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Dioaquatics’ Fishroom
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OP
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I'm having a somewhat difficult time finding the tanks on Craigslist. Seems like there's not many fishkeepers around my area getting rid of 20 longs or 40 breeders lol. Getting them at PetCo for a dollar per gallon doesn't bother me at all but obviously getting them cheaper is much better for the wallet haha.
Thank you! I knew that the females were yellow when in breeding conditions but I didn't expect it to be that vivid.
Thank you. I hope they make some beautiful babies for me
OP
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In preparation of the racking system, I tried to calculate a rough estimate for how much all the materials will be. I need different lengths of 4x4, 2x4, 2x6, and about 24 cinder blocks (2 different sizes). All of this I guestimate will come to around $120-140, which if you ask me, isn't bad at all for a rack that will be holding 13 tanks lol. I'm pretty sure I spent more than that building the stand and canopy for my 75 gallon LOL. Unlike the tanks, I will try to get all the materials I need at once that way I can have it set up and ready for the tanks when they are bought.
Here's the design plans again for a frontal view of the rack again.
I also drew up a very rough sketch of the side view of the rack and the materials I need.
Here's the design plans again for a frontal view of the rack again.
I also drew up a very rough sketch of the side view of the rack and the materials I need.
OP
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Quick update, I get payed tomorrow so that means I'll be able to get the materials for the rack. Hopefully I can buy everything I need either tomorrow or Friday and setting up the rack in it's final resting spot the same day. Will post pictures after all the supplies are bought and the process of setting up the racks. Slowly getting closer to actually have tanks set up!
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So exciting!! Can't wait to see the racks set up! And those apistos are BEAUTIFUL!! I'll def be in line for one of the babies!
One thing about the racks... it looks like you only have 4 inches above those 40 b's... that's not a lot of room for water changes/cleaning/maneuvering & such. You may want more room for your siphon/hands etc. (no experience with a rack like this tho). Fortunately, with your design, you can change it around if it isn't enough room. Just my 2 ¢
One thing about the racks... it looks like you only have 4 inches above those 40 b's... that's not a lot of room for water changes/cleaning/maneuvering & such. You may want more room for your siphon/hands etc. (no experience with a rack like this tho). Fortunately, with your design, you can change it around if it isn't enough room. Just my 2 ¢
OP
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Photos will definitely be coming soon
Thank you! The apistos are my favorite fish at the moment lol. Once they spawn for me, I'll be sharing them with you guys
I did notice that myself and was a little concerned but I figured since the 40b will be sticking out an extra 6 inches from the front of the 20L, and that 4 inch space on top, that I should be able to do any cleaning or anything I need rather easily. As for water changes, the tanks will all be drilled and have 1 inch bulk heads on the back so I can drain the water easier. If anything does need to be changed, I'd have to move some things around but it's not impossible to work around
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OP
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I got caught up doing some other things after work so I didn't go to Home Depot as early as I wanted to but all the wood and cinderblocks have been purchased and are in my basement! The wood was cut to size for me at Home Depot for free so that was a plus. I ended up getting 23 cinder blocks and boy was that a pain to move around by myself. From the shelf to the cart, from the cart to my car, and from my car to my basement. So basically I died a little doing that LOL. Due to the fact I partially died, I didn't get to set up the rack so that will happen tomorrow when I revive myself a little.
I actually overestimated how much everything was going to cost. I only spent $100 on all the materials I need for the rack which is awesome. That means I get to keep what I thought was an extra $20-40, for the fish funds. I also sold 20 of my guppies from my 75 for a buck a piece so there's another $20 to the fish funds.
Here's all the materials lined up and ready to be put together! Oh, also, I ended up not buying the 4x4 because I will be using the spare cuts from the 2x6 and 2x4 as the extra risers on top of the cinder blocks since I have them available. Can't wait to get this set up!
I actually overestimated how much everything was going to cost. I only spent $100 on all the materials I need for the rack which is awesome. That means I get to keep what I thought was an extra $20-40, for the fish funds. I also sold 20 of my guppies from my 75 for a buck a piece so there's another $20 to the fish funds.
Here's all the materials lined up and ready to be put together! Oh, also, I ended up not buying the 4x4 because I will be using the spare cuts from the 2x6 and 2x4 as the extra risers on top of the cinder blocks since I have them available. Can't wait to get this set up!
OP
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Sorry to bore you all with my long posts but here comes another one. The rack is finally up. It didn't take me very long to set it up since I had a plan. I do have a few concerns/problems
Here's a picture of the first row and the final result. I couldn't even fit the entire thing in the picture from how big it is....
