Hiya Everyone,
So exciting news, my wife has decided that she wants to move her crafting area to our spare room, and that leaves me with a bunch of extra room to expand my fishroom. Of course, the day after we talk about it, I come across an amazing deal on some tanks, someone was shutting down their fishroom, and selling it off. 32 new tanks, mostly 20s and 30s.
All of them are drilled, and most have their internal plumbing and bulkheads.
Still some stuff to move out of the space, then I can start building.
I brought a couple of tanks in the house, then decided to snap a picture of the delivery..
Jody
Amazing! Keep us posted on the progress pictures. I'm excited to see how it turns out.
WOW , this man is severally infected ;D.
Keep the progress reports coming.
that is a crazy amount of tanks! Looking forward to updates!
Okay..after a couple hours of planning, measuring, drawing, remeasuring, redesigning. . I think I have come up with a workable design for the new fishroom.
Not exactly what I wanted but it give me a fair bit of working room in the tanks and around them.
First step is to clean out the stuff there now..then go wood shopping.
Sadly, the ceiling of my fishroom is just over 7 ft high, so really, I can really only do 2 tanks high if I want working space.
Jody
470 feet of 2 x 4s and 1100 screws purchased..
Next weekend they build begins.
Jody
Wow thats gonna be alot of work, good luck!
Okay, so a bit of an update.
I was finally able to get all the racks in place, a big job which involved moving 2 75 gallons and a 33.
Two of the 4 racks are fully done, the other two still need reinforcing and leveling.
Ran into a slight snag and have to remove and replace all the bulkhead, due to leakage. But I should have 11 tanks running on sponge filters by the end of the week.
Picture to come.soon
Jody
A couple of pictures..
Still lots of work to do.
15 tanks ready for final water testing, 6 more to be cleaned and then the big rack is done, beyond putting in the centralized system. Parts are on the way for that.
The back two racks still need leveling and bracing, along with cleaning and plumbing, so a couple of good days of work for them.. but it is coming along.
Jody
Can`t wait to see the finished room in person, thanks for updating.
I need to see the rack construction closer, looks like i can steal some ideas ;)
I'm jealous of you Jody. Curious how are water changes going to be handled, how much and how often?
I use a python for water changes. I try to do about 20% every couple of weeks. Eventually the systems will be a bit more centralized so the water changes are very easy.
The systems I have now, I can change 10 tanks in a very short amount of time.
But I make sure that each tank can be shut off from the main system, for quarantine purposes.
Jody
So how long is 10 tanks to changes. Are you draining with a pump and filling with the Python. I've managed weekly water changes of 50 percen in 2 20 longs, a 33 long, a 75, and a 55 in just over an hour unless it's filter cleaning time. Then add an hour. You have taken on a big responsibility. Have you considered central plumbing the tanks for filling or I'm I misunderstanding.
So I just did a water change on the big system. 4 56 gals, 4 20 l with a 33 gal sump. I took out about 60 gallons, using a pump hooked up to my python to drain and then just filled with the python. it took about 35 minutes to drain and fill.
Eventually, I will have 5 maybe 6 systems running and a handful of individual tanks. Way too much work to have to do them all separately.
I would love a tour of your fish room! If you need any volunteer help I'm available Mon-Thurs evenings.
Once I get everything neat enough and running I will certainly be open to giving tours..lol
Right now it is a bit of an obstacle course getting through.. just going over stuff now..at one point there were some crawl under places..lol
Quote from: Jody on November 04, 2017, 08:57:56 AM
Once I get everything neat enough and running I will certainly be open to giving tours..lol
Right now it is a bit of an obstacle course getting through.. just going over stuff now..at one point there were some crawl under places..lol
I don't feel i could invite myself over but I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's done!
Okay, I have 15 tanks up and filled. The filters will be going in shortly.
I have to clean and get the plumbing on 6 more tanks to get the first two racks going.
Need lots of airline tubing too..lol
Are you filtering and heating each tank separately or are you building an integrated system?
Currently each tank will be filtered on it's own, but soon there will be an integrated system connecting them together. I am just waiting for the parts to arrive to get them running.
great updates :) I'm looking forward to seeing this up and running!
So I was able to get 13 tanks up and running today with their filters. 2 more tanks are filled, with 6 more that have had a slight set back.
I had purchased some plumbing parts from Rona which fit a 1" PVC pipe nicely. So not realizing that brand matters, I purchased the same fitting, different brand, from Lowes. They have a slightly larger inner diameter, which means the 1" PVC just falls through. Not a huge issue, but it means I will have to go out and get some 1 1/4" pipe tomorrow.
I have hooked up my new fishroom air pump, the EcoPlus Commercial 5 Air Pump. 1300 gph and 8 watts.
Running the 13 tanks, is no problem, and I should easily be able to add another 30-40 tanks to it with no issues (hopefully). It is a bit loud, but that is because I have 6 of the 8 valves turned off, but once they are opened it quiets right down.
Jody
Are you planning on setting up a automatic water change system?
No, I am not thinking of doing an automatic water change system at this point, but may set up an auto top off system.
So finally got all 21 tanks filled with my homemade filters running on them.
I have one tank being used as a quarantine tank for some fish for a client who's tank I work on.
I do need to run a bit more airline as I have a few tanks that are running low flow with how I currently have it hooked up.
I picked up some LED strip rolls, so that will be the next project on this rack.
Following that, I will start on the next two racks..
Jody
Is your airline in a loop, From what I have seen and read if your airline loops around and re-connects at the pump it will eliminate the air pressure drop off at the end of the run, as there is no end of run.
Yep, that is an eventual plan to get a closed loop air system..for now the pump manifold has 8 outputs I can use though..
