A little background on me first, I guess. I’ve been keeping fish for 25 years and have dabbled in just about every aspect of the hobby as far as fish go, dabbled just a trifle with inverts. This will be the third time I’ve devoted a room to fish tanks, the second time I’ve built one. My goal is to avoid every problem I’ve ever encountered in the past and to anticipate new ones.

I started on this room in mid-December. Original plan was to have it completed by Jan. 5. Mrs. Wyomingite suggested that, as I was already running wire and such, that I could go ahead and finish the hall and the adjacent room. I couldn't come up with a good reason not to. I had expected to have the texturing and painting complete by now and to be starting on the tile flooring. This room was originally supposed to be a library/game room, and my tanks were going to go in a separate greenhouse/ aquarium building. Circumstances changed that. Anyways, what started out as my aquarium room project has resulted in me rewiring the entire basement, installing a 100 amp electrical subpanel, insulating ¾ of the entire 1700 sq. feet for sound and thermal, an additional 30’ of framing work, and framing/hanging four doors.

It's all been run of-the-mill construction up to this point. The room is 23’ 8” by 10’. I framed it last winter. I was originally planning on hard wiring ten 20 amp power bars, ten outlets per bar. At the suggestion of an electrician buddy, I simply wired up eleven 20 amp outlets, with each outlet on a separate circuit breaker to prevent overloading. I mounted each receptacle 46" above the floor rather than the standard 12". IME, electrical outlet availability has been the most limiting factor in tank set-ups, not enough outlets for additional lighting or filtration. I've had too many problems over the years trying to make cords reach and having to place tanks in locations I didn't want. I didn't want to run into that again. This should give me enough flexibility to meet my needs. Further outlets will be supplied by power bars, each equipped with an additional internal breaker. Although I still like my original idea better, I couldn't argue with my friend's logic: in short, it will be easier to troubleshoot and repair any problems with this electrical scheme.

The heater is a King variable wattage heater , thermostatically controlled and adjustable from 2250 to 4500 watts. It runs on 240 voltage. I set the heater at 3500 watts. Should be able to maintain 72° to 85° F. I'll target 78°.

Keeping the heat in the room was a big concern. I don't want to heat the whole house. The outer wall and ceiling are insulated with 10" thick R-30 fiberglass insulation. The interior walls have 4" R-15 insulation. I'm stealing an idea from a coworker who builds saunas and indoor hot tubs on the side. To keep heat and humidity in and cool air out, he lines the entire room with 6 mm plastic. Looking for a dehumidifier now, rather than an exhaust fan. Think an exhaust fan would have to run 24/7 to keep the humidity down in this set up.

To resist the moisture, will be using greenboard, usually used in bathroom applications, for the walls instead of standard drywall. Also will be using mold and mildew resistant paint.

In the spring, I’ll run a line from the room to the outside for water changes. I plan on using a submersible pump with a garden hose attachment to speed water changes, and the high nitrate water will be recycled in the garden. I’m also going to run a water line to the room. I’m on hard, high pH well water. I’ll be able to take water to the tanks either pre-water softener or post water softener with a by-pass system. All water work will be finished after the rest is completed, it’s too cold in Wyoming this time of year to be drilling holes in the side of the house.

After the room is done and I have a coupla the larger tanks going, I'll be starting on a three tier rack system/stands for the rest. Still haven’t decided on wood or welded metal. Regardless, that is where the height of the receptacles comes into play. From there I can mount the power bars higher or lower on the wall to accommodate the varying tiers of tanks.

All in all, I know I’ll be able to put all 50 tanks I have in storage in here, based on the stands that I'll follow up with when the room is done. Already sketched out a layout down to the inch. I already have a 225, a 180, a 75, six 55's and the balance in 30's or smaller in storage. I’m planning on sacrificing setting up several smaller tanks to accommodate some additional larger tanks. Want to expand by two or three 4' tanks, 90s most likely. I know I'll be able to do two for sure, suspect three won't be an issue but not getting my hopes up until everything else is in there.

So, I still hope to have the 6 mm plastic heat/ vapor barrier and all the greenboard hung before I go back to work on the 5th. We shall see.

I'll post some pics as soon as I figure out how to...LOL.

WYite

Sounds like you've got that fairly well planned out. I've been planning/working on an additional room for a little while now as well.

