Okeydokey.. I have a plan.
My tanks are getting bigger, and taking over more and more of my house.
I am thinking seriously about setting aside one room specifically as a fishroom, but I have a few questions.
First off - I have three possible locations for the fish room:
Lounge
Conservatory
Garage
The Lounge is dry, warm, and large. I already have four tanks in here, running happily, and I know that I have enough electrical sockets to play with. This room has a radiator, and has a decent wood flooring that can take the weight. However, I am slightly loathe to remove the one big room in my house and turn it over entirely for fish. you need to go through the lounge to get to the conservatory. This also means that the lounge has more traffic than the other possible locations.
The conservatory is only slightly smaller than the lounge, has fantastic sunlight, and is very accessable in terms of the garden and my water butt. The conservatory is built externally to the house, and the temperature can wildly fluctuate, depending on the time of year and time of day. The floor is stone slabs, and is absolutely freezing most mornings. The conservatory is lockable, and would therefore not really impinge on any other part of the house.
The garage is currently my junk repository. There are a minimal amount of power outlets, but the lighting is good. To turn the garage into a fishroom would mean more work than on either of the other locations, as I would have to formulate some kind of screen against the garage door, to prevent the incredible amounts of heat loss that I could get. The garage is the biggest of all the rooms that are currently available to me, and I would be able to construct stands etc to my own specifications - but my major issue on this location would be temperature issues - as I may have to insulate all of the walls to keep in as much heat as possible.
My only other constraints regarding any potential course of action are that at present I am renting the property. I'm renting from my brothers girlfriend, so I have some leeway.. but the house is not mine - so I MUST be able to return the house to its current state without too much jiggery-pokery.. Hence at best I can design a semi-permenant structure in whichever location I decide.
Whatever fishroom I decide on, I want somewhere that I am able to watch my fish in comfort, and perform any maintenance I need to with a minimum of fuss. I also want to ensure that the location is the best for the health of my fish. Bearing in mind that I an in the midlands of the UK, so we do not get a lot of sunshine - so I will have to use a heater whatever location is best.
Can anyone else give me any pointers or suggestions, or ideas for how I should go about this project?
My tanks are getting bigger, and taking over more and more of my house.
I am thinking seriously about setting aside one room specifically as a fishroom, but I have a few questions.
First off - I have three possible locations for the fish room:
Lounge
Conservatory
Garage
The Lounge is dry, warm, and large. I already have four tanks in here, running happily, and I know that I have enough electrical sockets to play with. This room has a radiator, and has a decent wood flooring that can take the weight. However, I am slightly loathe to remove the one big room in my house and turn it over entirely for fish. you need to go through the lounge to get to the conservatory. This also means that the lounge has more traffic than the other possible locations.
The conservatory is only slightly smaller than the lounge, has fantastic sunlight, and is very accessable in terms of the garden and my water butt. The conservatory is built externally to the house, and the temperature can wildly fluctuate, depending on the time of year and time of day. The floor is stone slabs, and is absolutely freezing most mornings. The conservatory is lockable, and would therefore not really impinge on any other part of the house.
The garage is currently my junk repository. There are a minimal amount of power outlets, but the lighting is good. To turn the garage into a fishroom would mean more work than on either of the other locations, as I would have to formulate some kind of screen against the garage door, to prevent the incredible amounts of heat loss that I could get. The garage is the biggest of all the rooms that are currently available to me, and I would be able to construct stands etc to my own specifications - but my major issue on this location would be temperature issues - as I may have to insulate all of the walls to keep in as much heat as possible.
My only other constraints regarding any potential course of action are that at present I am renting the property. I'm renting from my brothers girlfriend, so I have some leeway.. but the house is not mine - so I MUST be able to return the house to its current state without too much jiggery-pokery.. Hence at best I can design a semi-permenant structure in whichever location I decide.
Whatever fishroom I decide on, I want somewhere that I am able to watch my fish in comfort, and perform any maintenance I need to with a minimum of fuss. I also want to ensure that the location is the best for the health of my fish. Bearing in mind that I an in the midlands of the UK, so we do not get a lot of sunshine - so I will have to use a heater whatever location is best.
Can anyone else give me any pointers or suggestions, or ideas for how I should go about this project?
And good luck with the project!
