Suggestions for Home Construction

[Jgoal55]

This thread is perhaps a bit premature, but finally, after 1 year, I received my permits to begin the remodel on a home we purchased 2 years ago. The remodel should take 10-12 months.

I of course am planning a large tank build and already have a pretty good idea of where I will be putting the tank. It'll be on the second floor above the garage in my office.

The idea I have in mind is to have all equipment and filtration in the garage and the display above. The garage will be climate controlled. I am installing a drain on the garage floor as well as a utility sink.

What I'm looking for are suggestions on things I should consider while building the house. Essentially, the room where the tank is being placed is being built from the ground up. So, it's a blank slate in terms of design. This is basically my "If I could build a room just for a fish tank, I would _______" moment.

What things would you include? What considerations would you keep in mind?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Nanron]

Suggestions

Suggestions

The area has to be braced to accommodate the additional weight. The return pump must be able to return at the height required. There are other blogs and recommendations from others who have done this. Pull up as much information as you can from others that have done this.

 

[Rogger Castells]

Make sure if possible that the second floor has large window or door openings to fit the tank after the build is finished, preferably from the outside.
Run the dedicated electrical outlets for both the tank area and the garage.
Run hollow tubes through the walls to run cables that you may need in the future (computer sensors, computer controllers etc)
Have them put extra insulation in the roof and perimeter walls to try to keep the room cooler.
Use moisture resistant wall materials like the cement boards on the wall behind the tank.
Install an exhaust fan on the roof to control humidity like the ones in bathrooms.
Install an A/C duct damper to control the amount of a/c coming into that room.
Make sure that the drains are big enough to avoid gurgling noises.
install a secondary return line JIC of any emergency you can have a secondary lifeline to your sump.

 

[ccasa004]

Put waterproofing under your flooring and up behind the wall board. Use moisture resistant drywall and keep it at least 1/2" up from the floor and cover the gap with the base board.

If you think you might hang your lighting put in backing in the ceiling.

All openings between the garage and the rest of the house need to be fire calked.

 

[rovster]

Google Mr Salwater Fishtank's 450 fishroom. There's a great video on YouTube.

 

[Jgoal55]

Thanks for the great suggestions guys. Ive started construction and shared some of this feedback with the GC, especially about supporting the weight which will not be a problem. One major decision I have to make is whether I will finally do Solartubes or not since that requires holes in my roof.

Rogger, out of curiosity, why would I want to control how much AC goes into the room? If anything, my main concern will be the tank getting too hot since that will also be my office (i.e. - multiple computers, electronics, etc always running). I'd assume I'd always want the vent wide open. That said, I usually keep my AC around 70-72.

Ccasa04 - why keep the drywall a 1/2" up? Just to allow air through? Great idea on waterproofing. As for the fire caulking, the garage is detached from the main house.

rovster - great video. Thanks!

 

[Rogger Castells]

The damper is to be able to control the amount of air that you are getting into each room, you know depending on the distance from the a/c unit some rooms maybe freezing and others are just fine or even hot in the houses, with dampers you can control the amount of air coming into each room, this would be particularly important if you like to keep the house very cold or mild, the idea is that you have the flexibility to control the temperature of that room without having to subject the whole house to the same.
The a/c vents are not good at doing this and should never be use to close the a/c specially in a high humidity room as they will get so cold and start sweating


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[ccasa004]

The gap between the floor and drywall is so if/ when you have a flood the drywall stays dry and does not soke up the water.

 

[rocsec1]

I did the same thing in the house we built. It is in the basement but not the garage. The one thing I wish I had done was make my fish room bigger. There is a closet next to it that would have been a great size addition. I've a drain, sink, and exhaust fan. The sink could have been bigger, but it works fine. The tank is on the other side of a wall. We had themm install two 4 inches holes for pipes and such. We had to add two more, so once you've decided the number or pass through s from the fish room to tank, double it. Also get larger holes or pipes then you think you need.

