my fish room beginning to take shape!

[limige]

heres some pics of the rack i built using mike wells designing.
it's a 10ftx18inches base, made to hold a 65 gallon in the middle (48x18) and two 50's on the ends (36x18). two levels in the same manor. this will serve primarily for my breeders, i'm planning another rack for 4 120 gallon tanks for some growout and possibly a pool for growout later when i run out of tank space :o

so heres the pics

[limige]

another

[limige]

yes, those are hockey pucks under the feet, accompanied by composite shims.

[limige]

i wish on the ends shown in the above picture my end peice overlapped the 10ft board and had the leg under both.

[limige]

i cut 4 peices of 1/2 ply for my tanks to sit on, each piece 18"x5'.


here i'm filling some small tanks to help the wood settle some before i go throwing my bigger tanks on. give me a chance to reshim after it all settles.

[limige]

heres a close shot of the middle tank showing height clearance.

this is a 15 gallon that measures 20inches high

[limige]

and heres a measurement of the clearance, almost 8".

the tanks i'm buying will all be 18" high so there is plenty of room to work.

[ronrca]

Thanks for the update! Its looking good! Keep us updated! I love seeing fishrooms being built!

Im almost done my mini fish rack also! All thats left is the plumbing! Once my parents return from Germany, I will take some pics/videos!

Keep up the good work! ;)

[henryD]

Nice job. looks like you thought of everything. If you can tell me the time it took and cost it would be great....

This way I could plan for mine when i decide to build a fish room.

[KEVINT]

Its looking good, nice and strong. What size tank can you fit on them?

[limige]

umm read top post, 4 50's and 2 65's
but for now it's going to hold my 29, 40H, 55, and a 22 cube for worms.

as i get the cash i'll buy the tanks one by one.

[ronrca]

Why not build them instead? Check out some glass shops/window oufits and get the glass free! You may be surprised. I have been able to get my hand on some big windows for free. Cutting glass is actually quite easy (Thanks to Smokey)!

[Smokey]

Limige - great looking setup... I like your use of the hockey pucks. lol. Been using them for years!!!
ONe thing - do not forget to place styrofaom under all the tanks. It helps with the tank setteling, and cuts heat loss. Also water does not bother the styrofoam ...

I am anxiously waiting for you pics ... Ron. I know you have invested a lot of time to create your ''SYSTEM''.

Smokey

[limige]

ron, thanks for the idea, i've been thinking about it but unless i come across some good clean glass and lots of it, it's not worth my time. right now time is extremely precious. i have a boat to finish rebuilding, i like to toy with my camaro, plus i'm working two jobs and doing some remodeling around the house. i'd rather just pay for them. in the future i plan on doing some large acrylics, but not for a year or two.


smokey, thanks, i did that on the 190 i have, but for these misc tanks i won't bother, when i buy my 50's, and 65's i may do that. i feel it plays a larger role when dealing with large based tanks, such as the 18 and 24 inch wides.

well here's a pic of the mess i have now. when i get my new tanks i'll clean things up a bit. fish seem pretty happy with the move. all except a turk pair which went from the 55 to a 29. they were watching non-fertile eggs for the first time and i had to disturb them on day 3 for the move. eggs are still there even today which is day 5 now! at least they're not egg eaters!

[limige]

here's a pic of my drainage.

[ronrca]

Looking good! I know what you mean time being precious! However, cutting the glass is the easiest and not very time consuming. Finishing the glass edges is what takes the longest however finding a glass shop that will finish the edges would be a great idea! Basicly, I build 3 tanks in a couple of hours. Cutting the glass took around an hour. Siliconing doesnt take long either! All you have to do is wait for the silicon to cure. So, just taking the time spend on the tanks would not be more than 4 hours for 3 tanks.

The trick is find the glass though! Like I mentioned before, check out some window outfits. I have been lucky and found glass beside the garbage bins! They ended up in my car pretty quick! ;D

[limige]

thanks for the tip, maybe i'll scout out some glass shops, i'm always in for saving money! what kind of surface do you use to break a 4ft peice of glass?

just any old glass cutter or is there a "premo" one that does the trick? i've got alittle experience with the finishing, i sanded out peice for my overflow on my 190. i used a 60 grit wheel on a 90 grinder at work. i think a higher grit would have produced better results, but for it's purpose i wasn't picky!

[ronrca]

There are different methods of breaking glass. You can use a 2x4 under the glass aligned with the break edge after you have scored the glass. Then by using weight, break the glass. Hope that makes sense.

What I used worked very well. There's a tool used for breaking tiles. See pic!

The glass cutter is just a glass cutter made by Diamantor, green handle, not expensive at all!

If you are serious about building tanks, I can send you some e-mails from (with permission from Smokey)! He's the culprit who got me into building 6 tanks already! Smokey, as well as myself will gladly help you! ;)

About finishing the glass, I did it by hand using diamond grit sand paper. A long time and sore arm! Not sure about using a grinder! The surface area would have to be quite large. Probably just as easy to pay $40 and have someone do it (the cost to finish 3 tanks, cdn of course).

[Smokey]

Actually, I used an electric sander, with the diamond sandpaper.
The most important part - keep the glass cool.

I like the good feeling of building something myself.
Besides, when i happen to break it; I know how to fix it !!! hahahahahahaha.

