Fishroom Reality Check

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Lol- drainage was an easy decision. I have s utility sink with a 1 hp bucket pump that shoots my sink water up 10 feet and ties into the main drain stack. Water change plumbing is tied into that - I open a valve on my 29g tank that is the first chamber of my sump and it drains out in 4 minutes. I then chase this with 5 gallons of tap water so the bucket pump isn’t sitting in saltwater. Rodi waste has a tiny saddle T that puts waste into the same stack.

Replacement salt water goes from water station next to sink in the opposite direction via 1/2 pvc to the 29g. Pump is on a wireless switch so I can be watching it fill in the room.

Power- I agonized over this fir WEEKS. I finally decided to add backup outlets at strategic points and some duplexes at bench areas.

So- 2x 20amp circuits with one duplex on each. Each apex eb8 gets plugged into one of those, then I’m running 14 awg thhn in conduit (one end plugged into eb8 outlet, the other end a single outlet of a duplex- make sure to cut the tab!) around the room to power and monitor the equipment. Another 20 amp circuit powers room led downlights (4 x 1000 lumen 5k temp, 0.6 amps total) , a 0.6 amp 6” in-line fan for ventilation and 5 drops of duplex outlets for minifridge/freezer for food storage, desk lamp, webcam power, and a couple extra. On that circuit is also 3x quad outlets positioned fir frag tank, observation tank (these two will be running full time, pulling 5 amps total) and right above the skimmer chamber for skimmer/Heaters/reactor pump IF I have an issue with an EB8 and need temporary power. Power calculations show I can run 2 heaters skimmer and return as well as the fridge/freezer, lights, fan and pull 12 amps so itll be fine.


Apex has a dedicated cat5e cable, and will be located on the right wall, except fir the pm2 that will have salinity and temp probes and one BO box for floats in the sump. This’ll be above the skimmer section and connect to the apex via a 15 foot long male/male usb cable housed in conduit. The ph probe cable is long enough to go around the wall to the skimmer section (do this fir all your probes, Neptune, Please!!) and one other BO box will be on the ‘main’ board for shut down/ feed mode/ water change switches.

All my power and data are either perpendicular or running separately in conduit 16” apart
 
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Lol- drainage was an easy decision. I have s utility sink with a 1 hp bucket pump that shoots my sink water up 10 feet and ties into the main drain stack. Water change plumbing is tied into that - I open a valve on my 29g tank that is the first chamber of my sump and it drains out in 4 minutes. I then chase this with 5 gallons of tap water so the bucket pump isn’t sitting in saltwater. Rodi waste has a tiny saddle T that puts waste into the same stack.

Replacement salt water goes from water station next to sink in the opposite direction via 1/2 pvc to the 29g. Pump is on a wireless switch so I can be watching it fill in the room.

Power- 2x 20amp circuits with one duplex on each. Each apex eb8 gets plugged into one of those, then I’m running 14 awg thhn in conduit around the room to power and monitor the equipment. Another 20 amp circuit powers room led downlights, a 0.6 amp 6” in-line fan for ventilation and 5 drops of duplex outlets for minifridge/freezer for food storage, desk lamp, webcam power, and a couple extra. On that circuit is also 3x quad outlets positioned fir frag tank, observation tank (these two will be running full time, pulling 5 amps total) and right above the skimmer chamber for skimmer/Heaters/reactor pump IF I have an issue with an EB8 and need temporary power.


Apex has a dedicated cat5e cable, and will be located on the right wall, except fir the pm2 that will have salinity and temp probes and one BO box for floats in the sump. This’ll be above the skimmer section and connect to the apex via a 15 foot long male/male usb cable housed in conduit. The ph probe cable is long enough to go around the wall to the skimmer section (do this fir all your probes, Neptune, Please!!) and one other BO box will be on the ‘main’ board for shut down/ feed mode/ water change switches.

All my power and data are either perpendicular or running separately in conduit 16” apart
wow!! i thought i was a bit over the top.. you really got it down, great job and i cant wait to watch this build.
 
