Equipment Rooms, Closets and Spaces....You know you want one!

[ca1ore]

Been running a basement fish/sump room since I moved into my current house in 1997. I could not imagine not having one. Allows me to indulge my mad scientist side. Without it, and the flights of fancy it enables, I’d have long since become completely bored with the hobby.

 

[427HISS]

Revtree,

Where did you get the awesome R2R lit sign love it. Would look great in my reef room !
If you can, how much ?

I am pretty confident in what I am about to say and if I am wrong let me know. Here goes. It is a reefers dream to have a dedicated "room" or "space" for all the aquarium gear!

So how did I do? Yes or no? VOTE in the poll above! Anyway let's talk about it.

If you don't have a dedicated equipment room you'll want to stay tuned in!

So for me, on my latest dream build, a room behind my tank for the sump, equipment and more was a must. I had never had a dedicated space and I was finally going to get it done. But how do I do it and where do I start? Seems pretty simple until you really start getting into the details. I mean if you're going to put this much time, money and effort into something like this you don't want to make mistakes. But mistakes will be made!

Side note I'll be on a LIVE broadcast with Ryan of BRS in Minnesota coming up on Sept. 19th talking about some of this stuff!

For me I really "leaned" on information I could find here and the answers I got as the build progressed. As I gathered info I would formulate a plan and relay that to whoever needed to know! In the first phase it was the contractors who we're building in the room in the basement behind where the tank was going to be placed. But as I went along and finished certain phases I realized that I missed something or I messed something up. Educating myself and researching sure mitigated a lot of problems but inevitably there were going to be mistakes.

This is where you come in to either help educate others or learn for yourself. So I really want to hear from all of you that do have these dedicated spaces. Here goes the question.

What are some mistakes you made or things you wish you would have done when building in your dedicated tank room?

BONUS: Let's see your equipment rooms!

This was shortly after I got the tank set up and most everything done. Some things have changed and some things are still glaring at me in the photo. I'll post some of my mistakes as we go along!

 

[JoshH]

Revtree,

Where did you get the awesome R2R lit sign love it. Would look great in my reef room !
If you can, how much ?

It was built by I believe @Elder1945 (Kyle at Adaptive Reef). And I would hazard to guess you probably don't want to know how much it would be

 

[427HISS]

Lol,...I can just imagine ! Still would Like a price, unless it will,get you in trouble..
I have several neon and tube light's etc.

 

[Elder1945]

It was built by I believe @Elder1945 (Kyle at Adaptive Reef). And I would hazard to guess you probably don't want to know how much it would be

Why yes I did build that .

Lol,...I can just imagine ! Still would Like a price, unless it will,get you in trouble..
I have several neon and tube light's etc.

Custom work does cost, however msg me what you are looking for and I'll give you a ball park.

 

[JoshH]

Custom work does cost

It sure does, BUT toooottaalllyyy worth it!

 

[Jon Fishman]

I am getting to the point, where if I keep buying stuff for my tank, I'm going to show up with an excavator and start digging my own basement...... a full reef without a basement or a room adjacent specifically for equipment is really starting to push me to the edge...... I can only give up so much living space, and still keep the area free of unsightly "tank stuff"

I had considered a different location for my tank, that was going to allow for an equipment closet, but the tank wouldn't be as viewable in the main room....... I regret not going that route. Although the "closet" has the access "hatch" for the crawl-space, and I can't permanently block that, since I have to replace furnace filters etc.......

I guess big tank and little house don't mix.....

 

[JoshH]

I am getting to the point, where if I keep buying stuff for my tank, I'm going to show up with an excavator and start digging my own basement...... a full reef without a basement or a room adjacent specifically for equipment is really starting to push me to the edge...... I can only give up so much living space, and still keep the area free of unsightly "tank stuff"

I had considered a different location for my tank, that was going to allow for an equipment closet, but the tank wouldn't be as viewable in the main room....... I regret not going that route. Although the "closet" has the access "hatch" for the crawl-space, and I can't permanently block that, since I have to replace furnace filters etc.......

I guess big tank and little house don't mix.....

You could have moved the attic access to another closet somewhere else. Would have been a bit if a job but not impossible for the average person.

