OMG Brett is turning into me.:razz:

Sweet! Does that mean hell be free to do my tank next month? :D

That does leave room for another upgrade I suppose. Wait...how long has the 97 been going lol?

Waiting is going to be rough but it's not like any waiting I've done previously. I have a tank so I'm still totally happy! Speaking of which...water change time!

I won't have any wood in my mouth anytime soon Mike :mrgreen:

And dude...that sig HAS to go like...wtf lol?

Where is that Pet Peeve Thread? I think we need to add Mikes Sig to it. HEHE :biggrin:

If we do that it's going to make the thread like 10 feet longer when scrolling. What to DO?

Well I'm sore as hell. Was a busy day getting my basement ready.

Few things changed (I'm sorta like Mike sometimes!):

- Going regular glass afterall. Concept Aquariums will be here before Feb rolls around!
- Absolutely no holes in the tank. Safety and energy efficient Vortechs.

So before I built the stand (I'm getting really good at these) I had to frame my fishroom and behind the tank because it'd be really hard later. This was tough because I have to shuffle couches and stuff around to build walls in this tiny basement. I also had to demo and dispose of the silly half-wall the previous owners had made. If you look at the photo below you can see there is a floating wall. No idea why but it had to come down.

Before:

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/404/messy3.jpg

After:

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/404/stand.jpg

I still need to clad the sides with some plywood for lateral stability. Will likely use some scraps I have and not sheet the entire area as I don't think it's needed. The wall behind the tank needs some more love but I ran out of 2x4s.

Off to bed. That was a rough one.

No vapour barrier behind the studs?

I'm pretty sure vapor barrier always goes to the warm side on the insulation :biggrin:

Vapor barrier goes after the studs :idea:

Insulating basements is tricky because the concrete wall is a source of moisture as well.
The lower part of the foundation wall that is in contact with outside soil will always be a source of moisture unless the foundation has been waterproofed. The upper exposed part of the same foundation wall will be a place where the moisture can escape.
Vapour barrier should be on both sides of the insulation for basement walls, with an area at the top of the foundation-side vapour barrier left so the insulation is only exposed to the "drier" portion of the foundation wall.

Our previous 2 houses were brand new and of course the outer walls were already insulated when I did development. When I did the electrical at each place I don't recall pulling back the insulation and seeing poly between the studs and the cement. What's the general consensus guys? I suppose I can fish some in back there but this is news to me?

The best scenario is to have the exterior of the foundation wall insulated.
Since this isn't new construction, the second best practice would be to have rigid foam against the wall then the stud frame wall.

Here is a paper that explains it a bit better.
Of course, what you do is up to you.:smile:

If your previous houses were in Alberta, the building code doesn't really deal with that issue, so it's pretty much left up to the builder what they do.:sad:
What we used to do is hang a layer of poly down from below the floor joists and slice some openings in the vapour barrier, above the outside grade.
That way, the insulation spaces could still breathe and would be exposed to the "drier" portion of the foundation wall.
It wasn't perfect, but it was better than leaving the insulation and studs fully exposed to the "wet" portion of the foundation wall.

Actually I'm forgetting to share all my plans I guess. I don't even plan to insulate the walls I've built so far. The fish room and the coridor behind the tank will just be drywalled. I want this sealed area to be like a cold-room for some free tank cooling. I should also note that the fishroom wall is a shared wall with the condo next to us. The coridor behind the tank is however exterior wall. I plan to insulate that exterior wall once it extends past the end of the tank as that will be my office. I will most likely do the poly with slits like you have recommended. Thanks!

Had a helper down in the basement today. Turns out the stand for my auto-topoff and mixing tank needed a bit of TLC.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/404/paint1.jpg

Stand is done with my 2x6s for lateral stability, 3 coats of KILZ Premium and foam.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/404/paint2.jpg

That is one rock solid looking stand, have you put in any thought as to how you plan to skin it?

My kids are the same way.....if i'm workin on a project they have to be right in the middle of it.....cute

Well last night I let her use the actual KILZ. Yeah doesn't come off the hands too well and she's not as thorough as I'd like lol. So I'm going to have her paint all the studs down there...gives the wife a break and we have fun.

The fishroom wall will be drywall and the stand itself will be finished just like my current tank. 1/2" ply with a shallow ledge done in white with a little simple trim pieces added for effect.

