Fish Room Design

[dtum]

I am in the process of designing a fish room for my 260 gallon tank upstairs, this room is in the basement and I'd like your help in making it as streamlined and convenient as possible.

Here's the first try that will give you some idea of what I'm dealing with.

<img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3724/10971623426_9709eca699_b.jpg" width="744" height="517" alt="FishRoom 0.1">

 

[dtum]

And here's a shot of the actual room

<img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2808/10971654995_343c256d7e_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="Fish Room progress">

 

[Skrilla]

Very cool

 

[Octobot]

What specifically are your functionality goals of this room?

 

[kelrn98]

few suggestions...

Make sure the smaller "RO" area between the sump and fuge is large enough or maybe the container is small enough so that if you need to remove the container, say for cleaning you can.

Consider a dedicated circuit/breaker panel for your fish room.

Plumb into your existing plumbing drain lines so that you can streamline water changes w/ no buckets.

Invest in a dehumidifier.

 

[dtum]

What specifically are your functionality goals of this room?

That's an excellent question, here are my goals:

• Hold a large sump, plumb in a refugium and a frag tank
• Easily perform weekly maintenance, cleaning, water changes
• Have a couple of quarantine tanks
• Make the whole system upkeep as effortless and automatic as possible (long term)

 

[dtum]

few suggestions...

Make sure the smaller "RO" area between the sump and fuge is large enough or maybe the container is small enough so that if you need to remove the container, say for cleaning you can.

Consider a dedicated circuit/breaker panel for your fish room.

Plumb into your existing plumbing drain lines so that you can streamline water changes w/ no buckets.

Invest in a dehumidifier.

Thanks, electrician and HVAC guys are coming over the weekend, so hopefully I will have both. For dehumidifier, I know that some people use an outside vent hooked up to a humidity sensor. Not sure which one is more effective.

I will update the diagram with plumbing once I sort out the big ticket items and where they are in the overall layout. Thanks!

 

[dtum]

The outstanding questions I have so far are:

- whether to use vertical or horizontal RO / saltwater containers (roughly 55-65g each)
- which corner to put those containers and whether to stack them or have them side by side
- whether to use a pump for a water change or gravity

 

[StevieK]

well this looks very interesting ...

 

[d2mini]

For water changes, you should be able to use gravity to pull water out of your display, down into the basement sink. Then you'll need a pump to pump the new saltwater back up into the display. You can use a single pump on your water station to do three things.
1) Pull water from the RO container to your Salt container.
2) Mix the water in the salt container
3) Pump the salt water to the display

I would pick up something like an Eheim 1262.

 

[iadubber]

I don't know, but I want your fish room!

 

[kelrn98]

. For dehumidifier, I know that some people use an outside vent hooked up to a humidity sensor. Not sure which one is more effective.
!

I guess I never considered the possibilities of living in lower humidity climates. Here in Biloxi we have nearly 100% humidity at all times. It's worse outside than in my fish room. I placed an empty bucket I washed in my garage to dry and 2 days later it was still wet. Crazy huh. You design looks good. Wish I had that much space. No basements here in the south, again the humidity.

 

[StevieK]

For water changes, you should be able to use gravity to pull water out of your display, down into the basement sink. Then you'll need a pump to pump the new saltwater back up into the display. You can use a single pump on your water station to do three things.

Then how do you know how much water you have drained? Are you measuring the amount in the sink?

Depending on your drain location and if you have access to it. The easier way is to drain from the sump a marked amount and then pump back into the sump and start the system back up.

 

[jefathome]

Not sure I have any pics of my fish room, but for water changes here is what I did...
It is all based off of a 55g tank, but the vessle you use is up to you.

The 55g has one drain bulkhead on it and a standpipe. This drain then splits right away with one line going to the sump and another line going to the house drain line. Each has a ball valve on it. I also have a split off of my return pump going to the 55g water change tank.

My water change process couldn't be easier. Starting with an empty tank I....
1) Close the line going to the sump and open the line going to the house drain line (I keep the drain open in case I forget to turn off my RODI and I overfill the holding tank)
2) Turn on my RODI unit and fill the water change tank
3) Add salt and mix
4) Close the line to the drain and open the line to the sump
5) Open the line off my return pipe and let the water circulate for a day or so
6) Close off the return pump line (now the tank is filled with mostly "dirty" water) and the drain to the sump
7) Open the valve to the house drain line and unscrew the stand pipe, thus emptying the entire tank.... and I'm back to the start.

