Cory's new fish room build out.

**Aquarium Co-Op** 2013-11-12, 01:49

Thought I'd give a glimpse to my new fish room. Yes even owning a store I still have a desire to keep a room full of fish at home... I might be insane. So no promises, but we'll see how it goes.

This is a stand alone 1 car garage aka fish room!

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There is even insulation!
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I'm trying to decide if I want to repair all the drywall damage and paint. Or just put fish tanks in front of all the walls lol. Lots of cleaning up to do. The garage is below my fish room standards for sure.

Guest 2013-11-12, 01:52

Would look nice once you fixed it up. And have the fish room all to yourself in the garage.

dwarfpike 2013-11-12, 01:52

Awesomesauce!!! Spot On

What brand of racks are those?

And I would repair and paint, that way you can use the bathroom paint that's mold/moisture resistant, unless you plan to have a dehumidifier or venting?

**Aquarium Co-Op** 2013-11-12, 01:57

dwarfpike wrote:Awesomesauce!!!

What brand of racks are those?

And I would repair and paint, that way you can use the bathroom paint that's mold/moisture resistant, unless you plan to have a dehumidifier or venting?

I always run a dehumidifier in a fish room. The racks are the $70 ones from Costco 48x18 by 72 tall.

dwarfpike 2013-11-12, 02:00

Costco eh? Off to google!!!

I'm just paranoid about black mold, I'd probably want to put in the moisture resistant insulation, drywall and paint even with a dehumidifier. I blame a bad AC leak in one place I lived though. Very scary stuff.

Seattle_Aquarist 2013-11-12, 11:51

Aquarium Co-Op wrote:I always run a dehumidifier in a fish room. The racks are the $70 ones from Costco 48x18 by 72 tall.

Hi Cory,

I like your racks! Some of the readers may be unaware that the western Washington area is in Seismic Zone 4 of the Uniform Building Code; which means we are subject to the same bad earthquakes as those in southern California.

That said, a 72" tall rank, even if "loaded" only to 48" high or so, is a safety concern. The racks are probably not seismically rated, especially for a 'worst case' earthquake in our area, but securing the racks to the wall could prevent them tipping over in a moderate event. A few inexpensive braces between the racks and wall studs could save equipment, livestock, structure water damage, and possible personal injury if someone is in the room at the time. Something to consider since you are at a point where it would be easy to do.

PS: +1 on sealing the walls and painting; not only to prevent 'black mold' from forming on the visible surfaces but if you use a good sealer primer it should minimize moisture reaching the wall insulation, possibly causing back mold, and then dealing with the possible health issues and inspection issues when you sell your home. I agree that a good dehumidifier is a necessity, even with covers on the tanks.

plaamoo 2013-11-12, 16:01

Good points from Roy! Will the garage be used for anything else or is it a dedicated fishroom? I'd consider framing off part of it, excluding the door for sure and maybe the window, and insulating well. You could heat the room much easier.

**Madness** 2013-11-12, 17:46

My garage/fishroom is 430sqft, I had to insulate, rock and primer, because if you dont even though you have a dehumidifier, if the heat/moisture reaches the exterior walls, once it gets cold outside, your walls will sweat/condensate. You need as much protection as possible. Also looks like you have a basic uninsulated garage door. You really need to replace that with an insulated door or insulate the bageebies out of that one. Again the wood will sweat and cause issues.

I run a dehumidifier that is larger enough to handle a 1400sqft area, and my walls still sweated last winter. So this Summer I added even more insulation in the space above the fishroom. Hopefully this Winter I will finally not have any issues.

fishNAbowl 2013-11-12, 22:58

Madness wrote:My garage/fishroom is 430sqft, I had to insulate, rock and primer, because if you dont even though you have a dehumidifier, if the heat/moisture reaches the exterior walls, once it gets cold outside, your walls will sweat/condensate. You need as much protection as possible. Also looks like you have a basic uninsulated garage door. You really need to replace that with an insulated door or insulate the bageebies out of that one. Again the wood will sweat and cause issues.

I run a dehumidifier that is larger enough to handle a 1400sqft area, and my walls still sweated last winter. So this Summer I added even more insulation in the space above the fishroom. Hopefully this Winter I will finally not have any issues.

Wow, that is intense but makes total since. I would rate that a big + if I had another one to spare. Thanks for sharing.

Roy too! Big plus on the safety.

Guest 2013-11-13, 01:36

Great now Roy got me scared about all that h2o everywhere upstairs and downstairs wooden floors. affraid

DMD123 2013-11-13, 11:31

I always wanted a fish room. Very nice!

dwarfpike 2013-11-13, 13:27

I hope we aren't throwing cold water on your thread Cory, that wasn't the intent. Embarassed

**Madness** 2013-11-13, 14:19

dwarfpike wrote:I hope we aren't throwing cold water on your thread Cory, that wasn't the intent.

It is a lot of work, and I have been working on mine for 3 years. If I had done it right the first time, it wouldnt have taken so long. I added extra circuits, plumbing drain, a lighting circuit on a timer. I already know how I want to make the new fish room, everything will be in place long before I populate it with tanks.

It will be a fun project Cory. Very Happy

Keep us up to date.

**Aquarium Co-Op** 2013-11-13, 14:22

Nah. I just stopped commenting cause I figure you guys could talk. I'm well aware of humidity/mold issues as I've run a fish room for many years and own a tropical fish store... Laughing

Also I don't plan on heating this room except for the dehumidifier. Moisture is drawn to the walls/windows when A. there is a lot of it. And B when there is a big temperature difference. My fish rooms typically run at 30% humidity. Where as my new house, the humidity in it without anything inside it was 70%.

The issue I'm having is, how much time do I want to invest into painting the walls etc of a place I'm renting. If I owned the place it would be a much different build. However I do want to try something new and that is not using aquarium heaters, or an external heater to heat the room and run cool water species.

Trying to figure out what size tanks I want to use. I'm considering doing a majority of 40g breeders setup with these racks. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

These are the 3ft version of the 4 ft racks I have now.

I can't decide what direction fish wise I want to go. Part of me wants to farm shrimp. Part of me wants to farm livebearers. I also picked up multies and demasoni at the plant auction last night... They don't belong in my store so they should go somewhere at my house... Hopefully it'll jut work itself out to have a little bit of everything in there Razz

Lamental Jester 2013-11-13, 14:35

Aquarium Co-Op wrote: I can't decide what direction fish wise I want to go. Part of me wants to farm shrimp. Part of me wants to farm livebearers. I also picked up multies and demasoni at the plant auction last night... They don't belong in my store so they should go somewhere at my house... Hopefully it'll jut work itself out to have a little bit of everything in there

BREED ALL THINGS!

MorganEA 2013-11-13, 14:40

Livebearers!!

**Aquarium Co-Op** 2013-11-13, 14:44

I did pick up a female trout Goodeid last night to match up with my lone male at home... Its definitely possible.

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We have moved to a new home! You can find us at:http://wafishbox.com/

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http://wafishbox.com/