Office -> Fish room build

[mrPickles]

I'm working on turning my home office into a fish room. My plan is to have a rack with a 180 gallon as the centerpiece, turn my current 90 gallon community tank into the sump down on the concrete, then either get some short tanks like UNS 60s or build some tanks myself for the top shelf to house the nano fish and shrimp. Please enjoy this ridiculously realistic rendering I made. Green is supply line, red is drain. Obviously the aquaponic planter part is not to scale 🙂

I've ripped out the carpet, the only room in the basement that had carpet. Pretty nasty underneath with a bunch of adhesive.

I tried using every type of adhesive dissolver and scraper I could find, but I eventually had to get a diamond wheel for my grinder and grind the whole thing. It was horrible, and I hope I never have to do this again.

I've painted concrete before, and it never holds up, so I decided to go with a dye/acid etch from Direct Colors. It eventually worked out well, but I had some issues initially. The dye soaked into some parts more than others even though it had been ground down, leading to this elephant skin like effect when you look close.

I just kept putting on more and more dye until it eventually became more or less even. I think it took 7 coats instead of the two they claim. Each time spraying with a pump sprayer then backrolling. This is progress, but far from finished.

Then I applied some polish and let it cure. It was very sensitive for about a week, but I'm finally happy with how well it holds up. After that, I was finally ready to start on the stand. Legs are two 2x4s glued and screwed, and the long span is two 2x6s glued and screwed. All screws are structural GRK screws with a shear strength of ~1000lbs.

Added some plywood on the back and the top shelf. Will probably add another sheet on the middle back to help prevent racking.

I got a 180 gallon tank used for a decent price that will be the centerpiece tank. I still need to vinyl the back.

 

Still not positive about a stocking list for the main tank. Currently leaning toward an Oscar, an Electric Blue Jack Dempsey, a couple Geophagus Sveni, Red Spot Gold Severum, some Silver Dollars, and likely some sort of pleco or catfish or maybe a bichir because my 10 year old son really wants something eel-like. AQ Advisor puts me at 104% even with an ornate bichir included in that list, so I should be fine since I'll have all the extra filtration with the terrestrial plants.

The small tanks up top will house my existing CPD, shrimp, corys, tiny plecos, and some other nano fish. I'm waffling back and forth on whether I want to tie them into the sump too. I would like the additional water volume, but I don't love trying to keep shrimp inside the tank with my current sump. Even if I didn't fish them out, they're proliferating, so maybe the sump just becomes a skittle tank.

Edited March 20 by mrPickles
spacing between pics and text

[Schuyler]

That's an ambitious build!

That will be interesting to see how the aquaponics setup goes

[mrPickles]

I have an 8'x3'x2' 330 gallon stock tank with grow bed outside with a few koi that I've been running for two years, and it's working great, so I'm hopeful for this. I have a south facing window, but it's mostly indirect light, so I'll have to have some grow lights. Excited to get it going.

[Bsquared]

Very interested to see how your aquaponics setup goes! I’ve always wanted to try something like that

[mrPickles]

Took a little longer than expected, but I'm finally getting close to up and running.

Grow tubes: 4" pvc with 3" holes drilled 6" apart. Ran painters tape to make sure I drilled a (relatively) straight line. Dog tax: paid.

 

1.5" of slope over 6'. The final 18" of pvc is clear so I can see what the root system looks like.

 

Aquaponics fully plumbed now. 1.5" supply and return lines. Return slopes all the way back to the tank. 180 on the middle rack, 90 sump underneath. 40 gallon quarantine (currently my nano community tank) on the bottom right.

 

On to the aquascape. I wanted to do a sunken forest kind of theme. Used 316 stainless screws to attach slate to the bottom of each log and the hollow stump.

Searched for ages to find a hollow log that would be big enough to house something taller bodied like an Oscar or Red Spotted Severum. Finally found one on a local creek bank. Took a reciprocating saw on my bike and hauled home the chunk I wanted on my handlebars. It was not fun, but it was worth it. Not sure how long it'll hold up, but I'll be very happy while it does. Even a big slate piece wasn't enough to weigh this down, so I had to throw a couple rocks inside of it for the time being.

