Large aquarium in small room?

[victor_c3]

I'm working on buying a house and my wife and I come to a compromise about my future aquarium's placement. The good news is I can go as big as I want to. The bad news is the room is 9' x 13' in size.

Does anyone have a large aquarium in a small room that they could share a picture of?

I'd like to go big, but I don't want to create a room that isn't aesthetically pleasing. Any ideas or thoughts on tank placement and dimensions? I think I'd be best off putting the tank on the 9' wall and going something lik 8' x 2.5' x 2.5'. Any thoughts?

 

[dave.m]

Define "aesthetically pleasing". Everyone's tastes and perspectives vary so widely that it would be impossible to answer without knowing what you're after.

Dave.M

 

[sfsuphysics]

Where are doors & windows in the room? Can you give a sketch?

All of this depends upon where entry ways are, but you could go the entire 9 foot wide (ok, 8 foot is more common so go that direction) have a crawl space under the tank to get to the back) which is a 3 foot deep area to work behind, and if you do 30" of tank that still leaves 7.5 feet of "viewing room".
Another idea is along the same lines as the first but physically walling off the tank which will make the room smaller (9' x 7.5') with this big tank in as a window. You could go in the long direction too for a really long tank and perhaps have access be from the front only.

With a small room you want to think mainly 1) how am I going to access the tank for maintenance/cleaning and 2) how do I want to view the tank. 1) some of my ideas cover it, 2) are you just going to stand and watch? going to want barstools? couches? Either way don't plan on the room being anything but a tank room if you want a big tank, not a dining area, not a living room, it's gotta be a room for viewing your tank.

Oh and also keep in mind if you can get the tank into the room, if it's off a hallway you're not going to be able to turn an 8' tank to get in the door, you'll have to cut a hole in the wall (remove a window).

And what Dave said, those ideas I gave could work for me, would they work for you? I dunno.

 

[victor_c3]

Thanks for your thoughts.

I murdered my computer the other day by spilling a cappuccino into the keyboard so I don't have the resources to do a good sketch up on my phone. However, I can try to give you the idea of what the room looks like and how it is oriented in my house.

The 'o' symbol is blank space
The '#' symbol are doors (one small closet and the entry to the room)
The '=' is a window in the room
The '-' and '|' are wall segments.

___________________________
# o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o |
# o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o | G
# o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o | a
.| o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o | r
.| o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o | a
# o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o | g
# o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o | e
# o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o |
-----------========------------

So, again, the room is 13' long by 9' wide.

After giving tank installation consideration, placing the tank along the garage wall would be the easiest bet. I could put some doors in place of the wall once the tank is installed to gain access to the back and sump area.

I like the idea you had on makeup my it solely a room to view the tank. I believe with the right colors, textures, and furniture / access I could really make the room feel even smaller than it is and make the tank feel even bigger than it is.

As soon as my computer dries up I'll see about putting a sketchup of what is on my head in this thread.

 

[sfsuphysics]

If your garage is insulated (or you have a fairly large garage) you could have a "fish room" in there, even if it's not insulated you could wall off an area to keep it contained then the tank could go against the wall and all cleaning access would be from the front.

I would not block the window off with the tank (hard to tell how far it is away from the wall, but if you keep the tank too far from the wall that might be a concern.

 

[cleanmyaquarium]

can you put it in the garage and cut a hole in the wall to view it? that is what I did and I love it. you wont lose any space in the room but yo sacrifice some of the garage. you can see mine in the 785 gallon reef in ct build thread.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

 

[victor_c3]

can you put it in the garage and cut a hole in the wall to view it? that is what I did and I love it. you wont lose any space in the room but yo sacrifice some of the garage. you can see mine in the 785 gallon reef in ct build thread.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

That is almost exactly what I think I'm going to do. Thanks for the idea.

However I only have 16" between the garage wall and the garage door so I'll effectively shrink the room to 10' wide by 9' deep the tank will be primarily accessed from the back and the sump and other equipment will be accessed from the garage as well.

I read through your build thread and I will make sure to be able to access the front via a removable panel as I won't be able to get to it from either sides.

I'm really tempted to go and get a 36" or 42" tall aquarium. I'm a little guy with short arms and I know it's going to be a major hassle, but if I spend a decent amount of money on the tank then I'll be stuck with it and I'll be forced to deal with it! Honestly though, once the tank is set and running I hardly ever have had to reach into the tank for much of anything.

Again, thanks.

I'll try to work on a snazzy sketchup this evening.

 

[Brian Crook]

Do you have a plan for the rest of the room (ie. furniture layout or other purpose for being in the room?)

