Fish Room Journal

I am moving and wanted to journal my new fish room and share what I learn along the way. My ultimate goal is to have an auto water change system so I only have to change water every so on 2, 27g totes and my 75g tank. Currently, I have a 5.5g, (5) 10g, (10) 20g, (2) 27g totes, a 29g, a 40g, and a 75g. I'm adding (16) 10g tanks as well once I can get them drilled. I house guppies, cherry shrimp, mystery snails, and super red bristlenose plecos. I breed all of them and hope to breed other colored neocaridina like orange, yellow, blue velvet, jade, and purple. I will update as I add more to the room. Below are some first glimpses into the space.

 

That's a nice fish room, I am jealous! How do you "level" the cinder block stands? Or is it pretty much level as is.

 

Well done !
I'll be following along ..

 

Watching!

 

That's a nice fish room, I am jealous! How do you "level" the cinder block stands? Or is it pretty much level as is.

Paul ot perfectly level as the room has a nice slope down to the in-floor drain. We used some wood or heavy duty interlocking plastic shims. Either way, the shelves are not going anywhere.

 

Because the cats came over last night from the old house aka our first night at the new house I had to scramble to protect the room. This is a painter's tarp and velcro until I get a door attached. More to come tomorrow as I slowly get all the electrical connections tidied up.

 

Tanks have been up and running. Always doing something in here. Will be eliminating many cords from pumps once I get the big air pump from Jehmco installed, hopefully this Saturday. Then I will be working on water lines and drain lines before I drill (16) 10g tanks. What stinks is I will have to move fish out of tanks into 10g tanks so I can drill the tanks they are in. The good news is that I can re-arrange all those tanks once they are drilled and there won't be fish or invertebrates in my way hehe. I'm also going to try my all at getting rid of duckweed. I will have to restart some plant populations as digging through everything and not getting any duckweed would be like winning Mega Millions multiple times. Curse the person that gave me a few rogue plants a year ago. More updates this weekend.

 

Fishroom coming along "Nicely"
"Duckweed" BBBAAADDDD!
Same here, purchased some "Plants" awhile back, thought I did a "Good" job cleaning them and even QT them for a couple of days. Some "Duckweed" made its way into the tanks. Let it go and they multiplied times 1000. For weeks I was removing handfuls upon handfuls. Got it under control and finally out of my tanks.

 

Hey, a somewhat local member! Greetings from Holmes County!

I'm jealous. I'd love to have an actual room dedicated to aquariums. I love the cinder block rack idea.

You said you breed guppies. Do you sell?

 

You said you breed guppies. Do you sell?

Oh he sells!! I bought a trio of Moscow Greens, and they are beautiful!! So healthy, so active, produced great fry. Thought I'd share my good experience!

 

Oh he sells!! I bought a trio of Moscow Greens, and they are beautiful!! So healthy, so active, produced great fry. Thought I'd share my good experience!

Thank you!

 

Duck weed is a great nutrient exporter.
I have it in some tanks not in others .
It can be killed or removed you just need to be on it .
Good luck ,looking good there !

 

I am moving and wanted to journal my new fish room and share what I learn along the way. My ultimate goal is to have an auto water change system so I only have to change water every so on 2, 27g totes and my 75g tank. Currently, I have a 5.5g, (5) 10g, (10) 20g, (2) 27g totes, a 29g, a 40g, and a 75g. I'm adding (16) 10g tanks as well once I can get them drilled. I house guppies, cherry shrimp, mystery snails, and super red bristlenose plecos. I breed all of them and hope to breed other colored neocaridina like orange, yellow, blue velvet, jade, and purple. I will update as I add more to the room. Below are some first glimpses into the space.

Looks super nice!!

 

Pariah
Welcome.
Just up "North" from you about 1.5 hours.
We had another member here from the Amish country, even visited him.
Very nice "Guy", we even traded, some of my "Bolivians" for some of his "Hostas"
Hey Ohio Mark. where you at?

We "Miss" you!

 

Pariah
Welcome.
Just up "North" from you about 1.5 hours.
We had another member here from the Amish country, even visited him.
Very nice "Guy", we even traded, some of my "Bolivians" for some of his "Hostas"
Hey Ohio Mark. where you at?

We "Miss" you!

Yup, he's from my area. I noticed him on day one. We haven't met, but I probably run into him all the time in town.

 

Hey, a somewhat local member! Greetings from Holmes County!

I'm jealous. I'd love to have an actual room dedicated to aquariums. I love the cinder block rack idea.

You said you breed guppies. Do you sell?

Here's a link to what I currently have!! Quite an array of guppies as they have kept multiplying despite the move and switching tanks and all. I'm quite happy!

Aquarium plants, fish, and snails Updated List Want To Sell - | 425990 | Buy, Sell, Trade, Free

Nice to have you comment too! Holmes county isn't too far hehe. My mom lives in Marengo, Ohio...pretty much due west and my grandparents lived in Howard at Apple Valley Lake for 8 years until my grandfather passed in 2016.

Please ask any questions, and enjoy my fish room build. I hope to inspire others like people did for me.

