Need suggestions for shelf/rack for 29 and 20L gal tanks

[curiousKathy]

I am going to end up with 3 leos soon (YEAH!!)...the first is in my daughter's room, so he is fine!

The next two will be on the first floor in my family room next to my computer. I can keep the cats away and the dogs are only in the room if I am there, too. I have found a steel wire free standing shelf that I really like, but I want to know if others have any ideas or suggestions????

Here is a link to the wire shelf...this is the 4 shelf size...

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=62870-80752-60917&lpage=none

And this is the 5 shelf size....

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=71473-80752-184874B&lpage=none

I am leaning toward the bigger, 5 shelve size to allow enough room between the 2 tanks to be able to get the leos out and to clean the tanks.

Any advice or suggestions? I welcome all feedback and experiences!

Thanks!

curiousKathy

 

[BluGnat]

We have two of the larger ones, but my husband split them in two (for a total of four two-shelf stands - we aren't using a couple of the shelves) so that I could have easy access to the tanks for cleaning and maintenance. With the whole thing together, getting into the tanks was too tight of a squeeze. Here's an old thread where I posted pix of my setup:

http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=5324

Three are in the living room, and one is in my son's room, housing his rosey boa and video games.

I love them because they're very sturdy, and from my observations of Chris wrangling it into submission - it appears to be pretty easy to set up.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[BluGnat]

Here's a photo (from long ago) of what it looked like when the tanks were on it and it wasn't divided:

In my experience, the distance between the lid on the tank and the bottom of the shelf above it was too close to make it easy to feed, water and clean.

 

[Double LY]

*&#%, FINALLY a thread I feel I could actually contribute to and BluGnat steals my mojo - just kidding (for most of you who don't know, BluGnat and I work together and will most likely be fired together eventually for being on this forum a little too much :main_yes: )

Anyway, I was going to post almost the same thing. We went with the smaller shelf and are going to break it down as well for easier access. One great thing about either of these units is they come with wall anchors, so if you decide to put something on the top shelf, you don't have to worry about it tumbling over. And they are SUPER easy to put together. I did it myself and no censoring was necessary

 

[curiousKathy]

We have two of the larger ones, but my husband split them in two (for a total of four two-shelf stands - we aren't using a couple of the shelves) so that I could have easy access to the tanks for cleaning and maintenance. With the whole thing together, getting into the tanks was too tight of a squeeze. Here's an old thread where I posted pix of my setup:

http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=5324

Three are in the living room, and one is in my son's room, housing his rosey boa and video games.

I love them because they're very sturdy, and from my observations of Chris wrangling it into submission - it appears to be pretty easy to set up.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Thanks VERY much for the wonderful idea!!! Did your husband have to cut the pipe legs to make 2 stands or do the pipes come in pieces? Where did you buy your shelves or...what brand are they?

AWESOME!!!!

curiousKathy

 

[curiousKathy]

Also...any problems with getting temps up with the open wire shelves? Did you hook all (or three) UTH's to one thermostat? I guess I should ask if you used UTH's first of all?! And what size UTH?

Thanks,

curiousKathy

 

[BluGnat]

Thanks VERY much for the wonderful idea!!! Did your husband have to cut the pipe legs to make 2 stands or do the pipes come in pieces? Where did you buy your shelves or...what brand are they?

AWESOME!!!!

curiousKathy

They come that way in the box - no cutting, no muss, no fuss! And they came from Home Depot (they're the exact same thing as what you found at Lowe's)

p Double LY)

 

[BluGnat]

Also...any problems with getting temps up with the open wire shelves? Did you hook all (or three) UTH's to one thermostat? I guess I should ask if you used UTH's first of all?! And what size UTH?

Thanks,

curiousKathy

No problems with the UTH - it's actually better (safer) for the UTH to have the ventilation underneath. I have 20Ls, but I use the 50-60 gallon UTHs so that I have enough surface area (a touch more than half of the surface area, I estimate) covered with heat. I also have the shelves in there on the cool end to add surface area. I don't have thermostats YET - I'm getting so neurotic about measuring temps with my temp gun and tweaking things that I'm going to break down and get thermostats so that I can sleep soundly at night.

 

[curiousKathy]

No problems with the UTH - it's actually better (safer) for the UTH to have the ventilation underneath. I have 20Ls, but I use the 50-60 gallon UTHs so that I have enough surface area (a touch more than half of the surface area, I estimate) covered with heat. I also have the shelves in there on the cool end to add surface area. I don't have thermostats YET - I'm getting so neurotic about measuring temps with my temp gun and tweaking things that I'm going to break down and get thermostats so that I can sleep soundly at night.

