Fish Room Construction Ideas

[FishyFishy!]

I tried to start a thread like this a while ago with pictures but it died!

People should post some pics of their fishrooms, or semi-constructed fishrooms.

I am also building an odd one and am always looking for ideas.

[Lampshade]

One thing i wish I had in mine. Emergency floor drain. My stand's built to hold some good size leaks, but... if something bad happened, I"d be replacing a lot of floor and drywall.

[spawn]

I'm gonna build a damn in mine epoxied in which will aid in a direct route to the floor drain, which is only 36" away

[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?

[Hustler]

As for vents.... Air exchanger... drawing both on a humidity sensor..... Best bet for sure....
As for wood shelves.... Steel is almost the same price if you have a welder friend and way way more stable....
Heres a 180 rack i built for myself in my basement/X fishroom lol


Dual 180's with a 100 gallon sump... worked amazing

[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.

[Hustler]

Ive had bigger pumps kick out a GF breaker just due to magnetic energy they build up and set it off.... It sucks big time.... Myself I just unplug stuff when i go in there.....sometimes lol

[Aquatek]

Originally Posted by FishyFishy!

I tried to start a thread like this a while ago with pictures but it died!

People should post some pics of their fishrooms, or semi-constructed fishrooms.

I am also building an odd one and am always looking for ideas.

Let's get some pictures going for sure. They are worth a thousand words after all.

[wickedfrags]

I would consider running all your electrical wire inside 1/2" or larger PVC...same with your electrical outlets, used for outside use typically. If you use metal they will likely rust and salt creep may appear over time.