Greenboard works great, but for paint I've had much better luck with epoxy paint than the mold and mildew stuff. Not that it actually got mold and/or mildew, but there was one area that always seemed to get splashed and after a while it started looking oddly discolored.

I'm not far from a boat store, and I got, I believe it was an alkyd epoxy.

I didn't see you mention it, but I found that a small sink was a fantastic addition to the first room. I'm not sure what you're keeping tho either, so maybe not. I do turtle and fish rescue, so a sink with the turtles was a major help for me.

As far as wood vs welded metal, I tend towards wood, since I find it alot easier to add to or change things around than with welding. I also don't often know what's coming in so it gives me that extra little bit of flexibility.

I need to start looking into at least one huge tank. I just recently took in a larger arowana. Are the tanks just something you collected over the years or do you have a good supplier fot them?

Very interesting keep us posted and get some pics up!

Sounds like you've got that fairly well planned out. I've been planning/working on an additional room for a little while now as well.

Thanks, Saint Felony. It's been a long time coming, have had 2 1/2 years to think about it. One 10 gallon tank during that time has been killing me!

Greenboard works great, but for paint I've had much better luck with epoxy paint than the mold and mildew stuff. Not that it actually got mold and/or mildew, but there was one area that always seemed to get splashed and after a while it started looking oddly discolored.

I'm not far from a boat store, and I got, I believe it was an alkyd epoxy.

Thanks, I'll look into the epoxy paint. Never thought of that.

I didn't see you mention it, but I found that a small sink was a fantastic addition to the first room. I'm not sure what you're keeping tho either, so maybe not. I do turtle and fish rescue, so a sink with the turtles was a major help for me.

No turtles here, LOL. I've thought about a small sink, and its not out of the scope yet. The problem I'm having with it is logistical, running the drain line. Still have my mind wrapped around the problem, but no solutions have come up yet. I'm starting to think it's gonna be a nightmare. Do you have a drain to the sewer on the sink in the fish room, or is the drain just plugged?

As far as wood vs welded metal, I tend towards wood, since I find it alot easier to add to or change things around than with welding. I also don't often know what's coming in so it gives me that extra little bit of flexibility.

I agree, pros and cons to both. Still debating this one. Thanks for the input. A buddy of mine will weld and powder coat the stands for me if I go with metal, for cost of materials only. On the other hand, can do the wood myself and make it a little more attractive. Once all the tanks are in, I won't be moving or changing 'em, so access is the only thing I'm really concerned about.

I need to start looking into at least one huge tank. I just recently took in a larger arowana. Are the tanks just something you collected over the years or do you have a good supplier fot them?

They're tanks that I've gotten deals on over the years. I've got $700 in both, with lights and stands. I've never been happy with the lighting on the 225 and will work on devising something new for it again.

Thanks for the input,

WYite

I'd love to see some pics! you could show the progression from now untill compleation.

Ps i'm jealous

I agree get some pics...

For the epoxy paint make sure you can vent the area for a day or two. Once it's dry it's great, but it's fairly stinky until it dries.

As for the sink, I got a pump for it. The sink drains into a 5g sealed container under the sink, and now and again pumps everything out into the sewer line. I lucked out and had one of the ends of the sewer line run parallel to the fish room so tapping into it was very easy. All I needed to get was a PVC screw-in adapter and a valve for it. It's been up and running for about 6 months now and has been fantastic so far.

As for the racks, I'd think it just comes down to cost then. If you have what you want and aren't changing anything, I would go with whatever option is less expensive. Properly built both will hold up just as well over time. Wood can be made prettier, but eh. I tend to not care too much about that. Sturdy is more important for me, but I also got little kids running around too.

As for lighting for that tank, I just recently picked up some halogen "under the counter" lights from Lowes on clearance, for my one 55 that had no lights. I had to build a little stand for it since the bulbs got kinda hot, but they gave off a much nicer light than I expected. There's a few Ikea sets that work out nicely as well.

http://www.waterace.com/sump_6.html

Got it in Lowes. They have them sort of hidden in the plumbing section. That thing with the white pvc pipe goes inside the box, the box has a rubber gasket that seals the box when you put it together. I don't know if there are other brands, but I've been pretty happy with that one.

Excellent idea Saint Felony!

OK, guys, I'll get some pictures up. Tomorrow I'm finishing putting in the rest of the breakers for the basement in the subpanel, and then hooking the subpanel to the main. Tomorrow night I'll hunt down a site that'll host my pics so I can post 'em.

WYite

I use imageshack