I have a 30-40 size UTH, but it seems to be plenty warm on my $5 wooden table...the other tank only has a 10-20 size UTH, so I may need to upgrade that one...although the person I am buying it from said it works fine. It doesn't seem like a large enough area...guess I will have to check it out when I pick up the tank and new leo this weekend!!!! The shelves are a great idea! I will have to take a closer look at your pics!

Thanks!

curiousKathy

 

[curiousKathy]

They come that way in the box - no cutting, no muss, no fuss! And they came from Home Depot (they're the exact same thing as what you found at Lowe's)

p Double LY)

YIPEEEEE!!! Neither I or my hubbie are very good at cuilding things, so no sawing means I can probably put it together myself! If it weren't snowing and only 12*F outside I would run over and get it as soon as hubbie gets home with the Cherokee! Now I just gotta figure out where to put another 4ft wide shelf...hmmmmm. I may need to do some rearranging...

Thanks!

curiousKathy

 

[BluGnat]

It's really cool the way it goes together - it comes with the tubes/legs, and little plastic collars that are in half that snap together. You snap the collars together around the tubes, where you want the shelf to go. Then you just thread the shelf through the tubes and it's the plastic collars that keep the shelf where you want it. It doesn't SEEM like it would be sturdy - but it's super sturdy and rated for 300 lbs or something like that. If you do opt for the full-height single shelf, it comes with a piece that's threaded on both ends that joins (screws) the tubes together. I just tossed those in the junk drawer in case we decide we need them down the line.

 

[curiousKathy]

It's really cool the way it goes together - it comes with the tubes/legs, and little plastic collars that are in half that snap together. You snap the collars together around the tubes, where you want the shelf to go. Then you just thread the shelf through the tubes and it's the plastic collars that keep the shelf where you want it. It doesn't SEEM like it would be sturdy - but it's super sturdy and rated for 300 lbs or something like that. If you do opt for the full-height single shelf, it comes with a piece that's threaded on both ends that joins (screws) the tubes together. I just tossed those in the junk drawer in case we decide we need them down the line.

Once you set the clips in place can you readjust the shelves? Or are they fixed at that point? Sounds wonderful! I can't wait to get one!

curiousKathy

 

[Russ S]

the shelves can be readjusted at any time in increments of 1"

 

[curiousKathy]

Thanks! I was concerned if I put the clips on in the wrong spot that I would be stucj with them there! Did I mention I am not good with building or tools? GRIN

curiousKathy

 

[BluGnat]

That's what I was afraid of, too - but Chris yanked them apart, pulled the collars apart, and moved them - like Russ said - in 1" increments. It's a sweet deal! The only PITA part is getting the shelf OFF the collars - to seat the shelves securely, hubby jumped up and down on them - so when we decided to reconfigure, he had some banging to do to get the shelf to release from the collars. Totally do-able, though!

 

[BalloonzForU]

I love those shelves and would do something like that if hubby wasn't so against reptiles. So my poor guys/gals get stuffed into tubs. I'm thinking that since hubby doesn't spend a lot of time in the reck room I may do something like that in there, for retired breeders.

 

[Double LY]

I love those shelves and would do something like that if hubby wasn't so against reptiles. So my poor guys/gals get stuffed into tubs. I'm thinking that since hubby doesn't spend a lot of time in the reck room I may do something like that in there, for retired breeders.

My hubbie isn't exactly "anti herp", but he definitely isn't a gecko weirdo like me (he calls me the "pet hoarder" - so unkind). I bought the shelf as a X-mas present for myself and he actually commented on how nice it looks (more like furniture now instead of random tanks laying around). It makes it SOOO much more convenient when caring for everyone and since we have little kids in the house, with tanks at different heights, they can always sneak a peak of SOMEBODY when they want.

 

[BluGnat]

Perhaps non-conforming spouses could be housed in tubs, and geckos allowed to roam freely. :anxious:

 

[nwheat]

Perhaps non-conforming spouses could be housed in tubs, and geckos allowed to roam freely. :anxious:

:evilgrin:

 

[curiousKathy]

Thanks to everyone's input, I bought a 5 shelf system last night from Lowes! I tried to put it together today, but I wasn't strong enough to get the collars to click together, so I will need hubbies help!

Mine set had different pipe lengths for the top and bottom, which surprised me but should work out okay. I'll just put my 29 gallon with the high sides on the shorter shelf and it should all be good!

Thanks for the awesome suggetion!!! I will have room to grow now, but don't tell my hubbie! I hope to post pics after things are set-up...

curiousKathy