Rec/Game/Fish room Layout/Ideas

[spinnerbayt]

I am in the process of adding a 1500 Sq. Ft. addition to my house and the basement is going to be a Rec/Game/Fish room. Here is what I have come up with.

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I know there are many of you that could give me other ideas/layouts. Iteams I already own are 265g aquarium, pool table, air hocky table, treadmill, and the bowflex if my buddy will give it up.
The addition is under roof, walls/ceiling are insulated and most of the sheetrock is hung, doors & windows are in and the basement concrete slab is in. The stairs are going in this weekend and I have spoken to a drywall finisher. Its getting ever so closer for me to start setting up the 265 which brings me to my next question. As you can see I have a room behind the tank so I need plumbing, sump, fuge, ideas. Give me your .02 cents

 

[stevebeaver]

i am in the getting ready to build in the future , you plans look pretty good, looks about like what i am planning on. except my tank will be on the main floor and fish room in the basement, only other thing i always wanted to do was buy one of those big white screens and a nice projector and have a movie theater setup, and its cheaper then a big screen.

 

[carb850]

Very nice! I would love to have such a room in my place. Looks like you have plenty of room behind the tank so the sky is the limit.

Main Display
Is the tank drilled? If your not already, I would consider a closed loop system for flow.

Sump
I would pick up one of those large industrial rubbermaid that is in the neighborhood of 100G (+/-). Use a nice external pump for the return.

Refuge
Since 55G tanks seem easy to come bay use on of those for a refugium.

Frag
I would setup a 30G breeder tank for this use.

Water Changes
Will you have water line ran to that room? I can only assume you would. I would be thinking about easy water changes.

Cooling
Recently I saw a thread with one of the TOTM's and it had ducts running from the MH reflectors. I'm not sure if they were blowing in or sucking out but I'm thinking probably the later. During the summer months it would be neat to have a system were you could blow the hot air from the lights out a vent like cloths dryer but in the winter months direct that heat into the house.

Skimmer
Do you have a skimmer yet? Your going to need a monster for this much water volume. Talking about 450G (+/-).

Remote Deep Sand Bed
I would setup another tank with a deep sand bed. If you ever need to change out the sand you can do so by simply taking it offline and never effecting your main display. This could be done with a rubbermaid container I assume.

 

[spinnerbayt]

Tank is reef ready. It has 4 holes drilled 2 supply, 2 returns. I have an old 75g that I was thinking of using as a fuge. I am planning on using some type of stock tank as the sump. I have a skimmer that I want to mod and make a recirculating skimmer. I think it will be big enough but if not then I'll replace it later. I don't think I want to deal with a closed loop. When I start setting it up I'll look for some Tunze pumps and maybe a wave box. I will get some type of large bin to store my Ro/Di water for water changes and top off. I could use a 55 for a DSB or combine it with the fuge. I could also use another smaller tank for a frag tank or I could use some egg crate and build a rack in the sump.

I have to build a stand for this thing so what do you guys think about using 2x8's all around or do you think I need more?

 

[carb850]

Since you have an equipment room and your not trying to maximize space under the stand you can do center supports. With center supports, I figure 2x6's would be plenty. I'm sure their are others much better suited to answering that question though.

Do some type of rack were your FW is above your SW container, so a simple opening of the valve will transfer the water down. If your saltwater container sits higher than your sump then you could do another valve off to it.

 

[spinnerbayt]

That would make water changes cake! I also spoke with a guy just a few minutes ago about maybe doing a steel stand coated in truck bed liner. I may see where I can get with this idea before I worry about a wood stand.

 

[carb850]

Large thread going on with steel stand on the DIY board. I considered that route myself but it was going to cost me a good bit more and be a lot higher skill level involved.

I wonder what the advantage and disadvantes are of using one material over the other? If space was a concern still makes for a much more compact frame. What other things differ between the two?

 

[spinnerbayt]

Well I may have a lead on the materials...cheap/free and labor...cheap/free. If that doesn't happen then it will be wood.

 

[carb850]

This is a great thread for steel stands if you haven't seen it already.

 

[jmccown]

my 380g has a wood stand - 2x6's. Professionally built though...by yours truly, lol.

 

[spinnerbayt]

Well if your using 2x6's for your tank then I would think they would work fine for mine. How is your's braced?

 

[LtPiper]

I want room for one!!!!

If I ever manage to get a bigger place.....

