Matthew Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Hi all, I am having a garage built at present and intend to put a fishroom within this garage. I am not 100% sure of dimensions but I could probably use up to 4mx4m if required. I intend to heat the room (probably with a fan heater connected to thermostat) and will have it well insulated. My question is to those who have fish rooms or who have had them previously. What are the recommendations you would make if re-setting up the room? I would like to do it right first time and know from past experience once you make something you can always think of ways to improve on it - I'm sure this will still happen but want to avoid making the "easy" mistakes. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Oh yes this is very important, one of the most!!!! Make sure you have plenty of room for YOU, I can't tell you how much of pain it would become if each time you lent over to have a look in your bottom tanks and your backside hits the tanks on the opposite side of the ail. It of cause depends on how tall your are or not as the case maybe but rule of thumb is no less then 750mm - 1meter ails. It sounds funny I know, but you want to like being in there and not get a bruised bottom :oops: or a cracked tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 I agree with Stu space between tank racks is crucial... That is one thing we didn't want to get wrong... and also make sure you have a nice height between rack shelves... so that when your tanks are fitted in, you still have a decent amount of room above top of tank and next level up, nothing worse than trying to get something into the tank or catch fish with limited room... or worse case scenario, the impossible because their aint enough room and the gap is too small :-? :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Stu is right about that. Its important to have as much of the space filled with water or something that retains heat but you need room for water changes and to have a look. Also top of my list of sugestions. Spend more on insulation than the cheapest quote! The more time you spend on planning and making sure you keep the heat in, the less heat you have to create. I am fortunate that my room is small (around 3 x 2 mtrs) but even so it has 100mm poly walls, 150mm poly roof and double layered rubber backed carpet on the floor. Also all air gaps under and around the door have been sealed. Also dont invite people into your fish room that may or may not have stolen the one and only key I had for it :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Something else to consider - plumb it for waste water so you can drain tanks easily, and if you are feeling extravagent fit it with its own hot water cylinder, and a COMFY COUCH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Agree with all the advice go hard on insulation BEFORE you stick tanks in.. Find some descent suitable covering for the floor mine is all concrete and its always cold now theres tanks and stands in there its a bloody mission to get them all out and put something on the floor Work on a good layout for your tanks and hopefully get standard sized tanks and get a descent stand welded up 3 tanks high (with enough room to get into the tanks) so you can fit more tanks in.. lol bilbo what happened to your key? I hope it wasn't locked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharronpaul Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Yep, everything they said. The major expense for me was electricity. If I had spent a couple hundred on insuation before installing the tanks, I would have saved literally thousands of dollars. tHE cONCH's idea with wastewater is a stroke of genius, It didn't take long for me to get sick of running the hose down the driveway. I retailed alot of fish out of my fishroom, so one of the first tanks contained a couple of turtles that children *loved* to look at and pet while their parents were looking at fish. If you are looking at a retail setup or regularly selling livestock, make sure that the aisles are big enough for a couple of people to walk past each other. Lighting can be a major cost - I ended up using alot of CFL energy saver lamps, one over each tank. We had individual heaters and filters in each tank. This meant it took 1/2 a day to waterchange the room, individually cleaning the filters as we went. A sump system would have been a good labour saver - harder to set up, but a great idea in the long run. If you have the space, a work surface is a great idea also - this is the place you will be mixing medications, having a brine shrimp setup going, or bagging the fish. Also, have somewhere in the room for storage. No matter how many times I put the lids on the tanks, the containers of fish food would always find their way into the water somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Floor covering > I would not use any form of carpeting > that is ANY FORM, it gets wet, traps water under it, hard to clean, can grow mould and so on. I use exercise rubber mats that interlock, you can buy them from mitre 10, they come in packs of 3 but If your floor space is greater more can be locked together, even cut so every mm is covered. If the floor gets wet(what a surprise) simply lift them up on there side(leaning against a stand) and the water will(if you have good air flow) evaporate quickly. And if they get dirty take them out side and give them a scrub with soapy water and there as good as new. There nice to walk on to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 I wouldn't have time for my fish room if I didn't have a recirculating sump system. An over flow can be cut in the sump so auto water changes can be done or if your pump turns off the return water wont overflow onto the floor, nothing like crystal clear water. Powerful pumps are now cheep as well. If a sump system is out side your budget, a tank with a sump pump(turns on automaticly once the water rises to a set hight and then of again) can be used. Place your waste water in there and out it goes down the drain. This can be done directly when you syphon or poured into a large bucket that will drain in to it (just in case you suck up fish or fry). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Another thing is to have enough gap at the top of the tanks to get good access and to have the tanks a width that you can get at. Most of my tanks were 2ftx 2ft and various heights. Insulate the hell out of it to keep your running costs down. The number of people who quickly get heaps of tanks then as quickly give the hobby up when the power bill comes in is truely astonishing. Try do do it properly the first time. After I built my fish house I was broke and started breeding in 5 plastic baths which were damaged and cost $5 each. From that I got realy good hot dip galvanised box section stands and built my own tanks. I still have the stands today at another property and they hold many cubic feet of timber (and the odd tank). Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Yeah I have hot dip galvanised stands too, the thought of all the wasted space with wood not to mention the work. With hot dip the stands take a trip and come back ready to fill with tanks. No under coat, several layers of top coat etc. Here's another thing I was contuse of, the top tanks should not be so high you are straining your neck. the top row of tanks are at MY eye level so I can see right to the back standing normally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted June 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Thanks all for your comments. Good to know I'm on the right track with how I am thinking. It sounds as though the major issues are using the space productively and decreasing the workload of water changes. I am thinking of putting an overflow into my tanks (a bit like Phil Collis has) and then having a drip feed system of water. I was planning on sponge filters for filtration with the occassional HOF filter (similar to the hang on back filter only it hangs on the front :lol: ) I'm not quite sure how that will work with fry but will try to figure that problem out before I get there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Interesting read.. sounds good matthew goodluck i'd be keen to see the work in progress matthew i'd recommend a good heatpump, they can cool and heat rooms. a fan heater runs at 100% efficiency, whereas heatpumps can run up to 400% efficiency! that is a huge cost over time esp as power prices will likely slowly climb year to year. oh one question, i've observed in a lot of areas now you have to pay for water as a seperate bill, how are people finding this cost in running fishrooms/big tanks in those areas? i assume this would substantially affect the quantity of water changed. for example in Tauranga there's water meters but in Hamilton there isn't; and I believe the price of the rates are similar. In Hamilton I was changing 200L of water a day for my discus. anyone know what that would cost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 The reason most people don't have the ideal fish room is cost, I did all the work I could myself but you still need tradesmen for some things. A drain connected to the sewer.$1000.00 Electrical work, including an rcd on your main switch board(you will have spills)I had a pipe burst, it sprayed my power board outside my fish room with LTs of water, I was right there when it happened >>> I would be dead if I didn't have one! Installation of power to my shed and fish room cost over a grand @ mates rates > worth every penny. Plumbing of the tanks I did myself, I even got trade prices for the pvc and it still cost $1000's just for the pvc. If you need a lot of new tanks this can be expensive too, find a glassier who can help. I think you have one close by that posts here(nzka). You may have to compromise, spend the money on essentials and then on things that make working in there convenient. A tank syphon system like Phil's is not ideal but it does work for him, you may find it does not work for you in all cases. As you formulate your plans - lay out, stand in your shed and visualise not only what it would look like but how things will work > trouble shoot before you build. If you want a great fish room, you may have to go on holiday and visit many people with fish rooms good and bad > we learn form our mistakes allow others mistakes to help you(I know that's what your doing here but there's nothing like seeing it and poking you head under and over to see for yourself, getting people to show you how they did things out side your knowledge). All my ideas I got from looking at 5 fish rooms(4 were local, lucky)and still I would change things if I could do it again, small things that allows improvisation to work better. You may find things you want to do - there is no equipment for(plumbing mainly), making things for yourself - improvising works wonders, there are always ways to make ideas come to life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted June 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Again thanks for all the advice - I will plan a trip to wellington at some stage to view fishrooms down there, and hopefully there are a few others in Auckland who won't mind me having a look at their set up. Luke - a heat pump is out of the question in my mind - the initial outlay for one would (IMHO) be better spent on insulation to prevent the loss of heat from the room. Besides it does not seem as though well insulated fish rooms require a lot of power. I am assuming based on previous posts that my power bill won't go any higher than it is (half a dozen tanks inside the house - house largely uninsulated) I will keep the heat pump in the house though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 I am assuming based on previous posts that my power bill won't go any higher than it is (half a dozen tanks inside the house - house largely uninsulated) That was the situation I was in, but I was running any more tanks and my power bill did go down. But it may not for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 could you please clarify that sentence stu? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Matt said he has 1/2 Doz tanks in a largely unheated home. and moving to heating a room with around 80-100 x 2' tanks(or similar) + more lights. With out actually knowing what Matt spends on power it's imposable to say but looks like a LOT more water to heat. Of cause he didn't say how big those 1/2 Doz tanks are either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 That was the situation I was in, but I was running any more tanks and my power bill did go down. But it may not for you. I mean I think you might have missed a word out in the above?? I'm curious what you meant.. do you mean you were running 'more' tanks and your power bill went down??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 That was the situation I was in (relatively uninsulated home) , but I was running many more tanks than you are(Matt is. In fact I was heating a room the same size as my new fish room) and my power bill did go down. But it may not for you. Hows that Luke? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlid7 Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 That was the situation I was in, but I was running any more tanks and my power bill did go down. But it may not for you. Luke i think the red word was not meant to be there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 m-any :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 thanks cichlid/stu. so you mean the transition from uninsulated house with a few tanks to a full fishroom heating the room (rather tank by tank) was cheaper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 No Luke, I was heating a room a 3.6x3.6m(same as the newer fish room) that had 1/2 the volume of water/tanks I now have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlid7 Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 sorry for the hijack i have over 50 tanks in my fishroom would it work out cheaper to heat the room or each tank the room is fully insulated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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