Need Help Brainstorming

[bradleym]

Ok, so I have this idea... I have 3 8ftx2ftx2ft acrylic tanks that were gifted to me. But nowhere in the house to use them. I am kinda trying brainstorm the possibility of setting up an insulated room in my garage to hold this sytem. Without getting too involved right off, I want to throw my basic plot at you guys and see what comes back.

This is my garage as it stands now... Basically, this corner is clear, and the outer walls are well insulated. There is no ceiling above (just roof joists), and no HVAC for the garage itself.

My plan is to lay a thin insulated floor down in the corner (not pictured) then build a wall and ceiling around the corner housing the tanks stacked on top of each other. I will also build a front wall with a door (not pictured), basically making an insulated box. I will use the bottom tank as a sump and the top 2 as the dual displays. The water will be pumped from the bottom to the top, then flow through the middle and then back to the bottom.

I will have a AC vented through the front wall, and a heater in the room, to keep the room at a decent temp, then use a tank heater for finer adjustments. I will mount a small fan in the wall or ceiling to allow for some air flow for oxygenation... And that's about as far as I got. Is there any hope? Or am I missing something huge that will kill this idea? All input is appreciated.

 

[bradleym]

FYI the plan is to be mostly like a frag tank/workshop. I'll have some cleaner fish and a CUC but this will mostly be for corals and nems.

 

[dave.m]

Make sure to include a fan to draw excess moisture out of the garage in all weathers or you will end up with a mold and mildew factory.

Dave.M

 

[bradleym]

Excellent suggestion, thanks!

 

[dave.m]

Make sure you have a water source and sewer connection brought directly to where your tanks will be set up for ease of cleaning/water changes.

While you will want your actual tanks to be level it would be a good idea to slope the floor to a floor drain. A major spill is inevitable in everyone's life.

Also, make sure to seal the concrete floor. Many people use one of those epoxy kits with the little black and white dots scattered about.

Dave.M

 

[bradleym]

Hmm, no drain in the garage. That'll get ugly at some point... I was kinda thinking of wrapping the flooring with a lip so I can trap the spills and clean them up after.

Sealing the concrete is a good tip too, I didn't even think of that.

 

[bradleym]

Ok, since this hasn't seen any serious opposition yet I took some actual measurements, and realized I had some serious misconceptions about my layout in that first sketch. I went ahead and remodeled it as shown.

I roughed in some plumbing, made room to actually put things in the sump and hang some lights, and added a 2 inch floor under it all. My plan is to run a 1 inch pipe under the floor to a drain cover in the middle of the floor, then use the pipe as a drain to take the water from spills out of the garage.

Regarding the plumbing, the pipe up front is run up to the joist so that it will go over the doorway, and the drain will come across the back. I haven't made up my mind, but since the bottom 2 tanks are so similar in height, I think I'm going to have to drill the sump so the water can move across the room faster. Since the drain is gravity fed it will have a harder time with only a 6 inch height difference.

 

[bradleym]

Oh yeah, and I added 2 40g breeders for QT since I am a big fan of not crashing a system that big. I'll have to remake the top 2 shelves, but you get the idea.