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Thread: Construction of a Fish Room

  1. #1
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    Construction of a Fish Room

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    Ok guys, I need some help here.
    Will be getting my new place in a few months. So I have just started to put together ideas for a fish room. Actually more of a plants room.

    YES! This house is going to have a whole room just dedicated to aquariums! It's good to be single.

    I'm thinking of setting up about 20 tanks, solely in this room. Most of them will be 3ft x 2ft x 1ft tanks, since I will be using most tanks for cultivation and research purposes. But I will also dedicate about 5 tanks for scaping.
    If possible, I would like to isolate a corner for a sofa and photo-taking purposes.
    Large CO2 cylinders (CO2 via splitters), light sets and filters will form the bulk of the equipments inside.

    Just a regular room of a 4-rm flat. I'm not very rich, so that's all I can afford for now.

    A few questions:

    1) Would cooling the whole room with air-con be enough to eliminate the use of chillers? I'm going to have Xmas Moss and other cool water loving plants there.

    2) Can the floor take the weight of so many tanks? I really cannot imagine having 20 tanks crash through the floor....

    Any constructive advice are very welcome. Please help me make this a reality.
    Click here to help me make my Fish Room Project a reality!

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Weirong
    A few questions:

    1) Would cooling the whole room with air-con be enough to eliminate the use of chillers? I'm going to have Xmas Moss and other cool water loving plants there.
    I think it might help if you consider most of the office tanks we have are having water temps of about 25deg or lower... And if you see some of the forumers' tank who have it in aircon rooms, their tanks are constantly at 25deg too.. Without chillers...

    But not sure if the utility bills will match up or cheaper in the long run at the end of the day...

    Quote Originally Posted by Weirong
    2) Can the floor take the weight of so many tanks? I really cannot imagine having 20 tanks crash through the floor....
    You can check with HDB the max loading of the floor first... Moreover, learnt from one of the past threads that there is a need to apply for some approval if have a 6ft tank at home... Something like that...
    ~ Vincent ~ Fishes calm your mind...
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  3. #3
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    HDB rules state that anything that weighs more than 1 4ft x 2ft x 2ft tank warrants a write-in request. This was discussed in AQ before. Doing a search will give you some results.

    How about trying smaller tanks? 3-tier 2ft tanks would weigh less and can look great too. They are easier to place and manage too. Also, you can have more tanks. Think someone posted his mini-fish room in Aquascaping section where he shows he's using 1ft cubes and the effect looks good too.

    I am not sure how you would use a chiller to cool all the tanks... But do consider the heat the chiller will be emitting and the humidity of the room. Weigh each and see which you would prefer. To switch on the aircon 24/7 would mean your bill will be near $2-300 for a 4 room flat. (Even if you are staying alone, that would be not much of a difference if you are also using a fridge, a washing machine, the aquarium lights and tv(s) etc...)
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    hummm, sound like setting up a "Plant showroom"
    will it be open to public for viewing???

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    Hmmm. Looks like I have to cut down the number of tanks. Distribute some around the house.

    2ft tanks not shiok lah. Will get tired of them in no time.

    Current plan:

    1) two sets of 3-tier 3ft x 2ft x 1ft tanks - 6 tanks

    2) One 2ft x 2ft x 1ft tank - 1 tank

    3) Two empty 3ft tanks for emersed plants - 2 tanks

    4) Scaping tanks - 2x 3ft, 1x 2ft, 1x 1ft cube - 4 tanks

    Total - 13 tanks

    Think I need at least 7 Eden 501 or 2215 filters, I already got all the bigger filters.

    This is going to set me back quite a bit! But nevertheless, EXCITING! I'm sure it will cost less than Benny's lens anyway.

    If this takes off, you guys are welcome to view! Admission is free!
    Click here to help me make my Fish Room Project a reality!

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    I think that standardization of tank size & equipment would be more important with the more tanks kept. This would enable you to reduce your inventory of spare items to the barest minimum.

    When I think of standardization this would also include tank rack / stands so the lack of variation makes them “disappear” and the tanks themselves stand out. For filters, they should be scalable in being able to filter a variety of tank sizes. For example I am continually impressed by Eheim [2028’s the ones I have] and can dramatically reduce the water flow without apparent damage for a 2ft tank, which previously had a Eden 501. I presume other canister filters in the Eheim range are equally flexible. That said Eden 501’s are good, and I guess you are already standardizing on this model as you are thinking of 7 Eden 501’s

    Looking forward to seeing your setups…

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    Quote Originally Posted by Weirong
    Hmmm. Looks like I have to cut down the number of tanks. Distribute some around the house.

    2ft tanks not shiok lah. Will get tired of them in no time.

    Current plan:

    1) two sets of 3-tier 3ft x 2ft x 1ft tanks - 6 tanks

    2) One 2ft x 2ft x 1ft tank - 1 tank

    3) Two empty 3ft tanks for emersed plants - 2 tanks

    4) Scaping tanks - 2x 3ft, 1x 2ft, 1x 1ft cube - 4 tanks

    Total - 13 tanks

    Think I need at least 7 Eden 501 or 2215 filters, I already got all the bigger filters.

