Could need some help with some carpentry

[ThRoewer]

I need to remake 4 ladders for one of my broodstook tank racks to raise the middle row and add space for sump tanks.
In the past, when I had a lot more time, I did it myself with hand tools but it took a good deal of time and made a decent mess in the backyard.
So I'm looking for someone who has the proper tools for a project like this, a planer, a router, a square chop-saw, and the means to precisely cut dado-joints.

This is how the modified rack will look like (the existing shelves will be reused):

 

[H2OPlayar]

If you are willing to pay him for time and materials, Jesse Smith at Buildsmith Construction out of the south bay would be really good at this. He has helped me with a bunch of projects, both fish and house related.

 

[NanoCrazed]

@ThRoewer -- good seeing you on here! Looks like you're scaling up your breeding setup? Nice!

 

[rygh]

There is a quick way. (Assuming looks are not critical)
Just nail and glue some 2x2 lumber strips next to the 2x4s, between each shelf.
Think of it as an "additive" dado.

Also, think about earthquakes.

 

[ThRoewer]

If you are willing to pay him for time and materials, Jesse Smith at Buildsmith Construction out of the south bay would be really good at this. He has helped me with a bunch of projects, both fish and house related.

Certainly. I'm not expecting it to be for free.

 

[ThRoewer]

There is a quick way. (Assuming looks are not critical)
Just nail and glue some 2x2 lumber strips next to the 2x4s, between each shelf.
Think of it as an "additive" dado.

Also, think about earthquakes.

Design changes are problematic at this point as existing parts have to be reused.
As for earthquakes, smaller ones should not be a problem and when the big one hits we are fucked anyway and fish tanks will be the least of our worries.

 

[H2OPlayar]

As for earthquakes, smaller ones should not be a problem and when the big one hits we are fucked anyway and fish tanks will be the least of our worries.

Can't agree more

 

[JVU]

If you are planning for this to still be useful after the big one, make the ends of the poles sharp so you’ll have a pike to defend yourself with against the hordes

 

[rygh]

Having been nearby in both Loma Prieta and San Fernando earthquakes, I really disagree.
Sure, if you are right at the epicenter of a huge one, you are screwed regardless.
But the moderate damage zone can be 50 miles or more.
I had a large bookshelf topple and take out a chunk of my office desk. Cars were very visibly rocking around.
You would be amazed at how much flies off of shelves.
This was in Menlo park, and quake was in Santa Cruz.

Most normal sized tanks, in decently built cabinets, will be just fine unless right at epicenter.
I am not trying to scare everyone. You only worry about a few DIY stands.

But that 8 foot tall thing drawn above - seems very high risk.

 

[H2OPlayar]

Having been nearby in both Loma Prieta and San Fernando earthquakes, I really disagree.
Sure, if you are right at the epicenter of a huge one, you are screwed regardless.
But the moderate damage zone can be 50 miles or more.
I had a large bookshelf topple and take out a chunk of my office desk. Cars were very visibly rocking around.
You would be amazed at how much flies off of shelves.
This was in Menlo park, and quake was in Santa Cruz.

Most normal sized tanks, in decently built cabinets, will be just fine unless right at epicenter.
I am not trying to scare everyone. You only worry about a few DIY stands.

But that 8 foot tall thing drawn above - seems very high risk.

Agree, I would add as much cross bracing in the rear as possible to prevent shear racking.

 

[PeetaJai]

I am a noob on this diy rack topic, I am hoping to learn from this but isn't these heavy duty garage storage rack be better for that purpose in term of stability? And I am just curious building the diy rack including labor and material, won't it be pretty expansive as well?

 

[ThRoewer]

Having been nearby in both Loma Prieta and San Fernando earthquakes, I really disagree.
Sure, if you are right at the epicenter of a huge one, you are screwed regardless.
But the moderate damage zone can be 50 miles or more.
I had a large bookshelf topple and take out a chunk of my office desk. Cars were very visibly rocking around.
You would be amazed at how much flies off of shelves.
This was in Menlo park, and quake was in Santa Cruz.

Most normal sized tanks, in decently built cabinets, will be just fine unless right at epicenter.
I am not trying to scare everyone. You only worry about a few DIY stands.

But that 8 foot tall thing drawn above - seems very high risk.

I'm in Warm Springs, Fremont, smack on the south end of the Hayward Fault. If that one goes off there isn't much left standing...

 

[JVU]

I was thinking about something like this for my Berghia project (If I were to scale it up) and was considering the heavy-duty metal racks with adjustable shelves like they have at Costco and elsewhere. I don’t know if they would be more stable/sturdy, but would probably be easier and cheaper. Downside is that the dimensions aren’t perfect. I like the idea of being able to make useful modifications and add-ons with a wood rack too.

 

[RandyC]

I am a noob on this diy rack topic, I am hoping to learn from this but isn't these heavy duty garage storage rack be better for that purpose in term of stability? And I am just curious building the diy rack including labor and material, won't it be pretty expansive as well?

A Dewalt rack fits two 40 breeders perfectly.

 

[ThRoewer]

I am a noob on this diy rack topic, I am hoping to learn from this but isn't these heavy duty garage storage rack be better for that purpose in term of stability? And I am just curious building the diy rack including labor and material, won't it be pretty expansive as well?

I looked, but nothing you can buy of the shelf will fit the need close enough to be satisfying and my space is so limited that I have nothing to waste. Plus money is tight so a custom metal frame is not in the budget.

 

[Chromis]

Sorry to continue rat-holing on the earthquake subject, buuuuut... last night we got an earthquake alert on our phones that woke us up around 5am, and the first thing I did was go into Fusion and turn my return and power heads off - so there’d be less sloshing of water in the display. Which got me thinking a nice Apex feature would be an option to tie-in to the earthquake alert system so select equipment turns off automatically when a certain magnitude earthquake occurs in the zip code you provide.

 

[NanoCrazed]

Sorry to continue rat-holing on the earthquake subject, buuuuut... last night we got an earthquake alert on our phones that woke us up around 5am, and the first thing I did was go into Fusion and turn my return and power heads off - so there’d be less sloshing of water in the display. Which got me thinking a nice Apex feature would be an option to tie-in to the earthquake alert system so select equipment turns off automatically when a certain magnitude earthquake occurs in the zip code you provide.

there was an earthquake? I slept right through it then...

 

[thesassyindian]

Sorry to continue rat-holing on the earthquake subject, buuuuut... last night we got an earthquake alert on our phones that woke us up around 5am, and the first thing I did was go into Fusion and turn my return and power heads off - so there’d be less sloshing of water in the display. Which got me thinking a nice Apex feature would be an option to tie-in to the earthquake alert system so select equipment turns off automatically when a certain magnitude earthquake occurs in the zip code you provide.

It should be easy to write an MQTT / IFTTT trigger for that! I'll look into it

 

[rygh]

It should be easy to write an MQTT / IFTTT trigger for that! I'll look into it

Yeah .... but it better be bug-free. Otherwise your tank will randomly turn itself off at times.
Usually the power and internet goes out with a big earthquake anyway.

 

[thesassyindian]

Yeah .... but it better be bug-free. Otherwise your tank will randomly turn itself off at times.
Usually the power and internet goes out with a big earthquake anyway.

Yeah good point! I'm looking into a seismic sensor, specifically the D7S-A0001 as a second input in addition to a USGS API.