DIY Rack Feature-by-feature Design Choice Tradeoffs

[jplehmann]

I love the DIY guides on here, even if some do have missing images. But what I think could be really beneficial to someone building their own "a la carte" would be an FAQ-like pro-con comparison for each design choice. In other words, it's great to see how someone did it which shows what COULD be done. But I'd like to hear from those with experience what the actual tradeoffs are of each of the decisions.

Some choices I can think of include:

• Wood/melamine vs shelving units?
• Heat tape vs heat panels?
• Heat tape on back vs bottom?
• Inches above tub?
• Size of tubs? (I realize this is partly just preference depending on goals)
• $35 vs $85 vs $120 thermostat (plug in specific options)

I'm sure I missed at least a few of the key considerations. Maybe we could put together such a document and make it a sticky? Please contribute answers to the tradeoffs as well as suggest new considerations to add to the list.

[Eric Alan]

Are you specifically looking for answers in regards to rack systems, or are you hoping to see display enclosure recommendations as well?

My other thought is that discussions on every one of these topics can already be found through a quick search of the forums. As each person's design needs and considerations are going to be different, it'd be pretty difficult to put everything you're asking for in a one-size-fits-all document/thread.

[jplehmann]

Hi Eric, I was specifically looking at rack designs. I realize I can dig out opinions for each of these questions by spending time researching each one, but that's the idea of grouping it together into a single document.

Here's a hypothetical answer (I'm making this up)

Melamine: less expensive, and stronger
Rack systems: quicker to assemble, less prone to measuring mistakes, and lighter