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Hey all! Just wondering if this rack idea would work! Make a rack that held 10 gallon aquariums! 3 across by 4 down so basically 12 aquariums! Use 3 strands of 11" heat tape down the back and nail in some insulation board as the back behing the heat tape! use pegboard 4 the tops and have about 2" from top!make any sense ? build out of melamine! please help with faults!

thanks a lot,
nick
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Titanic Geckos

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I did something like that. It was not bad, but not great.

Is this for leopoard geckos? If so, they are not exactly the best escape artists, especially out of aquaria.

If so, I'd just go ahead and build a regular melamine rack but make the gap between the top of the aquaria and the next shelf about 1/4" to allow for airflow. This will save space and material compared to your design. And it will allow for more airflow.

If you're worried about prey items escaping them cut pieces of peg board that fit into the plastic rim around the top of each aquarium. You can even hinge them so you only have to pull each tank out a few inches, lift up the flap, and drop your food items in.

For more thorough cleaning you can then pull the entire tank out.

Or, instead of the pegboard, you can line the top 2" of each tank with the foil tape we all use to hold down heat tape. Crickets can't climb over that.

But maybe I'm not picturing your design as described.

Regardless of what you do, light-rope instead of heat tape will increase the ability to see into the tanks.

Yes, this is for leopard geckos! You are picturing it perfect! How exspensive is light rope and does it heat the cage enough? i may just use melamine with 1/4" in between each cage and shelf! I have them in rubbermaids righ now, but they are really cramed and i want them to have a little free space but still save my space! thanks for the tips!

nick
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Titanic Geckos

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AIM : LilWoadie2790 ( im always interested to talk to other herpers !)

also, im gonna feed mostly mealworms to stop excapees! crickets can get out to easily so i will stick with mealies! sounds good ? ohh and how much light rope would i need for the back of 5 X 3 feet ???

thanks,
nick
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Before I forget, I'm not sure if making a rack wide enough for 3 ten gallon aquaria is a good idea. You might get some sagging. That's a shame as three wide would be good use of material. However, since you'll be using a 1/4" gap, any sagging won't have the undesired effect of cause the tanks to stick in the rack.

I would experiment with this. Cut a piece of melamine to the size you'll need and rest it between two books or something. Have just the ends of the melamine barely on the books. Then place three tanks with substrate, water bowls, everything. Leave them there for a day or two and see if the middle of the melamine is sagging.

Light rope varies in wattage per foot, and racks vary in several factors. Hard to say how much you will need for your rack.

But don't worry, it is cheap.

Since it gives off light you'll need to turn it off at night. This is not a problem, IMO, unless the room the rack will be in gets excessively cold during the winter.

But even then there is colored light rope. You could have regular light rope for the day and red or blue for the night.

Back to how much. You'll need to experiement with how much it takes to heat your rack. If it's not getting hot enough run more loops of it. If your rack is too ventilated for the heat to build up you may need to run it in conjunction with some 3" heat tape.

But I'd avoid heat tape since you're already using something else. You might insulate the back of the rack. Make sure to use that strene insulation that has a layer of foil on it. The thick styrene helps block the heat that builds up in the back of the rack. The foil blocks most of the radiant heat which causes the heat to build up in the first place.

Sort of an insulation double whammy.