I do have a few boxes of leftover tile from our last place (floor tiles) and If I have enough I might do a strip around the tank since If I spilled that's where it'll be.

Yup, that stand will hold a tank! I guess by now you can build a stand with your eyes closed eh?

Haha. Yeah I thought that myself more than a few times =)

It's funny...things like cleaning filter socks are only annoying until you have to paint the inside of a stand. All I could think of was I'm too damn old to be under there.

Thats what the kids are for! haha

Haven't been around much lately so went to check to see how the 97 was coming along and I saw this - wow :shocked!: . This is great, glad you are able to pull this together. Look forward to seeing it being assembled.

Yeah me too haha.

My son and I have been cleaning in the basement all day today. I've nearly got it spotless and if you recall the before pics you know I've done some real miracle-working there!

My glass is getting cut and polished tomorrow!

Well here's a fun update! Concept Aquariums came by tonight and I had a front row seat (and lifted some glass to boot). My future fish house has walls! Top and bottom bracing to be completed soon.

My cat is so ****ed that she can't hop up on the stand anymore. I wish I had video of her attempt to do so haha.

View from my desk:

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/404/tank1.jpg

And standing back a bit:

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/404/tank2.jpg

Lane swimming anyone? :mrgreen:

Wowza! Looks great!!

Looks good Brett

Looking awesume Brett ! How soon for the bracing and such ?

Looking great... 400G!!!! thats a big tank. Looking forward to seeing this one come together.

Wow, looking awesome!! Great size tank and it looks like you've already reserved front row seats while you work at your desk.

Thanks yeah I have the best view in the house lol. If this tank is anything like my current one the end view will be my fav.

I had considered an elevated office area so I look straight into the tank but I don't want to make the room any less flexible than it already is. Plus I don;t really want to make a hollow sound as I wheel my office chair on a platform :lol:

So if I get this right, you will be able to see in the front and both ends while the equipment goes behind?

No the front and office end are the viewable sides. Sump will be directly under my overflow...area behind the back of the tank is open with a raised platform for access to back of tank. Since I laid this model out the tank has been moved 1 foot closer to the desk and the corridor behind the tank has been narrowed from 2 feet to about 18 inches.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/404/sketchup5.gif

Whats the software you used to design the room?

So are you going to get your open water certification in that thing lol

Trina that's made in google sketchup. It's free and if you've never done any 3d before pretty easy to sort out. It's not really that great ompared to the software I have experience with so sometimes I get a little ****y at it lol.

I'd love to get my dive certification anywhere really! This cat's only ever been snorkelling unfortunately.

Just wondering why you have the door to the room for the access behind the tank where it is instead of parallel with the tank - for storage ? I would have the door /wall where the jam is closest to the tank side for a more open look - JMO(which I'm told doesn't mean much). Also you didn't answer my ? when are they coming to put the bracing on dammit ? :lol:

That door will actually be as close to the left wall (stairs) as possible to maximize space along the wall the door is on. If you walk in the room the sump will be directly below the external overflow (on the end of the tank) and my skimmer and frag tank will be on the door wall as well. The other side of the room will have laundry tub, ro/di storage and mixing tank. The space directly behind the long back pane is just a narrow walkway so I can access the back of the tank. Hope that makes it clear.

I think the other bracing goes on sometime this weekend but that hasn't been confirmed yet.

Personally - I like the door centered on the wall. It creates a large usable space to the left of the door which you may appreciate. If you move the door all the way to the left, you will have the same amount of space (now on the right), but it would be divided between the two walls with a walkway between them. I think you end up with a bigger space by centering the door.

- Brad

My concern is extra tanks I may plumb into the system. They all need to be plumbed into the sump which is on that side. If the door is in the middle that really limits how many tanks can be plumbed into my sump because I can't have plumbing go across the doorway obviously. I also can't have any tanks on the wall opposite the doorway plumbed into my sump as I'd have pipes going across my fishroom (and they need to be above the sump's level to drain into it). The door placement will be to maximize space for tanks along that wall as they can't be anywhere else. The door will also swing away from the fishroom and my storage cylinder will be in the corner on the left and the tub flanking it. These plans may change but so far that's how I plan to do it.