I have a somewhat small room in the basement that is my dedicated fish room for my new build, I'm pretty lucky in this sense I think. Even though it's small and nothing like some of the rooms on here it will work perfectly for what I need it to

 

[krash7172]

Where did you get that stand that the tank is on?

I don't know who actually made it. I gave basic plans to my contractor who used a local tank builder. I used a contractor because 1) it was part of a larger remodel and 2) I knew nothing about reef tanks. The other side is a finished wet bar.

 

[427HISS]

Why yes I did build that .


Custom work does cost, however msg me what you are looking for and I'll give you a ball park.

Yes it does. Before I retired as a auto body, I know how custom's cost considerably more.
People could'n believe how one car was $4,000 (daily driver) but the show was $10,000 to over $50,000 and trailer queen over $70,000 or a all show, Riddler award $1000,000.

I'll send you a PM later bud.

 

[MPS]

There is some great inspiration here. You've all done some great work. I'll be moving into a new house soon. There is a guest room opposite the living room where the display will go. My girlfriend has been gracious enough to "give me" that room as my fish room. I'm gathering inspiration now

 

[t5Nitro]

I looked into this old thread for some inspiration on ways to clean up all the clutter associated with a living room tank -- I think I still need a dedicated fish room!

 

[Chessmanmark]

I looked into this old thread for some inspiration on ways to clean up all the clutter associated with a living room tank -- I think I still need a dedicated fish room!

I remember being envious of my friend’s McMansion when he said with a sigh, “Yeah, it’s nice, but I wish I had a three car garage.”

There are pros and cons to a dedicated fish room. I have my tanks in an office in the front of the house. My wife is very sensitive to noise. The problem is that I sit for hours in this room alone. It’s like having a tank in the basement. If it was in the family room she could watch what she wants on tv and I could zone out on the tank.

Another downside to a spare room is that you also want a room behind or below that room to differentiate the display room from the work room.

No matter what you do, you will always see a better way to do it eventually.

 

[KenO]

I remember being envious of my friend’s McMansion when he said with a sigh, “Yeah, it’s nice, but I wish I had a three car garage.”

There are pros and cons to a dedicated fish room. I have my tanks in an office in the front of the house. My wife is very sensitive to noise. The problem is that I sit for hours in this room alone. It’s like having a tank in the basement. If it was in the family room she could watch what she wants on tv and I could zone out on the tank.

Another downside to a spare room is that you also want a room behind or below that room to differentiate the display room from the work room.

No matter what you do, you will always see a better way to do it eventually.

My 2 tanks are in the main sections of my house. My fish room is 45' from the family room tank. It can be done. I was able to do it when I was building my house. I wasn't able to have a basement to put my equipment, so I got creative with my builder.

 

[t5Nitro]

I remember being envious of my friend’s McMansion when he said with a sigh, “Yeah, it’s nice, but I wish I had a three car garage.”

There are pros and cons to a dedicated fish room. I have my tanks in an office in the front of the house. My wife is very sensitive to noise. The problem is that I sit for hours in this room alone. It’s like having a tank in the basement. If it was in the family room she could watch what she wants on tv and I could zone out on the tank.

Another downside to a spare room is that you also want a room behind or below that room to differentiate the display room from the work room.

No matter what you do, you will always see a better way to do it eventually.

I have a problem always having fish equipment, towels or buckets and miscellaneous items around the main living area. Its a clutter around the tank. I hate it, hah. Need more space to put everything away in.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I don't have an equipment room, but I'm thinking about building a pantry/closet to at least house some of mine.

 

[JoshH]

My equipment room is about to get downsized to a closet in the next year to make room for a bathroom. It's going to require A LOT of planning and reorganizing. I still refuse to have my sump under the tank lol

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I still refuse to have my sump under the tank lol

This is my issue too! LOL I think I'll be a lot better about maintenance if I don't have to get under the stand.

 

[JoshH]

This is my issue too! LOL I think I'll be a lot better about maintenance if I don't have to get under the stand.

It really is a game changer. I think my biggest issue is going to be having to adjust the height of the sump and the height of the tank as right now they are pretty much the same height. Theres just a floor inbetween them.

 

[Stang67]