Fish Room Construction Ideas

[Aquatek]

Just looking for some input and ideas for my fish room setup. If you have built one then let me know your thoughts. Regrets? Things you wish you did or didn't do. I've set up and designed many systems but I've never built a dedicated room.

I'm going to build the room behind the tank and ventilating the room with an exhaust fan to cut down on humidity in the house. The stand will be constructed out of wood and be part of the wall. The tank is 180g and I'm not sure what size of sump I'm going to use. I already have all my equipment including my lighting which is a Photon light with 3x250w mh and 12 39w t5's. I have a 60g cube that I am also going to plumb in as a frag tank.

What I'm really looking for is ideas for the perfect room. Things I should be looking out for and do's and don'ts from your experiences. Thanks in advance for your help.

[Myka]

Number one, look at heat recovery ventilators so you're not tossing out the nice warm (or cool) house air with the humidity. Then make sure you have at least 2 dedicated GFCI electrical breakers to the room. Have half your pumps on one breaker and half on the other, same with lighting. That way if a breaker trips half the stuff will still be running. I would also plan a floor drain if possible.

Some other ideas...If you have room and you would like it, plan your sump to be in an open area instead of under the tank so you have lots of room to work. I also like refugiums higher than the tank so they can overflow directly into the tank so pods make it in there without getting mulched by pumps.

[mark]

Like my laundry sink also what's handy is a have a garden hose and spray nozzle off the hot water tank for blasting the filter socks before I put then in washer and cleaning the skimmer cup.

For drywall I just used the greenboard with kitchen/bath paint and no problems after 6 years. Could also consider the blue aquaboard.

[Aquatek]

Like my laundry sink also what's handy is a have a garden hose and spray nozzle off the hot water tank for blasting the filter socks before I put then in washer and cleaning the skimmer cup.

For drywall I just used the greenboard with kitchen/bath paint and no problems after 6 years. Could also consider the blue aquaboard.
Did you drywall the inside? I was debating on not doing it. I was also thinking about insulation and vapour barier as well and then using FRP over the wall to stop the salt spray from eating the drywall.

[Aquatek]

Number one, look at heat recovery ventilators so you're not tossing out the nice warm (or cool) house air with the humidity. Then make sure you have at least 2 dedicated GFCI electrical breakers to the room. Have half your pumps on one breaker and half on the other, same with lighting. That way if a breaker trips half the stuff will still be running. I would also plan a floor drain if possible.

Some other ideas...If you have room and you would like it, plan your sump to be in an open area instead of under the tank so you have lots of room to work. I also like refugiums higher than the tank so they can overflow directly into the tank so pods make it in there without getting mulched by pumps.
I have my sump in an open area right now on my cube and I am wanting to do that on the 180 but I may be limited on space. The sump I am going to use is 4x3x3.

The bad part is that there isn't a floor drain in the basement. The plumbing is 1 foot above the floor. I am getting a sump cut into the floor for a drain and bathroom in the near future so that will eventually get done.

[mark]

Did you drywall the inside? I was debating on not doing it. I was also thinking about insulation and vapour barier as well and then using FRP over the wall to stop the salt spray from eating the drywall.

fishroom is also the the mechanical room in the corner of the basement. Insulation/vapour barrier on outside walls, just insulation for noise on interior. Drywalled the walls only (not ceiling). Since didn't drywall ceiling did pay a bit of attention in insulating and sealing rim joist as concerned with condensation.

Had also considered the interlocking panels for on wall behind the sump but ended up just with the drywall/paint. Again no problem with the little bit of spray I get.

[Baldy]

Flfrom an electrician standpoint, I would highly recommend running #12 wire and using 20A breakers and plugs. Not much extra cost, they're doing that in kitchens on new houses anyways.

And plan if you would like normal wall switches running puumps or lights or anything. You can get some neat devices like Christmas light timers andsuch to run your lighting.

At least that's what I dream about for mine someday :D

[reefwars]

another good thing to think about when doing your fishroom is to build your sump up on a stand high enough to work in where as you dont need to be bending over.....wish i had that option lol

[lastlight]

The things I like most about my fishroom so far (still under construction)

- sump is elevated and not under anything
- lots of light to see what I'm doing
- 2-part epoxy floor is nice to walk on and cleans up perfectly
- laundry tub is a no-brainer but wow it's so convenient

[mseepman]

Excellent thread guys...I was going to ask this exact question soon myself.

I've heard many times to put the electrical plugs high so no fear of water issues or drip loops.

[FishyFishy!]

I tried to start a thread like this a while ago with pictures but it died!

