rack?

hey guys i am building my first rack and my collection isnt huge right now but it will be ina few seasons once i pair all my snakes up. so heres the deal. i want somthing basic and cheep. i dont use flexiwatt heat tape and have literly 42 heat pads of all sizes(too much moneny and didnt know what to do with it all) so i will be cuting holes in the back for wires. no heres my question. i am going to be making three racks one 91 quart rack containg 9 bins threee per shelf for my kings milks and corns, a 41 quart rack for futurer ball paython plans. and a 11 gall rack for babies in the futuar. all three racks will contain 3 bins per shelf and 9 bins all together so 3 shelfs per rack. i hope this makes sence. if anyone has any better ideas that will still be cheep let me know plese :). also we have everything figured out. my dad thinks plywood will be ok since the snakes arnt living in the shelvs them selvs they are living in the tubs. i didnt think plywood would be best because its not sturdy. what wood is best ive herd melemin is but isnt it expincive? i am on a budget any help would be great

plywood is very sturdy. we use it to sheet floors, roofs, walls, ect. but it's not very smooth so you may find that bins don't slide in and out of you shelfs very well if you use it. melamine is not all that expensive and once you factor in the fact that you wont need to paint it like you would plywood to protect it from moisture you'll see that is a very economical choice for rack building.

Plywood is sturdier than melamine. Melamine is a plastic material the is faced on particle board. The problem with ply is it is harder to clean and you must be able to clean it and clean it well. (in case of mites and regular cleanings too) Remember if you are using open toped tubs that there is plywood that the snake will have direct contact with. You can buy melamine sheets not faced with anything and glue it to plywood if you wanted.

The heat pads can work but if you are planning one controller for all of them they will have to be exact matches same size and wattage or it will not work at all. If you have lots the same it isn't too bad but if they are all different you will spend far more in controllers for them all than flexwatt costs. There is a reason why people use flexwatt, it is cheaper for large scale set ups.

As far as plywoods, MDO is probably one of the strongest, its what many construction companies use to make concrete forms out of. For stability you wouldn't want to use anything thinner then 3/4 inch.

ok thanks a ton. and i have about 25 dimmers ive made my self over the months lol. my dad said he can figure out how to get it built but wants to use plywood. ill just get the melmine sp? lol. so ill get it to fit snug but do i need tracks for it to fit nicley or can just the top be sucure enough. ill take pic when its done.