 

[package]

I think I would also go the rubber maid container route for a sump. No fear of it ever being an issue, easy to drill yourself for an external pump, no fear of it ever leaking, light does not pass through it so less crude will build up on the sides (this is the best route to go). I would also use a second rubber made container for a resevior of salt water. I have a barrel and keep 40g, but if I had the space it would be 100g (that would make a nice round monthly water change. I also keep a 40g barrel of top off water underneath it. This will run me about a week 210g display + 75g sump, you would likely want something bigger.

On a side note, a closed loop is not a problem to deal with. Three holes - 1 drain up high and 2 returns in the bottom corners - this is the best way to keep flow on the bottom area of the tank and it takes no space compared to a Tunze and will cost you a fraction of the $ and space if you attempted to put 2 Tunze units in the bottom corner + you do not have to dig the CL out to clean when those annoying buzzers start.

I use exhaust fans as described above dumping into the crawl space under the house year round. I started to do the heat thing in winter but the wife vetoed due to smell.

If I had a fish room behind my tank, things I would change - larger sump (100g rubbermaid) mine is 75g glass. External return pump (reduce heat, improve Eff%), my space is limited. Drilled my tank for closed loop on the back corners as opposed to piping it. This would reduce head loss and I would have got more bang for the buck. A way to drain a determined # of gallons of water (like a valve in my sump) for quick water changes when not doing a cleaning.

With the heat generated from the lights the tank, heating it will never be an issue, cooling the tank and the room will be. The biggest factor controlling the temperature of my tank is the room temperature where it is sitting. Give consideration to exhausting from the room.

 

[krdill]

Looks good so far. I have a 220 set up in my basement with a fish room behind similar in size to your layout. There are a couple of things I would change if I did it again.
ROOM, ROOM, ROOM! I never seem to have enough room around the tank. Your access to get into the tank is drastically impacted by the wall. I do not have enough room at the ends of my tank to work in it. I did not put access panels in the wall above the tank. I should have! My tank is 30" deep and sits on a wood stand that I built using mostly 2x6's. Top of tank is just under 70" from the floor for viewing while standing, my tank is in the wall on the bottom of your layout behind the sectional. To get to the bottom I need to use a step ladder. So height of tank is another thing I would probably change and make it shorter. When I need to get to the bottom, I almost need to stand on my head on a ladder behind the tank.
Probably the biggest issue though is the heat build up in the room. I have doors on the two walls adjacent the tank wall with a fan running almost constantly just to clear heat from the room. You walk into the room and can typically feel the difference in heat.
I put in a utility sink and an additional drain. My RO/DI unit is also in the fish room. These things come in pretty handy. I'd hate to lug 30 gallons of SW for water changes out and in every week or two.
Back to the room issue. Don't forget about all of the equipment. By the time you put everything in - tank, return pump, skimmer, chiller, plumbing lines, ATO, RO/DI, controllers, lighting and and ballasts, etc.- that 9' x 11' room gets used up really fast.
HTH, PM with any specific questions.

 

[spinnerbayt]

Yeah, I figure it won't take long to fill the room with all the equipment. I do have plans on having front access through doors in the wall above the tank. I think I may build some type of elevated walk way behind the tank so that I don't have to worry about a step ladder. I will have the RO/DI in the room also.

 

[krdill]

Sounds like you've got it under control. I've seen a lot of the access doors above tanks that are outlined with light. It may not bother you, but I don't like to see the light "through" my wall. Do you have a way to block that light? Speaking of light, depending on your TV type (plasma in particular) you can have some nasty glare if you sit in the wrong seat. I have an LCD projection TV and still get quite a bit of glare, and the TV and tank are about twelve feet apart and at 90degrees to each other.
As far as your elevated walkway, do you plan on making it removeable or hinged somehow? I spent a lot time thinking about that, but if it's permanent it seems like a lot more room that is lost. I'm kind of leaning toward a library style ladder that I can run on the bottom of my floor trusses above, but for now it's just a step ladder.

 

[spinnerbayt]

I was thinking about putting some type of curtain up that I can just pull across the front of the tank when watching the TV if glare is a problem. As far as the walk way I'll just have to get a little farther along before I get all that figured out. Right now thats just an option. I don't like the light spilling through the cracks either. I have a few ideas on how to keep it from doing that but again I'll figure that out when it gets a little closer. We have been working the past few days on the stairs and getting them in. I hope to be finished with them by this weekend. Its getting old going outside to get back and forth betweend the two levels.