600 gal display/900+ gal build thread in the Chicago 'burbs.

[mako199]

Well now that the important stuff is done (Keg) It will be smooth sailing for you from here on out.

Not sure what your plannig for the light rack but heres mine . It rolls out of the way so I can acess the tank. the info on parts and how I buit it is farther down in the thread.

Movable Light Rack Link

 

[ox5477]

What the hell is your profession?

Start the thread by saying your house is 3000+ sq ft plus another 1650 in the basement and thats not a very big house?.....

Then your redoing the whole basement, which is quite the expense even if your doing alot of the finishing work yourself....

Plus you just put a ton of fish tank/stand down in your basement.... not even including the water, fish, corals and equiptment.....

I wish I could throw money around like this haha

and I'm not trying to be an a$$, just saying that I'm jealous and you must be very lucky!

 

[wmilas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13289054#post13289054 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Oldtimer
I see you went with the two Fantech fans. Weren't you considering an HRV at one point or am I mistaken?

Also, why two fans and not just one with a passive duct if the room is sealed?

I'm debating whether or not to install a fan for now and see how it works before shelling out the cash for the HRV. We have similar climates so it'll be interesting to compare notes.

I was considering an HRV. After consideration and monitoring the basement temperature after the basement was completely done and hooked up to the lower level HVAC system I realized that the basement is actually going to be cooler in the summer than in the winter. I insulated like a madman downstairs and the cool air form the hvac system, even with the supplies closed downstairs and the returns open, still keeps it on the chilly side. Because of this I don't see myself having to keep heat in in the winter. If anything I might need to exhaust it. Hence I went with the two Fantac fans.

As far as why I went with the active instead of passive intake. I T'd off a large intake that the downstairs HRV uses for its fresh air intake. I was afraid that the small fantec exhausting wouldnt be able to compete with the massive blower in the hrv and would be starved for air. I also bought the super low wattage fantecs so the energy used really inst a factor.

If I end up needing a HRV I can simply take the fantecs out and use the same duct work for intake and exhaust. I don't think I'll need it though.

 

[wmilas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13289141#post13289141 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mako199
Well now that the important stuff is done (Keg) It will be smooth sailing for you from here on out.

Not sure what your plannig for the light rack but heres mine . It rolls out of the way so I can acess the tank. the info on parts and how I buit it is farther down in the thread.

Movable Light Rack Link

Thanks for the link. I'm thinking I want to do a hybrid of something like this. I want to build the water storage/fuge area and sink area and see how much room I have left to slide the lights overhead.

 

[wmilas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13289545#post13289545 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ox5477
What the hell is your profession?

Start the thread by saying your house is 3000+ sq ft plus another 1650 in the basement and thats not a very big house?.....

Then your redoing the whole basement, which is quite the expense even if your doing alot of the finishing work yourself....

Plus you just put a ton of fish tank/stand down in your basement.... not even including the water, fish, corals and equiptment.....

I wish I could throw money around like this haha

and I'm not trying to be an a$$, just saying that I'm jealous and you must be very lucky!

I run a small business

House is 3500, basement is 1650. 3car garage but only use 2 of the bays, 3rd is my woodshop. Landscaping is over the top, but again, I do all the maintenance and stuff. My back yard literally looks like a park with flower gardens

I worked a long time and saved my pennies for this house and the tank build out. You can save alot buy doing much of the work yourself, just like when you do the tank work yourself. Its the same thing really. I can't sit still and constantly have to be doing things or else I go batty.

 

[Lunabud74]

I aspire! I ASPIRE!

Slow day at work and have read the entire thread thoroughly. Put simply, I am in absolute awe of your build. This is absolutely freaking fantastic!

Will be back for more!

 

[joe1584]

So where are some pics of the basement coming together and the start of the tank build..

 

[wmilas]

Was going to take some pictures tonight but I'm trying to clean up the mess Maybe this weekend

 

[ox5477]

sweet, nice to own your own business, but also tons of work... but I guess if your someone who can't sit still and is a hard worker, then its the perfect fit. I too will wait for updated pics.... and can't wait for the plumbing and equipment to start coming together for the tank!

 

[Oldtimer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13289610#post13289610 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wmilas
I was considering an HRV. After consideration and monitoring the basement temperature after the basement was completely done and hooked up to the lower level HVAC system I realized that the basement is actually going to be cooler in the summer than in the winter. I insulated like a madman downstairs and the cool air form the hvac system, even with the supplies closed downstairs and the returns open, still keeps it on the chilly side. Because of this I don't see myself having to keep heat in in the winter. If anything I might need to exhaust it. Hence I went with the two Fantac fans.

As far as why I went with the active instead of passive intake. I T'd off a large intake that the downstairs HRV uses for its fresh air intake. I was afraid that the small fantec exhausting wouldnt be able to compete with the massive blower in the hrv and would be starved for air. I also bought the super low wattage fantecs so the energy used really inst a factor.

If I end up needing a HRV I can simply take the fantecs out and use the same duct work for intake and exhaust. I don't think I'll need it though.

Sounds like a good plan. I'd prefer to avoid the expense of the HRV if possible. What model fantec did you purchase? How big in diameter are your ducts? Do you plan to regulate the fans with a thermastat/humidistat or run them 24/7? I'm leaning towards a single fan with a thermastat/humidistat.

What are you doing for cooling by the way? Are you chilling the room or the tank itself or both?

