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If I was going to build a home I would certainly build it so that having a reef aquarium would be included in the build and would have everything it needed to make sure that there was plumbing, waste, top off, filtration for the water like having an RODI system built in. It would be the only way to go. But unfortunately I do not see this happening since we have a home and do not plan on selling or moving and will have to make do with what we already have, but we still can make improvements which is always a good thing.Happy Monday!
Many of us dream about building that PERFECT reef tank, equipped with an equipment room, drains, water source and the works! A lot of times though we are unable to achieve everything we would like due to the limitations of the current home that we live in. But what about if you were building a brand new home? Let's talk about it today!
1. If given the chance to build a new house would you build it "around" a new dream reef tank set up?
2. What are some of the things you would do if you were building a new home with a dream aquarium housed in it?
images via @kfennell
Wow that is amazing and I am sure something that we all would love to be able to do at some point.Did this back in 2013. Had several things in the planning. DT is 430 gallons. This faces into in the great room. Hybrid in-wall install. Tank is 3 feet wide. Two feet are visible outside the fish room so I can see from end to end. One foot extends into fish room. Tank sits on square metal tubing stand, so plenty of room below tank for equipment. Put extra rebar in the foundation to help with the weight of tank and water. Fish room is a 2x4 level lower than the rest of foundation just in case some major water spill would not flood the house. House is on septic so fish room drain goes into a dry sump not tied into septic tank. Put 3" PVC pipe in foundation that goes to outside of the house. Put flex PVC through this pipe so I can get salt water with my pickup truck and pump directly into a 165 gallon holding tank via 12 volt bilge pump. All the other usual stuff. Sink. QT tanks, etc.
It certainly costs nothing to dream and imagine. It might be possible one dayNot sure if I will ever be able to but I would do it for sure, it would be 15' x 15' x 4' with the sandbed even with the floor and lots of natural light in an open indoor courtyard sort of feeling with saltwater plants growing along the edges of the room incorporated into the system offering filtration and a natural salt marsh feel. I would house giant Australian cuttlefish and a good variety of corals on a couple small islands, attempting to grab a small slice of the Great Barrier reef. This seems far beyond possibility but it's a clear vision of mine.
I have seen where people have converted their swimming pools into saltwater reef aquariums which is amazing, you can swim in the pool and it is like swimming in the reefs. I would probably do something like this but not right now for I love the pool too much. I suppose living in Florida it would be a good idea to have a saltwater reef in your poolIf I was building a new house, I would definitely design it with the tanks in mind.
However, I just bought my LAST house ( I’m 70)! Doing a lot of modifications to accommodate my tanks… will start a build thread soon.
Besides the reef tanks, the new place also has a 1 acre bass filled pond… would take way too much salt to convert it to SW!
Now that would be fantasticKinda like this ....
I personally would not plan the house around the tank..resale valve comes to mind.
both of these had mis-spellings that were fish related: the valve in construction and the teeth reference.Absolutely not. House valuation would take a massive bit.
so, i am retired and in my terminal home, and i just drilled holes in the hardwood floors to get to the basement. I thought about resale value for about a week while the other concerns and ideas were at war to decide if i even went SW at all. also salt/water damage possibilities/certainties. I realized that the house was not as much of an investment as a vehicle for the life i wanted to live. 'Psssh', i thought, 'Go For It'! so i did. on a small scale.;HappyI selected "Other" because the answer would actually depend on my status.
If you ask me when I am ready to retire and planning a move into my old-age home, then YES. I would plan around a tank.
If you ask me before I retire (knowing full well the home I am in is not my old-age home), then NO because of resale. I wouldn't do anything to a home that would prevent me from selling it for the best price to the broadest audience.
If my personal wealth blew up all-of-a-sudden, I would probably care less and then plan around a tank at whatever age I was.
1. If given the chance to build a new house would you build it "around" a new dream reef tank set up?
Duh...what true reefer wouldn't?
2. What are some of the things you would do if you were building a new home with a dream aquarium housed in it?
The viewing aquarium room (whatever it is, the den, living room, etc):
The aquarium would be plumbed through the wall. I would want to view all 3 sides, so no flat in wall aquarium. But I would still want it look like it was fully walled in, so that would probably mean wood paneling that's smooth and elegantly painted all the way from the floor to the ceiling. The below would be just cabinet space, the top would have access doors so I can pop them open to do front tank maintenance stuff. If I had decided to sit the tank at a higher level there would be holes in the walls so I can slide a plank in so I can do some tank maintenance without being limited to a ladder's step reach. Those holes in the wall would have some kind of covers on them (or somehow hidden) when the plank is not being used.
The back fish room:
Floor drain with the floor with a slight funnel. Tiled walls or somehow making the walls water proof that way I can just squirt off the floor and not having to worry about water leaks running up the walls. A whole wall for RO/DI system and water changing tanks. A deep utility sink with some counter top space off to the side (somehow with a long drain gutter on the table for dripping fish,etc and to drip/air dry wet equipment). A large slider or a small garage door opening to the outside. Enough room to have the sump off to the side (definitely nothing over it). Definitely its own power breaker circuits (multiple of them) with each wall have multiple outlets with outside weather covers on them. The room having its own cooling, heating system. Air vents from outside down low by the floor for CO2 removal (but you can use the slider or garage door for that too) that can be opened and closed from outside weather. A work table with an office chair that I can sit down and work on whatever. Oh, and of course, a TV in there so I can watch while doing some long work/maintenance or even for watching youtube for help while working on equipment or whatever.
And now...it's time to wake up into the real world.