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This one shows the sink s fvrodi- the 1.5 inch waste pipe runs up the wall to the left of the clock. Ties into the main drain stack via a huge 4” saddle T and a couple down size adapters. The cabinets and outlet to the right is my ttm station- couple 10g tanks, equipment etc that are physically separated by walls from the main sump etc.

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Loving it! Keep up the awesome work and updates:)
 
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wow!! i thought i was a bit over the top.. you really got it down, great job and i cant wait to watch this build.

Thanks!! I’m a biomedical engineer by training, but I’m taking some time out for family- have girl 2 coming in 10 weeks. This has been keeping my brain and hands active!!

We hope to keep the tank going 20 years, so I’m trying to do it right the first time round. Stealing a lot of ideas from the amazing builds here!
 
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Loving it! Keep up the awesome work and updates:)

Thanks!

Dedicated build thread once I get the walls up, painted, stands and tanks in and water running.

Then I’ll be offline for 4 months with the new baby probably, lol!
 

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Thanks!! I’m a biomedical engineer by training, but I’m taking some time out for family- have girl 2 coming in 10 weeks. This has been keeping my brain and hands active!!

We hope to keep the tank going 20 years, so I’m trying to do it right the first time round. Stealing a lot of ideas from the amazing builds here!
good thinking, i did the same with my build, just this week finished the last couple items and need to redo the apex mounting but other than that it came out perfect as planned. i also was thinking about running a couple 1/4 into the refrigerator for liquid foods but i dont have much in my tank yet so that is one thing i never thought of..

following along...
 
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Ive seen the rodi tubing through the fridge trick but never looked into it. I haven’t planned for it specifically, since my DT is upstairs from the sump room about 30 feet away.
 
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Electrical x 3 20amp circuits and 1 more upstairs fir lights and gyres

Plywood Walls finished today. This week is primer (killz 2) x 2, high gloss acrylic topcoat x2 and concrete blocks for stands.

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2x killz premium, 2 x glidden premium 100% acrylic latex paint in ‘billowing cloud’ (also known as tar heel blue...). Trim is 1x2 (upper) and 1x3 (lower). All plywood gaps and trim seams filled with DAP latex caulk after primer but before topcoat.

Exhausted... considering I’m doing this with a 2 year old and a 34 week pregnant wife... not too bad a job

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Still need to finish outlet face plates (need to shim receptacles first) and access door fir main water shut off. Then stands on Friday!
 
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I used to have a fish room..... then I moved :(

Any pics of your old room? Or have you completely blanked the traumatic memories of leaving it behind?

We ain’t moving. This is where our kids are going to grow up. Only reason I feel justified with the effort and expense is that we hope it’ll support a 25 year tank. Want to set ourselves up for success from the start
 

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I have not read the entire post ( sorry ) but it does look good. I don't know if you considered a few things like floor where it is located as any water will flow towards it, with all those tanks and water in that room and heat generated by all the equipment you will have to set up a large extraction fan to the outside as that little vent is not going to do, the last thing you want to do is start growing mold with a Bambino in the Home. The Salt air will also be corrosive and with rust anything metal. You may have been better of using the Green drywall they use in Bathrooms, made for high humidity and moister areas. You may want to paint with Zimmerman Bathroom paint or one made for High humidity environments. You may also want to use Contractor Grade outlets they are far better then the standard cheap ones, they do not cost too much more but hold the plugs much better and makes better contact with the plug pins, I would also pick up some Contact Cleaner called Deoxit, not cheap but it cleans and will not allow corrosion to take hold. Spray a small amount on all your plug ends before you plug in and work them in and out a few times to coat. I would also put a look on the door and have three keys made for you, the wife and one put in a hiding spot, why you ask ( ) this will tell you.
Anyhow just a few things I thought of and hope maybe some will help. Good luck with rest of the build!!! Looking forward to end result!
 
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Thanks for the message- you raise some good points and i hope to answer them here. Thsi build has been in my head for almost a year, and actually in progress for 3 months. Ill be porting most of this over to a build thread here soon now that my original timeline is not possible- got a little behind and have new baby stuff to prep alongside this, so i didnt buy any fish and start TTM this week. With her due date, they would be in QT unsupervised for 4 days, and id rather not risk it.

