Johns s500

[deepseadiver]

Hey guys, as you all know ive had some moderate success with my first ever fish tank the rsm 250. My partner and I have decided that in our current house set up the tank is too intrusive in its current position. Ive decided to convert my garage into 2 rooms (utility room / fish room-study). Its only a single garage to space will be at a premium but below is my outlined plan. "diagram to come shortly"

Rectangular garage split in to 2 with the rear (1/3) housing utility room (tumble drier washingmachine etc) and also RODI unit and 2 x 100l tanks storing RO and Saltwater. Im building a hole through the wall to allow salt water changes and ro top up from utility room and avoid going in via the study as i think this will be much neater. and the other (2/3) housing the tank (500 or 650) backed up to the wall "hooked into the ro and salt in other room" flooring to consist of a strip of porcelain tiles where the tank will sit "wall to wall" and protruding 1/2 foot forwards which will then change to normal flooring. my only concerns are the room sizes.

Ill post my proposed diagram in a few mins. (im really hoping i can get away with the 650) let me know what you think

also how come no heaters are included in this tank. A little dissapointing really

John

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Fishroom look forward to the build !

 

[deepseadiver]

photobucket seems to be down so plan to be put on later. My biggest concern is I really want the 650 but the length is 64 inches and i have a maximum width of 88 inches give or take 1-2 inches. Will this be too tight to squeeze in as i really dont want to drop to the 500 if i dont have too.

 

[deepseadiver]

photobucket seems to be down so plan to be put on later. My biggest concern is I really want the 650 but the length is 64 inches and i have a maximum width of 88 inches give or take 1-2 inches. Will this be too tight to squeeze in as i really dont want to drop to the 500 if i dont have too.

 

[reefer gladness]

Looking forward to the build! Speaking personally if I was going so far as to knock a whole in the wall, do some framing and dedicate part of the garage as a fish room I'd consider just building the tank in the wall to fit the exact space you want to use. I might not be getting the right picture though without a diagram.

Not sure why they don't include heaters but if I were to guess it might have something to do with the poor reputation their heaters earned on other models.

 

[deepseadiver]

Looking forward to the build! Speaking personally if I was going so far as to knock a whole in the wall, do some framing and dedicate part of the garage as a fish room I'd consider just building the tank in the wall to fit the exact space you want to use. I might not be getting the right picture though without a diagram.

Not sure why they don't include heaters but if I were to guess it might have something to do with the poor reputation their heaters earned on other models.

Sorry my bad. Ive done a bad job of describing it. (should be a diagram above now ) the garage is no longer going to be a garage, it is to be split into two completely seperate rooms (room 1 - utility room for laundry and also water storage and delivery to tank) the second room is accessed from a different part of the house and is to be used as an office area. The back wall is the only area thats suitable for siting the tank. The only reason in putting specific holes in the wall is so i can do water changes without actually going into the tank and getting water all over the floor. Im just hoping i have enough leeway each side of tank to fit the 650 in. Whats everyones thoughts?

 

[ausreef]

id split the garage widthways and put the tank in the loungeroom wall,have the utility room and office behind that,ime its hard to enjoy the tank if you have to walk to the garage to see it

 

[Kevz71]

Sounds like a cool build I'm guessing your there to stay in the home your building it in huh?

 

[Choff]

Hey John, Nice plan. I am a big believer in the system vs the tank. By far the best 200 bucks I have spent on my tank was the 2 35G drums, pump and PVC pipe to rig up an auto-water change set up. Makes the weekly water changes a breeze instead of a chore and with our tanks you are looking at moving 30G/week including the ATO. I see you wont have a direct door from your fish room to the DT. I would suggest having a 3way switch set up with you pump that you can control from the DT room. If that is not an option you could do what I do and use this nice cheap solution:

Amazon.com: Woods 32555 Weatherproof Outdoor Outlet Remote Control Converter Kit: Home Improvement

I pump my water from the basement. With this, I can turn it off/on and have complete control. Before this, I had to dash into the basement when I got close to full and I would always be a little over or a little under and had to adjust it. With this, I am spot on every time.


As for your initial question, will 24" of side space be enough? It will be close. You want the most space on the right side of the tank where the controls to the drain cup are. If you are thin and tall, it will help. How tall are the ceilings? To work on the back chamber, cleaning the power head chamber you will need to remove the light hood totally and use a step ladder to access the back of the tank when you need. Not very often, but when you do it will be a little extra work. To do this you will need some headroom. On the left side, you would want at minimum enough space to stick your head down the side to be able to see the ATO water level and just to view the tank to make sure everything is ok in the back corner every once in a while. I think you could manage it. It will make some occasional chores a little difficult, but day to day shouldn't matter at all.

Other thoughts, with a 650 if you need a chiller you will also need to buy an extra pump for it. Also will most likely need a 2nd circuit. I am just over 20 amps total running stock + 900GPH pump + 1/3 JBJ chiller + 2x200w Jager heaters.

As much as I love my RSM, I would think hard about Reefers suggestion and putting the puppy in the wall. What you are setting up is really the ideal situation for an inwall.

Good luck either way and looking forward to following!