- Let's just start off with the size of it. I did not realize how big it was until setting it up. I don't know if the cinder blocks will be sturdy enough for the height of this. I might have to reduce the number of tanks I'm keeping yet again and only have 2 rows instead of 3
- Second, I completely forgot about the vents in my basement. The rack is too tall and one and a half of the 20L on the top row will be completely covered by the vent. That's not okay, so now I'm going to have to move the rack over to the other side of the basement (no vents over there but away from the sump).
- Lastly, I unknowingly made a mistake with my side view drawing of the rack and made the rows of 20L 28 inches long instead of 30. When I was putting it all together with the right measurements, I lost 2 inches of space to access to the bottom rack of 40B and can't get in there properly.
Here's a picture of the first row and the final result. I couldn't even fit the entire thing in the picture from how big it is....
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OP
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I got a new design that will work and I didn't even have to sacrifice that many tanks! The new plan is to have a rack that's 96 inches left to right, about 52 inches tall and 36 inches front to back. It will have 2 rows consisting of 7x20L on the top row and 4x40B on the bottom row so I'm only really losing 2 tanks. A much bigger gap (8 inches) in between rows so I can fit my arm in there to clean or whatever else. Here's the new plan layout.
Front view
And the side view
Front view
And the side view
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OP
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There's a few things that I have to do before setting up the rack but honestly. Some of those things can wait. I have to put the insulation and the drywall which is most likely next before I actually putting water in the tanks. I was going to patch up some of the concrete walls but that was just for aesthetics. I also have to swap everything from one side of the basement to the other (soooo much fun). Before setting up the rack I have to exchange some of the cinder blocks to properly set it up
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OP
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No I won't be. My basement seems the be a steady 72-74 degrees so hopefully it stays that way. If not, the tanks will all have heaters in them
OP
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I got a funny story for you guys. So today I went to go pick up my girlfriend and then we were gonna go to Home Depot to exchange the cinderblocks for the right sizes. Well after I picked her up and we were on our way to Home Depot, we drove passed a house that had some junk outside. I took a quick look, I saw a fish tank with the junk! I suddenly screamed "FISH TANK!!!!!!!!!!!" and nearly scared my girlfriend half to death LOL. I pulled over, waited till it was safe and reversed right up to the tank. At first I thought it was a 20L but I realized it's a 40B!!!!!! I measured it when I got home and confirmed it. Along with the tank was a filter that was in pieces so I left it, there was also a light but I left that too. So now I have a used 40B that I got for free. All it needs is a cleaning and it's good to go Here it is
OP
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I ended up going back to the house that I got the 40B from and took the filter and light home. The filter had most of its pieces, just missing the down pipe but that's an easy fix. Both the light and filter are working so I'm excited about that. One can never have too much spare aquarium equipment lol.
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OP
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OP
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I'm so mad at myself! I don't know how this didn't occur to me before but the 2x6 I bought as the platform for the tanks to rest on, will need to be repurchased to work in the new rack design. With the original plans, the rack was 80 inches wide so that's what I had the Home Depot employee cut the wood to. Well now with the new plan, the 2x6 have to be 96 inches long or else they won't work. I tried to think of every which way possibly to use the precut 2x6 and make them work but it just won't.
I wouldn't be so mad if it was 1 or 2 pieces that I bought but no, it was 9!!! Nine pieces of 2x6!!! I already looked online and they will not exchange the wood but I'm going to call tomorrow and test my luck. If not, I'm going to have to buy 6 more 2x6 and not get them cut.
I wouldn't be so mad if it was 1 or 2 pieces that I bought but no, it was 9!!! Nine pieces of 2x6!!! I already looked online and they will not exchange the wood but I'm going to call tomorrow and test my luck. If not, I'm going to have to buy 6 more 2x6 and not get them cut.
OP
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Yea it does suck. I thought of anyway I could possibly salvage it but nothing works. I did call Home Depot and explained the situation. Luckily, they're going to allow me to exchange the cut wood for new ones as a one time courtesy. They just won't cut it for me this time which is fine since I need the full 8ft board. I got lucky with that one lol
OP
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OP
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It's alive!! ITS ALIVE!!!!!!!!! The fish rack is finally complete! I have it set up in its final resting spot and I'm happy to say, I like this design much better than the first one. I still have to add the support columns that go in between each 40B but that will happen when I can get the proper measurements of the spacing for the tanks. I also want to hang a light fixture under the top row for the bottowm row to get light. I will be hanging the drywall on the ceiling next and after that's done, I want to paint the walls around the rack with white FlexSeal paint. Once that's all done, I will get the last minute things to actually set up the tanks. Here's a picture of the final result and with some of the tanks on it.
