New Fish Room Addtions, MIA? No, I haven't been slacking!

If you guys have been missing me,,,I have NOT been slacking
The speaking circuit has been sporadic with a long drive to CT in February and some other reasonably lengthy trips around southern Ontario.
Work,well I gave up the managers job in Hamilton that was keeping me away from 10 years of fish room updates so now I am working only 2 days a week and working on my fish room expansion!
I recently updated my air system to 1 1/2 inch ABS piping and about 125 valves to which I attached a 1/8 th HP blower,,hope that works as I really do not want to hook up the 1/2 HP for obvious energy savings.
I just ordered my custom tanks today,,,these are regular sized tanks but are "stock tanks" which are built heavier and have no cross braces.
I had left 8 open spaces for the 50's,,,10 years ago and my smaller breeder tanks were occupying this space so they will be moved to the centre row (top shelf) so 8-50's are going in (18X36 footprint)
While the centre row will carry a lot more smaller tanks for fry,the main use for this area is for 8 breeder 40's (18X 36 footprint,,,hope YOU get the drift on the footprint newbies).
On the "short side of this new row I will be putting in some 10 or 12 inch wide tanks to fill the space behind the centre beam support. I can only fit 12 inch wide tanks as this row faces another row of tanks and the spacing would be to tight (ya,,,OH TO HAVE A 32 waistline again!,,,LOL).
Under the new row the plan is at this point to house a reservoir where there will be a water exchange for an "open ended" system (water goes in and water goes out continuously on a drip)
This centre row will house my breeders and fry that will be grown out to larger sizes.
I may or may not install lights over the tanks, but I do have a whole box of Hagen "Ice Caps" that I scooped when my buddy bought out a Pet Shop Close Out Auction. This is where most of the piping and valves came from as well.
Nothing gets you more in gear than going to an auction like this,,,as after we bought everything we went back and pieced it out over 2 weekends and then grabbed other things as we use for our own systems at home!
I got 50 Hagen "Ice Cap" units almost new,,, for $0.00, all the piping with valves installed, a 1/2 horse blower (bearing replacement was $159) 100-1/2 inch ball valves and lots of 1 inch diameter piping with "T's" glued together as a unit.
So pretty much everything I needed.

Things are still not done but I thought I'd post some pics so you get an idea of what the fish room looks like while the racking is almost 1/2 way done!


Pic #1 Ya the chair has got to go,,,it can sit in front of the furnace,that is the only dead spot in the room where I cannot build!
The other 2-40's go between the new rack and the chair,top row is for "baby tanks". The far wall are 75 gallon tanks.



This is the narrower side,I can only fit some 10-12 inch wide tanks here because there is another row on the left out of sight
and the sump has to go in below,the bottom horizontal pictured here was moved up to accomodate the sump.


Reverse shot, new 40 stands on left and older 50's on the right,,,135's are on the far wall.

In total there are 22 new tanks going in but with the new air system there are 6 tanks that were never filled due to lack of air from the old compressor,,,
so in total I am adding 22 tanks for the centre row.
Additionaly the row of 50's will be completed by adding the last 8 tanks there,making that side total of 26-50 gallon tanks (13 over 13).

So do I have an excuse for not being here ,,,yet

What do you all think?

Larry

Larry, great to hear from ya!!! Looks like you've been busy. 22 new tanks

Looks great, keep us posted buddy

Larry my friend, I thought we lost you

Good to see that you are keeping busy and it sure looks good so far. Problem is that I have to go on my knees now to see your fish....

See you in two weeks at the convention.

Give my best to Liz.

All I can say is "wow!"

Impressive and looks like a lot of work. I can understand why you haven't had time to surf the net lately and thank you for posting your expansion project here. We can't get enough of this kind of stuff.

How do you control the humidity in there?

Very impressive fish room Larry ! How about some tank shots? Would be nice to see some of your fish.

Nice update and it sounds like you did pretty well with that auction!

I thought about you this weekend when I handed Ad Konings my Malawi Cichlids book (that I ordered and had signed by him, with your help!) I wanted him to sign it again in person this time, so he signed right underneath the first one. I hope he won't think I'm crazy when I do it again tomorrow.

1,300 gallons in the 2 rows of 50's alone Thank you for sharing !

WOW! Who cleans all the tanks during your "vacations"? Looks awesome, must be easy to spend all day just watching fish.

good lord... and I get the run around for having about 500 gallons of water...

Looking good

Thanks for the kind words gang

Problem is that I have to go on my knees now to see your fish....

You're never to old to get down Yes 22 tanks for the new row and the last 8 - 50's for the wall,,, that side has been a thorn in my side for a long time!
I will be at the CAOAC Convention for sure, George Kardos is sharing the other room in the suite.

How do you control the humidity in there?

I never really had a problem until last year when it seemed to be raining every day,,,I finally had to turn on the dehumidifier. I am looking for a new one now,,,the old one is to noisy and I bet its not doing a great job,,,need newer and more energy efficient, one that will fit into the room itself.

I hope he won't think I'm crazy when I do it again tomorrow.

I think Ad knows we Cichlididiots are a rare species,,,I'm sure he won't mind!

WOW! Who cleans all the tanks during your "vacations"?

During the few months before I leave I usually sell the fish down and just leave filters running,,,this year is going to be different because I have been growing my breeder stock so there will be more to look after,,,but this new addition will be easier to look after.Just a qwik siphon of the feces on the bottom,,that's it. The water will be running in at a constant drip to avoid NO3 buildup.
The wife looks after things,although my son worked for me for 7 years at Big Als,,,and he's around once in a while to help out,,,and if problems arise. They did great while I was away in Malawi for 2 months last year

Here's a few updates.