    This is going to set me back quite a bit! But nevertheless, EXCITING! I'm sure it will cost less than Benny's lens anyway.

    If this takes off, you guys are welcome to view! Admission is free!

    May I know why you opt for low tanks (1ft)? I find it to cause very limited choice of plants. I am also going to set up a fish room next month. Probably ard 7 tanks only.

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    i have friend who have 6 x 4ft by 2.5 and 1 x 5ft by 2.5 with cabinet sump and 1 x 6ft with cabinet sump....

    i guess you can multiply the weight of these and do a comparision... Btw, the glass thickness is 12mm...

    KK
    Last edited by Justikanz; 19th Apr 2006 at 23:57. Reason: Please do not use SMS language!!

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    think about sharing lights rather than having individual light sets. this could save you quite a lot also in terms of initial setup cost & future maintenance costs

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    Quote Originally Posted by cwtan12
    May I know why you opt for low tanks (1ft)? I find it to cause very limited choice of plants. I am also going to set up a fish room next month. Probably ard 7 tanks only.
    I'm using these tanks for cultivation purposes. Tanks for scaping will be 1.5ft and 2ft in height.

    Quote Originally Posted by mab
    think about sharing lights rather than having individual light sets. this could save you quite a lot also in terms of initial setup cost & future maintenance costs
    I'm already thinking of setting up lots of MH on the ceiling. Or else I will be using T5 sets for all the tanks.
    Last edited by Justikanz; 19th Apr 2006 at 23:59.
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    I agree with Rupert's suggestion for standardisation of tanks.

    Installation of lights can be forgo-ed since there'll be so much light

    Air-conditioning is good, and it'll be very very nice indeed to arrive home from work, put down everything, and enter a air-conditioned room of silence and water. I'd seriously consider putting aside money every month for that enjoyment.

    13 tanks! Your weekends are gone...

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    Hi

    just a query,, what does 2-tier mean or 3 tier mean?
    does it mean that the stand can contain 2 set of the tank? or 3 set of the tank respectively??


    sorry for noob question
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    Quote Originally Posted by |squee|
    I agree with Rupert's suggestion for standardisation of tanks.

    Installation of lights can be forgo-ed since there'll be so much light

    Air-conditioning is good, and it'll be very very nice indeed to arrive home from work, put down everything, and enter a air-conditioned room of silence and water. I'd seriously consider putting aside money every month for that enjoyment.

    13 tanks! Your weekends are gone...
    I'll be getting a single tank maker to handle all the tanks. Think it will be neatly standardized this way.

    Pardon me but I don't quite get the light part.

    Anyway, I estimate 5K should get what I want and make this into a reality. So who wants to volunteer to do setups and water changes sometime in August?

    My weekends are already gone!
    Click here to help me make my Fish Room Project a reality!

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    .

    Quote Originally Posted by AquaObsession
    Hi

    just a query,, what does 2-tier mean or 3 tier mean?
    does it mean that the stand can contain 2 set of the tank? or 3 set of the tank respectively??


    sorry for noob question

    yeah you are right. It will be one on top of the other with some space in between for lights/maintenance/etc

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    Weirong, all that light from the light sets... If your lighting period is from 2pm to 12am daily, you need never turn on the ceiling lights for that room to enjoy

    5K sounds good. Volunteer? Not me

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    Oh, so that's what you are referring to.

    Maybe I should set up a counter by the window to serve walk-in visitors too, and add a cashier.

    "Want to buy moss? Your Q number is xxxx"
    Click here to help me make my Fish Room Project a reality!

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    If u are thinking of using only aircon for chilling, drop MH. Go with T5HO and get a overpowered indoor aircon with at least 9000btu.

    Very interesting project. Will love to see it happen.

    Cheers
    JC

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    I've just bought one indoor aircon for my office's server room, it cost a whooping 2k for it. Big price for a small item
    Quote Originally Posted by solonavi
    If u are thinking of using only aircon for chilling, drop MH. Go with T5HO and get a overpowered indoor aircon with at least 9000btu.

    Very interesting project. Will love to see it happen.

    Cheers
    JC

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    My 2 cents contribution.

    The fish room should be as close to the toilet or to the master bedroom toilet. You could install pipes to carry the dirty water into the toilet from the fish room. If budget permits another set of pipes to provide tap water into that room.

    If you forsee that this fishroom be a permanent feature in your home, you could hack a hole in the wall and setup a tank there, kinda like an inwall tank. This will be your main aquascaping tank. Some reefer done this inwall type in HDB flats.

    Plan as many setup as possible and think through each concept that you came up with. Is it easier for you to move certain stuff around in that room or is the space between the wall and the ceiling being used at all? Where will the power outlet be located? How many power outlet do you need?

    Hope this helps!
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