The only advice I can offer would be to try and make the room a comfortable and satisfying place to be *without* the aquarium. Perhaps an array of books and comfortable furniture for reading and relaxing, or a small sectional and chair alongside a nice stereo system. How do you envision people in this room when it's all said and done? What would make this room a desirable place to relax in, other than just looking at the aquarium?

I made an error in the placement of my first large aquarium, and though friends and family always loved viewing it, it was definitely an awkward place for it so after "standing around looking at the tank" for 15 minutes or so, it was time to move on. I am now rectifying that with my new build.

Is it possible to knock down the north-most wall (I assume the rest of your house is behind there)... Or how about converting it to a half-wall to open up the space?

Just some thoughts; interested to see what comes from this project!

 

[dave.m]

The only advice I can offer would be to try and make the room a comfortable and satisfying place to be *without* the aquarium.

Huh? How could that possibly be? What use is the room without an aquarium in it?

Dave.M

 

[Brian Crook]

Hah. Perhaps I should have worded it differently, but you get the idea.

 

[A_CoupleClowns]

Does this room have a basement underneath it or is it directly on a cement slab?

 

[sfsuphysics]

Hah. Perhaps I should have worded it differently, but you get the idea.

Nah, you worded it fine, however that said if company wants to look for 5-10 minutes then leave to elsewhere in the house all the better. Last thing you need is some grubby fingers touching your nice tank, and maybe someone with a wedding ring runs his hand along the tank leaving a scratch in the wake (true story).

True lovers of the hobby will be fine in the room, those are who you want to cater to besides yourself, everyone else... well there's a back yard.

 

[rovster]

How about the aquarium at the front f the room seal
It off and make the space behind it your fish room? What's across the street from the room?

 

[SDBDRZ]

A couple things that havent been mentioned. I have my tank in my home office which is 13x13. One of the walls does access the garage however I did not want to give up garage space for an in wall tank or deal with the heat/cool issues since the garage is not climate controlled.

The tank in my office is 5x2x2. Not a large tank but it fits well in the room. Because the room is relatively small I wanted the tank to be as quiet as possible so all equipment was selected based on noise. I wouldn't want a bunch of fans running, loud pumps, etc.

I ran a 150CFM variable speed exhaust fan from the ceiling in the room to the space above the garage. With any large tank in a small room you have to consider heat, evaporation, etc. The exhaust fan makes the office as comfortable as the rest of the house. Even with my small tank in a slightly larger room my exhaust fan runs at nearly full speed 24/7

I went with an LED/T5 fixture. I would not want to be in a small enclosed room with a bunch of halides putting off heat and the noise of fans trying to cool them.

Light bleed into the room is a huge issue. My fixture is hung above the tank and when I sit in a chair in the room light bleed is definitely an issue.

In the garage I have my RO/DI top off, salt mixing etc. I plumbed a Genesis system through the wall for top off and water changes.

I have it laid out so that everything is contained in the sump other than the Genesis system. I could have put as large of a tank as I wanted in the house, wife wouldn't care but because I spend a lot of time in my home office I went with the largest tank that I thought was ascetically pleasing while also allowing heat and noise to be kept to a minimum.

For example, I initially went with a Gyre 150. Even the relatively small amount of humming noise the pump puts off when it ramps up is incredibly annoying in a small room. I switched out for MP40QD's

 

[victor_c3]

A couple things that havent been mentioned. I have my tank in my home office which is 13x13. One of the walls does access the garage however I did not want to give up garage space for an in wall tank or deal with the heat/cool issues since the garage is not climate controlled.

The tank in my office is 5x2x2. Not a large tank but it fits well in the room. Because the room is relatively small I wanted the tank to be as quiet as possible so all equipment was selected based on noise. I wouldn't want a bunch of fans running, loud pumps, etc.

I ran a 150CFM variable speed exhaust fan from the ceiling in the room to the space above the garage. With any large tank in a small room you have to consider heat, evaporation, etc. The exhaust fan makes the office as comfortable as the rest of the house. Even with my small tank in a slightly larger room my exhaust fan runs at nearly full speed 24/7

I went with an LED/T5 fixture. I would not want to be in a small enclosed room with a bunch of halides putting off heat and the noise of fans trying to cool them.

Light bleed into the room is a huge issue. My fixture is hung above the tank and when I sit in a chair in the room light bleed is definitely an issue.

In the garage I have my RO/DI top off, salt mixing etc. I plumbed a Genesis system through the wall for top off and water changes.