I got the stryofoam in and its getting harder to find,,I was told it's not eco-friendly anymore and its being done away with,,,the replacement stuff is twice as expensive for 1/2 the amount!



The ballasts are used ones that I took out of a Pet Shop that me and my buddies cleared out. They are "Ice Cap" types the end caps fit over any size bulb and fit this unit really nice. One switch at the fish room entrance turns on this section. The power switch turns on the power to the duplex receptlcles.



A shot of what you see when you enter the room,,,,lots of junk now as things were going fast at that point, no need to "put things away" yet!



This shot shows the 50's on the other side of the room,,, the shelf above them with the smaller tanks is being moved to the centre row,,,this area had always been designated for 50's.



You can see the centre row drain pipe sticking out, above the tool box. The green silicone air lines had been pre-cut to hook up to the new airsystem,,,when I had nothing to do,,so they are hung up waiting to be put in.The new compressor is still not running yet, not until I need this row running.

So you are up to date with the pictures I have but there has been more done! So more pics soon!

Cheers,Larry

Larry,

You had told me when we talked by PM. This is pretty impressive.

Not to bad as, I tell people when we say this is a labor of love.
I wish to someday have a large fishroom. I have tanks all over my house.

Great job.
Your friend
Roger

I just could not have tanks all over the house! Believe me its much easier to clean when the tanks are organized.
I have well water...and a well pump,,,electric water heater,,,so I do some water changes every night/day on one section.
Now this may sound like a lot, but when the tanks are filling there are other things to do like ,,,feed fish,,,strip females,,,or just sit and watch. On the big days (50's) I sometimes take my laptop downstairs and post/reply on the forums. So its not wasted time
The new centre unit, I am hoping will be less work as it will be on a constant drip to keep the nitrates down,,,just a qwik siphon of feces off the bottom. The "drip" would be easier on the well pump which will proably come on a few times a day,but otherwise would be working steady while doing water changes like the other tanks. I will probably go thru more Nitrate test kits than I had previously.

Cheers,Larry

Amazing setup Larry, you're goin all out and it will be well worth it!!! Will be lookin forward to the progression of the fish room

way cool set up i bet you have some awesome fish in there

Amazing setup Larry, you're goin all out and it will be well worth it!!! Will be lookin forward to the progression of the fish room

Yes I think I did a good job,,,so far no "glictches",,,heading off on Friday to pick up my sump,,,had to get that custom made as I needed it to fit under that "skinny side",,,48X16X15H,,,plus one hole needs to get done!

More pictures to come,,,I just have to take them now,,,the room is beyound what I have posted here.



What the heck button did I hit for the blue background! LOL I liked the brown better! (OK some one fixed it,,,the post os all blue now!)

Cheers,Larry

What are your water parameters? or how do you plan to buffer water? I am planning a drip system, but my water needs a little buffering. What would you suggest I do that isn't really expensive?

Yours looks like it is going to turn out great!

Jon

Great looking fish room. Can't wait to see pictures of what all you have in the tanks.

Jon,

Try sending Larry a PM if you don't hear back from him.

He is good to help you.

Water parimteres here are Ph 7.8 and the conductivity is 970 microsiemens!
No buffering here
If you are looking to buffer,,,use some crushed coral and bag it in those nice large nylon bags that you can get from the LFS, they are cheap!

Picked up my sump tank today,,,pictures tomorrow,,,errr,,,later today! ( its to late tonight)

Cheers,Larry

Great set up Larry !

Wow so much work.

Thanks Larry, I will try that before I go to more drastic measures.

Hi Gang,here are some updated pictures,,,the water is in but the pump will be coming next week!

This is what you see when entering the room, these tanks on the centre row are on your right. I have built around the centre
support post for the basement and you can see the other side has smaller 10 gallon tanks and on the top shelf there are 8-5 gallon tanks.


A bit better shot here of the "skinny side" of the tanks there. The large space below them is for my sump which is still "curing" as it was
made on Thursday. There were other things to do so it will sit for a few more days before being installed.


This is the other side of the centre row. The white piping was cut up tonight to be installed for the "water returns", this was taken from
a Pet Shop I helped clear out a couple months ago. The top shelf above the 40's is for small fry tanks.


Lots of space for small tanks up top and the 5 gallon tanks will be "on-line" with the 40's. The water will be heated in the sump, so even the small tanks on line will get temperature correct water.The upper drain is 3 inch,,,a bit over done but the 3 inch fit perfect between the two sides.
This top shelf is a bit wider than 18 inches and is 9 feet long.


Here's an end veiw of the plumbing, its actually simple when you have to think about it! The water leaves via the bulkhead and elbows down 90o into a 1 1/2 inch hose, this hose fits into a 4 inch drain pipe that has a hole cut in it for the hose. The water then runs to the sump.
In the sump, the pump will return the water to the tanks,via 1 inch water lines that are run off a "T" fitting, reduced down to 1/2 inch before running into the tanks.Each line to each tank has a 1/2 ball valve to control the water flow.
This end (pictured) will be covered with plywood stained the same color, the end will also have a "pop out" table that is hindged about 33 inches from the floor,,,so it can be used for packing fish or using my laptop while doing water changes!


Well its almost done now,the returns are almost done,so the rest is fairly easy and will not take much time.
The extra triming can be done later after the 50's get installed,but I'm waiting on the bulkheads for those tanks,so who knows when everything will finally be done!
After that, the floor has to be painted again,,,then I can rest for a few days,,,the honey dew list is getting longer by the day!

Cheers,Larry