 

Oh he sells!! I bought a trio of Moscow Greens, and they are beautiful!! So healthy, so active, produced great fry. Thought I'd share my good experience!

Thanks for the kind words!! I surely try my best every day and met the chips fall where they may.

 

Excited to get this up!!! Working on drilling PVC for airlines as we speak!!

 

Blue dream tank doing well. They outsmarted me and the sponge, but I'm adding filter floss to help corral them lol. Rescaping 40g and adding more plants. Trying to return it to the glory days of 2018 haha when a dutch tank was my only goal. Cleaned out a bunch of overpoputed tanks of floating plants to get fresh new growth. I also had to go through a few tanks and move guppies to fancy tanks as they were not breeding true. Pics to follow.

 

Finally, some progress! The rest of the air line will be installed tomorrow.

 

Finally had a chance to upload! PVC airline is complete!! I will add my turquoise tubing once I get water lines installed. I do not want them getting in the way as I complete tasks. I had to use the flexible straps to hang it up as I had to go lower to avoid the duct work in the fish room. I also cannot count for some reason and I drilled too many holes in PVC. I realized I needed to move some air valves so I got this patch tape at Lowe's and boy is is strong and sticky. It said 100x the strength of duct tape so I'm hoping it does its job of sealing off the 4 holes I made. First time gluing PVC together myself. I have helped my dad many times, but this was a first all on my own. Feeling pretty accomplished, but know that there still is work to be done. I think I'm putting in drain lines next and then my dad and I will put in water system. First picture is the oops area now fixed.

 

I'm almost done with the PVC waterline. Working with my dad to water mainline and add in pressure regulator, solenoid valves, irrigation timer, filters, thermostatic mixing valve, and extra ball valves to isolate lines in the event of a leak or some kind of tank emergency. I am also adding an inline thermometer to make sure I'm not scalding/freezing fish. It help me see that mixing valve is working and my 8 yr old water tank isn't going on the fritz yet. Pictures to come soon.

 

Big things happening! Finally drilled my first tanks with my father's help and we messed up 2, 10g tanks, but the next 14 were perfect. So, I am installing them tomorrow with sponge filters and airlines. Got 2 more 10g from Pet Supplies Plus for $10 each and will drill them this upcoming weekend. Then, I will install drain lines and the last of the PVC water line. All coming together!

 

So, the deluge of 2.5 inches of rain this evening ruined my chances of bringing in the 10g tanks dry lol. They are in the yard now filled with lovely rain water. But, I do have updates with pictures!!

Installed ball valves on copper and PVC lines. Also installed thermostatic mixing valve, 5 micron block carbon filter, <1 micron carbon block filter, pressure regulator, and solenoid valves. Also, 40 breeder is growing much better once I increased CO2. Algae is slowing its growth and other plants are taking by off.

Lastly, I installed filters in shower stall so that I can change then and let excess water down the drain while still using shower as needed in the basement.

 

Was/is your dad a licensed plumber?

My dad was/is still a plumber. He owned his own company like 30 years ago, then he worked for Boeing for 25 years, and now he's retired, but he still gets his license renewed yearly. If I had the room for a tank explosion like you've got here I would definitely recruit my own father as well!

Every house I've moved in he's either helped me fix the things or has loaned me the tools. I have so much pex stuff now. Doing everything you have with solid lines takes so much time. I switched my old house now to all pex tubing.

Looking good though, very excited to live through you. I wish I had all your tanks!

 

Was/is your dad a licensed plumber?

My dad was/is still a plumber. He owned his own company like 30 years ago, then he worked for Boeing for 25 years, and now he's retired, but he still gets his license renewed yearly. If I had the room for a tank explosion like you've got here I would definitely recruit my own father as well!

Every house I've moved in he's either helped me fix the things or has loaned me the tools. I have so much pex stuff now. Doing everything you have with solid lines takes so much time. I switched my old house now to all pex tubing.

Looking good though, very excited to live through you. I wish I had all your tanks!

No my dad is not. He learned from his dad and his older brothers throught the years. I am absorbing as much as I can and I truly believe he loves teaching me all he knows. We are good with math and understand all the basics. Plus we ran water lines when my wife and I rented his uncle's house to the sink to I could do water changes easier. If we ever get a house with a basement that has a bigger part I can close off, I'll probably have many more tanks or if the fish room starts making a nice profit that is sustainable, I may be allowed by my wife to expand somehow at the current place in the distant future.

 

Got a yellow goldenback tank going. Temporary place for them, but it is on the new rack and I am thrilled. Going hog wild this weekend. Hoping to get everything ready so I can transfer fish to the 10 gallon tanks and drill the other tanks in the next 2 weekends. Sooooo excited for it all.

 

This is what I call progress. 14 tanks installed. I'm so giddy with how it looks. Absolutely amazed!! Not tooting my own horn, but rather happy that my plan is working so far and that the hard work is paying off little by little.

 

Looking Good!
Let me know when I can stop by and take a tour.
How are the EBA doing?

 

It will be awhile before it is all done as I have to move fish around and drill more tanks and all. But, we did finish the water lines today so that's what's in the pictures below. The EBA are doing well. They are getting high quality flakes, frozen brine shrimp, and frozen blood worms. They seem to be very calm among all the plants so that's good. They are growing as well!!