Pros: You don't have to measure anything and the water change actually happens somwhat gradually since water from the return line in my sump is just displacing "new" water in the holding tank and the holding tank water only drains at the rate that you are pumping 'dirty" water in from the sump.

Cons: SOME of the water I end up with in the changing tank is "new" water... My system, accounting for actual water volume (not rocks and sand) is 125g display, 60g Fuge, 30g sump and 47g water change. That is 260(ish) total volume. So when I mix it all togehter the water change tank is 18% of my total volume, thus I'm "wasting" about 8.4g of new water.

Hmm... Thinking aobut it more, if I keep the water change tank on-line longer then really nothing is wasted. I'm just closing off 47g of the main system, draining it all and then replacing it with new water.

 

[d2mini]

Then how do you know how much water you have drained? Are you measuring the amount in the sink?

Depending on your drain location and if you have access to it. The easier way is to drain from the sump a marked amount and then pump back into the sump and start the system back up.

There are several ways you could answer that question.
Personally, I let my profilux handle my water changes automatically every night, using level sensors to determine the exact amount drained and filled.

 

[StevieK]

There are several ways you could answer that question.
Personally, I let my profilux handle my water changes automatically every night, using level sensors to determine the exact amount drained and filled.

Appologies Dennis, thought this was the OP latest idea. Names are quite similar to a fast typing stiff.:headwally:

 

[d2mini]

No problem. It was a good question and you are probably correct in that it would be better to pull from the sump in most cases. I was just pointing out that if gravity was a must-have, it could probably be accomplished a couple different ways.

 

[igot2gats]

The outstanding questions I have so far are:

- whether to use vertical or horizontal RO / saltwater containers (roughly 55-65g each)

This is a no-brainer, no? Wouldn't you save more room if you went with vertical?

 

[dtum]

This is a no-brainer, no? Wouldn't you save more room if you went with vertical?

I am afraid I won't be able to stack the two of them together with enough space to open the lid to put salt it in. Each one is 47'' high, and the room is just under 8 feet.

 

[dtum]

Not sure I have any pics of my fish room, but for water changes here is what I did...
It is all based off of a 55g tank, but the vessle you use is up to you.

The 55g has one drain bulkhead on it and a standpipe. This drain then splits right away with one line going to the sump and another line going to the house drain line. Each has a ball valve on it. I also have a split off of my return pump going to the 55g water change tank.

My water change process couldn't be easier. Starting with an empty tank I....
1) Close the line going to the sump and open the line going to the house drain line (I keep the drain open in case I forget to turn off my RODI and I overfill the holding tank)
2) Turn on my RODI unit and fill the water change tank
3) Add salt and mix
4) Close the line to the drain and open the line to the sump
5) Open the line off my return pipe and let the water circulate for a day or so
6) Close off the return pump line (now the tank is filled with mostly "dirty" water) and the drain to the sump
7) Open the valve to the house drain line and unscrew the stand pipe, thus emptying the entire tank.... and I'm back to the start.

Pros: You don't have to measure anything and the water change actually happens somwhat gradually since water from the return line in my sump is just displacing "new" water in the holding tank and the holding tank water only drains at the rate that you are pumping 'dirty" water in from the sump.

Cons: SOME of the water I end up with in the changing tank is "new" water... My system, accounting for actual water volume (not rocks and sand) is 125g display, 60g Fuge, 30g sump and 47g water change. That is 260(ish) total volume. So when I mix it all togehter the water change tank is 18% of my total volume, thus I'm "wasting" about 8.4g of new water.

Hmm... Thinking aobut it more, if I keep the water change tank on-line longer then really nothing is wasted. I'm just closing off 47g of the main system, draining it all and then replacing it with new water.

Thanks, this is a great idea that I've seen executed several times. And I do like it a lot. There's just one issue that I see with it, you may then not have any pre-mixed saltwater on hand if you will need it for some other tank (quarantine tank for example).