Planning Fish Room need help (Portland area)

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ikevi

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Nov 19, 2006
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Oregon
I was wondering if there was anyone in the Portland area that was an structural engineer and might be willing to help me out on planning my fish room out. I have had my house for ~1 year and I know I need to set my basement up the right way before I start bringing in tanks. My key concern (besides moisture... which will be dealt with appropriately) is what type of stands I should have built/designed such that I can basically have 5 ft vertical of fish tanks. This will be on concrete, but I don't know what type of stand design I should use, if I need to drill support beams/add more cement, etc. The stands will likely be metal, though I plan on using acrylic tanks.

My initial thought was to have racks that will support 2 ft wide ~12 ft long ~7 ft tall. With 240 on the bottom and middle, and then 12 inch tanks on the top.

Obviously I am realistic that my goal might not be able to be obtained without a huge amount of money, but for now I want to design things such that I would have in essence the capability of putting in 3 of these racks. (In my mind this would mean about ~1000 gallons per rack...)

Anyways if there is someone in the local area that is interested in working for me to basically get cad drawings and to basically spec out the requirements that would ensure that my house isn't going to fall down on me after a few years of having these tanks it would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Kevin

FYI this is sort of what my basement will eventually have for fish tanks... I plan on getting everything setup to be able to handle the vast amount of moisture.

Quick 3d visual:
3d.png

rough measurements/2d layout (Old and slightly outdated.)
2d.png


Basement as it is now:
(back room)
IMG_1485.jpg

IMG_1472.jpg

IMG_1473.jpg


Wall will be pulled/moved, false ceiling will be changed. Floor likely will be re-epoxied. HRV system will be installed with additional basement dehumidifier.
 
I'm not in your area or have an engineering degree. However I have got an aquarium room and say good luck on building yours. It seems you have got a neat layout.
 
My experience with fisroom ( dismantled and sold ). Would be as below.

Make sure the gap vertical gap betwen stacked tanks is atleast 15", maintenace is a nightmare otherwise.

Go for stand pipe drain and plumbing into each tank , helps avoid spilling water all over the place.

locate your qt tanks separately and don't mix/use the same set of maintenace equipment.

Isolate an area if you plan to culture live food.( some need sunlight).


I have also observed that bottom most tier of tanks is quite useless as it gets ignored during maintenace and most of my fishes turned out skittish when place close to ground. Instead use this place to store all your equipment , pl cover this with good wood cabinetry as not to tick off the wifey!

Drawers here are a good idea , clearly marked e.g fish food , medicines , air stuff, plumbing stuff etc. ( a lifesaver when you out of town & wifey chipping in to help you out )

Plumb a good air supply network throughout the fishroom to have air handy for aeration and filtration , helps reduce the tangle of wires .

Consider air to drive filters.

Have an extra air pump handy.( could be half the main pump capacity,if on a budget ).

mark out and leave an area for an eventual indoor pond.


That's it for now !
setting up a fishroom is easy ! Just add water !!! :D

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Oh I have experience with ~1,500 gallons of fish tanks. But that was never in my own house. (I was renting before.) This time I am going to do everything planned before hand, but my biggest concern is that I don't want to cause damage to my house.
 
Install a cupple of exhaust fans into the celing to keep the humidity down and vent them outside i have one in my fish room and it works great. I also used bathroom drywall in the entire room and built drain and water suply into the wall so i didnt have to use buckets anymore.

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Oh I will have a system much better than just some exhaust fans. And I definitely will have it setup for 1 twist water changes. Heck we are talking about 3000 gallons in the fishroom, and eventually I plan on over a 1000 gallon fish tank in the other room.
 
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