In tank Shelf

justletmein

Premium Member
I'd like to build some shelves into a new 125g I'm setting up. Does anybody have any pictures/advice they can share?

So far I'm just thinking of two flat pieces of acrylic supported by acrylic legs, the flat piece in back would be higher of course.

How can I make this thing more secure?
 
There are reef shelves available but I couldn't find a pic :( . They're basically eggcrate with pvc legs. Maybe someone else can point you to a pic?

I'd suggest you make your own with eggcrate and pvc instead of acrylic. I know acrylic has appeal because it's less visible. But, the horizontal shelf will cut down water flow and could result in some areas with no/low flow. The acrylic legs wouldn't have the strength to hold up very much live rock compared to pvc, Be sure to drill several holes in the pvc legs so the water in them doesn't become stagnant.

fwiw,
Agu
 
People who have done it found it difficult to "hide" the support so it didn't look like rock on eggcrate and pvc. I tried it once but couldn't get a natural look so I just got bigger flat rock that would span openings to make caves and overhangs. It works better to make two or three smaller shelves as they're easier to hide. When you position the rock have the legs and adjacent rock provide most of the support, and use the eggcrate to balance things out and provide support for caves and ledges.

jmo, ime,
Agu
 
I did the eggcrate and pvc shelf thing , attached with zipties.
The bottom of the support goes to the bottom of the tank, so I guess it would make it possible to keep a burrowing fish without the risk of toppling the aquascape.

Pros:
sturdy structure for rock, nice swim channel and circulation on rear of tank, nice "caves" on bottom front

Cons:
can see the egg crate unless you glue rubble to every visble spot after placing your larger rock, the rear of the tank is virtualy unreachible if the distance is smaller than your hand or you dont have really long tongs

I think next time id do it different, but I sleep better at night knowing the rocks are sturdy and supported on something other than themselves or the tank sides

looks a little like this from the side on the 65g:

|
|rock
|----|

pics here:
http://www.one-eleven.net/~pponder/homereef.htm
 
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