well i decided to build a fish house at the beginning of the year and im finally getting close to completion
the room is a 19ft x 12ft shed.The biggest tanks will be 5x2x2 and most will be 36x12x15 tanks.As they are smallish tanks i will be concentrating on dwarf cichlids,Angels,corydoras and hopefully tanganyikan cichlids
This is the start of the foundation of the concrete base..
I was fortunate enough to know a bloke who drove a skip wagon,so he dropped off two full size skips of bricks and rubble for me to use, and when it was in i went out and bought 3 tonne of dolomite to fill in the gaps and went over it with a vibrating plate to make sure it was solidified.
I then bought some reinforcing mesh and put it in place ready for the concrete. I collected 1 cubic metre of concrete at a time as it worked out at half the price of having it delivered. The thickness of the concrete is roughly 4-5".
when the concrete set i drilled and srewed some frame work down so the shed could sit straight onto the base.i already had the shed so it was just a case of moving it into place and screwing it togetherunfortuantly i never took any photos at this stage
but will have a pic of the outside when its all finished.
I then insulated the shed and double boarded it with 3/4" thick plastic coated chipboard.
Instead of painting the full shed first i decided to paint a wall and also fit the racks for the tanks at the same time.i decided to paint the room magnolia as i already had a large tub of it and thought it was pointless going out and spending money on a different color. I built the stands for the 5fts first, they will sit together in a 'L' shape.
then i started on the 3ft rack,i went to the local DIY centre and came away with 3x2 dressed timber in 2.4m lengths for the bargain price of £2 a length
I have put the tanks on the rack to be sure they dont get damaged, but they will be coming back out and getting cleaned and painted then put back again on a layer of 1"polystyrene.
and thats where im currently at!!
ive got to add sockets,a 4ft rack to hold 4 48x12x18 tanks and 4 24x12x15 tanks, a sink a fuse board and light fixtures so theres not much more to do
the room is a 19ft x 12ft shed.The biggest tanks will be 5x2x2 and most will be 36x12x15 tanks.As they are smallish tanks i will be concentrating on dwarf cichlids,Angels,corydoras and hopefully tanganyikan cichlidsThis is the start of the foundation of the concrete base..
I was fortunate enough to know a bloke who drove a skip wagon,so he dropped off two full size skips of bricks and rubble for me to use, and when it was in i went out and bought 3 tonne of dolomite to fill in the gaps and went over it with a vibrating plate to make sure it was solidified.
I then bought some reinforcing mesh and put it in place ready for the concrete. I collected 1 cubic metre of concrete at a time as it worked out at half the price of having it delivered. The thickness of the concrete is roughly 4-5".
when the concrete set i drilled and srewed some frame work down so the shed could sit straight onto the base.i already had the shed so it was just a case of moving it into place and screwing it together
unfortuantly i never took any photos at this stagebut will have a pic of the outside when its all finished.I then insulated the shed and double boarded it with 3/4" thick plastic coated chipboard.
Instead of painting the full shed first i decided to paint a wall and also fit the racks for the tanks at the same time.i decided to paint the room magnolia as i already had a large tub of it and thought it was pointless going out and spending money on a different color. I built the stands for the 5fts first, they will sit together in a 'L' shape.
then i started on the 3ft rack,i went to the local DIY centre and came away with 3x2 dressed timber in 2.4m lengths for the bargain price of £2 a length
I have put the tanks on the rack to be sure they dont get damaged, but they will be coming back out and getting cleaned and painted then put back again on a layer of 1"polystyrene.
and thats where im currently at!!
ive got to add sockets,a 4ft rack to hold 4 48x12x18 tanks and 4 24x12x15 tanks, a sink a fuse board and light fixtures so theres not much more to do
