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FischAutoTechGarten
12-08-2003, 08:22 PM
I've been documenting here and there my efforts to grow out juvenile Discus to adulthood to give them a chance in my Planted 120.

Unfortunately , all of this has transpired in my basement, which is less than an ideal. Quite honestly...it's rather skanky. Lots of mildew, tanks bursting, temporary tanks setup on an emergency basis with little planning, etc.. etc..

So, I've started to fix it up a bit ans scaled my plans back, way back. But before I get into future plans, I'd like to show you how the basement first looked, and what I've done to improve it.

FischAutoTechGarten
12-08-2003, 08:23 PM
Here's another shot of the area with my homemade rack. Notice the walls, floor, extension cords, etc...

FischAutoTechGarten
12-08-2003, 08:24 PM
Here's my 120 setup on the other side of the basement on an emergency basis...not an example of careful planning.

FischAutoTechGarten
12-08-2003, 08:30 PM
I scrubbed the floors and walls between the electical service, boiler and hot water heater and southeast corner with bleach after eliminating all loose concrete.

This is the two fans and humidifier drying everything up before i sealed with Lock Block and Epoxy.

FischAutoTechGarten
12-08-2003, 08:34 PM
The cleanup was an important step:

1. The moisture and spalting concrete was aggravated by tank spills and excessive tank evaporation.
2. It was depressing.
3. Having everything spread out increased the time and effort to care for everything.


So my goal was to clean everything up.
Seal the floors and Walls (at least in the immediate area where my hobby hatchery would live.)
Install new lines to the sewer for tanks, sink and barrel storage.
Install the sink.
Install hot & cold water lines for sink and tank storage.
Revamp my Tank Stand for my new proposed tank layouts.
Create a work space.
Permanent setup for storage barrels.

FischAutoTechGarten
12-08-2003, 08:40 PM
Here's a picture of the built tank stand.

It's now 8' wide, 32" deep and 65" high. This will allow for 29gallon tanks end to end.

See the newly blocklocked walls? The still glisten white after a weeks, despite snow and rainfall.

Notice the electrical outlets? I have 15 outlets (30 sockets) for the stand. The slighly darker outlets are the heating circuit. The lighter ones are the Filtration. I planned for 6 29 gallon (19" high) tanks on the top, 6 20L (12") on the bottom. The last bank of outlets are for the central airpump, hospital tank and fry hatching tank.

The top shelf is just for storage (ie. the air pump, extra light bulbs, filter floss, food,etc..)

I painted with a porch and floor paint.

FischAutoTechGarten
12-08-2003, 08:50 PM
Here's a picture where you can see the beige epoxy sealed floor.

Not as many electical wires hanging down either...the house remodel is moving along too!

FischAutoTechGarten
12-08-2003, 08:55 PM
Here you can see 2 of the 5 stub ups I installed in the PVC I ran around the perimeter of my basement to my Sewer/Sump. The pipe runs 2" above the ground. The stubups are 8" up. This will provide drainage for my tank overflows, tank auto drains, sink and barrel storage overflows! No more spills.

This space in the picture is where my new utility sink will go.

FischAutoTechGarten
12-08-2003, 08:59 PM
Here's my little 24" X 32" workcenter. The bottom shelf has my mini fridge, the top holds my laptop, test kit and other stuff. The utility sink will go on the left side.

Take note of the switch on the wall...that controls the Heating circuit just before the tank stand. That way I can simultaneously kill the power to all of my submerged heaters.

Of course all circuits are GFCI, but I like the idea of being able to easily kill the power to the heaters.

FischAutoTechGarten
12-08-2003, 09:05 PM
Here's the Mini Fridge under the WorkCenter.

FischAutoTechGarten
12-08-2003, 09:07 PM
Here's the GFCI outlets placed as the first devices on each circuit.

Notice the Cat's Meow?...going to install it in the first water barrel for level control.

I have two 55 gallon storage barrels, each with a 150Watt heater. I use an air pump for airation to drive out Clorine.

FischAutoTechGarten
12-08-2003, 09:10 PM
Here are my water storage barrels. Picture is bad, but they are set on a 48" X 24" stand that is elevated 8" from the ground. I have a Mag5 mounted to the stand to transfer water from the barrels to the tanks.

FischAutoTechGarten
12-08-2003, 09:14 PM
That's it for now.

I have to:

Run the hot/cold water lines.
Install the sink.
Plumb the PVC for tank draining, tank filling and debris siphoning.
Construct and Install the Air Manifold.
Place the tanks.
Paint the insulation (I have that neat Stone Paint that Tad and Oodi recommend) and insulate the tanks.
Build my Glass lids.
Install the new tank stand lighting.
Install the solenoids, timers and thermostatic mixing valve.

Lot of work, but the idea behind this is to make the 'fish room', aka hobby hatchery, pleasant and easy to clean up. I also want to substantially reduce the amount of time I spend on daily maintenance. The hatchery should also be something I'm not ashamed to show other people.

Tad
12-08-2003, 09:35 PM
Pete,
You have been one busy guy in the last half year...Its great to see it all come together for you and it appears planning has definately payed off....

Awesome job! ;)
Tad

PS: looks like a nice glass of Cabernet next to the puter ;D

FischAutoTechGarten
12-08-2003, 10:10 PM
Ah, my only vice...a glass of cabernet at dinner.

ronrca
12-09-2003, 10:43 AM
:o Wow! Your a busy guy! Looks good!

Thanks for the pics! Keep us updated on the progress! ;)

henryD
12-09-2003, 11:35 AM
Wow....That looks awesome. Very nice set up. Hmmm seems like mine is pretty low tech compared to everyone else.

Oh well..

Henry

daninthesand
12-09-2003, 01:01 PM
Way to go Peter. Its coming along nicely. Glad to see you're gonna try the "Cat's Meow" LOL. The two I use are still flawless.

I can empathize with you the difficulty in trying to set up a fish room while also doing major reno's on your house. I have been doing the same for the past two years (or is it three?), so the fishroom has been in a constant state of flux. I'm getting there....

Its very smart of you to tackle the seeping and spalting in the walls and foors. That was a big headache for me as well.

Keep up the great work! I look forward to seeing more!

Daniel

Brian-pdx
12-12-2003, 05:31 PM
Wow! Skank-no-more! ;) That's darn impressive, what was the NOT-scaled down version? I especially like the workstation and electrical consolidation. Since you have your wine there too, may I suggest a shelf above where you can put in a heater/aerator to get your red wine properly degassed and to the correct temp for "working". One for the discus, one for me. One for the discus, one for me...

jim_shedden
12-13-2003, 03:00 PM
looking good peter.......... :thumbsup:

jim

tony1313
12-14-2003, 10:04 AM
Looking good Peter!
Keep us posted.
:thumbsup:
Tony

Discusgeo
12-14-2003, 01:28 PM
Well you sure have gone far with this. I am supprised you are still with us with all that electrical wiring that use to be on the wet floor. Keep up the good work and remember SAFTEY FIRST ;)

FischAutoTechGarten
12-27-2003, 06:38 PM
Went to Home Depot today to buy a new front screen door and walked out with a new Utility Sink. My wife has gotten used to the 'newer' plastic one on the far side of the basement right next to the Washer & Dryer, so I was not about to move that one to the hatchery and put the huge concrete and iron one back (which didn't fit as nice and wasn't quite as close to the washer and dryer). So, I bought a second plastic one. (Yeah, a little overkill...two sinks in an inhospitable basement.) Just need to plumb it up. $16 for the sink, $9 for the faucet, $5 for the drain kit.