Fish room within the attached garage

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

My wife presented me with the idea of creating a fish room within our attached garage. I am a lucky guy.

I’ve had my fishwall in our garage since the summer of ‘21 with breeding projects starting in spring ‘21 on a single smaller rack. Presently my setup has my Blue Hawaiian Moscow’s, blue dream neos, plant and fish qt tanks, a breeding colony of panda guppies, F. Gardneri p82s. Future plans include a group of green dragon ancistrus, ataeniobious toweri a goodied, and to expand my breeding of livebearers to include my colony of teacup coral/fireball platys and my more tanks for the BH Moscows and my line of longfin super red calico BNs. 

My other thought process on this build is that I need to start thinking about making these racks auto-water changing racks. I’m thinking it will be 2 Costco racks on either side with a small set of racks for smaller tanks and supplies. I’ll also want to do a loop for the linear piston pump as well. 

Well this is exciting. I’ll start updating here regularly and once it’s more than plans I’ll start a build journal. 

[Atitagain]

You are a lucky man for sure! Can’t wait to follow along, should be a very interesting process.👍

[gardenman]

Attached garages are perfect fish rooms. They typically have a floor that can handle the weight. There's often water and electrical nearby. They tend to be built relatively soundproof. If you don't hear the car starting up, you won't hear an air pump. The floor is typically waterproof and slopes down and away from structures that could be damaged by moisture. (Though the sloped floor can complicate rack setup and construction.) If you live in a colder part of the country they're easier to heat than a basement. Moving large tanks and stands in is easy-peasy. You just open the garage door. If the tank is smaller than a car, you're good. Lots of pros and very few cons. Just be sure your HOA (if you have one) allows you to park your cars outside the garage. Some HOAs are pretty crazy about such things.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@gardenmanbecause of the cold in central Oregon it will be a room within the garage. Currently the temp in the garage is 50s with exterior temps in the 10s-30s. Summer it typically gets as hot as the 90s in there. My goal is to have an insulated 9x9 room in there that would stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter with perhaps a coil heater in the winter and a fan in the summer to help with evaporative cooling. I am excited about the prospects. The floors are quite cold so I am wondering about perhaps putting garage mats down under the racks just to block some of the cold from coming up. I saw someone on the forum using heat tape under their tanks on the racks which would be interesting. 

@Atitagainmy wife often surprises me with this sort of thing just when I think she doesn't think about my interests she comes up with something like this. 

[Levi_Aquatics]

You are a lucky dude. I can't wait to see the progress and it sounds like you have a great plan to go with!

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

So far the coop has the best price on those linear air pumps unless you want to go with a Jemco pump which is a lot louder. 

Costco doesn't have the same racks they had last summer, perhaps it is one of those seasonal products. May have to look at Lowe's. 

I think the most expensive part is going to be the lumber and building supplies like insulation and dry wall. My father-in-law has a lot of spare material and will have to see how we can get some of that stuff, once again wife will be super important there. 

Got the go ahead to replace all my bins with glass, talked to Petco and they will match their online prices so may stop there this week and get that ball rolling. Good day. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I found this spread sheet of materials for an 8x10 shed, I think it will be similar to my build of course some differences but anyway wanted to share.

8x10gs-materials.pdf (shedking.net)

He had other materials lists for various sizes. Not sure if the 10x10 would be better to use as a template, any thoughts?

 

[gardenman]

If all you want is an insulated space inside your garage, you can get by with a lot (and I mean a lot) less. Don't forget, your garage is providing the structure for you. I'd be more inclined to pick a corner of the garage, line it with 2" thick 4'X8' sheets of rigid foam insulation (roughly $40 a sheet these days.) Those two walls of the garage would give you two fewer walls you'd have to build. And for the last two walls and ceiling, I might just build them out of the rigid foam insulation. You could secure that to the back of the racks and use the racks for their structural integrity. Fire is an issue with rigid foam, so you might want to sandwich it between some fire-resistant drywall, or not. You're just trying to trap in the heat and humidity so as long as you make that relatively airtight (tape the seams between boards) you should be okay. Rigid foam can be pretty rigid stuff in the 2" thickness. It might not impress the folks at Architectural Digest, but it would make a functional fish room. For a door I'd go with something light like a storm door. If you have a Habitat for Humanity Restore store near you they typically have lots of storm doors in stock at very good prices. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

ORD @gardenmanthanks so much for this. Excellent point about using the actual structure of the garage, that makes so much sense. Foam and drywall attached to the racks would be such a cost saver as well.