To be honest, i think most of your questions are answered in the thread, but ill give brief answers here-

>>I have not read the entire post ( sorry ) but it does look good. I don't know if you considered a few things like...

1.) floor where it is located as any water will flow towards it, with all those tanks and water in that room and heat generated by all the equipment you will have to set up a large extraction fan to the outside as that little vent is not going to do, the last thing you want to do is start growing mold with a Bambino in the Home.


The floor is a brand new 1/8 inch pour of self-level concrete topped off with a 2 garage floor epoxy coat. I put the self level down mainly to have a fresh base to put the epoxy on. I called the company and was told to wait 3 days minimum to apply epoxy, so i waited a week and couldnt be happier with how it went. Since my floor was out by 1/4 inch across the span of the room, to totally level that would have been $4-500 and would need 2 extra pairs of hands to do properly, which i didnt have. Once it was all done, the floor is only 1/8 out in one spot near the door- but practically flat where it really matters under the (soon to be built) stands.

Also- i didnt remove the bottom plate from under the door, because that 1.5 inches will help contain up to 65 gallons of water if i do have a spill. I sealed the bottom perimeter of the room with silicone caulk under the sill plate, and around all the base molding (1x3 pine with same paint combo detailed above). I also plan to put a 1x6 skirt around the base of the tank stands to contain larger volumes of water directly under the tanks, and that potential wading pool will have a boat bilge pump hooked up to the apex via a couple of float switches to suck water out into my drain if it ever floods and i cant get to it in time to avoid flooding the room adjacent- the kiddies recreation room.

That vent is for 'make up air' coming into the room. Actual room air and humidity will be sucked out via an inline 6" 400CFM fan in the ceiling running directly outside. The stud bay that the grate is on is acting as an 'air return chase' (i got the idea from my house i built in nashville- our first floor ac had no metal ducts in the walls, the stud bays were fire sealed and used as the actual ducting). Room side is the grate you see. Outside the room, up top to avoid dust on the floor of the water change area/ wood shop, is going to be a 20x14 grate with hepa filter on it. Fan control is via a lutron humidistat.

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Held up using a big butt ruler just for the picture. Will be installed after the wall goes up.


2) The Salt air will also be corrosive and with rust anything metal. You may have been better of using the Green drywall they use in Bathrooms, made for high humidity and moister areas. You may want to paint with Zimmerman Bathroom paint or one made for High humidity environments.

The ceiling is greenboard moisture proof drywall. It has 2 coats of Killz Premium primer (awesome stuff) and 2 coats of Glidden Premium 100% acrylic latex designed for bathrooms. The walls are 1/2 inch plywood painted with the same combination. I picked plywood over drywall because, once you factor in labor for mudding and taping, plywood was actually less expensive. Plus, it means i can put pipe hangers and the like wherever- and not have to look for a stud. All seams and joints are filled with latex caulk. The 12x12 panel i cut out for the air return- i dumped half a cup of water on it and left it overnight, to check waterproofness. Still there in the morning, no leakage into the panel. I think im good.


3) You may also want to use Contractor Grade outlets they are far better then the standard cheap ones, they do not cost too much more but hold the plugs much better and makes better contact with the plug pins, I would also pick up some Contact Cleaner called Deoxit, not cheap but it cleans and will not allow corrosion to take hold. Spray a small amount on all your plug ends before you plug in and work them in and out a few times to coat.

They arent contractor grade, but they arent the least expensive ones either. However, these outlets are actually solely for 'backup' and will have baby proofing plugs in them to protect them. Only really be used super temporarily to run a powerhead or a light, and will only power main equipment IF i have an EB8 go out on me. My main electrical will be through Apex EB8's that ill be extending with THHN wire run in conduit. Ill be using contractor grade for those. Couple builds here use this technique to streamline the look of the wires and im going to blatantly steal the idea.

Good tip on the deoxit.

4) I would also put a look on the door and have three keys made for you, the wife and one put in a hiding spot.

Yep- door will have a lock, and a babyproof 'door guardian'. Since my 2 year old has already figured out how to open bathroom door locks, keyed locks are a must.

Thanks for your comments!
 
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Looking great!
 

revhtree

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Moved to member tanks! Let me know if that's good for you.
 

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