Jump to content

Construction: Building a fish room


Josh

Recommended Posts

Ok people the fish room is back on again. wub.gif My tropheus are settled, and now I am allowed to continue the room. So far I have gotten this far

user posted image

I know its a mess now blush.gif , but give it a few weeks, I had to take 4 ute loads to the tip to get in this far. At the moment the three walls are packed with foam, about 100mm thick. I am giong to build a false wall that will close the room in, and then put a roof on it all. the room all up should measure 2.4x3.6 smile.gif

now electrics is sorted, Ive got a mate who is sparky. another mate who's a boilermaker and his doing my stands. I am planing on 12 four foot tanks and 6 three foot tanks all on racks three tiers high.

Filters will be mostly air driven either undergravel or corner/sponge typefilters.

Heating hasn't been sorted yet but were hoping that a small heater in the room should be fine in winter. Open to suggestions on this one.

I still have room for two 200L water containers and shelving along one wall.

I have the room sorted wink.gif

A few questions

-Do i need to line the inside walls to cover the foam? I know it will look better, but do i need to do it?

-I am thinking of getting a LP60 or a LP100like this. should I just get the biggest one? Also are these a good pump?

I think, but I am open to suggestions on anything I have missed or anything I have got wrong.

thumb.gif

Josh and Evelyn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking like it will be a nice setup..

As for lining the walls it would look much better, maybe use that pine plywood looking stuf, or just plain ol 3mm ply, or maybe mdf (but not really good in a high humidity area) and paint it light blue.or prefered colour... so no need for backgrounds..I think it would contain th efoam better aswell, and foam looks really grotty after a few months of humidity and dust has settled in on it.

Lining the room would also stop any vermin getting into the foam, up here i find the ants love to dig tunnels in it, even under the tanks, and iot creates heaps of foam dust and mess, so I would get some sort of serious pest control done before the tanks goin aswell, just to be safe..

As for heating ,and cooling, with the degree of insulating you have, a reverse cycle aircon would be the best bet, cool in summer warm in winter, for you and the fish!! It makes watching them more enjoyable, and slightly more compulsive...lol...also it cuts down on the need for heaps of power boards and cables loooking daggy!, and dangerous..

will you eventually sump it , or keep it all seperate?

Just my suggestions hope it helps...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lining the room would also stop any vermin getting into the foam, up here i find the ants love to dig tunnels in it, even under the tanks, and iot creates heaps of foam dust and mess, so I would get some sort of serious pest control done before the tanks goin aswell, just to be safe..

Good point I didn't Think of that

Thanks

Josh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Josh, Your room looks great already. I wouldn't worry about lining the inside unless it bothers you or you think it will need to be done later.. Its just another expense IMO. With 100ml foam as insulation I dont really think heating is going to be a huge issue. An oil heater works well.By the time your tanks are at operating temperature everything seems to work with each other to maintain the heat to a certain degree. Just make sure you have ALL the gaps sealed with silicon or sika. I used Liquid nails for the large gaps because it was a little cheaper. It took a little longer to dry though smile.gif

One thing I regret not doing and will the next time is treating for ants before anything goes in. I haven't had a problem with vermin but I have with ants. Any food not cleaned up will attract ants and then they start taking over your house. Maybe not that bad but they do nest close to a steady supply of water,warmth and food. Just a little something to keep in mind smile.gif

Look forward to the progress shots.

I'd also seriously consider doing the roof as this will be a major expense with lose of heat and excess heat in summer

Chuck

Oh and I'd keep the fridge in a Cnr, well stocked with beer to relax with after the hard work is done wink.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

looking good !!

should end up to be a great room. i find that i loss alot of heat through the roof, so insulating the roof would save u alot on heating cost. something i havent gotten around to yet. but its on the list

cannt wait to see a pic of it complete

thumb.gif

Wetfish

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Josh .

That gable roof looks like colourbond ? if so it will need insulating

or the fish will cook in summer !

Idealy reverse cycle air is the most efficient in my opinion, (i will be installing one soon) but an oil heater is fine . Cooling is not really a factor if your room is insulated properly. My room never goes above 26dgrs,even in the hottest periods.

If your filtration is to be all air driven ,i would go the LP100 .......i am running 2x LP60...where as a 100 would do the same job .

You can never get enough air.lol I am running dropside corner filters ,and i think they are the ants pants, so it is better too much air than not enough

Get plent of power points put around the wall ,you never know when you might need them in the future !

Also i'd reccomend puting the air pump outside , and run 25mm conduit around the top of the room with droppers of airline to the filters .

hth

cheers Kevin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Josh

It is loking good. I am in the process of building a room and I am going for a LP60 with corner filters and sump filtration for the bigger tanks . It will be running a heap of 2x18x18 and some 3 footers down the track. The sump will be running 2x 6x2x18 and possibly a 3 2x18x18.

If I were you I would do the ceiling and cover the walls but that is just my opinion. I am covering the walls with fibre cement and insulating with R4.0 bats but it can get down to -8 here in winter and up to 40 in summer. And then I will paint it with mould proof paint due to the humidity that I will produce. I am going to use an electric oil filled heater that is controlled by a wall mounted thermostat expenive to install (I don't know a sparky) and a heap of 2 and 4 socket power points. My fish room won't be as big as yours but it will do for know

Any way I hope that helps

cheers

Rosco

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just had an aircon man over to advise me on how to heat/cool my fishroom 7mx4mx3m.

He suggested an inverter air con unit. It is suppose to be alot cheaper to run then normal reverse cycle air con. The reverse cycle peaks and drops whereas the inverter runs at a constant idle. More expensive to put in but cheaper to run.

This is not my opinion just want the guy said, i am still researching the most efficient yet cheap way to heat/cool my room.

KB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the comments. thumb.gif the roof will be covered in at the beams, and i will insulated it.

Dave,

she been on my back about it, tongue.gif I love her wub.gif . She's gotten over her dummy spit from when I sold all her fish and she wants some more now LOL.gif I might fit one more colony in.......or maybe two blink.gif

kevin,

thanks for the air system tips. Me mate the sparky is getting power points as we speak.

Josh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

G'day

The LP100 ! No question in my mind. You will use up whatever capacity you get I assure you.

Nope you don't need to cover the foam, but it will look a lot better and last longer if it is properly covered. My old room had visible foam, and the new one is fully lined.

Cansider putting in a timer circuit so that the lights turn off and on without you needing to pop down to the fishroom.

Put in all of the plumbing / water / air circuits before you even think about placing tanks in the room.

Carefully plan out exactly where each tank/stand will go.

Power points are a wonderful thing!

Seal the entry door properly! An automatic closer is the best method.

Consider installing a fan that way the warm air circulates easily around the room.

"Sidedrop" filters are wonderful

Remember water change day, have you installed a drain or perhaps a small access door for the pipe carrying the waste water to exit the room.

Lots of planning makes it lot easier than when the fish tanks have already been installed (I assure you ohmy.gif )

Can't wait to see it finished, lokking fantastic thumb.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...