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OP
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It's been about 2 weeks since the last update, not much has really changed. The rack is still up, I did find a spider hiding in the cinder blocks so I got rid of that little issue lol. My girlfriend also bought me a 40B so now I have 2x40B and 3x20L. Only 7 more tanks to buy lol.
I finally found someone with a vehicle big enough to fit drywall so hopefully I can get that this Sunday and put it up the same day. Once that's done, I will drill and plumb the tanks and set them up. I need to get the ball rolling again! I also got someone that will install a utility sink for me for free, all I have to do is buy the sink.
Also, I need some opinions. I plan on painting the bottoms and backs of that tanks black, should I also paint the sides or no?
I finally found someone with a vehicle big enough to fit drywall so hopefully I can get that this Sunday and put it up the same day. Once that's done, I will drill and plumb the tanks and set them up. I need to get the ball rolling again! I also got someone that will install a utility sink for me for free, all I have to do is buy the sink.
Also, I need some opinions. I plan on painting the bottoms and backs of that tanks black, should I also paint the sides or no?
I wouldn't paint the sides black personally because I like being able to see from the sides but a fish room I visited recently had the backs and sides painted so I'm sure there's benefit to it. The guy was raising cichlids so it was probably done to make sure the fish in neighboring tanks weren't stressing eachother.
OP
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I'm definitely going to paint the bottom and backs so I guess I'll wait and see how I like the way it looks. I'm going to be keeping/breeding plecos, dwarf cichlids, and guppies so I guess I'll just see how it works out. If anything, I'll just put a piece of black or white card stock in between the tanks and call it a day lol
OP
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Just placed an order on Amazon for my commercial air pump, the room thermometer for the basement, 5x 1inch bulkheads, and 2x diamond coated hole saw bit to actually drill the tanks The air pump I got can run 1300gph, plenty strong for my purpose lol.
I was going to buy strainers to put on the inside of the tanks but I decided to DIY that part to save a few bucks. I'm going use some of that craft mesh and silicone that right over the bulkhead.
Also decided that when I go to Home Depot to buy the drywall, I going buy the utility sink at the same time, that way I can get water down there faster.
I was going to buy strainers to put on the inside of the tanks but I decided to DIY that part to save a few bucks. I'm going use some of that craft mesh and silicone that right over the bulkhead.
Also decided that when I go to Home Depot to buy the drywall, I going buy the utility sink at the same time, that way I can get water down there faster.
OP
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Guess who got their Amazon order!?! Well part of it at least lol, I'm waiting for the thermometer which should also arrive today. I'm super excited to have this stuff here, it makes the fishroom that much more of a reality.
This pump is pretty big and has a good amount of power to it. It is kind of loud but that's really the only down fall. I might try to build an insulated box or something to keep it in so it's not super loud when I'm in the fishroom.
The bulkheads and diamond coated hole saw bits all came in fine. The hole saw bits came with a 38mm and 45mm. I'm only going to be using the 45 to drill the tanks for the bulkheads. I'm nervous for all of this since it's my first time drilling a tank. I'll be testing my skills tonight on a scrap piece of glass I have from a tank I literally tore apart lol. Here's to hoping I don't break them! Wish me luck!
This pump is pretty big and has a good amount of power to it. It is kind of loud but that's really the only down fall. I might try to build an insulated box or something to keep it in so it's not super loud when I'm in the fishroom.
The bulkheads and diamond coated hole saw bits all came in fine. The hole saw bits came with a 38mm and 45mm. I'm only going to be using the 45 to drill the tanks for the bulkheads. I'm nervous for all of this since it's my first time drilling a tank. I'll be testing my skills tonight on a scrap piece of glass I have from a tank I literally tore apart lol. Here's to hoping I don't break them! Wish me luck!
OP
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I got the last details of the rack finished. I added the braces/legs that will be supporting the weight from the 20L on top. I think I'm going to use little L brackets to secure the bottom part of the legs to the 2x6. Here's a picture of the rack with the braces installed.
