North Dakota Mini-Ocean

Well the contractors started on the basement today. The only thing i am kinda frustrated about is the 6' wall will have a 2' door on the very left side, thus i only get a 4' front wall. The back wall will still be 6' so I will have to decide if i want the frag tanks on the front wall or the rear wall. If I put them on the front wall i can have larger bench space and I could possibly get another large sink in the room for cleaning station.
 
Good days work...

IMG00076.jpg
 
Wow...That tile is really coming out nice. So cool your getting a bigger fish room..man you sure do have the bug...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14781677#post14781677 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefaquariumnut
LOL :) I just can't stop...I have a problem
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I feel your pain!

Your efforts are well worth it, everything looks awesome, I just love that you're planning to expand the fish room already!!!:cool:
 
Bax - Well, I needed more space in the tank room than i originally thought. First, I realized I needed my second 100g holding tank in that room so I have 100g saltwater on hand at all times (now i just have 100g RO/DI). Secondly, it will allow me to have a sump pump in the room and put safety overflow measures on the display sumps. Thirdly, it would allow me to have another sump dedicated to small fish and plants (and a DSB) that would flow into the skimmer sump.

Well, I'm pretty sure going to buy 4-6305's and keep of the 2-6205's. That will leave me with 2-6101's for the frag tanks and 2 extra 6201's for emergency (or future needs of the tank).

Any thoughts what I should have in the tank room addition? I was thinking another 3' x 3' bench area on the right side and shelving on the left side with the frag tanks being on the back wall.
 
A beer tap off the kegarator, that is probably already located in the bar area, so you don't have to trek all the way out of the fish room for a fresh cold one. :beer: :D
 
A bench area is nice for water testing and thing like that. This is really an awesome build BTW. I'm pretty jealous:).
 
My biggest issue was not large enough of QT tanks, not enough water storage. Even though I have about 95g SW and 95g RO/DI, I was about to install a 200g RO/DI tank. 100g is just not enough on hand for top-off to multiple tanks, water changes, soaking media, and rinsing lab ware, buckets, etc. PLEASE consider this very carefully. I just don't feel 100g or RO/DI is enough on a large system.

My second biggest issue was not enough QT tank space. Ideally I would build a system for QTing fish and a system for QTing corals and clams. Deep tank with low light for fish, shallow tank with high light for corals. UV on both. I have my QT UV inline between the pump that feeds my skimmer and the skimmer itself, and turn it on only when I see a need.

I have stainless tables and do not recomend them AT ALL. But they look cool. :rolleyes: I also would have a much larger utility sink. Right now I have that standard laundry room type composite sink, but one at least twice that size would be much better for cleaning reactors. Since you are remodeling your tank room, here is another issue I would carefuly consider.

I have a refrigerator/freezer in my tank room, and if you don't already, that is super handy. It's not a full house size, but larger than a "dorm" size. Probably about 5' tall. Good enough to hold lots of frozen food, vitamins, beverages, etc.

I would also appreciate a flat screen that could display tank data and/or TV. Often I would like to keep track of the market so being able to watch CNBC while working in the tank room would be a plus. (OK, that's a little geeky)

If you post or send me a drawing of the current floor plan with the new space added, I will go over it and give you a couple of alternatives.
 
Keep in mind that in my case, the people that came to visit were often reef keepers and that because my tank room was so "unusual", entertaining actually took place most often in it, rather than on the viewing side of the tank.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14785255#post14785255 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
Keep in mind that in my case, the people that came to visit were often reef keepers and that because my tank room was so "unusual", entertaining actually took place most often in it, rather than on the viewing side of the tank.
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That's why, along with all those other great suggestions you made J, ... he needs a beer tap!

Seriously, I have a refrig & sink available in my back area of the shop and you can't beat it, were my system at home I'd do that too. The wife would just freak over mysids and cyclops getting all over her chicken cutlets!

And even with my small 240 g system, keeping enough RO on hand for every contigency is difficut, I'll be doubling that capacity, at a minimum, soon.

One more thing, If I had a work area in the fish room with a table or counter, I'd want it to be constructed to hold water and drain right to the sink or a bucket I could dump.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14785503#post14785503 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bax
One more thing, If I had a work area in the fish room with a table or counter, I'd want it to be constructed to hold water and drain right to the sink or a bucket I could dump.
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Good idea...I have a work counter butted right up against my sink so I can wipe it into the sink. I would say that the same rules apply as for building a kitchen, only with the ability to handle a LOT more water.
 
funny....i just called them today....that is outragious isn't it...i could make my own for a quarter of that.....i should say...i will make my own...lol
 
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