,the thought of someone I speak to here having a rack go over gives me 'mares. What ever you decide overkill the fixing.

Brynn you'll see the start of my room build,was the floor,I even have a supporting wall underneath our room,but doubled up where ever i could,getting this right is more important than everything else mate,EVERYTHING ELSE !!!!


Joe I think you ought to hang your head in shame after that DOUGH comment,what's worse is I found it funny:Na_Na_Na_Na:

Good luck Brynn,work the seemingly irrelevant stuff first mate,its actually the most important,it underpins everything else,'erm literally

Stu


----------



## brynnjenkins (Aug 11, 2012)

I have taken it all on board  I know that if its not 100% safe then there is no point  im used of making sure things are safe as I used to build and do custom jobs on marine/tropical aquariums for restaurants and businesses snd rich folk lol and making sure its level and the floors are safe was number 1 of every job. If I get chance ill try do a sketch for you guys and see what you yhink as I might have over look something and its always best to get feedback  the last thing I would want is something unsafe for our little friends


----------



## brynnjenkins (Aug 11, 2012)

Also I really havent got no wall space at all otherwise I would have gone for that option as I prefer it lol it would have been more practical


----------



## soundstounite (Sep 6, 2009)

brynnjenkins said:


> I have taken it all on board  I know that if its not 100% safe then there is no point  im used of making sure things are safe as I used to build and do custom jobs on marine/tropical aquariums for restaurants and businesses snd rich folk lol and making sure its level and the floors are safe was number 1 of every job. If I get chance ill try do a sketch for you guys and see what you yhink as I might have over look something and its always best to get feedback  the last thing I would want is something unsafe for our little friends


Awesome mate,trouble is none of us know what the other's level of expertise is,so best to be safe and say something:2thumb:

Stu


----------