However, working with glass may not be for every one.
It can be potientually dangerous. Bandages, nay ... just grab a strip of duct tape !!!!!

As every one who has expierenced building something themselves, the feeling of accomlishment far out weights the time spent on the projuect.

............ JUST ASK ANY DISCUS OWNER !

[limige]

ok, i need some help with plumbing.

what were the different ways of stopping the bottom tanks from overflowing?

can i get both upper and lower levels to drain at the same rate?

i'm guessing i should have done 1 complete line for the upper and one complete line for the lower. and join on the ends right?!



right now i have one line on the bottom the t's off in three places and goes up. each vertical line is t'ed for the lower level then ends at the upper level

[ronrca]

A simple solution is using valves and adjusting the flow rate!

Smokey,
Electric sander? Palm sander or what kind?

[Mr. Limpet]

A little advice from Earthquake country, It looks like you used 1 half inch bolt for your supports. Using two 5/16 bolts one on top of the other has more sheer strength and inherently adds to the side to side stability of the rack. I also always cap my ends with another 2x4, forming an "L" at each corner. It looks like your supports stick out a little, so you might not be able to add that. I always overbuild, and I use bolts on everything, so they can be tightened later as the wood ages. Just something to think about for the next one. One of these days I'll get a digital camera to show what I am talking about. Paul.

[Smokey]

Electric sander. Get the sandpaper from a glass shop. It is diamond incrusted; designed especially for glass finishing.
I just cut to length and put on the electric sander. Works well for removing the ''edge''.

when I was building a tank; 3/4 inch thick glass, I used a belt sander to finish the edges.
Quote from Limige:
[i'm guessing i should have done 1 complete line for the upper and one complete line for the lower. and join on the ends right?!]

Yes, I thing your right. Would you be able to post a better pic/and describe exactely how the water flows.
Smokey

[limige]

well i discovered i suck at mspaint. here's a sketch of my setup.

top is how it is now,
bottom is how i'm thinking of changing it.

due to ball valves costing $5 each, i'd like to get away from one for each tank if possible. ideally one main valve at the end of the drain. i have 1" line run for the mains and 3/4 going up to each tank.

[ronrca]

Can you explain why your changing from your current to the proposed? ;)

[limige]

because the way it is currently i would have to put valves on every tank and open top ones and botttom ones seperate otherwise all the top tanks will tend to siphon into the bottom tanks. i'm not even using it right now.

with the proposed plan i could open one valve on the end and the tanks would drain. close it and everything would stop. but i'm unsure how well the bottom tanks would drain. will they drain at the same rate as the top tanks?

i'm open to other ways of improving this as well, i've pretty much decided i'm going to put a seperate system for the fresh water. i'm working on building a water storage unit right now to hold approx. 330 gallons.

when i order my new tanks i plan to have them drilled and use the system mike wells came up with for adjusting waterchange level.

[Smokey]

Your bottom design mpo - would be a better design. You are correct in assuming the water may drain at different flow rates. AND if air gets into the line - there goes the syphon!!!

When using paint - go to the ''A'' - this will allow you to enter text on the draft.

Getting / drilling tanks is always a get idea. For the smaller / thinner glass tanks - you can always remove the top 6'' of the end glass and replace with plexi-glass. This is easily drilled. ONE small step away from incorperating a sump onto a tank.


Smokey

[jim_shedden]

Hey guys....this is a great thread...........thanks........its given me some ideas.
Ronca / Smokey...............I think limige has some Canadian in him..............as soon as I saw the hockey pucks I figured he was a Canadian in a past life.

[ronrca]

I have 2 options!

Option #1
A valve for each shelf. This will allow you to close the valves as needed.

Option #2
Same as option #1 but with a main valve. This will allow you to adjust the valves in option #1 to get the same drain rate but still allow you to only have to operate 1 valve. This also allows you to isolate the shelves.

I would prefer option #2 plus put a valve on every tank anyways. This will enable you to isolate each tank if needed. Believe me, it is better to put some extra valves in now than later regret it. (Smokey already knows that I love lots of valves)! ;D

[ronrca]

My next option! This is if you lose the siphon!

This is using a valve on every tank. Placement of the valve is important. It has to be lower than the tank. If not possible, at least lower than the water level in the tank. Same is for the T connector! The T connector has to be placed before the valve as shown. There is a cap on the connector with a piece of airline siliconed in.

Operation (once you lose the siphon)
First you close the valve. Remove the airline check valve, start sucking air. Once the water starts coming out, squeeze the airline close, put the airline check valve back on, done! OPen the valve.

Have not tried it myself. Why use an airline instead of just the pipe? While it may be harder to suck the water up thru the pipe, when the water starts siphons, at least you will not get a month full/face full of water thru a 1" pipe. You will just get a little water thru the airline.

Or just start filling the tanks again. Have the main valve closed but you will need to incorporate a 'bleeder' to allow the air to escape somehow.

Just a thought! Any comments?

[Smokey]

Just drill the dam tank.
LMAO.......
The only valves I use are on the feed lines going to the over head BIO-TOWERS. I adjust the flow to the tanks. min for feeding / max for cleaning. Each tank get a minimum flow of 3x per hour.

Smokey

[limige]

well when i buy my new tanks i plan to have them drilled. thanks, i'll just keep doing things how i am until i get my new tanks.