I have it laid out so that everything is contained in the sump other than the Genesis system. I could have put as large of a tank as I wanted in the house, wife wouldn't care but because I spend a lot of time in my home office I went with the largest tank that I thought was ascetically pleasing while also allowing heat and noise to be kept to a minimum.

For example, I initially went with a Gyre 150. Even the relatively small amount of humming noise the pump puts off when it ramps up is incredibly annoying in a small room. I switched out for MP40QD's

Thanks for advice.

The room will basically be a small den / guest bedroom where my parents and in laws will sleep the three or so times a year they come to see the kids. Noise is a concern, but not the primary. I didn't think about the cooling that would be required with halides (exhaust fan noise) - which is good to know.

I've been dreaming of getting a large system for years and this is pretty much my chance to go for it. We're buying what I hope will be the last house I buy for decades to come as my kids are 5 and 7 and we are getting tired of moving the around every 2-3 years.

My vision right now is to lop off a 4' section of the 13 x 9 room and turn it into a 9 x 9 room. The 4' x 9' section would house a 6' long x 4' wide x 3' tall (540 gallon) tank which would primarily be accessed from the garage. All of the equipment would be housed in this 4' x 9' space and I'll redo the garage wall to have bifold closet doors that I could open up to gain access to the tank/sump. The tank will only be viewable from the front pane.

As far as furniture goes, I'm thinking I'll go with a pull-out couch and one accent chair. I might place a smaller coffe table or a small and short entertainment center sort of piece to put my junk in the room, but that might make it seem too cluttered. I'm a wannabe cabinet maker so I might put some smaller built-in pieces strategically in the room instead of any sort of storage furniture to help ease the feeling of clutter.

I foresee this room being primarily my refuge in the house or what term as my "dad den".

In general, I believe most people place their aquariums too high to be seen comfortably when seated so I'll place the tank 24" off the ground. With a 3' tall aquarium that puts the center of it at 42" from the ground, or about eye level for an average sized adult when seated - the same rational you'd follow for placing a TV in a room at an ideal height.

The sump area is the biggest challenge I foresee. I can't extend the area behind the tank more that 1' or so into the garage without interfering with my ability to park cars in the garage and the room sits directly on a concrete slab which makes it impossible to route plumbing or anything to the basement of the house. I've never tried to break up a concrete slab before and I imagine trying to gouge out a several foot long and 4-6" inch wide trough it would be a lot more work than I'm willing to do.

I know I keep mentioning this, but I really need to get around to doing some decent renderings of the space I'm thinking about.

 

[victor_c3]

A lot has happened since my last post in this thread, but unfortunately not much progress has been made with my tank build. I did close on the house and begin to move in around the middle of October, but various projects around the house and packing/unpacking has been taking most of my time. After Christmas I plan on making some serious progress however I'm going to also be busy spending time redoing my kitchen and two bathrooms as well.

So below is a picture of the room the display tank will be placed in. The room is 13' x 9' and it will become my "œdad den" as I call it. It'll be my primary retreat in the house and my music practice room. When my parents or inlaws come to visit the kids, it'll be the guest bedroom.

Since the room is small and adding a large aquarium will make the room even smaller, I figured I would go with the small size of the room and feel even smaller and cozier. That will be done through the use of darker colors, natural wood, and built in cabinets. As mentioned in a previous post, I'm currently planning on lopping off a 4' section of the room and placing a 96" long x 30" tall x 36" or 48" wide tank (roughly 450-600 gallons). Below is a rough sketch of what I've come up with so far for how the room should look.

I plan on putting the tank on a 24" tall stand to make viewing it from a seated position on the couch more comfortable. Eyelevel for a normal person is right around 40-42" when seated and this would place a person's eyelevel right at the center of the tank.

I'm planning on primarily accessing the tank from the back (garage side) of the tank. However, the front of the tank will be able to be accessed for feeding and cleaning purposes. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to work that in yet. I'm not 100% happy with the cabinets pictured in the design, but that is roughly what I'm considering.

The room is actually right on top of a concrete slab, but there is ductwork under the room that I could route plumbing through so I could build a sump and a tankroom in the basement 20' away. However, as the ductwork in the concrete is used for heating, I'll have to disconnect the room from the furnace. I would like to redo the floor in faux wood tile and I'll build in radiant heating into the floor when I do this. So that solves the problem of heating the room.

I'll go into further detail on my plans for the tank, equipment, and the tank room in a future post. Any thoughts, ideas, or comments are welcome!

Thanks,
Victor

 

[FishTruck]

I like your plans.