 

[jonnyu]

I would make a closet with a counter top and sink. Shelves,drawers and small fridge/freezer. This way you can have a dipping/ fragging/ fish food, and daily Maint supplies. As no one wants to go up and down stairs to get glue or feed the fish. I would have a outlet installed in that area for a coral saw, light or whatever else you might want to plug in.
For pump reeflo has some really good pumps for that application.


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[Daimyo68]

Adding a thought to others here... it might be wise to have a way for xxx gallons to drain out of that room also, in case of catastrophic failure. Better to let the water go down to the garage and drain out then to have it all across your second floor office and surrounding rooms.

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[rocsec1]

I have a drain and properly sloped flor in mine.

 

[Jgoal55]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far guys. Really good stuff. Keep em coming.

Can any of you suggest a good (read: EASY) rendering software so that I can begin laying out equipment and such?

As of now, I have a split unit AC where all filtration equipment will be. However, since it's a garage and garage doors are not insulated, I started thinking about the electrical costs of keeping the room cool (Of course, since I am not using it as a garage, I could technically seal the doors, but I want to avoid that).

So, while my original plan was to simply place all the equipment in the garage, now I am thinking of building an actual room in the garage. I'd like to begin layout to see if the room I can build is big enough. I am limited to how large the room can be while still maintaining a functional workout area (so that I can pretend I workout).

 

[McGee10]

Don't forget to keep the high voltage separate from the low voltage wiring (two conduits).
Also you said the sump is in the garage will the fumes from the cars be able to get to the sump (ie carbon monoxide)?
If it was me, I would run my skimmer vent line to the outside for clean air.

 

[dt204]

Depending on what size of room you would build, it might affect the use of it. Everyone with a fish room usually wants a bigger one lol I know I could use more room in mine.
I would say use the whole garage. Just insulate it well. I live in Canada, and all garage doors are insulated. I'm sure you could track one down. If you have AC, ventilation, and good insulation, you'll be golden.

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[Jason B]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far guys. Really good stuff. Keep em coming.

Can any of you suggest a good (read: EASY) rendering software so that I can begin laying out equipment and such?

As of now, I have a split unit AC where all filtration equipment will be. However, since it's a garage and garage doors are not insulated, I started thinking about the electrical costs of keeping the room cool (Of course, since I am not using it as a garage, I could technically seal the doors, but I want to avoid that).

So, while my original plan was to simply place all the equipment in the garage, now I am thinking of building an actual room in the garage. I'd like to begin layout to see if the room I can build is big enough. I am limited to how large the room can be while still maintaining a functional workout area (so that I can pretend I workout).

Hey, for rendering software i would use google sketch up. You can buy it for a few bucks a month or i think they still have a 90 day free trial. It worked great for me. You can even use the "follow me" function to map out plumbing in 3d. It takes a little getting use to but its simple once you get the hang of it.

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[Jason B]

Hey, for rendering software i would use google sketch up. You can buy it for a few bucks a month or i think they still have a 90 day free trial. It worked great for me. You can even use the "follow me" function to map out plumbing in 3d. It takes a little getting use to but its simple once you get the hang of it.

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This was when i was doing my plumbing...

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[Jgoal55]

Don't forget to keep the high voltage separate from the low voltage wiring (two conduits).
Also you said the sump is in the garage will the fumes from the cars be able to get to the sump (ie carbon monoxide)?
If it was me, I would run my skimmer vent line to the outside for clean air.

No cars in this garage! Lol. Ill put a sign on garage door that says fish only!

Probably still a good a idea to run skimmer line outside though. Always a good way to keep PH up a bit.

Depending on what size of room you would build, it might affect the use of it. Everyone with a fish room usually wants a bigger one lol I know I could use more room in mine.
I would say use the whole garage. Just insulate it well. I live in Canada, and all garage doors are insulated. I'm sure you could track one down. If you have AC, ventilation, and good insulation, you'll be golden.

Ha. I definitely want it bigger and I haven't even built it yet! Yeah, they do sell insulated doors down here but they are very expensive. Im actually thinking that I am going to take about half the garage and run my AC into that half. Then leave the other half for storage.

Hey, for rendering software i would use google sketch up

Awesome. I'll check it out. Thanks. Very cool how you drew that out by the way