My only problem is the electrical outlet for the garage is on the east wall adjacent to the main electrical box and the walls that make the most sense going with your idea it would require some electrical work to get outlets over there - this may not be bad in terms of costings but would also limit the footprint to a shorter width but perhaps longer length. Last time I looked at our electrical box it looked like we could add up to 2 breakers. 

Any thoughts on how to cap/roof it to further prevent heat loss?

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@gardenmanour HOA is fine with parking outside. 
In terms of the build I’ll be working with my father-in-law in the coming week to look at the plans and materials list. He thinks some framing would be helpful in making it more secure and durable which I’d agree with. He liked the idea of the rigid foam and wants to explore the best vent and roofing setup. 
Went to Petco today and grabbed a 40 breeder, 2 twenty longs and 2 fifteen gs. I’m getting rid of the plastic bins for now. I may leave the shrimp in the 27 g bin and move the guppies out to their own 20 g breeder or combo them with my plecos. 

[gardenman]

Framed walls are more conventional, but the sturdier racks with a few hundred pounds of water and tanks on them would be pretty solid also. If you use the racks for structure, you can pretty drastically reduce your material costs. It's a bit more unconventional, but it should work.

[Atitagain]

On 1/5/2022 at 5:19 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

grabbed a 40 breeder, 2 twenty longs and 2 fifteen gs

I can see your smile from here!

What’s your time table for set up? Excited to see what you come up with. Are all tanks going to garage or will you have some still in the house? 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Atitagaini’ll keep displays in the house. All breeding will go to the garage. I’m sure at some point my wife will say hey can you put this this and this in the garage? I mean she gave me a fish room how can I say no?! Time table - I’m hoping by August, could be sooner or later but that would be my goal. As for the smile on my face yes I was stoked but the young person working with me was well uninformed and problematic erasing the smile until I got home with the tanks. 

@gardenmani agree with you that utilizing the rack would be the best for keeping costs down. In talking with my father-in-law he feels that at least here in Oregon the cost of lumber has fallen dramatically of late. He thinks that we can use the racks and utilize some timber framing to help us particularly with roofing it. This is a big concern for us here in Bend as we do get to the teens sometimes every few years to 0. In the summer we swing to 100 so I’ll need a lot of insulation, some ventilation, and potentially need to put in an AC. Timber even a bit could be of benefit in our circumstances. 

I just want to express my gratitude to everyone whose been giving feedback, their personal knowledge and taking the time. That’s huge in this day and age. It’s what makes this such an amazing place in our digital world! 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I sat down with my wife tonight to start reviewing my plans and goals for the fish room. @gardenmanyou nailed the idea of using existing walls as she volunteered 2/3 of the back wall of the garage a 14’ long span that presently holds 3 sets of gorilla racks. I’d be taking over those racks as they are super sturdy. We discussed having those as the backbone of my fish room with a 5 foot space at each end for a smaller rack and for storage and as work tables spaces. We’d go to restore and grab some doors and then only frame out the 2 walls. As for the roof we think a sloped roof with a higher elevation starting on the garage wall and ending with the wall we create to enter the room would be best. We’d like to find a set of double doors so that when I’m in there they could be both opened and it will feel larger. They’d be set in a wall we’ll frame out to set the double doors in. 

Our neighbor is a project manager for the largest residential builder in our area and knows all the trades and is super handy. Between him and my FIL I think we’ll be in business. 

As part of the project we’re pretty sure we’ll need a plumber to put in a utility sink. There is a drain by the water heater so I’m hopeful it’s not too bad. We’ll also want to add 2 outlets to that wall. As there’s already a plug for the freezer right near where we’re looking to put it I think once again this could work. 

It’s exciting to have her interested and supporting the project! 

[WhitecloudDynasty]

Looks like you're gonna have alot of fun 

Hope all goes well!

[Atitagain]

Maybe pocket doors would be a good option for you. Is it not an option to extend the wall on left side to get the utility sink inside the room? Glad to hear you have a lot of quality help, that and your wife’s  support .👍

[Guppysnail]

From talking to and videoing pandas to helping design a fish room. Your wife may be a nerm in disguise 😁. This is so exciting that you get to design your new fish room with your wife’s support. 