I have a tank in a smallish room and made the mistake of building the stand to facilitate viewing from the standing position. Putting it low, like you plan to do, is a good move.

The thickness of the glass or acrylic is something to consider. Mine is 1.25 inches thick. It's fine when standing far from the tank, but, when sitting right next to it, it can create some distortion. If you can live with center bracing, you won't need ridiculously thick tank walls.

Consider shaving your 30 inch height to 24 or 26 inches for easier maintenance.
Also, consider your back wall. Scraping the back and side walls of the tank is my least favorite chore. Covering it with rock (the out of style "rock wall") or having garage access to scrape the back wall will be good to think through carefully.

 

[victor_c3]

I like your plans.

I have a tank in a smallish room and made the mistake of building the stand to facilitate viewing from the standing position. Putting it low, like you plan to do, is a good move.

The thickness of the glass or acrylic is something to consider. Mine is 1.25 inches thick. It's fine when standing far from the tank, but, when sitting right next to it, it can create some distortion. If you can live with center bracing, you won't need ridiculously thick tank walls.

Consider shaving your 30 inch height to 24 or 26 inches for easier maintenance.
Also, consider your back wall. Scraping the back and side walls of the tank is my least favorite chore. Covering it with rock (the out of style "rock wall") or having garage access to scrape the back wall will be good to think through carefully.

I plan on being able to open a 6" tall door on the display side of the canopy (without any real effort) and installing the bookshelves above the tank so that, with a little finagling (i.e. taking off the books and spinning a couple of screws/bolts), I could remove them and have unobscured access to the front of the tank. The back of the tank (garage side) will be the primary means of access to the tank.

By center brace, you don't mean placing a brace running through the front of the viewing pane of the aquarium? I'm planning on going nuts with bracing across the top of the aquarium and even a steel frame on the corners. I have no stomach for tank failures (especially with 450+ gallons) and I'm going to over-engineer with that in mind.

I've put a lot of thought about what height my tank should be. Logic tells me that 24" is the way to go in terms of ease of maintenance, but 36 or 42 is where I really want to be in terms of aesthetics. 30", to me, seems like a good middle ground. It'll be a little bit of a pain in the *** to get the bottom, but not enough so that I'll be hating the tank.

Thanks for your thoughts.

This morning I determined that the wall I want to place the tank in is not a load bearing wall so that will make the project much less intimidating to me. I'll only be limited by the size of the hole I can cut in the wall and the size of my garage door when it comes time to get the display tank.

 

[FishTruck]

I plan on being able to open a 6" tall door on the display side of the canopy (without any real effort) and installing the bookshelves above the tank so that, with a little finagling (i.e. taking off the books and spinning a couple of screws/bolts), I could remove them and have unobscured access to the front of the tank. The back of the tank (garage side) will be the primary means of access to the tank.

By center brace, you don't mean placing a brace running through the front of the viewing pane of the aquarium? I'm planning on going nuts with bracing across the top of the aquarium and even a steel frame on the corners. I have no stomach for tank failures (especially with 450+ gallons) and I'm going to over-engineer with that in mind.

I've put a lot of thought about what height my tank should be. Logic tells me that 24" is the way to go in terms of ease of maintenance, but 36 or 42 is where I really want to be in terms of aesthetics. 30", to me, seems like a good middle ground. It'll be a little bit of a pain in the *** to get the bottom, but not enough so that I'll be hating the tank.

Thanks for your thoughts.

This morning I determined that the wall I want to place the tank in is not a load bearing wall so that will make the project much less intimidating to me. I'll only be limited by the size of the hole I can cut in the wall and the size of my garage door when it comes time to get the display tank.

Mine is 30 inches deep - it's doable. 36 would be painful.

By a center brace, I am talking about the top support brim of the tank. Mine is Eurobraced to avoid a support going across the top of the tank - in the center. Allows for easier access to the tank, and less obstruction for lights. Also, if you are going to use Halides - a center brace can get hot and crack. The downside of a rimless or eurobraced tank is that the tank panels must be thicker. That's all great, and the tank could probably take a bullet - but, it's hard to find magnet scrapers, power heads, to fit and it creates a lot of visual distortion at close angles.

Since I don't use metal halides anymore, the center brace would be o.k.

 

[Kaidman]

I know this throws plans completely up in the air, but have you considered moving it to the wall that is backed up to the family room? Cut out a hole in the wall for viewing from the family room. That way people don't have to go out of their way to see the tank, including yourself. My new tank is in the family room, which can be seen from the kitchen and dining room. With it being front and center, it helps keep me on top of maintenance etc. If it were in it's own room it might start getting neglected a little.