Fish Room Construction Ideas

[mark]

Like my laundry sink also what's handy is a have a garden hose and spray nozzle off the hot water tank for blasting the filter socks before I put then in washer and cleaning the skimmer cup.

For drywall I just used the greenboard with kitchen/bath paint and no problems after 6 years. Could also consider the blue aquaboard.

[Aquatek]

Originally Posted by mark

Like my laundry sink also what's handy is a have a garden hose and spray nozzle off the hot water tank for blasting the filter socks before I put then in washer and cleaning the skimmer cup.

For drywall I just used the greenboard with kitchen/bath paint and no problems after 6 years. Could also consider the blue aquaboard.

Did you drywall the inside? I was debating on not doing it. I was also thinking about insulation and vapour barier as well and then using FRP over the wall to stop the salt spray from eating the drywall.

[mark]

Originally Posted by Aquatek

Did you drywall the inside? I was debating on not doing it. I was also thinking about insulation and vapour barier as well and then using FRP over the wall to stop the salt spray from eating the drywall.

fishroom is also the the mechanical room in the corner of the basement. Insulation/vapour barrier on outside walls, just insulation for noise on interior. Drywalled the walls only (not ceiling). Since didn't drywall ceiling did pay a bit of attention in insulating and sealing rim joist as concerned with condensation.

Had also considered the interlocking panels for on wall behind the sump but ended up just with the drywall/paint. Again no problem with the little bit of spray I get.

[Baldy]

Flfrom an electrician standpoint, I would highly recommend running #12 wire and using 20A breakers and plugs. Not much extra cost, they're doing that in kitchens on new houses anyways.

And plan if you would like normal wall switches running puumps or lights or anything. You can get some neat devices like Christmas light timers andsuch to run your lighting.

At least that's what I dream about for mine someday

[reefwars]

another good thing to think about when doing your fishroom is to build your sump up on a stand high enough to work in where as you dont need to be bending over.....wish i had that option lol

[lastlight]

The things I like most about my fishroom so far (still under construction)

- sump is elevated and not under anything
- lots of light to see what I'm doing
- 2-part epoxy floor is nice to walk on and cleans up perfectly
- laundry tub is a no-brainer but wow it's so convenient

[mseepman]

Excellent thread guys...I was going to ask this exact question soon myself.

I've heard many times to put the electrical plugs high so no fear of water issues or drip loops.

[Gary]

Originally Posted by TheNewGuy

Flfrom an electrician standpoint, I would highly recommend running #12 wire and using 20A breakers and plugs. Not much extra cost, they're doing that in kitchens on new houses anyways.

And plan if you would like normal wall switches running puumps or lights or anything. You can get some neat devices like Christmas light timers andsuch to run your lighting.

At least that's what I dream about for mine someday

Just a quick question. When using the 20 amp plugs in a location other than a kitchen, are you still limited to two plugs per circuit or does it change back to 12?

[Baldy]

Originally Posted by Gary

Just a quick question. When using the 20 amp plugs in a location other than a kitchen, are you still limited to two plugs per circuit or does it change back to 12?

The code says that if you dont know the load of a receptacle, you count it as 1 amp. a 15 amp circuit (or any amperage circuit) can only be loaded to 80% for continuous use. thats where the 12 plugs per circuit comes from. the 20a receptacles can use either a t-slot plug, or regular 15a, and you can put max 16 per circuit.

i would run them more for peace of mind, and so you would need fewer circuits. depends on what kind of power demand you have.

[mike31154]

I'm planning a fishroom for the basement, display on the next floor up. Taking forever but I've got it framed. Some unique challenges since my sewer drains out of the house just a foot below the top of the basement wall instead of through the basement floor. One of the things I never liked about the house, but to redo that would cost a bundle. So washer has to pump up about six feet & basement bathroom drains into a sump which also pumps water up to the main sewer line. This sump is quite a distance from the fishroom & washer, so I'll probably look at installing another one in that area. This way the washer as well as a utility sink for the fishroom can all drain into that. Might also be a good backup for flood prevention if I install it strategically under the sump for the fish tank. Plan to elevate the fish tank sump a fair bit to minimize the head pressure for the return pump.

I painted the concrete wall behind the laundry appliances & the fishroom, not sure whether I'll insulate or install any kind of vapour barrier on that wall. Been doing some reading and moisture control can be an issue if you don't do this properly.

For electrical I'll likely run an extra 15 amp circuit rather than any 20s. May go with 12 ga wire, but some 20 amp hardware such as GFCI receptacles are a bit harder to source & more costly. Best to have at least two circuits available for tank stuff so that if one breaker or GFCI goes, it doesn't take all tank related equipment down. Since the lighting will be provided by an upstairs circuit, I have redundancy there anyhow and there's already at least one 15 amp circuit in the fishroom area of the basement. Here's a pic.