Ideas for new fish room please!!!!!!!

[bigcol]

Hi guys, as i will be moving house in a few weeks i was thinking about turning my garage at the new place into a fish room. It is a detached garage and very large so i am asking you lot for some ideas on how to keep it heated at a low cost and also the condensation, as there will be a lot of tanks in there by the time im finished with it all.

i am starting with my 8x2x2, get that finished then work around it to cover all 3 walls with built in tanks, various sizes, im also thinking of building a nice big pond in the center of the garage for my catfish.

I have lots of ideas from the diy threads but i really need some advice about certain areas of this project as it is going to be a huge 1.

All input welcome and please dont be shy as anything goes here im open to all suggestions

 

[Pharaoh]

I would suggest over-insulating the garage and heating the entire place. Its all about maintaining temperature in the garage. If it gets really cold, then you will definitely have to figure out how to make the garage as efficient as possible.

 

[chemicall]

don't forget your vapour barrior

I would get a dehumidifier for in there, if you drywall, I would paint the inside with a 100% sun proof acrylic from pittsburgh, or a weatherguard type paint(latex) from glidden

These are moreless outdoor paints, they don't smell bad, but in your fish room they could really protect your walls against moisture, condensation, mold.....etc. As they are meant to last against the weather, and where I live, snow, sleet, hail, rain, wind, storms etc is the norm, those paints hold up like rocks to this crappy weather

 

[bigcol]

I would suggest over-insulating the garage and heating the entire place. Its all about maintaining temperature in the garage. If it gets really cold, then you will definitely have to figure out how to make the garage as efficient as possible.

Thanks thats exactly what im thinking about atm

don't forget your vapour barrior

I would get a dehumidifier for in there, if you drywall, I would paint the inside with a 100% sun proof acrylic from pittsburgh, or a weatherguard type paint(latex) from glidden

These are moreless outdoor paints, they don't smell bad, but in your fish room they could really protect your walls against moisture, condensation, mold.....etc. As they are meant to last against the weather, and where I live, snow, sleet, hail, rain, wind, storms etc is the norm, those paints hold up like rocks to this crappy weather

I have a dehumidifier that i can use, and by drywall im amsuming that you mean plaster boards? yeah i will be doing that also but not straight away it will take some time to get all the materials together also the cost of it.

so any kind of weather proof paint will do? and will i have to do the ceilings of the garage also with the drywall and paint?.

very good comments, thanks guys keep em coming please

 

[chemicall]

Thanks thats exactly what im thinking about atm



I have a dehumidifier that i can use, and by drywall im amsuming that you mean plaster boards? yeah i will be doing that also but not straight away it will take some time to get all the materials together also the cost of it.

so any kind of weather proof paint will do? and will i have to do the ceilings of the garage also with the drywall and paint?.

very good comments, thanks guys keep em coming please

Yeah Gyproc, drywall, we call it drywall in canada lol. Of course primer first before your paint, but yes a weather proof acrylic or latex, you don't need to kill yourself with oilbased lol.

have you thought about wiring for everything? Your gonna need lots of outlets, a thought may be some power tracking, they use these in elementary/high schools, you mount the track on the wall and the outlets pop in and out and are moveable........for 100% flexibility, since say 1 or 2 outlets on a wall is probably not gonna cut it, and you don't want power bars running everywhere, that's a death sentence waiting to happen. Also don't forget to GFCI protect it all. I'd look into replacing whole breakers in the garage with GFCI breakers.

 

[bigcol]

Yeah Gyproc, drywall, we call it drywall in canada lol. Of course primer first before your paint, but yes a weather proof acrylic or latex, you don't need to kill yourself with oilbased lol.

have you thought about wiring for everything? Your gonna need lots of outlets, a thought may be some power tracking, they use these in elementary/high schools, you mount the track on the wall and the outlets pop in and out and are moveable........for 100% flexibility, since say 1 or 2 outlets on a wall is probably not gonna cut it, and you don't want power bars running everywhere, that's a death sentence waiting to happen. Also don't forget to GFCI protect it all. I'd look into replacing whole breakers in the garage with GFCI breakers.

oh noes, the main thing out of it all and i never even thought about it WIRING would be a good idea, something to think about, i think i know what you mean by power tracking too, me thinks an electrician of some sort might come in handy for that side of things as i might just be that death sentence you mentioned chemicall

 

[chloe]

i reckon ur on the right track with pond lol
like pharoah said, over insulate then there wont b much fluctuation with heat. if u manage to make the pond deep enough that would save as it wont get as cold as quickly at night and would maybe change pnly a degree whereas if its shallow it could change 8degrees and thats just not worth it for the fish.

 

[bigcol]

i reckon ur on the right track with pond lol
like pharoah said, over insulate then there wont b much fluctuation with heat. if u manage to make the pond deep enough that would save as it wont get as cold as quickly at night and would maybe change pnly a degree whereas if its shallow it could change 8degrees and thats just not worth it for the fish.

WOW you really know your stuff chloe nice 1, and nice advice. the pond will be big enough and deep enough to cover all you said, i also want lots of display tanks aswell as i want to keep all diff types and breeds of fish, might even go into the reptile side of things too, but thats another story for another day maybe. thanks for your input

 

[markx2005]

lol dont worry about electrics i get george to show me what to do, we are rewiring the garage at that new property in few days, when he does that i tell him ur idea

 

[bigcol]

lol dont worry about electrics i get george to show me what to do, we are rewiring the garage at that new property in few days, when he does that i tell him ur idea

ok m8 and do me a favour please..............stop fooking stalking me will ya .

its going to be mint m8 when it all finished and full of tanks lol