Advice for Fishroom Build

[EmDixie]

Hello! I've recently moved and have the space and ability to bring my current fishroom with and expand. My current fishroom lives in an extended family member's office space in a warehouse. It's been great for what it is but I'm so excited to have the fish where I live. In my current room, I use cinderblocks and wood for stands, linear air pump dropped into sponges, and nothing is automated. I currently breed ancistrus, guppies, shrimp, and corys. In theory, I'll have uploaded pictures of the current room! I would be grateful to hear experiences and opinions.

What I have to work with -  basement approx 10' x 18', cement floor, unheated, water access and we're adding a utility sink, current electric and we're adding more, a floor drain that might work but might not, and a completely uneven floor coupled with exposed, very rough concrete walls.

1. Stands - I'm looking at industrial racks, probably Galdiator, Husky, Kobalt, etc. 

2. Tanks - mostly 20 highs and 10s but I might bring some 40s with. Tanks will be positioned short side out to fit more. Final count around 40-60 tanks. 

3. Lids - Probably polycarbonate +/- a hinge.

4. Water - EXTREMELY hard. Auto water change? Continue with manual water changes?

5. Lighting - I currently run cheaper aquarium lights, one light over 3-4 tanks. I've been trying the Co-Op light and will probably replace the cheap lights as they die. 

6.  Heating - I have been heating the current room and had partially settled on an oil radiator heater for the new room. If a do a central sump system, I could in theory heat the room less and put heaters into the sump.

7. Drilling - I have never drilled tanks before but after many videos, we're pretty confident that we can accomplish it if needed. Please see next point on +/- for drilling.

8. Filtration - A part of me is tempted to just continue with the sponge filters and just keep up with everything manually, it just takes so much time though. The other part of me is seriously tempted to create central sumps, say one for each rack. I do quarantine but having multiple tanks on one system would be new for me in my own fishroom. What makes sense with this many tanks? 

9. Opinions - Manual water change vs auto water change vs central sump? What would you change? What would you add? What did you wish you knew when setting up a fishroom? 

Edited March 11 by EmDixie

[lefty o]

for that many tanks, i myself would have to have automated water changing, or it would get ugly before long.

[EmDixie]

On 3/11/2024 at 12:56 PM, lefty o said:

for that many tanks, i myself would have to have automated water changing, or it would get ugly before long.

I am fairly convinced of doing an auto water change system. Would you go a step further and have a central sump? It was strongly recommended to me by a trusted LFS owner. 

[Lonkley]

The only thing is if there is an infection, sump will affect the entire rack.

Edited March 11 by Lonkley

[Phirefase]

I'll preface this with my experience. I have been in the hobby since Sept 2020, I have had 2 proper fish rooms, and moved the fish tanks 4 times(life has been hectic) My current setup is a manual water change system with 60+ tanks, in around 300 sq ft. and it has been running for just over 2 years now. Below is a mix of my opinions and advice I have received from fellow hobbyists (shoutout to Minnesota Aquarium Society and its members).

First thing to ask yourself is what is the goal of the fish room. Are you looking to just show off cool fish, do aquascaping, breed for fun (or "profit") etc. This will guide you in making your decisions further along. I would recommend writing all your thoughts down to keep track of them. The goal of the fishroom may change as time passes too, and thats ok. The hobby is for you and you have to figure out what you like to do with your aquariums. 

Now to the fun stuff. Planning. Take your time and research other peoples fish rooms. Look on here, google around, and check youtube for fishroom tours. For my current fish room it took about 6 months from moving in to having a 90% plan of how I was going to set up the fish room. If you can, go tour other peoples fish rooms and ask why they did things and what they would change. No need to reinvent the wheel.

For the not so fun stuff, you have to consider your 4 walls constraining your fish room. "Your time, money, size of the room, and the sanity of your spouse" - Randy Carey. Fish rooms are always more expensive than you think, I have spent around 10k on just the equipment for my room. 10'x8' is the physical space limitation. Feeding 60 tanks takes me about 30 mins.

 

1. Stands - I'm looking at industrial racks, probably Galdiator, Husky, Kobalt, etc. 

• Any of those will work. I have the 6' and 4' husky racks with 2' and 4' wire NSF shelves. on the 6' shelves, you can fit 6ea 10s edgewise and a 5, or 7 10s depending on the cross bracing location. you can also do 2 40s on a 6'. 4' racks will fit a 60B with the edges sticking out or 4ea 10s. I did not care about leveling the racks when I put them in. Might be worth getting some shims if your floor is super uneven.

2. Tanks - mostly 20 highs and 10s but I might bring some 40s with. Tanks will be positioned short side out to fit more. Final count around 40-60 tanks.

• Speaking from experience, changing water with that many tanks takes a lot of time. Feeding too. I have them each running individually so problems don't compound.

3. Lids - Probably polycarbonate +/- a hinge.

• I used the greenhouse panel, put a cheap handle from menards on it and drilled a 2" hole for feeding. I'm too lazy to open and close hinges

4. Water - EXTREMELY hard. Auto water change? Continue with manual water changes?

• First plan the drainage, then the filling - Dean. I have 2 pythons that I use simultaneously when I do a whole room water change that go into a toilet. Auto water changes add complexity to the fish room and increases the chances of water getting on the floor, but it saves a bunch of time.

