Fishroom Buildout (1 Viewer)

[steveb]

Coral Tank Growout Bench

Resurrecting an old thread. See I really do work on the geologic time scale So this Saturday I put together this 120"x36"x33" behemoth....

Anyways this is the 120" bench that will hold two 53x30x12 grow out tanks. I did all of this so I can rearrange some things in the fish room so that I can complete the stand for the water mixing station this next week, as it is a critical path item for my 400 gallon build. Moving it by myself was fuuun... especially when it decided to tip 45º. All of the $$ maple on top did what any object does when the force of gravity exceeds the force of friction... decided to slide and I was busier than a one legged man in butt kicking contest trying to stop the wood from falling and keeping the bench from going over all the way...

 

[TiAg]

Sweet, glad you didn't dump it. I dropped a 200 gallon glass aquarium on myself once. Wasn't fun and lucky I didn't get seriously hurt.

You ever get the electrical done? I've got a great guy (master electrician) but you need to be pretty fluent en espanol.

 

[flipside]

Are you painting the stand, Steve? I like the way you set your 2x4's up like that. That's smart and stronger than the way I built my current garage stand. I'm replacing now and plan on doing something like you did there (2x4's on top of bottom support, and metal L-brackets). Thanks for showing the pics as you just fueled my need to get back to Lowe's.

Looking good, too! I plan on getting to my electrical soon, too. I'm running a sub-panel in the garage, and 3 dedicated switches for the tank (1 x 220v feed, and 2 x 110's/4 gangs for everything else). Hope to see yours for ideas!

 

[steveb]

Thanks Leo. Yeah I plan on painting everything (even the walls). I'll try to take some shots of the whole room but I'm kinda embarrassed its pretty junked up right now with tanks, equipment and a few other odds-n-ends. Kinda looks like a hoarders fish junk paradise. The wife keeps threatening to call AE's hoarders.

@Tiag - Yes the electrical is finished. I ended up having a subpanel installed (in laundry room off of sun room) as part of the sun room build and the fish room is fed by three 20amp/120v circuits (6 drops - 2 per 20 amp breaker) from it.

 

[steveb]

All right here are some views from the other direction. Mostly trying to show the electrical drops. Ignore the hoard I mean marine aquarium equipment....

Reflector in ceiling == Roof Leak Attic Location Detection Tool

 

[dwnbydasea]

Just curious, how much weight are you planning on seting on that bench?

 

[flipside]

Room has tons of potential, man! Awesome! I may have to go the EMT route as well. I'd really like to leave my wires in the walls if I can though... Hmmm... Either way, thanks for sharing! Looks pretty awesome to me!

 

[steveb]

Just curious, how much weight are you planning on setting on that bench?

Two 70 gallon tanks so about 1166 lbs 1/2 on each end of the bench.

These (the bottom not the lid)

 

[steveb]

Room has tons of potential, man! Awesome! I may have to go the EMT route as well. I'd really like to leave my wires in the walls if I can though... Hmmm... Either way, thanks for sharing! Looks pretty awesome to me!

Yeah it would have been a LOT more expensive I think somewhere in the neighborhood of $1500 more (all labor) if I remember correctly for them to run it in the wall. Since it is a non public space I opted to go the cheaper route....

 

[Jaypilot]

Yeah it would have been a LOT more expensive I think somewhere in the neighborhood of $1500 more (all labor) if I remember correctly for them to run it in the wall. Since it is a non public space I opted to go the cheaper route....

You say cheaper but for a fish room I really like the idea of having them exposed like that. It make putting electric where you want it MUCH easier. Until you said you did it because it was cheaper I thought you did it that way for ease of relocating things. Cheaper or not I like it better and when I close off my third car I may do the same think.

 

[flipside]

I think a lot of us agree with that, Jaypilot. I know I do. It also makes it easier for the master electrician to inspect. I'm seriously considering going that route. It would be tons easier to do than fish the walls.

I work in telecom so seeing clean conduit/EMT runs give me a... well... let's say warm and fuzzy.

 

[flexrac]

looking good Steve.
leo here are the plans for a stand like what Steve built without using metal brackets:
DIY Stands Template and Calculator - Reef Central Online Community
don't use the green pieces, instead use pocket screws.
Kreg Jig® Jr.

 

[Jamie9169]

Looking really good Steve. Anxiously awaiting the next update and pictures.

 

[steveb]

You say cheaper but for a fish room I really like the idea of having them exposed like that. It make putting electric where you want it MUCH easier. Until you said you did it because it was cheaper I thought you did it that way for ease of relocating things. Cheaper or not I like it better and when I close off my third car I may do the same think.

That is true and was part of the decision making process. As a matter of fact I'm probably going to pull the wire back a little bit and then raise the plugs up a little bit.

looking good Steve.
leo here are the plans for a stand like what Steve built without using metal brackets:
DIY Stands Template and Calculator - Reef Central Online Community
don't use the green pieces, instead use pocket screws.
Kreg Jig® Jr.

Yeah I used those plans. I only added the metal brackets to the center support - there was a little to much sway for my comfort. Not sure why. Could be because I didn't use the green inside pieces. I also didn't use pocket screws - I went in at 60° with wood decking screws.
But then I suppose corals aren't really going to be standing on top of it dancing a jig.

 

[steveb]

Ok some more pics...

Have to imagine this 3 water tanks (I already have 2) and the mixing pump here. Above this will be a shelf for holding lite weight items and also an A/C unit.

Originally I was going to use 2 tanks but decided that with the Spectrapure continuous water change system I needed a freshwater tank, a mixing tank and saltwater holding tank.

topoff will come from freshwater (ro/di) and continuous water change will come from holding tank. This will allow me to mix a fresh batch of saltwater before the holding tank runs dry.

Various tanks and supplies. 20g tall and 40g tanks will be used on breeding setup (yet to be started) in this same room.

Just another photo of the room with frag tubs...

That's all for now.

 

[3CC]

I run the same tubs in the shop. You will need to give them side support or you will regret it.

Where did you get the tubs? I hope you got a great deal cause I have extras. LOL

 

[steveb]

Got them from horticulture source nearly 2 years ago. I'm glad you told me about the side support. Did they bulge really bad? I called Botanicare tech support and they said the tubs didn't need it (not sure if I can fit it in now). Go figure. I have extra's too (I think).

 

[rlpardue]

Are those Lumenarcs or something in the middle picture above the eggcrate and on top of what looks like maybe a 7.5gallon tank?

 

[steveb]

Yes lumenarc 3 and lumenmax (in boxes). The tank is a 55g that will be divided into 3 sections for breeding.

 

[steveb]

Here's a little update. I still need to run the hot air vents up into the attic and have them terminate by a large roof vent. I also need to hook up the drain line.

Here is the only waste I had from 2 4x8x.5" sheets of plywood. Who knows I may find a use for them before I'm done...