So I was able to get another rack of 4 tanks cleaned up, with bulkheads put in today. Still have a couple of things to do to get that rack running. I have to get some 1x3 to give the tanks a bit larger lip to sit on, install the internal piping and get the sump set up.
While cleaning the tanks, I found two that were cracked. One I was able to patch with a piece of glass, as it was just a small bit in the top corner. The second tank was a write off as it was cracked across the bottom. I have no idea if I got it that way or it happened during one of the tanks shuffles in the fishroom. I didn't notice it until I was cleaning the layer of dust/dirt off the bottom. Not a giant issue, as there was 1 tank that didn't really fit in the rack space properly, and it opens up some space for another slightly smaller tank or two that will fit the space better.
Next week, I will be going to pick up all my plumbing, and can get the systems running 100%
After a lot of back and forth trying to decide whether to run the new tanks as 3 or 4 systems. I decided on 4, which allows me more options as far as water conditions go. It will be 2 racks of 4 30gals, 1 rack of 12 20s and a rack of 8 20s (plus two non-plumbed 20s). This will also make it much easier to do the plumbing as well.
Jody
So Santa came early today. I picked up all the plumbing parts I ordered and I am now set to get the racks fully set up.
Of course it does pose some problems as many of the tanks are full of fish and a number of them are set with pH adjusted low, and will require some rearranging..
Jody
Today was a productive day. I was able to take advantage of the mild weather to do some pvc gluing and I now have one of the new small racks fully plumbed, and just waiting for glue to dry/cure.
I have spray bars mostly done for the two big racks as well. Plus, I put together and glued the output for one of them. That was the part that needs the most precision in the cuts and gluing. As it connects 3 tanks, every piece needs to be exactly aligned or it won't work. It is currently airing outside, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it is all good.
Once I get that in place, I can hook up the sump/filter, rearrange a few fish and then the first 8 20's are fully online.
Still a couple of projects to do after that. The output plumbing on the big rack (12 20s), plus the filtration for it.
A full small rack to finish as well, 4 33 gallon tanks, plus a 20 long sump. This is removing and replacing old bulkheads,
installing internal plumbing, figuring out filtration and adjusting the rack. I installed the bottom level slightly lower than I would like, and makes some space issues for working on the sump. Also, I designed the rack larger than needed (as there was another tank that was supposed to go on which ended up broken), I want to cut it down. This isn't a huge job, and will actually provide me with more room for some fry rearing containers. I am running out of space for them currently.
Jody
If you had a camera crew or a head mounted go pro - you have yourself a full scale documentary on mass set ups... or even ur own reality show! Seriously .. you need to do some video documentation! There are people that struggle to know where to start when they have a growing number of aquariums.
Awesome progress Jody!
Are you taking pictures of your work/progress?
yea, i would love to see some progress photos too but I'm sure you have enough work to do building the whole room!
Thanks for the updates, can't wait to see it finished.
I haven't been keeping up on progress pictures too much. Mostly concentrating on the work..
Maybe I will do a little video in the next couple of days.
Jody
Okay a few current pics of the fishroom.. still a work in progress, and quite a mess.
So there are two pics of the long wall. A total of 21 (eventually 22) 20 gallon tanks. These are all up and running with homemade box filters, and will be set up with plumbing soon hopefully. There will be 2 stand alone 20s, one system of 8 and one system of 12.
The other pic is my shrimp tank, some hatching boxes with my boesmani rainbows, and my live food cultures on the bottom.
So here we have the newest rack, almost ready to go online. Just a bit of testing and running to do on it, and then it should be good. Hopefully, I will get that done tomorrow.
There is also a picture of the rack I need to redo, and some tanks still to be cleaned. This rack will eventually look like the other one. 4 33s and a 20 long sump.
Then a long look at the back row of tanks. one side will have the two racks, and on the other side 2 75s and a 33. Though I am contemplating switching out the 33 with a 65 instead.
Okay the last pics for tonight.
This is one of my homemade box filters that I am using on most of the tanks. I will be keeping them running along with the main sumps on all the tanks. This just gives me a bit of extra back up, in case I need to shut off a couple of tanks for any reason (quarantine new fish, small fry rearing).
This is my male boesemani rainbow and one of the spawning mops that they filled with eggs. So far closing on 100 fry.
The last picture is the currently fully running area of the fishroom. Lots of stuff all over the place there as well, but once everything is up and running, I will be able store a bunch of stuff under the racks..
Jody
Wow that's impressive.
What media is that in the middle of your filter?
Thanks!
That filter has eheim ehfi substrat pro media, but I am using whatever I have for the extra bio media. Some have bio balls, some biomax.. it is a lot of biomedia so I made due with what I can find.
Jody
Wow. This is coming along nicely. Looks like you are converting the whole basement into a fishroom. Once you are done, you should come over and finish mine ... :P
Thanks!
It is only most of the basement..lol
Okay, so one more rack up and running.
One concern I had with the plumbing in the tanks is that it is a single stand pipe overflow. The thing I don't like about that, is if there is a clog or blockage the only place for the water to go is over the sides of the tank.
So I came up with this. I reduced the height of the stand pipe, put in a tee with a 45 degree attached to the side. Then put in some quilting plastic as a screen on the side.
This gives a backup just below the rim of the tank so flooding should be avoided. I feel much safer with this system in place.
Great fix, good idea. Is this a preventative/proactive fix or was this reactive as a result of a problem? With so many gallons in the room, what if there was a major problem, where would the water go? Is there a drain close by?
It is totally proactive, based on past experience.
The drain is in the other room, but depending on the size of a flood the damage should be minimal. No hardwood floors, just linoleum.
Al my other tanks have a similar idea overflow which works well and has prevented a couple of potential floods.