5. Lighting - I currently run cheaper aquarium lights, one light over 3-4 tanks. I've been trying the Co-Op light and will probably replace the cheap lights as they die. 

• I run cheap nicrew lights, but have made it so I can run 24 on one plug. I split them off one adjustable power supply and use DIN splitters to run wires to it.

6.  Heating - I have been heating the current room and had partially settled on an oil radiator heater for the new room. If a do a central sump system, I could in theory heat the room less and put heaters into the sump.

• I get free heat in my current apartment, but don't underestimate the heat that gets put out of a dehumidifier. I can vary the temp in the summer mostly by the dehumidifier.

7. Drilling - I have never drilled tanks before but after many videos, we're pretty confident that we can accomplish it if needed. Please see next point on +/- for drilling.

• I have drilled a 75 and it wasn't that difficult. The only thing I would recommend is ear protection because it causes the entire tank to become a speaker. I have also heard that 5gal and smaller tanks are finicky to drill due to the thinner glass.

8. Filtration - A part of me is tempted to just continue with the sponge filters and just keep up with everything manually, it just takes so much time though. The other part of me is seriously tempted to create central sumps, say one for each rack. I do quarantine but having multiple tanks on one system would be new for me in my own fishroom. What makes sense with this many tanks? 

• Matten filters and auto water changes for non-breeding tanks. I like to control the parameters of any tank that is used for breeding, but when I have to change water twice a week on a 10gal with 100 ancistrus fry in it I question my sanity.

9. Opinions - Manual water change vs auto water change vs central sump? What would you change? What would you add? What did you wish you knew when setting up a fishroom? 

• My next fish room will have auto water change to individually filtered tanks, with the option of RO or hard water at each tank.
• Plan for around 30" of space for anywhere you plan to walk. You will thank yourself later.
• Buy a nice step stool.
• Put in more shutoff valves than you think you need for your auto water change.
• Cold water dissolves more gas than hot water. This is a problem when the gas comes out of solution inside a fish. Age the water in a storage tank if you live somewhere where it gets cold.
• For the size of your fish room, a simple air loop will work, but if you have larger ones, gridding the system gets you better air pressure.
• For every tank, have 2 air outlets.
• Have a backup power supply for your air pump.
• Do not have a garbage can in there that you only take out once in a while. I still have these annoying little flies.
• Heat the room.

 

All this makes me realize I should just do a fish room build thread....

[gabdewulf]

Here's my two cents,

1. Stands - I'm looking at industrial racks, probably Galdiator, Husky, Kobalt, etc. 

I've been using a husky stand with 4 x 40 gallons for four years with no issues. Did cut a nice piece of plywood to act as the shelves to spread the weight. I also have built two wooden racks and two block stands. Metal shelf was easier and looks the nicest. All of them take some work/time but no real upkeep.

 

2. Tanks - mostly 20 highs and 10s but I might bring some 40s with. Tanks will be positioned short side out to fit more. Final count around 40-60 tanks. 

20 longs make more sense than highs..especially if 20 highs are on top shelf. Netting fish and stuff out of those tanks is not fun. Longs provide more space for the fish to spread out thereby reducing stress.

 

3. Lids - Probably polycarbonate +/- a hinge.

Feeding hole can also be the finger pull to get the lid off. Open tanks are losing heat. Though the green house plastic is cheaper.

 

4. Water - EXTREMELY hard. Auto water change? Continue with manual water changes?

Money and time, do you want to spend more or less? Hard water also means potential issues with calcium build up. Keep in mind too, all of those can be done in stages.

 

5. Lighting - I currently run cheaper aquarium lights, one light over 3-4 tanks. I've been trying the Co-Op light and will probably replace the cheap lights as they die. 

If you're not doing plants, don't bother with lighting every tank and instead have a mobile light.

 

6.  Heating - I have been heating the current room and had partially settled on an oil radiator heater for the new room. If a do a central sump system, I could in theory heat the room less and put heaters into the sump.

I have two oil radiator heaters running and they pop up your energy bill. But I also have a large basement and keeping the room even 72 degrees is a challenge. IF you come up with something better, let us know.

8. Filtration - A part of me is tempted to just continue with the sponge filters and just keep up with everything manually, it just takes so much time though. The other part of me is seriously tempted to create central sumps, say one for each rack. I do quarantine but having multiple tanks on one system would be new for me in my own fishroom. What makes sense with this many tanks? 

Air ran filters is cheaper than pumps. Matten filters can go longer without cleaning. Plus, press your water vaccum into the sponge filter and it'll pull a lot of gunk without .

9. Opinions - Manual water change vs auto water change vs central sump? What would you change? What would you add? What did you wish you knew when setting up a fishroom? 

Go in stages to figure out what does and doesn't bother you for adding on to the room. That away too, if you hit a point of too many tanks, you'll have a better idea of what size you like.

Mentally prepare a schedule to maintain each rack. Couple hours a weekend day is better than a whole day/weekend once a month.

IF you have a yard/garden, drain your water out there and save on fertilizer. Plus, less potential to clog up a drain pipe with snails.