Joze Posted January 27, 2003 Report Share Posted January 27, 2003 I am seriously thinking about building a fishroom, before I make some serious mistakes, give me your do's and donts. I so far have room in the basement which will need a builder in as it leads underneath the house, draughts and all. It means I will need to move my wine cellar (damn). There is power, on its own relay with RCD and access to plumb hot and cold water and sewerage. I was also thinking about investing in a UV steriliser to hook up to the water bore (which is smack dab in the middle of the prospective fish room). It has level concrete floors. Space might be an issue though as the room is not much bigger than the average kitchen. Either that or I shift it to the garage or take over the no 2 lounge. OK all you handyman types. I open my house for ideas and inspection. Since I am god in our house I can pretty much put it where ever. I might mean buying an expensive benchsaw for the oh at some point but in the end I will prevail ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interfecus Posted January 28, 2003 Report Share Posted January 28, 2003 Firstly, insulate it well and get rid of that draught. The floor should also be insulated, many people miss this and concrete floors conduct heat to the earth very well. This should save alot on heating. Secondly, I would suggest installing solar heating as it can actually generate a lot of heat. Keep a reasonable sized backup heater just in case though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted January 28, 2003 Report Share Posted January 28, 2003 Hi Jaze, I asked the same thing a while back and the replies are here. http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=88 Lots of info and ideas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted January 29, 2003 Report Share Posted January 29, 2003 Go certral filtration. If you have a UV steriliser it makes it a lot safer. Dump the RCD. I know its good for safety, but if there is a power cut and your are out, the RCD will trip and there will be no more power until you reset it. Instead, put all your heaters and pumps into one sump. Into the sump put a reasonable sized stainless steel plate connected to earth. If anything goes wrong with a heater or pump it will trip the circuit breaker instead. Good, reliable and safe! Its what I've done, and I even tested it to make sure it works by breaking the glass on and old heater that was stuck on with a plastic pipe. There was a bit of fizzing and sizzling for about 1-2 seconds and then the 10A breaker tripped. I had a probe in one of the tanks at the time connected to a Digital Volt Meter on peak hold on the AC current range (measured between probe and earth). It peaked at 0.6mA. You would feel this, but thats all. Its certainly not going to kill you, just give you a little tickle. By comparison, an earth leakage breaker will not trip until 15 or 30mA depending on the type. This will just about throw you across the room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted January 30, 2003 Report Share Posted January 30, 2003 insulate the whole room the better job of this that you do it will pay off in winter heating and helps stop the room over heating in summer, I use sheets of 50-100mm poly then line the room over the top of this with sheets of ply/hardboard etc. Must use treated timber for any construction. Tank racks sit on concrete floor not on top of the poly used in the floor insulation, you need to cut the poly to fit tight around the base of the stands. Its good to have a water proof floor covering lino etc makes it very easy to wipe up the spills. I heat the whole room with a fan heater on a room thermostat this gives cooler temps on the bottom shelves for grow out tanks and warmer temps up top for spawning, and with out the need for mass wires heaters thermostats etc, also lets you can have some tanks empty or half full etc Run a main air line around the whole room so that it is easy to just join into and so that air pumps can be in one area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joze Posted February 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2003 because it will need a bit of building work (1 wall to be built) and lining, I am seriously thinking about unscrewing the gib from the wall and filling with high quality insulation. The room itself is a half built kitchen to make downstairs a self contained flat. The previous owners put in an old bench, gibbed and then abandoned the project. Plumbing is not in but can be installed very easily. Power is also into the room. It will be a fair amount of work, but I may as well do it properly the first time around. The fllor also has drainage which is a bonus and the bore well and pump are under the stairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joze Posted February 3, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 because it will need a bit of building work (1 wall to be built) and lining, I am seriously thinking about unscrewing the gib from the wall and filling with high quality insulation. The room itself is a half built kitchen to make downstairs a self contained flat. The previous owners put in an old bench, gibbed and then abandoned