Travis and Jessica's 400G Build

All three at 1.5
The emergency will always be dry so no fish or snail would go down it. No algae to block it either.

It is best to put the drains in the middle, that way water from the overflow will be equal speed from the farthest point toward the drains and not cause turbulence or any slurping air effect.
 
All three at 1.5
The emergency will always be dry so no fish or snail would go down it. No algae to block it either.

It is best to put the drains in the middle, that way water from the overflow will be equal speed from the farthest point toward the drains and not cause turbulence or any slurping air effect.

If I place the bulkheads in the middle I will not have easy access in case any maintenance needed to be done. I would be able to use a ladder for top access but behind the tank I will only have 6.5" of space to work with under the external overflow between the tank and the wall and I don't think I would be able to squeeze in there and reach. I think we are going to be forced to have them off to one side of the overflow.

How far should I space these holes apart from each other so I have room to work on each one? 6" sound reasonable?

If the BA doesn't work I like having the option of swapping over to the dursos with an emergency. One way or another this should work out just fine.
 
The overflow I am having built, including external, will have the bulkhead from the tank offset from the drains. To allow better access.

6" is reasonable.

Placing the drain exactly behind a hole may cause ripples and such depending on flow or varying water height.
 
Well that settles that. Thanks guys, this whole overflow thing with dual 70 page long threads was making my head spin :spin3:

Three 1.5" bulkheads, all off to the left side of the overflow spaced 6" apart from each other. I am going to get on the phone and let AGE know right asap.
 
With this being a 400g, how many pass through do you have? From the overflow to the drain area?

There should be at minimum 2. Just for support, stability, and more importantly flow. All it is is a hole anyway.

-- -- - --

Nevermind I just looked again at the build cad drawing. It is on the back wall.
 
With this being a 400g, how many pass through do you have? From the overflow to the drain area?

There should be at minimum 2. Just for support, stability, and more importantly flow. All it is is a hole anyway.

-- -- - --

Nevermind I just looked again at the build cad drawing. It is on the back wall.

Yes you got it, the weir is CNC'd right into the back wall.
 
Travis and Jessica's 400G Build

https://vimeo.com/117642076

One of my overflows/durso drains. No gurgle, no waterfall sounds, no air sucking. What little noise you do hear is from the sea swirls on the return lines.
 
Last edited:
Nice. My 180 sounds the same way. Everynow and then I block my top hole to make sure things are running good. Sucks it right down.
 
**Update**

Due to the logistics of the basement fishroom (tons of plumbing and drilling through floor joists to dodge the up and over) we have decided to change the plans a bit. The wall that the 400g is up against is the garage on the other side. We are going to frame up/insulate a fishroom inside the garage along this wall. Something around 8'x8'x8'h. The garage extends out a bit on both sides of the garage door so there is plenty of room out there. This should also help keep the humidity out of the house.

The one small downside is there is no sink/faucet out in the garage. But I will be able to run the ro/di lines out there no problem. I could plumb a drain and run some cheap PEX plumbing lines for a faucet but we are wondering if it will really be needed? May even take up valuable space in the fish room. We will have a 4'x5'x2' (300g) sump/mangrove/frag tank eating up a large chunk of the fishroom already. And we are going to set up an auto water changing station, taking up another decent portion of the room.

One of the best parts about the garage fishroom, Jessica is really happy to be keeping the fishroom out of the laundry room/basement. You know what they say, Happy Wife = Happy Life. :)

Going to pick up the lumber for the stand today, I like working with wood so should be a hoot.
 
As long as a sink is not too far. Cleaning out a skimmer and taking it inside the kitchen makes for a mad significant other. (BELIEVE ME... That is why I am divorced now.. HAHAHAHAHA)
 
Travis and Jessica's 400G Build

Having just built a fish room in my garage a few months ago all I can say is go as big as you can. My room is 12x7 and I currently have tanks on 3 of the 4 walls. 8x8 will fill up very very quickly!
 
The tank dimensions are 96.5 x 36 x 27H, the front and both sides are starphire glass. We decided on these dimensions after looking at "olddudes" threads, you could say his awesome setup inspired and got us to actually pull the trigger.
What a great compliment - thank you. I am looking forward to following along with your progress.
 
You will want a sink and taps for cleaning and maintenance in the fishroom.

Dave.M
Yeah after what you guys said and thinking about it a bit, we are going to run a sink and water. The easier its is to clean in the fishroom, the cleaner we will keep it.

As long as a sink is not too far. Cleaning out a skimmer and taking it inside the kitchen makes for a mad significant other. (BELIEVE ME... That is why I am divorced now.. HAHAHAHAHA)
:bigeyes:

After hearing this we are running a sink no doubt about it! :lol2:

Having just built a fish room in my garage a few months ago all I can say is go as big as you can. My room is 12x7 and I currently have tanks on 3 of the 4 walls. 8x8 will fill up very very quickly!

Now that you mention it your right we might as well go a little bigger, we only get to build the fish room once so we want to do it right. We are going to do 8x10, that should give us a little extra room for a small sink. We are also planning to put a bunch of shelving up.

My good friend is a Journeyman, he said he will stop by tonight after work and frame up the room in around an hour. Gotta love a little help from your friends.

What a great compliment - thank you. I am looking forward to following along with your progress.

:thumbsup: Keep up the awesome work, we are glad to have you following along!
 
I would have loved to have a sink in my fish room but the best the builder would do is put a hose bib on the wall in the garage where I was going to build the fish room. Even that drew attention from the town inspectors when they came in for their final inspection. But since the weather is nice down here most of the times its easy to take my skimmer outside the garage and clean it near the sewer drain.
 
I would have loved to have a sink in my fish room but the best the builder would do is put a hose bib on the wall in the garage where I was going to build the fish room. Even that drew attention from the town inspectors when they came in for their final inspection. But since the weather is nice down here most of the times its easy to take my skimmer outside the garage and clean it near the sewer drain.

Our plan was to hose everything off out front. We even have a hot water tap in the front for the hose. But with Minnesnowta winters I think that will be pushing it a bit too long and we would end up cleaning stuff inside the house. I was also going to just plumb a sink with the drain going out into the rocks in our yard for waterchanges but I thought about it and that would eventually create an ice rink out there come winter :lol:
 
Well it is time to give this thread a little substance!

Here is the stand. Still need to seal it and skin it.



Here is the view from the entry way when you first enter the home.




Here is a photo from the dining room table area, its a nice spot for the tank because you will be able to see it from so many different areas of the home (dining room, breakfast bar area, living room and entry way). Try and ignore the ghetto sectional couch, we have a new sectional that we are getting to replace that couch so we wanted copy a sectional until we get it :lol2:


The dogs never miss a photo opportunity. I have caught the black one listening for the t5's to click on and then heading over to sit in front of the tank for a little viewing session. They are both awesome and love the fish, sometimes I think they are waiting for one to jump out, wrasse fish stick... :lol:


Here is a photo of Ella to even it out. She is a blue Doberman, although its hard to tell in the low light.
 
Back
Top