People should post some pics of their fishrooms, or semi-constructed fishrooms.

I am also building an odd one and am always looking for ideas.

[Lampshade]

One thing i wish I had in mine. Emergency floor drain. My stand's built to hold some good size leaks, but... if something bad happened, I"d be replacing a lot of floor and drywall.

[spawn]

I'm gonna build a damn in mine epoxied in which will aid in a direct route to the floor drain, which is only 36" away

[Gary]

Flfrom an electrician standpoint, I would highly recommend running #12 wire and using 20A breakers and plugs. Not much extra cost, they're doing that in kitchens on new houses anyways.

And plan if you would like normal wall switches running puumps or lights or anything. You can get some neat devices like Christmas light timers andsuch to run your lighting.

At least that's what I dream about for mine someday :D

Just a quick question. When using the 20 amp plugs in a location other than a kitchen, are you still limited to two plugs per circuit or does it change back to 12?

[Hustler]

As for vents.... Air exchanger... drawing both on a humidity sensor..... Best bet for sure....
As for wood shelves.... Steel is almost the same price if you have a welder friend and way way more stable....
Heres a 180 rack i built for myself in my basement/X fishroom lol
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dragonfish1ca/012-7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dragonfish1ca/005-9.jpg
Dual 180's with a 100 gallon sump... worked amazing :)

[Baldy]

Just a quick question. When using the 20 amp plugs in a location other than a kitchen, are you still limited to two plugs per circuit or does it change back to 12?

The code says that if you dont know the load of a receptacle, you count it as 1 amp. a 15 amp circuit (or any amperage circuit) can only be loaded to 80% for continuous use. thats where the 12 plugs per circuit comes from. the 20a receptacles can use either a t-slot plug, or regular 15a, and you can put max 16 per circuit.

i would run them more for peace of mind, and so you would need fewer circuits. depends on what kind of power demand you have.

[mike31154]

I'm planning a fishroom for the basement, display on the next floor up. Taking forever but I've got it framed. Some unique challenges since my sewer drains out of the house just a foot below the top of the basement wall instead of through the basement floor. One of the things I never liked about the house, but to redo that would cost a bundle. So washer has to pump up about six feet & basement bathroom drains into a sump which also pumps water up to the main sewer line. This sump is quite a distance from the fishroom & washer, so I'll probably look at installing another one in that area. This way the washer as well as a utility sink for the fishroom can all drain into that. Might also be a good backup for flood prevention if I install it strategically under the sump for the fish tank. Plan to elevate the fish tank sump a fair bit to minimize the head pressure for the return pump.

I painted the concrete wall behind the laundry appliances & the fishroom, not sure whether I'll insulate or install any kind of vapour barrier on that wall. Been doing some reading and moisture control can be an issue if you don't do this properly.

For electrical I'll likely run an extra 15 amp circuit rather than any 20s. May go with 12 ga wire, but some 20 amp hardware such as GFCI receptacles are a bit harder to source & more costly. Best to have at least two circuits available for tank stuff so that if one breaker or GFCI goes, it doesn't take all tank related equipment down. Since the lighting will be provided by an upstairs circuit, I have redundancy there anyhow and there's already at least one 15 amp circuit in the fishroom area of the basement. Here's a pic.

https://blufiles.storage.live.com/y1peiXbqAa1mAiyPzKqy8pcs9RJ6vZFBcpeGbisdUUBLPYmou_ n4iAKItrYVFc0e4S-c4EVciHPS8k/P1010894a.JPG?psid=1

[Hustler]

Ive had bigger pumps kick out a GF breaker just due to magnetic energy they build up and set it off.... It sucks big time.... Myself I just unplug stuff when i go in there.....sometimes lol

[Aquatek]

I tried to start a thread like this a while ago with pictures but it died!

People should post some pics of their fishrooms, or semi-constructed fishrooms.

I am also building an odd one and am always looking for ideas.

Let's get some pictures going for sure. They are worth a thousand words after all.

[wickedfrags]

I would consider running all your electrical wire inside 1/2" or larger PVC...same with your electrical outlets, used for outside use typically. If you use metal they will likely rust and salt creep may appear over time.

[Baldy]

I would consider running all your electrical wire inside 1/2" or larger PVC...same with your electrical outlets, used for outside use typically. If you use metal they will likely rust and salt creep may appear over time.

if you have to surface mount, definitely. but if its within drywall, not needed

[lastlight]

Photo dump from my build thread:

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/404/doors5.jpg

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/404/doors6.jpg

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/404/doors7.jpg

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/404/doors8.jpg