 

Should have known better that the repair tape wouldn't work on my airline. Leaking like a son of gun. On the bright side, the linear piston pump from Jehmco is as quiet as a cats pur. That's super awesome!! I found space for another 20g high and my wife will probably kill me, but I figure I shouldn't waste space like that. That's added plant and fish breeding space with means $$. Maybe I'll slip her some more spending money once everything is set up and she'll forget I bought it haha.
I installed lights on my new rack and started filling tanks. Moved some fish over with seeded sponges so I don't have to wait an eternity to finish everything up.
Lastly, I saw another Lucas Bretz video on rainbow fish and want to breed praecox dwarf neon rainbows. The lone wolf in my 40g would be happy for some friends eventually. So I went and bought 8 of them and they are quarantining in a 10 gallon. Then they will go into a 20 long.

 

More progress. All the PVC drain lines are in. Now working on the drain lines from bulkhead to PVC. I'm so excited.

 

New Update 11/22: 3 more tanks left to drill which are (2) 20 longs and a 40 breeder. I have 3 shrimp tanks all done and a 4th in the process. So far the fire reds, orange sakura, and bloody mary are done. Blue dreams are just about to be moved. I did lose some orange sakura in the old tank. Bad location and hard to do water changes. Luckily I have a berried female and found a male as I tore down the old 10g tank. They now have a sweet 20g long. My yellow golden backs are good, but I wanted more, so I have a bunch coming in this week. I'm hoping to sell some in the coming weeks.
The solenoids attached to the irrigation timer are working and I have 2/3 of fish room receiving auto water changes. Once I am able to drill the 40 breeder, I can have auto water changes all set up. My only tanks not in the system is a 5.5 gallon 2 tube and my 75 that has tempered glass so I couldn't drill it. It's off to the side anyway.

I am also getting in more red cherry shrimp to start another colony just in case one collapses. My green cobras and turquoise males are ready, and my neon rainbows/blue neon guppies are getting close.

Overall, I am happy how things are coming together.

 

I cannot wait to post pictures!! I just have a few sponge filters to hook up and all the tanks will be on the auto water change system with one air pump and and water changing all on its own. I am finishing re-scaping some tanks and moving some plecos and things around. Then I'll be ready to show it all off. Exciting times for sure.

 

It has been a while since I've updated as things have been quite busy! I have 36 tanks in the room and I am sadly putting 6 in storage. My wife was ecstatic that I was downsizing a bit and she thought my shelf was going away too. Psyche!! As you see in the picture the tanks go lengthwise which is a poor use of space even though it looks nice. So, I added on 8" to my cinder block shelving already in place as see on the picture and I am adding new tanks. There will be a 40g and (2) 20g talls on the bottom. The 40 will be lengthwise and the 20's will be perpendicular to the wood on the shelf. The 2nd level will have 5 20g tanks and the top will have 7 more. I'll be adding 15, this gaining 9 tanks. This will put me at 45 for the fish room. I'll have more space to grow out fish and any fish I get in like hint hint cherry barbs and some new plecos eventually. I will update as I work tomorrow night and Monday.

 

It has been a while since I've updated as things have been quite busy! I have 36 tanks in the room and I am sadly putting 6 in storage. My wife was ecstatic that I was downsizing a bit and she thought my shelf was going away too. Psyche!! As you see in the picture the tanks go lengthwise which is a poor use of space even though it looks nice. So, I added on 8" to my cinder block shelving already in place as see on the picture and I am adding new tanks. There will be a 40g and (2) 20g talls on the bottom. The 40 will be lengthwise and the 20's will be perpendicular to the wood on the shelf. The 2nd level will have 5 20g tanks and the top will have 7 more. I'll be adding 15, this gaining 9 tanks. This will put me at 45 for the fish room. I'll have more space to grow out fish and any fish I get in like hint hint cherry barbs and some new plecos eventually. I will update as I work tomorrow night and Monday.

Looking forward to seeing those eventual plecos!

 

Here's some more progress. Finally getting all the tanks up, fish in, and air/water lines worked out. Drain lines and lights along with sponge filters are next.
Pics!
Here's my latest with all the tanks in place. Using sponges that sat in cycled tanks for a few weeks, but I'm adding safe start as well to be safe. I'll test for parameters as often as possible to ensure they completed cycle. Getting in cherry barbs on Sat!! I'll be breeding them as well. The goal is to add some Indian almond leaves as well as some jungle vals to encourage them to spawn. Also, got all the 6-7 week old EBA fry in the 40 breeder. I will switch that to angelfish once they have eggs, and then the EBA will go into 20 highs with 2-3 tanks being used to grow them up.

 

More progress!! Finally the shelf is completed and water, air, and drain lines are all in!!

 

Looking Good!
Hope you have a "Great" day tomorrow at the the swap meet.

 

Looking Good!
Hope you have a "Great" day tomorrow at the the swap meet.

Got my wife to come help out so that's really cool!! Oh and I moved the young EBA into my 40 new 40 breeder. They love it.