Filling the tank from my 330 gallon outdoor aquaponic setup. Plumbed a hose to the outdoor system in order to water around the yard. It worked great for this case too.

 

I only have a 4ft light right now so it only lit up 60% of the tank, but I liked the spooky/blackwater vibe it put off on the right side. The aquascape isn't done yet. I'll be adding a few more logs to the left side and probably some flat rocks. I just didn't want to overcrowd it at first. Water is still pretty cloudy from filling. I picked up 4 juvenile Geophagus Sveni from a LFS, and they're in another tank waiting for this one to be cycled.

 

 

Edited April 11 by mrPickles

[Moose]

amazing, I'm planning to set up a much, much smaller aquaponics set up as well so I'm definitely excited to see the specs on yours. Are you planning to add plants to the tank or keep it more bare (in keeping with that spooky vibe)? 

[mrPickles]

On 4/10/2024 at 9:06 PM, Moose said:

amazing, I'm planning to set up a much, much smaller aquaponics set up as well so I'm definitely excited to see the specs on yours. Are you planning to add plants to the tank or keep it more bare (in keeping with that spooky vibe)? 

I don't think I'll be planting it, mostly based on the fish selection, but also makes lighting and maintenance that much easier too. I didn't leave myself a huge gap above the tank, since I'm hoping to squeeze in a lowboy tank of sorts on the very top.

[NOLANANO]

How is the clearance/access to the 180? If it seems too tight do you have the ability to scrap the top tanks and remove the top section?  The other reason I mention it is because access and visibility of tanks on top could be an issue as well. Not trying to be a downer, just pointing out some things I see.

The 180, sump, and QT all look awesome and the Aquaponics is such a cool idea. What are you gonna grow?

[mrPickles]

It's at shoulder height for me, so I can still reach the bottom of the tank. I couldn't have squeezed in the big stump or any centerpiece driftwoods obviously, but I got all the logs w/ slate attached to them in the tank with the top shelf on. As far as visibility, I'm pretty tall, so I'll be able to see in the top tanks, my wife and son would need a step stool, but they're not as interested in fish 😉 . My eyes would be right above substrate level, which I think could be a cool view. Yea, I can always take off the top shelf if need be, though. Mostly screws, would need to cut the one set of 2x4 that runs from floor to top.

Loads of greens, and some of the more finicky houseplants/cuttings/starts. Then I'm going to experiment and see what else I can grow, that probably won't work. I want to try vanilla orchid, potentially some melons, peppers, and berries. I've done strawberries before, but will try others.

[Moose]

@mrPickles Strawberries is a goal of mine with the aquaponics set-up I'm thinking of...for both melons and mb peppers (depending on the variety), it might be worth thinking about trellis-ing somehow, maybe with string or wire on the wall behind? this is mainly a 'planning my raised garden bed for the spring' thought though, I don't know how melons behave in aquaponic systems. 

[mrPickles]

@Moose definitely planning on trellising anything tall. Probably raising it on the top row and trellising to the ceiling to make a little jungle. Just need to sort out how the supplemental light would work for those. Going to need to get some serious airflow going in here too. Thankfully, we have an ERV exhaust vent right outside my office door, so the humidity shouldn't get out of control.

[mrPickles]

Well, I finally have water flowing through all the pipes (and not leaking). It's still a little loud, so I'll be trying to get some rocks or hydroton or something under the 4" L where it drops a foot or so. That's where all the noise is coming from, as expected.
 

Unexpected benefit is the bottom 4" pipe leads to a 1.5" reducer so it holds more water than the rest. I can do some nft and some dft The bottom row should work much better for seed starting and smaller plants. That's my hope anyway.

I got 4 geophagus sveni and 6 silver dollar juveniles, and they're all doing great so far.
 

As far as plants, I just have some houseplant starts growing so far. Will get some veggies started soon, hopefully.

[mrPickles]

Bonus gif of silver dollar yeeting an algae wafer.

[mrPickles]

Added two Green Severum and an Electric Blue Acara to the tank. Using a little purigen to remove some tannins. The tank is getting so dark I can't see the fish if they're near the back.