Fishroom ideas and plans

[kkiel02]

So after looking at some house plans today I am looking at a fishroom of 13x7. This will give me 4 foot clearance behind the tank to the wall. For those with a fishroom or have had a fish room do you think that is sufficient space? At first I was going to do 13x6 but think the extra foot would be nice. The tank will face the living room and be inwall. The tank will have two dedicated circuits and an ac unit to keep the fishroom cool. I am also going to add a vent/fan to the outside.

After reading some on RC Ive read that greenboard drywall and vinyl baseboards works great in case of spills.

This is still in the planning stages so any input would be appreciated. Got the misses on board when I said she wont hear or see any equipment again. lol

[Europhyllia]

don't have a fish room and am probably stating the obvious but I'd do the floors similar to laundry rooms where it's a an inch or two lower than the other rooms, has a drain in the middle and tile

So excited for you! This will be wonderful!

[kkiel02]

Yeah I didnt get excited until I got the OK from the boss. I used Bill's tank to help explain it- No equipment will be seen, etc. That is a good idea to have a drain on the floor and slightly lowered. Yep tile or I may even steal the stained concrete idea.

[ErikH]

Put a 240 in for your chiller! I don't think you can put a drain in because the slab is already poured. Seal everything so you don't get water going through the walls under the baseboards. KILLZ KILLZ KILLZ wood grows mold fairly easily. Look into getting a water hookup in there at one the end of the room so your top off is out of the way. Try and take your time here because it's BIG! :) OHHH instead of a chiller, maybe you should solar tube it! Oh and get the dedicated circuits at 20A; The 240 @ 30A (if you get it :) ).

[Gseclipse02]

i hate in walls so much such a pain to clean / work on

[CoryDude]

Kevin, I'm redoing my in-wall setup in the upcoming weeks. Your's will be 3X as big as my 120, but a lot of the concepts are the same. Here's some ideas based on the mistakes I made on my fishroom.

- Heat buildup will be a problem in that room. Plumb your chiller and locate any other hot items like MH ballasts outside of the the room. It'll put less stress on the cooling unit and your chiller since your aquarium won't be absorbing the ambient heat generated in the fishroom.

- A mini-split ac unit would be a good idea if you can afford it. They're way more efficient than a standard window unit and help with the electric bill during the summer months.

- Be careful with an exhaust vent. Where's the fresh air going to coming from? If you're pulling air from the garage or outside of the house, you're going to have problems during the hottest part of the year, since the air your removing is being replaced with 90F+ from the garage or outside. Whatever you do, do not pull air from inside your house. You'll thank me when you avoid a sky high elect bill because your house HVAC is working to overcome heat coming in from outside or from your attic.

- a cooling unit will help de-humidify the room since water will be condensing on the evap coils. A stand alone dehumidifier would probably be a better idea than an exhaust fan.

- Use green board on every wall in the fishroom and seal the baseboard to prevent water damage from any leaks, 'cause we all know it's bound to happen at some time or another.

- Stick with the concrete instead of tile. You can always seal the concrete with swimming pool paint.

[kkiel02]

Cory could I swing by sometime and get some ideas?

JT I plan on having front and back access to help with this. This will actually make the 3 foot depth easier to work on hopefully. Side note- when can I drop off the suction cups? They were great to use and thanks again.

Erik- actually this wouldn't be poured until December. Pending paperwork and what not. I want a utility sink and a drain but am going to talk to the builder more this week. And paint will be excessively applied to all walls and wood. :)

[allan]

Kevin, another resource would be texreefer. His inwall had a fish room in the garage. Whole nine yards to include a one horsepower chiller.

Also, get them to install a coaxial plug in there so you can watch the game while your playing, uh I mean working, on tank maintenance. :) best thing I got for the garage was the tv which keeps me occupied when I have to do the boring stuff in there.

And a little fridge with freezer will keep your fish food and beer at the appropriate temperature.

Enough room for a small chair so that you can frag, drink beer, watch the game, in comfort as a man should.

I'd recommend sound proofing the walls so you won't hear the boss nagging.... But I wouldn't dare suggest that she would ever nag (psst, just in case she reads these posts, if she doesn't then you know what I mean ;) ).

[CoryDude]

No problem Kevin. Just give me a few weeks to get it finished. Should have everything done by the end of Sept.

Dipan had a great fishroom also. I'm sure you saw his thread on here a while back.

[Richard]

What size tank are you going to put in?

[kkiel02]

The 360. There will be a 200 gallon sump with two 40 g water change stations to make that alot easier.

I looked up some mini splits and they wouldnt be too pricey if I am looking at the right thing? $500-600 I will need to learn alot more on them though. So far most of the material for them online is all the same stuff just copied and pasted it seems.

Erik- What is a 240?

[txav8r]

Erik- What is a 240?

2 phase. Like a dryer or oven uses. 220/240vac

[kkiel02]

Oh I was thinking a 240 gallon? I was wondering what he meant. lol

[moneytank]

things i learned is:
1) you will never have enough room no matter how big the room is (mine is 14x14)
2) PUT A FLOOR DRAIN IN (no I dont have one and im still kicking myself for not adding it)
3) you will never have enough plugs or dedicated circuits
4) utility sink
5) I had a window unit and a dehumidifier which added a lot of heat, I changed to a portable a/c which keeps the room cooler and less humidity. plus no dripping water outside which accumulates pretty fast
6) insulate the walls

[kkiel02]

I was wondering about insulating. I didnt know wether to or not but since the room will be cooler than the house I guess it would be a good energy saver for sure. I was worried because if it got wet(mold) for some reason but read that with KILZ and a water sealing paint that room ought to be good to go. A dehumidifier will be in there for sure as my last house had alot of condensation during the winter because of my 180G.

Does anyone run a mini split by any chance? I would love some advice on this.

[Gseclipse02]

JT I plan on having front and back access to help with this. This will actually make the 3 foot depth easier to work on hopefully. Side note- when can I drop off the suction cups? They were great to use and thanks again.
. :)



thats good than not many tanks are set up like that and i hate to work on those tanks lol

work is fine for the cups or if you want to swing by the house its cool what ever works for you

[kkiel02]

Yeah I saw one on RC and loved the idea. The hole for the tank will be cut larger then I will have a hinged overhead door that will give me access in the front. If I run across the picture I will try and post it up.