So, I have some plans to start a fish room in my basement this winter. Need to finish clearing it out, and get some lumber, but I am going to do it for sure this time.
I have two stretches of wall that I am going to be using. One is roughly 60" long, give or take a couple of inches. I am thinking a rack that will put two 20long tanks side by side and three high will fit there.
The other wall is roughly 7' of useable space. I want to do two racks that will hold six 10gallon tanks and one 40gallon breeder. I am thinking a row of three 10gallons on the bottom, the 40gallon in the middle and a row of three 10gallon tanks on top.
The 40's will be used for plecos and the 10's for pleco eggs to hatch and as grow out tanks. I can also try my hand at some smaller cories or tetras in the 10's as well. The 20's will be for shrimp and other smallish fish. All will have air powered sponge filters and shop lights. Don't want to mess around with that many power filters. I am planning on a water storage tank of some sort for WC's, and I want to use a central drain system for draining the tanks for WC's. Not going to use an auto fill system though. I want a little more control then that. I am also planning on a separate circuit for all the electrical and I need to add a water line for ease of use. I have some stuff drawn out, but need to get it to the comp, so I will have to post that later on. An RO/DI unit will be later down the road as I need one for the reef tank anyway. I am thinking a 50 gallon drum for the water storage tank, and I can drain all the tanks directly into the floor drain when I do WC's.
My biggest hurdles are going to be stand construction and plumbing. With all the tanks, will 2x4's with dato joints be sufficient? I am thinking something along the lines of this, only on a larger scale.
As for drain plumbing, I was thinking of this plumbing or this plumbing. They are both essentially the same with minor differences. I am thinking of drilling for 1/2" bulkheads about 3/4 of the height of the tank, so when I open the valves, it will auto drain about 20%ish of the water to be refilled. Would that be sufficient? Or should I lower it? Also for the rack that will hold the plecos, I am wondering if I should sump the system or not. Or maybe sump the two 40gallon tanks and just lose the bottom row of 10gallon tanks and put the sump there. I really would rather not do that though, and think it will be more cost effective to have sponge filters.
Thoughts or ideas? Pictures of your setups? Advice or criticisms? Let me know. I will try to get some pics up of my idea so you can better see it.
I have two stretches of wall that I am going to be using. One is roughly 60" long, give or take a couple of inches. I am thinking a rack that will put two 20long tanks side by side and three high will fit there.
The other wall is roughly 7' of useable space. I want to do two racks that will hold six 10gallon tanks and one 40gallon breeder. I am thinking a row of three 10gallons on the bottom, the 40gallon in the middle and a row of three 10gallon tanks on top.
The 40's will be used for plecos and the 10's for pleco eggs to hatch and as grow out tanks. I can also try my hand at some smaller cories or tetras in the 10's as well. The 20's will be for shrimp and other smallish fish. All will have air powered sponge filters and shop lights. Don't want to mess around with that many power filters. I am planning on a water storage tank of some sort for WC's, and I want to use a central drain system for draining the tanks for WC's. Not going to use an auto fill system though. I want a little more control then that. I am also planning on a separate circuit for all the electrical and I need to add a water line for ease of use. I have some stuff drawn out, but need to get it to the comp, so I will have to post that later on. An RO/DI unit will be later down the road as I need one for the reef tank anyway. I am thinking a 50 gallon drum for the water storage tank, and I can drain all the tanks directly into the floor drain when I do WC's.
My biggest hurdles are going to be stand construction and plumbing. With all the tanks, will 2x4's with dato joints be sufficient? I am thinking something along the lines of this, only on a larger scale.
As for drain plumbing, I was thinking of this plumbing or this plumbing. They are both essentially the same with minor differences. I am thinking of drilling for 1/2" bulkheads about 3/4 of the height of the tank, so when I open the valves, it will auto drain about 20%ish of the water to be refilled. Would that be sufficient? Or should I lower it? Also for the rack that will hold the plecos, I am wondering if I should sump the system or not. Or maybe sump the two 40gallon tanks and just lose the bottom row of 10gallon tanks and put the sump there. I really would rather not do that though, and think it will be more cost effective to have sponge filters.
Thoughts or ideas? Pictures of your setups? Advice or criticisms? Let me know. I will try to get some pics up of my idea so you can better see it.