What to look for in a house when planning a large tank

[michika]

My goal is to put it in the basement of a house, or a side by side townhouse condo. I never planned to do something like an apartment type condo, as I require a lawn for my dogs.

I figure I would need about three to four times the space that I needed for my 230g. Since my 230g didn't have a separate and dedicated fishroom that is something I want to include this time around.

Electrical is all covered, no worries there. Krazykuch is an electrician by trade, and so is my father. On the 230g we ran two separate dedicated GFCI circuts at 15 amps each. I will probably going that route again, although probably with 4-5 curcuits as needed.

How would I find out about the concrete slab? Other then knowing the date the house was built is there another way to find out its age, or if it has cured?

[SEAN DUFFY]

houses built in the last 15 years usually have 4'' slabs before that they were
8'' slabs for a new house to cure it usually takes at least 3 years for settling
that doesnt mean buy an old house

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

You'll also want to decide if this will be an in-wall or 2 or 3-sided viewing tank. It'll be nice if you can do like TomR & have your fishroom directly behind the display tank. If that's not possible, look into building a false wall (a la TomR again) to hide your plumbing.

Getting a tank that size into a house is another huge consideration. Groundfloor or garage entry will be best for the reefers helping you to carry in this future monster. I know of a few people who bought large tanks but couldn't get it into their home so learn from their experience. Some monster tanks end up having to be built on-site.

Venting - make sure you install proper venting so you can blow out the extra humidity.

[michika]

Originally Posted by SEAN DUFFY

houses built in the last 15 years usually have 4'' slabs before that they were
8'' slabs for a new house to cure it usually takes at least 3 years for settling
that doesnt mean buy an old house

I kind of prefer older houses for their architecture, but I'm trying not to be too picky. When you say 8" slab are we talking floors only, or walls as well?

I'm still waiting on finding the correct property before determining the exact shape and dimensions for the system. I want to make sure that I can either have the tank assembled and brought in the house, or assembled in the house.

Optimally I would love a behind the tank fishroom, with at least two viewable sides. Again, it will all depend on what kind of basement space I can find.

[mr_alberta]

8" would be for the floor only. Walls are usually 2x4 or 2x6 framing.

[michika]

Okay cool.

So if I had say an 8" floor would I have to, or should I, reinforce it further? Or is this one of those things that I should wait and see what the floor is like?

[michika]

fkshiu,

How did you set up your system? Did you have to do a significant amount of demo, or renovations to make your basement tank worthy? I personally expect to have to run extra electricity, water, a drain, and possibly construct a false wall. Did you run into anything extra, or eventually ended up having to do something that you didn't originally plan for?

[fkshiu]

Originally Posted by michika

fkshiu,

How did you set up your system? Did you have to do a significant amount of demo, or renovations to make your basement tank worthy? I personally expect to have to run extra electricity, water, a drain, and possibly construct a false wall. Did you run into anything extra, or eventually ended up having to do something that you didn't originally plan for?

I wish I had taken "before" pics, but we pretty much gutted and re-wired the entire basement. I didn't have the budget for a dedicated fish room so no plumbing was done beyoned having a laundry basin installed (well there was the new bathroom but that was for us humans).

It's a 60-year old house and the slab was solid, but very uneven. I ground down the peaks where I was planning to put the tank and had a new 2" slab poured perfectly flat and level. I used porcelain tile on top of that.

Greenboard rather than standard drywall was installed behind the tank and an ultra-quiet Panasonic bathroom fan was installed on a programmable timer above the tank for venting.

Anything I could have done differently? Probably should have put the GFCI outlets off to the side rather than right behind the tank for increased safety and maybe have gone even bigger!

[fkshiu]

Originally Posted by michika

Okay cool.

So if I had say an 8" floor would I have to, or should I, reinforce it further? Or is this one of those things that I should wait and see what the floor is like?

There's no need to reinforce it further unless it's falling apart. The concern for new houses is that the concrete still has to settle and cure possibly causing some cracking (if it wasn't poured properly) and movement. Hence the suggestion of using an isolation membrane if you plan on tiling. I would also suggest porcelain tile over ceramic or natural stone given its strength and resistance to cracking. If you use carpeting it not as big of a deal. Just make sure the floor's flat and true.

For older houses, the slab isn't as much of a concern since all the shifting and curing has already ceased and you can go about dealing with it "as is".

[SEAN DUFFY]

If You Build A False Wall It Can Be Any Size But Your Outside Walls Should Be A Min Of 2 X 6. 2 X 4 Walls Dont Have Enough Insulation