the project. Plumbing is not in but can be installed very easily. Power is also into the room. It will be a fair amount of work, but I may as well do it properly the first time around. The fllor also has drainage which is a bonus and the bore well and pump are under the stairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted February 7, 2003 Report Share Posted February 7, 2003 I am seriously thinking about unscrewing the gib from the wall and filling with high quality insulation. While you are unsrewing the gib, throw it away, your room will get very humid and the gib will absorb any moisture, unless of course it is the latest wet area gib that is for sale these days. We have painted hardboard for linings in our fishroom which will withstand moisture and mould and is easily cleaned As for an RCD, I use one which is wired back to mains, its money well spent in my opinion /Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted February 8, 2003 Report Share Posted February 8, 2003 Folks, Although not directly connected with this thread, I thought I say that my fishroom wall frame went up this afternoon. Just got to track down some good sheets of polystyrene for insulation and some lining material, then get the door organised and I'll be well on the way. Woo-hoo! Thanks Daniel (in case you're reading this ). Andrew, getting closer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 8, 2003 Report Share Posted February 8, 2003 Bring a van to conference Andrew as we have a factory here that makes polystyrene sheets any size you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midas Posted February 8, 2003 Report Share Posted February 8, 2003 Do they make high density polystyrene? as opposed to the normal stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted February 8, 2003 Report Share Posted February 8, 2003 Just got to track down some good sheets of polystyrene for insulation Hi Andrew I have quite a bit of poly here Get in touch and we can sort something out /Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted February 8, 2003 Report Share Posted February 8, 2003 Caryl said... > Bring a van to conference Andrew as we have a factory here > that makes polystyrene sheets any size you want. I'm a bit tighter schedule than that, thanks though Caryl. Actually, there's a place here that sells the stuff too. I'm just investigating cheaper options since I need a bit. Thanks again, Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 9, 2003 Report Share Posted February 9, 2003 Midas, I don't know about high density but they make those huge insulated cooler units, among other things, that have 2 sheets of metal with the poly sandwiched in between. They also make specially shaped poly containers for transporting bottles of wine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joze Posted February 9, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2003 I have been thinking about the concertina type poly for under the house anyway, di I A. Just continue with the poly in the wall that has to be built ?OR B. Use expensive insulating wool in the wall? I am thinking about leaving the chest freezer in there as a working space and external heat source. Not only that I would have to find a new home for it. Vibration from the freezer isnt a problem and I have it sitting on a proper pc technician's anti-static mat. Since this truely is a long term project (mainly planning and explaining tank purchases), I want to do it properly. On this note why is it that cheap tanks only seem to be selling in Auckland grr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis Posted February 9, 2003 Report Share Posted February 9, 2003 do u have a trader magazine in your area they a good way to get cheep tanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted February 9, 2003 Report Share Posted February 9, 2003 Joze said... > ... why is it that cheap tanks only seem to be selling in Auckland grr. If they know you're looking for them, they go into hiding. They will re-appear once you've paid top dollar for others. I *should* have some spare tanks available once I've set up the fishroom. I've been stashing them away and have about 75 of assorted sizes at the moment. I'll probably end up with 50 or so in the fishroom, mostly smaller ones. Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 Hey Andrew ... Do you have any three or four foot tanks? I have seen your little ones (no offence :lol: ) but no larger ones lurking in your shed. One like your new community tank would be nice. Let me know. Has the fishroom progressed further than the supporting wall yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 Cat said... > Do you have any three or four foot tanks? Not at the moment. Most of them are 2ft and under. > Has the fishroom progressed further than the supporting > wall yet? No, not really. Sorting out the polystyrene this weekend (via Bruce in Napier) and the wall lining (via Daniel) so things should start progressing again after the weekend. Then it'll be time to work on the stands. It's getting closer, but I WANT IT NOW!!! I've only been waiting 15+ years... Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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