DOING IT RIGHT - BUILDING A FISH ROOM
by Richard Rice
London Aquaria Society, Ontario, Canada. October 1991
Aquarticles
We all, at one time or another, have said "If I'm going to get into fish, I'm
going to do it right." Doing it right, when it comes to fish, means making our hobby
as easy to keep as possible with the smallest impact on our living space. We all start out
with a community tank or two. Soon, we decide that to do it "right", we should
separate our fish according to species and provide the best living conditions possible for
each species of fish. We then discover that to do this requires much space and the living
room soon disappears. Our loved ones start to complain and we resist as long as possible
before finally, out of desperation, promise to build a room specifically for our fish.
This article deals with my personal trials and tribulations while building a fish room in
my parents' house.
It's hard to decide where to start. Should we put up walls and then pack everything in?
I thought of the types of fish that I wanted to raise and then calculated the gallonage
required to keep these fish. The result was then broken down into filtration requirements,
heating, air supply and shelf space. What I concluded was that my parents' basement wasn't
big enough, but neither was Buckingham Palace. I had to start with smaller aspirations. We
finally decided that the most appropriate way to go about it was to determine how much
basement we were willing to surrender. The dimensions of the room had to be based on the
size of the tanks we wished to use. Since we wanted to raise many different fish, we
should use smaller tanks so that more could be fit in.
Most tanks in the 2 1/2 to 30 gallon range can be put on a shelf that is 16 inches
deep. This value is convenient because plywood or pressed wood sheets come in standard
dimensions of 4 feet by 8 feet. A quick calculation tells us that from one sheet of
plywood, we can get three shelves that are 8' in length with a depth of 16" less a
sixteenth of an inch (or so) for saw blade cut off.
The next consideration was to determine the load carrying abilities of our shelves. We
decided to use 2" x 4" pine for the structures, because it was more likely to be
straight than the less expensive spruce, and not too heavy too lift once the shelves were
assembled. Water weighs about 10 pounds per gallon. Therefore, a 10 gallon aquarium weighs
about 100 pounds, plus the weight of the glass itself. The greater the length of the
shelf, the more gravity has an effect on its span. The ideal situation would be to have a
span only as big as the object it is holding. This, however, is not practical. A good
general rule is to support a shelf every four feet along its span. Also keep in mind that
a 4 foot shelf is easier to move around than an 8 foot shelf.
Knowing our approximate floor space, we made a sketch of the room boundaries and placed
cutouts of 4 foot and 8 foot shelves to optimize the space (actually I drew the room and
shelves using a computer, but that is not necessary.) Our room was to include a laundry
sized sink and appropriate counter space to facilitate cleaning out a 30 gallon aquarium.
From experience in the engineering field, I have found that it is much easier to move
something around on paper (not to mention less expensive).
Next, from our design, we marked the room dimensions on the floor. Using standard
building practices we built the appropriate walls to enclose our room. Some important
items to keep in mind when building a fish room include:
1. Insulate walls (and ceiling if possible) to reduce the cost of heating the room. The
room should be as airtight as possible to avoid having tank heaters heat the room.
2. Staple vapour barrier to the framing before securing the sheeting (gyprock). Fish rooms
are generally wet, so use greenboard instead of standard wall board if possible.
3. Use water resistant paints to prevent damage to the underlying materials.
4. If feasible, install a ventilation fan to remove some of the humid air from the room.
5. Place the shelving units far enough apart to allow for free passage between the shelves
and for bending room.
Anyone who has kept a larger number of fish knows that, in time, multiple air pumps,
heaters, lights, etc., tend to clutter up the room and can create a real rat's nest. This
usually happens when you're in a hurry to do something and you end up with 40 feet of
airline wrapped around your feet when you really need to use the bathroom after having
your hands in a tank of water. The design of our fish room incorporated as many built-in
features as possible. We went with one main air pump with all the distribution hose hidden
in the walls and ceiling to enhance appearances. The pump is capable of driving 70
airstones and should be more than sufficient. The room has four separate electrical
circuits coming in to prevent overloading any one system. The shelves have built in lights
and power bars all originating from one initial junction box. We used BX sheathed cable
(flex) to penetrate the ceiling and drop the junction box on the top of the shelf unit.
Each shelf unit can be disconnected from the circuit by separating only one pair of
conductors (the BX cable) and the shelf unit can then be removed from the room intact.
Each light can be controlled separately by using a switch mounted on the front of the
shelf.
The general philosophy behind the air system is to complete an air path of equal
pressure throughout the system. The easiest way to do this is to design the system on one
main loop. The pump forces air into the loop where it travels around the loop to each of
the drops to individual tanks. Any air that isn't expelled into a drop remains in the
system. This creates a closed loop. All exits from the loop will have the same air
pressure. In addition, the pump will have to work less because there is a constant
pressure in the system. Pumps, like people, will last longer when they don't have to work
hard.
The main loop was constructed using 1 inch diameter (inside measurement) reinforced
vinyl tubing. The tubing is buried entirely in the ceiling between shelves and penetrates
the ceiling to drop down at the leading edge of the top of each shelf unit. The drop runs
the length of the top shelf at the front and then penetrates the ceiling agin. The drops
to each aquarium were created by drilling holes in the main loop at the appropriate places
along the shelves. A brass valve is screwed into the drill hole and acts as the control
for the airline which is pressed onto the valve. The drops may be split as necessary to
supply the various tanks below. It is best to drop a separate line to each tank from the
main loop, because adjusting one line will not change the pressure in another.
The lights and power bars were wired with standard 2 conductor 14 grounded copper wire
with nylon R90 insulation. One important thing to keep in mind is always mount the power
bar above the device to be plugged in. This creates a downward loop with the cord. Should
water run down the electrical cord, it will drip off the bottom of the loop rather than
into the receptacle or power bar. This is, of course, an emergency measure just in case
one gets water in the fish room.
Accessories were added to the room for convenience. These include a portable pump used
to drain and fill tanks. The pump unit is basically a PONY pump mounted on a 3/4 "
plywood. The pump comes with a handle already attached which makes this unit completely
portable. A normal two-way household electrical switch was connected to the pump and a
long cord joined to the switch to facilitate moving around without having to find a source
of hydro. The inlet and outlet of the pump were mated with quick-connect joints used for
garden hose. To drain a tank, one needs only to join a short piece of hose connected to a
gravel washer (the end of a Python) to the inlet end and a longer hose directed to a drain
to the outlet side. To fill a tank only requires reversing the inlet and outlet hoses and
putting the long end into the water storage tank. A restrictor valve was added to the
shorter hose because the little pump threatened to remove all the inhabitants from the
tank along with the water. (It's always the little guy that tries to be the boss!)
A large 50 gallon barrel was situated in the room to condition the water prior to
adding it to an aquarium. This is very important because most urban water supplies contain
chemicals that can be detrimental to the health of the fish. In fact, it can change them
into frogs (they croak!). Letting water stand for about twelve hours allows certain
chemicals like chlorine to dissipate into the air, and also allows the water to adjust to
room temperature so that when it enters the aquarium, it doesn't shock the fish.
Many lessons can be learned from building a fish room. Most important is to plan well
in advance. Much money can be involved in equipment so it pays (no pun intended) to think
before you spend. Don't be afraid to take your time. The end result should be something to
be proud of. If you learn a new technique, pass it on to others. We all have an interest
in making our hobby more enjoyable, and would appreciate hearing from you.
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