Fish Room 64 Build Thread

[Jimmy]

Welcome! This is my build thread to my new fish room. I’ve picked the brains of many members over the last couple weeks and finally I’m off the the races! I intend on taking many photos and updating my progress as I go. Please feel free to ask questions and a little direction is ok also. 

A little about me.

I’ve kept fish for only about 9 years. My hobby over that span on time really looks different from time to time. The biggest thing is that I’m always excited about fish. I’ve mostly kept only 1-2 aquariums at any given time. My interest ebbs and flows. What intrigues me within the hobby is also changing. I’m a blessed father of 3 little kids and have a much supportive wife who I absolutely love. I work as a truck driver( home daily) and work roughly 60 hours a week. 
The last few years on MANY occasions Inhave suggested more aquariums to my SO and quickly got dismissed! To her defense we live in a rather small home and the space for more aquariums is essentially nil. Ask enough times and finally she had a rather great idea. “Why don’t you put a fish tank in the shop?” So what did i do? I bought 23!

Shes referring to a 14x18 detached garage on our property that’s rough 20 feet from our back door. It had no running electricity to it up until recently. Has a brand new roof that I installed but looks rather dilapidated due to siding that is peeling and probably 55+ years old.  Outside of that it’s structurally in good shape and is fit to house aquariums with a bit of work.

The space I’m working with is a 8x8 that I’m building entirely myself with much help and direction from the community, years of watching YouTube and suggestions from my father in law. This is where I got the idea to call it Fishroom 64. No interest in YouTubing but I can at least document the progress.

 

.this is very exciting for me, something I’ve been dreaming off for a long time.  Even better I have the support of my wife. I’ve watched many people progress their hobbies over the years and now it’s my turn. Many considerations are going into this. It’s a very small space. I have limited power I can run. My house is only a 100amp service. I’m only running a 20amp circuit on it, but plan to use less than 10. Crazy right? I think it’s doable. If it’s too much for my current service I will move on with the help of a electrician but I’ve really planned out a minimal set up.

Idea is 2 racks in the shape of an L. Exclusively 10s and 20 longs. Single linear piston air pump. All filtered by sponge. Single 400w wall heater. 6 low watt led shop lights. Small dehumidifier. There’s no running water so I will be pluming a drain line to either my yard or alley. I will have 1-2 55 gallon drums for holding and build work table over them. They will be easy to fill with garden hose. 

This is lengthy and more than I intended on initially typing. I will develop this out. Hope I didn’t lose anyone before the pictures. Hope you enjoy!

 

First trip to THD

[Jimmy]

This is the corner it will be going in. Perspective is terrible and so are photos for the time being. 

[Jimmy]

Low ceiling won’t be much of a header on the door! Here’s my helper!

[Jimmy]

Installing 2 inch foam board on exterior wall. It’s not cost effective to replace my siding right now and this was the easiest way to guarantee it’s dried in from the wall. I will say there’s never any moisture but this was a economical way to keep it that way. R-10 but not sure how much value this will add over all.

[Jimmy]

It’s not pretty but i got 2 walls in today which is exciting! They went in relatively well. I’m no pro and haven’t framed before. I consumed a ton of YouTube to get to this point. It’s pretty dang near plum. Is it perfect or absolutely to code? NO! LOL but it’s good enough for government work. I intend on using batt insulation and vapor barrier over it.

i have two more walls and a door to install. Hope to do that tomorrow!

again sorry for the photos, it’s a small space the perspective isn’t good.

[StevesFishTanks]

good progress so far

[Jimmy]

On 8/11/2021 at 7:15 PM, s1_ said:

good progress so far

Thanks! Can’t wait to get the door and walls up tomorrow so I can mock up my tank configuration. 8x8 is SMALL so I want to maximize the amount of tanks I can get in while still leaving a workspace 

[TrueNorth]

I am excited to see how it will look in the end. 

Please keep posting pictures. 

 

[Andy's Fish Den]

Looking good so far! I'm sure with some creativity you can get quite a bit in your space. If I remember correct, @Dean’s Fishroomis only around 10x10 and he has a lot in there!

[Jimmy]

On 8/11/2021 at 9:08 PM, TrueNorth said:

I am excited to see how it will look in the end. 

Please keep posting pictures. 

 

Thanks for the response! I will keep updating unfortunately today I won’t be able to make progress it looks like. Everything will be rather symmetrical. I don’t care for rooms that have a variety of sizes of tanks that slowly get added. That’s just my personal taste. No shame in any approach. It’s for me right?

[Jimmy]

On 8/12/2021 at 4:03 AM, Andy's Fish Den said:

Looking good so far! I'm sure with some creativity you can get quite a bit in your space. If I remember correct, @Dean’s Fishroomis only around 10x10 and he has a lot in there!

Thanks Andy. I’m well acquainted with his room, if only I could be a fly on the wall LOL!

once I get the room built and I mock it up I will pull the trigger on buying the rest of the tanks. 23 is a good start but I’d like to start at full capacity. Not likely they will all have fish for a long time but I will run them all wet to get the feel of the room, especially with the change of seasons coming up. I understand the limitations of 10s and 20 longs but there’s still SO much you can do. I want to let people experience it with me.

