Fish Room Project

[mkng07]

Happy holidays SD!
Its been a hard few weeks getting this set up. Still have to finish plumbing the tanks for easier water changes but its almost there :) I hope you enjoy the pictures.

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc481/youngz13o/Mobile%20Uploads/0803A1BE-891F-4218-9BD3-1F14951FFD8A.jpg

First Fill :)
http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc481/youngz13o/Mobile%20Uploads/BBC1FDC0-CB32-4813-B2F7-22FEF71E68C3_1.jpg

I'm horrible with cable management.
http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc481/youngz13o/Mobile%20Uploads/835B1687-D7E8-429A-809A-2B510CF62F93.jpg

Picked up 65G from a fellow SD member for fry grow out. Thank you Vincent :)
http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc481/youngz13o/Mobile%20Uploads/26744534-9A52-42D4-8508-BF2C283BCD47.jpg

Decided to add another rack to hold potential breeding pairs
http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc481/youngz13o/Mobile%20Uploads/A271A8DD-1D19-400E-81D3-B8923A73BC5F_1.jpg

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc481/youngz13o/Mobile%20Uploads/B8D32A2D-6065-41F7-887E-C5E1E78FDC2B.jpg

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc481/youngz13o/Mobile%20Uploads/B460D252-063F-4308-876D-EB87C1D7CC3F.jpg

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc481/youngz13o/Mobile%20Uploads/A3821A5C-AF54-4552-88FB-C4B602662660.jpg

[MKD]

always feel good to add more tanks :) have fun with project.

[DJW]

This looks good. Now if you leave the tools and lumber and buckets laying around on the floor and add a few puddles it will look just like my fishroom ALWAYS looks. :D

There is just one thing I noticed. Are the stand corners connected with drywall screws? If so, they don't have much shear strength. I would be tempted to use at least a single 1/4" through bolt, countersunk, at each corner. But I have a tendency to overbuild things like this.

[mkng07]

always feel good to add more tanks :) have fun with project.

More tanks? Why not? haha :)


This looks good. Now if you leave the tools and lumber and buckets laying around on the floor and add a few puddles it will look just like my fishroom ALWAYS looks. :D

There is just one thing I noticed. Are the stand corners connected with drywall screws? If so, they don't have much shear strength. I would be tempted to use at least a single 1/4" through bolt, countersunk, at each corner. But I have a tendency to overbuild things like this.

Those pictures were taken after I cleaned it! Its still a mess lol.
The screws I used are for exterior use. I'm not totally sure about these numbers, found them online. But I'm just going to conservatively say the sheer strength for each screw is ~80lbs. I use about two screws per side so that comes out to 8 screws per tank, which I guess is roughly support for ~640lbs. Almost double what I need. I also reinforced the larger 40G breeders with an additional horizontal beam under the tank platforms so I think its pretty safe. As long as I don't run into it or pull on the rack sideways.

[ericNH]

Wow that is ambitious! Looks awesome! How long did it take you to set all that up? Is that 6 tanks altogether now?

[mkng07]

Wow that is ambitious! Looks awesome! How long did it take you to set all that up? Is that 6 tanks altogether now?

Thank you! Yes it currently has 6 tanks but I can still fit 2 more :) muahaha

From start to finish up to the last picture, I would say it took me about 3 weeks. Most of that time was just spent planning it out. The build itself is pretty quick once you get all the bits and pieces together.

[vandiscus]

Looking good!

[mkng07]

Update:
Finished the plumbing with no leaks :D
http://i67.tinypic.com/2dwgetj.jpg

[rickztahone]

Very cool. Soon you will have double the amount of tanks, lol

[mkng07]

Yeap... you know how it is lol

[Dis82]

Looks good. How is the syphon start on your drain lines? Are they hooked up to an external pump?

[rickztahone]

You should really consider putting a strainer on the pvc. Either a slim line strainer or traditional.

[mkng07]

the drain is hooked up to an external pump

Rick, do you mean this?
http://i63.tinypic.com/2cia6b8.jpg

[rickztahone]

Yup, you got em

[Wes]

Matt, nice set up and a comfortable chair to watch the fish grow while you browse on Simply Discus.

[Phillydubs]

This is really cool! Care to share some of the plumbing and filtration info? Are they all going through that bottom sump? I thought I saw a canister on one...?

I may be headed this route very soon... I have some big steel shelving in my basement I am wondering if I could/should use a rack like this or build the wooden style as you have...?

[mkng07]

Hey Phil,

The plumbing is really just a drain system. It doesn't filter the tanks at all. For filters I use mainly sponge filters in combination with powerhead filters.
Check out this page. I started this thread before I built it.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?121469-PVC-Drain-System&highlight=

Whether or not you want to go with wooden or steal racks is really just a matter of preference. I don't see either affecting this project. If you alreayd have steel racks, I'd go with those since it would save you the time of building your own, of course make sure they can support the weight your going to put on it.

[mkng07]

Thanks for the kind words everyone! Its been a great journey with Discus this far and I'm glad to share it with you guys. :)

Hey Phil,

The plumbing is really just a drain system. It doesn't filter the tanks at all. For filters I use mainly sponge filters in combination with powerhead filters.
Check out this page. I started this thread before I built it.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?121469-PVC-Drain-System&highlight=

Whether or not you want to go with wooden or steal racks is really just a matter of preference. I don't see either affecting this project. If you alreayd have steel racks, I'd go with those since it would save you the time of building your own, of course make sure they can support the weight your going to put on it.

[ericNH]

Wow, well done! You don;t have a fish tank, you have a whole system of tanks - I am jealous! Very cool :) you must love playing around with all those tanks, planning what you'll add, moving fish around, just cool stuff.