up comming project... need help!!!!

hey all.

im considering starting a fish room in my garage.
but i realy dont know how to set it up to work efficiantly.

they way im thinking about doing this will be with:

2 stands/racks wich will hold 1X 4ft and 2x 2ft each (will be building one at a time so the first will need to operate independantly by itself untill the next is ready then i will be using some sort of filtration system to run all tanks)....... how would i go about designing such a system?????

i have herd that you can use one heater in a sump setup to heat all tanks?? (how is this done)

as this is going into a garage looks are not no#1 priority

so the main questions would be:

filtration
heating
and a way to ensure that it can be dismantled to move if and when the need arises.

all your sugestions and advice will be much apreciated..

hi B.G

wow thats some project mate sorry but i would'nt no where to start with something like that, but i think if you go to lfs they should be able to help and
put you with the heating,filtration,etc.

brave decision dont forget pics some from every step would be nice if you can
good luck. hope all goes well


dekker

i will most definately keep an update on how this goes including lots of pics!!!

biggreeny_101 wrote:

hey all.

im considering starting a fish room in my garage.
but i realy dont know how to set it up to work efficiantly.

they way im thinking about doing this will be with:

2 stands/racks wich will hold 1X 4ft and 2x 2ft each (will be building one at a time so the first will need to operate independantly by itself untill the next is ready then i will be using some sort of filtration system to run all tanks)....... how would i go about designing such a system?????

i have herd that you can use one heater in a sump setup to heat all tanks?? (how is this done)

as this is going into a garage looks are not no#1 priority

so the main questions would be:

filtration
heating
and a way to ensure that it can be dismantled to move if and when the need arises.

all your sugestions and advice will be much apreciated..

Thats quite a project bg, and I look forward to hearing how you get on with it. I have never done anything like that so dont have anything constructive to input, but do have a couple of questions:)

Is the garage insulated and if not what sort of temperature fluctuations would the fish have to cope with (Summer and Winter). Also, are you going to have a seperate q tank set up available? The main problem with linked filtration I believe is that if you get some sort of illness or disease in one tank then it can very easily be passed into the next tank through the filtration system..

hi B.G

any idea how many tanks you are going to have in the fish room are you have all tropical or some marines too, can't wait to see some pics all the best mate.


dekker

ATM im considering mainly only american cichlids for these aprox 6 tanks.
(another reason for linked filtration is same water stats for all)

if all works and finance is good i may look into a setup for africans and another display for in the house 6ft to 8ft with some serious tank busters,

diana. yes the garage is insulated and stays aprox the same as the house except on extreem heat days like what we just had over here.

this project will take a few months to complete im not just rushing out there and buying a heap of wood and slaping it together.

Quote :

"biggreeny_101"]

this project will take a few months to complete im not just rushing out there and buying a heap of wood and slaping it together.

I am sure you will do a great job bg

OK - Ive nebver built a fish room but this is what id do if i were to do my garage

1st - get decent lighting for human use (and electrical pounts fitted at 4 feet above floor level - youll need a few so get an electrician to do all this)

2nd - Have the room plumbed - you could consider having a huge basin to make life easier or a simple hot n cold tap and drain - as a future project once all is in place - you could start to consider automation of tank filling/emptying/topups etc - but you need the basic pipework in place first - so get a plumber in, you could (if you need to) have a proper RO Unit plumbed in at the same time.

3rd - be sure that there are no drafts - if necessary - board up the window and the door (leve the door on the outsdie so the council wont know the room has had change of use - ie no planning etc involved) if you come to sell n move - its easily made a garagfe again.

4th - the heaters for tanks - keep the heaters in each tank - why risk the heating failing on all the tanks? - none of my many lfs have a single heater hidden, every tank has its won heater and id highly recommend the same

5th - 2x 3foot tanks are slightly wider than 1 six foot tank - be sure you measure and make the stands for stacked tanks accurately (suggest brick and iron girders for this - alot of water and weight to support)

6th - if all your tanks have the same sort of water stats - then filtration could be centralised (ie sump etc) and this would fit in nicely with automated topups etc. Personally - as suggested - id have each tank with its own filter(s) simply for error/failure prevention/control (or disease)

7th - seriously consider investing in a petrol/diesel electrical generator in case of power outages - may as well do it whilst your making specific room and only about £100 for peace of mind and emergency backup.

Consider some sort of drainage in case one or more tank cracks - or at least have a means to get rid of alot of water fast.

8th - make the room half way presentable and comfortable for you to use as well - why simply 'keep' the fish and walk away - so have a chair n table and possible kettle etc for when the work is done and its time to sit n watch.

As you said your wanting ideas to include if you move - this is all the more reason to keep to per tank filtration and heating etc - why invest alot of money in a single filtration p[lant you probably wiont be able to take with you and the next home owner is likely to take a lump hammer too?

Hope this helps (you cant tell ive thought about this can you )

wow Rich...........looks like you have this planned down to a t. Some good advice and tips there for bg

sounds like rich is ready to make a start on his own fish house.


dekker

i forgot to add that if you use air pumps - there is no reason why this couldnt be done as single unit (may need to invest in a small pond sized unit tho) and the same goes for CO2 - again if you use it.

Automation could be used for all sorts of things like dosing, water changes, plant ferts, etc etc etc - but i feel this is all alittle excessive for a handful of tanks.