 

[wmilas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13294516#post13294516 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Oldtimer
Sounds like a good plan. I'd prefer to avoid the expense of the HRV if possible. What model fantec did you purchase? How big in diameter are your ducts? Do you plan to regulate the fans with a thermastat/humidistat or run them 24/7? I'm leaning towards a single fan with a thermastat/humidistat.

What are you doing for cooling by the way? Are you chilling the room or the tank itself or both?

I installed the FR 100's. 13-19 watts used and 125cfm at 0 head pressure. 4" ducts in and out. However the 4" duct is T'd off a 12 " duct coming in for the HRV. I put flappers on the termination of both 4" ducts. On the outside for obvious reasons, on the inside because I don't want fishroom air to get pulled back into the HRV, or cold outside air to leak into the fishroom when the fan is not on.

I plan to use a thermostat/humidistat to run the system, along with a timer. I want to run it a few minutes an hour no matter what to shed CO2 and bring in O2 for the tank.

As far as cooling, in the winter time the ducts will bring in all the cold air I can handle Its the summertime thats the issue. However its much cooler downstairs that I thought now that its insulated and there will be thermal leakage into that room. The room also will sink heat into the large concrete floor. If that is not enough what I plan on doing is:

1) Maybe install another fantech to pull air from the house into the fishroom and at the same time evacuate it with one of the already installed fantechs. I'll do this if I only need minor cooling. The issue here is I'll have to run the HRV if I do this to bring makeup air into the house so I don't de-pressurize the house. I don't really want to do this.

2) Install a split AC unit, or a split chiller depending on just how bad the heat load is. Either way the condenser is going outside I kind of prefer the split AC as it will also dehumidify and they aren't any more expensive (aside from installation) than a good split chiller.

 

[Oldtimer]

I like the 4" duct. I have a vent on the basement window in my fishroom that would easily accomodate two 4" ducts. Smart move with the flappers.

I like your plan to use the timer. I also want to control based on temp/humidity, but want fresh air to be circulated for the very same reason you mentioned.

You mean winters are cold in IL too?

For summer, I was leaning towards a split AC unit possibly along with a chiller, but that may be overkill.

I would also stay away from bleeding air into the fishroom if possible. I don't like the negative pressure implications. Also, you're relying on the rest of the house to remain consistent in temp. I don't know about you, but we like to open up the windows and get fresh air in the house (A/C off) frequently duing the summer. Of course, we don't have an HRV in our 25 yr old Lennox, but that' getting fixed next year.

I expect to have to do some tweaking to get everything working seamlessly. At least your taking a pragmatic approach and not throwing everything at it all at once.

 

[wmilas]

Things are progressing. I spent the last week cleaning clutter up in my garage workshop and cleaned up the basement. Although I could spend another month adding nick knacks to the workshop, (I have a few projects that I want to do) I'm switching over to fishroom stuff while I await carpet and more wood stock to finish the trim.

Here is a shot of my workbench. I recently made the shelves and the curved brackets that support them:

Here is the storage rack I was working on earlier in the thread. Its completely filled up with junk now

This little baby is functional in the bar downstairs. It makes projects oh so much more enjoyable.

 

[wmilas]

People have asked about my HVAC system. I took some pictures to explain.

In this shot you can see the furnace (duh) and the fantech fan pulling air off of the fresh air intake and injecting it into the fishroom (its on the other side of the wall to the right)

In this shot you can see the HRV and the plumbing nightmare going into and out of it. You can only see the left side supplies.. the other side is above the HEPA in the next picture.

Here you can see the HEPA. It pulls air from inside the house. Also, all air coming from the HRV (outside) is run through the HEPA before it hits the HVAC system. The top part over the HEPA show the other end of the HRV.

I have a twin to this system in the attic above the second floor (minus the fishroom stuff).


Here you can see the fresh air supply in the fishroom (left side with the flapper vent) and on the right you can see the second fantech that sucks air and pushes it outside (with another flapper on the outside)

For fun I put the HRV on high and opened the flapper in the fishroom. As I suspected it pulls air backwards from fishroom into the HRV so be warned, you need a flapper.

As you can see I ran all the electrical along the ceiling and not in the cieling because I'm not certain if this is where the vents will stay. This way I have more flexibility. Those blue things are non metallic hooks. the wire is the heavy duty super thick rubber Romex so it wont leach metal since its going to be so humid.

 

[wmilas]

So here are some shots of the basement so far.

Study shots:

Fishroom:

Plumbing for sink and direct sump and other saltwater drain:

Another floor drain.. its under all that tape

Having a central floor drain, a dedicated sump.tank drain, and a sink drain is going to give more the most drain flexibility (I hope

 

[wmilas]

Bathroom shots. I like how the MR16 spots light up the throne

 

[wmilas]

Tank and bar shots. Yes the trim inst done. I'm waiting on more stock.

 

[wmilas]

More mechanicals. The electrical and sump pump room is done. A second sump pump was installed with a big boy battery (not a car one along with a monitoring device. Its also wired to my home alarm system and can report its status at the panel. It knows if the battery acid is low, if the pump is detached, if the pump is not working, if the pump is being called on and the electricity is on this signaling the main pump as failed, ect.

The water inlet, sprinkler, and cleanout room:

 

[wmilas]

Plasma area:

Looking from plasma area to pool table area:

Other end of the basement

Bookshelves when you come down the stairs:

 

[wmilas]

What you see when you come down the stairs:

And lastly, the kids toy closet