 

[Jimmy]

Some natural light and glare on my only aquarium. 40b, finnex stingray 2 and a diy zrdr co2 set up. Platinum and marble platinum pearlscale angels

[Griznatch]

Great progress, looking forward to more updates!

[HH Morant]

Going from one aquarium to 23!

You are going to convince your SO that you are not afraid of commitment.

[Torrey]

@Jimmy now that I know it's an external shop, I am super glad you opted for double insulation!

For drainage, I would recommend considering an outside pond or tubs.

 

Even a big enough stock tank will work. 

 

Heavily plant it in the spring with trimmings from your fish room, and it will remove the nitrates from the water. It will also give you outdoor breeding opportunities. 

It's just an idea, but it opens new possibilities for water usage/recycling for your tanks and can offer your wife quite the garden!

Your work looks great so far.

[Jimmy]

On 8/12/2021 at 9:01 AM, HH Morant said:

Going from one aquarium to 23!

You are going to convince your SO that you are not afraid of commitment.

Ya what she had envisioned was different than what I had in my mind. I originally thought I do about 40 and that’s what I told her. She gasped! After much thought 40 won’t comfortably fit but 30 is doable 

[Jimmy]

On 8/12/2021 at 9:01 AM, Torrey said:

@Jimmy now that I know it's an external shop, I am super glad you opted for double insulation!

For drainage, I would recommend considering an outside pond or tubs.

 

Even a big enough stock tank will work. 

 

Heavily plant it in the spring with trimmings from your fish room, and it will remove the nitrates from the water. It will also give you outdoor breeding opportunities. 

It's just an idea, but it opens new possibilities for water usage/recycling for your tanks and can offer your wife quite the garden!

Your work looks great so far.

Those are great ideas. Currently this is a ambitious plan and likely more than I can handle in some degree as is. So ponds/tubs is certainly way too much for me to tackle! I usually let me back yard fry in the summer. I plan on doing manual water changes with pump. I could possibly pump into brute can and use a huge return pump to water my grass. My littles even notice how scorched our yard is LOL. I plan doing light stocking and bi weekly water changes. One rack one week and one week the other.

work is ok so far! My first wall was a tad short if you look you can see it! I will remedy it with some ratchet ingenuity so it will disappear when I finish. Where I want to be spot on is electrical for obvious reasons. 

[Hobbit]

Looking good! Man, if I had that building on my property with that little door already in place, I’d be very torn what animal to house there! Rabbits, chickens… but I could fit sooo many fish… well my husband doesn’t have a real workshop yet so he’d get first dibs, considering he already gave me the dining area for fish. Supportive spouses are the best!

[Jimmy]

On 8/12/2021 at 9:38 PM, Hobbit said:

Looking good! Man, if I had that building on my property with that little door already in place, I’d be very torn what animal to house there! Rabbits, chickens… but I could fit sooo many fish… well my husband doesn’t have a real workshop yet so he’d get first dibs, considering he already gave me the dining area for fish. Supportive spouses are the best!

It appears that it was a dog door at some point LOL. My toddlers like to climb through it. When I re side the shop it will no longer be there LOL. 
she was already a 10/10 for me, this amplifies it 

[Jimmy]

Update

 

got the walls done and my door. I goofed I prebuilt my walls by just shimming the top plates. If I was to go back I would just cut to fit and toenail. I have put considerable thought to every step but this was certainly a step next time I’d do differently.

I should note it has a sloped surface because it’s a garage so that’s the reason for the gap at the top plate

I can finish the room in a appropriate manor that will cover it up l.  I’m giving it my best work but at the same time not spending forever on the framing. The door functions but with the low ceiling I didn’t get a proper header on it. It’s plumb otherwise and it was also a lot of fun. I’m happy with my work so far and it will be more than sufficient.

im a little embarrassed at the gap on my top plates but I can move forward. I want to share the process good and bad. I’m doing this all alone and have learned sooo much! 
I’m home on quarantine and trying to progress as much before I go back to 60 hour weeks.

 

Edited August 14, 2021 by Jimmy

[lefty o]

if you are going to put a ceiling in there, you'll be able to hide the short comings. they call it rough carpentry for a reason. you can hide minor booboo's behind the drywall or whatever you use.

[OnlyGenusCaps]

On 8/11/2021 at 6:36 PM, Jimmy said:

I think this is going to turn out great. The Pink Panther is already giving it what looks like a very enthusiastic thumbs up! 

[Jimmy]

Whoops duplicate 

Edited August 14, 2021 by Jimmy
Repeat

[Jimmy]

On 8/13/2021 at 4:57 PM, lefty o said:

if you are going to put a ceiling in there, you'll be able to hide the short comings. they call it rough carpentry for a reason. you can hide minor booboo's behind the drywall or whatever you use.

Exactly. I wish I had slowed down and cut to fit but again I’m moving forward!

[Jimmy]

On 8/13/2021 at 5:26 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

I think this is going to turn out great. The Pink Panther is already giving it what looks like a very enthusiastic thumbs up! 

I’m semi freaking out to the point I’m restless at night LOL. Looking forward to my coop order where I order 30+ sponge filters.