As soon as I finished screwing the braces in place, both of my drill batteries died lol just my luck right. So I'll be charging the batteries over night and will start drilling the tanks tomorrow or Sunday. I figure I'd practice on a 20L instead of a spare piece of glass because I don't want the drill bit to wear out. If the tank cracks I won't be too upset because I can get them for a DPG easily. I do have a jig I made out of scrap plywood that will allow me to drill the hole in the same spot every time (I like things to be uniform lol)
As soon as I finished screwing the braces in place, both of my drill batteries died lol just my luck right. So I'll be charging the batteries over night and will start drilling the tanks tomorrow or Sunday. I figure I'd practice on a 20L instead of a spare piece of glass because I don't want the drill bit to wear out. If the tank cracks I won't be too upset because I can get them for a DPG easily. I do have a jig I made out of scrap plywood that will allow me to drill the hole in the same spot every time (I like things to be uniform lol)
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She was totally cool with the drive there. She's going to join me when I go back down. She really is a blessing. I've talked to her so much about my plans for the fishroom, so she knows how bad I want this lol. She definitely encourages my fish hobby
The drywall has been purchased! Thanks to one of my good friends, his truck, and my dad, we bought 6 sheets of drywall and got it into my basement. I don't think it's going to be hung today, we need the help of like 2-3 people for that so that will probably wait till sometime next week. I didn't buy the sink this time around either because fish room funds are low right now. I'll hopefully get it next weekend.
Once the drywall is hung and the sink is installed, the fishroom will be ready for fish! I can't wait until I can actually put fish in these tanks! The anticipation is killing me lol. Today I'm going to drill one of the 20L, if it goes well all of the tanks I have will get drilled today. I'll report back later with how the drilling process went lol
We have drilled tanks! I repeat. We have drilled tanks! The process was pretty simple but I was still super nervous and scared I was going to crack the tanks. All 4 of the 20L got drilled along with one of the 40B. The 40B I did last but I probably should have done it 1st or second just because its thicker glass. Right before the hole saw went through the glass of the 40B, the drill got stuck. As a result, when I finished drilling it, the glass on the inside of the tank kinda split I guess? Not too sure how to explain it. It didn't crack which is good I think, so I just put the bulkhead and gasket in place and hand tightened it. I might just order the rest of the bulkheads I need in advance that way I can drill and set up the tanks as soon as I get them.
Here's a quick step by step with pictures of what I did.
1. Place tank on one of the faces with a towel or something underneath.
2. Place template for hole size you want/need on the tank. In my instance the hole size I needed was 45mm for a 1 inch bulk head.
3. Place a piece of tape on the inside of the tank to catch the glass cut out and prevent it from falling and cracking the other side of the tank.
4. Put some water in the hole of the template and start drilling with diamond coated hole saw of size. Use slight pressure and add little bits of water during process.
5. Wipe off all water from both sides of glass, lightly sand the circle you just drilled to prevent slicing your fingers open. Lastly, place bulkhead with gasket on the inside of the tanks and hand tighten. Not too tight, if you do the tank can crack.
Congratulations! You now have a drilled tank ready to be plumbed
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OP
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Thanks for checking up guys! The fish room is at a stand still right now. My dad wanted to do some work in the basement that had to get done rather quick. I should be hanging the drywall this Sunday though. After the drywall is up, the sink will be bought and installed and then it's ready for fish! All I need is 3 more 20L and 2 more 40B But I actually do want to buy all the tanks (even though I don't need them at once) just so I can plumb them to a drain
OP
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We have a tank finally set up in the fish basment! Nothing special but it's a spare 5.5g with a mountain of java moss lol.
The moss was actually in my apisto grow out tank (that only has the adult female and one juvie left) but it was getting out of hand and I couldn't see the fish so I took it out. I didn't want to get rid of it (what kind of fishkeeper would I be?!? LOL) so in the 5.5 it went. It's got a lot of mts and ramshorn snails so hopefully those start to breed out for me, I need food for the assassin snails.
The moss was actually in my apisto grow out tank (that only has the adult female and one juvie left) but it was getting out of hand and I couldn't see the fish so I took it out. I didn't want to get rid of it (what kind of fishkeeper would I be?!? LOL) so in the 5.5 it went. It's got a lot of mts and ramshorn snails so hopefully those start to breed out for me, I need food for the assassin snails.
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I do have a YouTube channel but I don't post anything on there, I just watch videos. I have thought about making videos of the fishroom build and stuff. I might just do it after it's finished and I'm stocking the tanks. Thank you for the compliment Would you guys subscribe to me and watch?
Random Great Topic!
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