[Torrey]

On 1/3/2022 at 4:10 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

Costco doesn't have the same racks they had last summer, perhaps it is one of those seasonal products. May have to look at Lowe's.

Look online, and if you don't find what you are looking for online ask if they know if your store will be getting them in.

Our store just got delivery of these, each shelf is rated for 2,000 lbs

On 1/6/2022 at 11:40 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

It’s exciting to have her interested and supporting the project!

You are indeed a lucky man!

[Patrick_G]

Wow, this is cool. You’re going from a rack of plastic tubs to a full on insulated fish room. It’ll be fun seeing room and especially the auto water change system come together. 

[Levi_Aquatics]

Is there any possibility that you could get the sink in the room. I feel like it would make everything a lot easier because you wouldn’t have to go completely outside the fish room to get water. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Torreymy wife coached me to be patient that Costco would have them soon. At this point our idea is to configure the gorilla racks we have to use for fish. If it’s not working out then we’ll switch them out. 

@Patrick_Gseriously a light speed progression! All of this is motivated by my wife. I’m not sure her motivation on this - I think she sees a way to get back the majority of the garage. She’s also designing her own work area where the fishwall had been. I do honestly think she takes a lot of pride in how well when they have the right resources the fish do. She’s formed an attachment to the Pandas 🐼 and to the guppies and platys. I know she loves me and wants me to be happy but she also sees a way for her to be happier as well - everyone happy.

In regards to the automated water change system - I see that going a couple of ways. I could be as simple as the system Mark’s Shrimps has or as complicated as Randy has or something like what Fishboy has. It’ll all depend on our taxes most likely. If the feds don’t take us to the cleaners I think I’ll get the Rainbird. If Uncle Sam takes a big piece of the pie I’ll be doing things a bit less automated but still a whole lot easier then dragging the python around. If it’s somewhere in the middle it will be a more middle class solution. 

@Levi_Aquaticsi agree with you. However, I have a certain audience I have to work with and she’s wanting a utility sink in the garage. How I see it going is having a dedicated hose to fill the reservoir, having a heater and aerator in the reservoir, and then pumping out the water from the reservoir out to the automatic water change. I can live with that! 

@Guppysnailits an interesting turn of events with my wife. Every once in awhile when I’m watching ADA or George Farmers content I see her really light up. Other times it’s just a fish or frog that she’s enamored with. I’ll take it! She’s gone from fish smell and are disgusting to you need a fish room it’s amazing to me. I feel very lucky and blessed. 

I’ll most likely post late tonight again after water changes tonight. 

[Levi_Aquatics]

Oh I see. That sounds like a good plan @Beardedbillygoat1975

[Torrey]

On 1/7/2022 at 3:47 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

She’s formed an attachment to the Pandas 🐼 and to the guppies and platys. I know she loves me and wants me to be happy but she also sees a way for her to be happier as well - everyone happy.

Mine has grown very attached to "Whale" and until very recently didn't want me to get any fish that would provide population control services for the endlers in their 4' tank.... until the endlers got peckish with Pebbles the pond snail.

The new agreement is I can take a significant number of the endlers to the LFS, as long as I don't take Whale.

And we are exploring an appropriate fry control method, so we have strong endlers in addition to attractive endlers.

Looks alone is not enough. 

 

On 1/7/2022 at 3:47 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

Every once in awhile when I’m watching ADA or George Farmers content I see her really light up. Other times it’s just a fish or frog that she’s enamored with. I’ll take it! She’s gone from fish smell and are disgusting to you need a fish room it’s amazing to me.

You just described the Members talks with Gianne and the one with Barbi.

The beginning  was "I can't stand the smell of fish. You can do these for you, just don't ask me to do anything with them"

At that time we had chickens, the turtle and turtle pond (with endler/guppy crosses), and a ball python in the 4' tank inside with a bioactive substrate over hydroballs, live plants, and a waterfall/mini pond feature. Zero interest in any of it, until this past summer when I got permission to put the cracked tank turned paladurium in their bedroom. 

Whatever the reason is for spouse's to start enjoying special interests with us, is a great reason. Even if we never find out why.

 

 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Torreyi feel all of that. To fund the construction we’re negotiating what has to be sold and thrown out from the garage as of tonight’s discussions. Each day brings something new. Back to tank maintenance!

[Minanora]

This is awesome! Looking forward to reading all about the progress! Congratulations!