 

[deepseadiver]

id split the garage widthways and put the tank in the loungeroom wall,have the utility room and office behind that,ime its hard to enjoy the tank if you have to walk to the garage to see it

its not going to be a garage, im bricking the front up and putting in a window in place of the garage door, their will be a walk through from my hallway straight in

 

[deepseadiver]

Sounds like a cool build I'm guessing your there to stay in the home your building it in huh?

yea im here to stay, no plans on moving. Also the house wont lose value as the garage was small anyway and theirs still plenty of room for cars on driveway.

 

[deepseadiver]

Not that I wanted to copy you choff but it was your build that inspired me to do things the way i was planning, love the simplicity of it all . The only difference potentially that i can see is that your basement is downstairs and mine is in the room behind. Didnt really want to build into the wall because as you can see im very limited on space even lengthways and dont want to eat into the available space. Also the "fish room" is actally our office area so it has to have duel purpose. Love the remote control idea. I am hoping with the rodi unit to be able to run it off the cold water feed to the washing machine... currently unsure what to do with waste.

whats your thoughts of having tiles under the tank area rather than wood - i was thinking this would then prvent wood getting damaged
cheers

 

[Kevz71]

My truck and my fish tanks are my baby's lol a garage to keep my truck out of the weather from bad storms like we have here in southeast ms is ideal. but if your ok with out one and not planning on moving then I say make this tank massive!!!! Lol

 

[Choff]

The tile is brilliant. My tank was originally going in my office in the basement and I had a tile section installed just like that.

Thanks and copy away, my design was a combination of 2 designs I saw on here to begin with. Simplicity is a must. Let me know if you want me to go into more detail about my wc setup. I already see a few small ways I could have slightly improved it.

Oh thought of another pain point with the limited width. Changing bulbs will be a bit more of an ordeal. You will need to unplug everything and take the entire hood down. You only so it every 6 to 9 months so not a deal breaker, but am extra 30 to 45 min of work

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[deepseadiver]

The tile is brilliant. My tank was originally going in my office in the basement and I had a tile section installed just like that.

Thanks and copy away, my design was a combination of 2 designs I saw on here to begin with. Simplicity is a must. Let me know if you want me to go into more detail about my wc setup. I already see a few small ways I could have slightly improved it.

Oh thought of another pain point with the limited width. Changing bulbs will be a bit more of an ordeal. You will need to unplug everything and take the entire hood down. You only so it every 6 to 9 months so not a deal breaker, but am extra 30 to 45 min of work

Sent using Tapatalk 2

Yes mate i would really appreciate it. MY tank is a LONG way off potentially FEB but this thread is about my journey from the garage to the 2 rooms and the perfect set up along the way. first part of the garage conversion starts next week

Sounds like a right pain in the ass with the lights, but unfortunatly its the only way i can do it. My other cause for concern is that my computer will be stored in same room at a desk and im concerned that humidity from the tank is going to cause everything to rust what is your thoughts on this? also can i leave a tube going into auto top off chamber and just fill it automatically... how have you got yours set up?

cheers

john

 

[Choff]

I was worried about humidity / condensation as well as my entertainment center is a few feet away. I asked other when I set up and many have similar set ups and reported no issues.

I have a pipe running up the back to the ato, when I am going to fill it I keep a pvc elbow that I just slide on. I didn't want to see the pipe and with the light hood in place you cannot fully access the ato panel. I lift the light wing, pop on the elbow, click my remote and it fills

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[deepseadiver]

Right guys. Ive re done the plans for where the tank was initially going to fit and i feel it is a no go. I have decided im going to use my initial room where i have my rsm 250 however with the room where im putting it i have two options. Option A go for the 650 but put up up next to a window.. lots of space each side but it will take up alot of the light from the window.. window will become useles.. Option B site the tank where the current rsm 250 is however ill only be able to go for the 500... im just worried that im going for a smaller tank.. but then again it will be enough right.. couple of pics to demonstate my position

position A 650 but blocks window

Position B 500 but smaller and fits nicely with space at sides

also any ideas for repainting the room? whats peoples thoughts on sizes compared to my room. im thinking what ever side the tank is on ill put a nice setee on other side so it can be a fish "chill out" room.

 

[byronredsea]

Ok do some input for you I think the wall were the 250 is will be way to short for a 650 the wall were the window is will be a much better option ,curtin the window the other walls in the map of room you said 7 foot wide you need 5 feet on one side of the tank for trim ,right side access for over flow service left side RO top up. I hope iv helped Jason

 

[deepseadiver]

Hey byron. My mistake this room is a different room. Ive decided its a bad idea to put the tank where the window is as it will block a lot of light and the RAD will heat back of tank. Im thinking the 500 is the biggest the room will take and I'm planning of siting it where the 250 is as ill have enough room on the right hand side to access valve. as for the other side.. (where there was a picture of just a wall) a door will be going in there to access laundry room and ro unit so with door open ill have well over 5ft for the trim.

hopefully the tanks going to be ready to order by early december. Any ideas guys for wall colours? I'm thinking barley white to give it a nice light colour with dark wood veneer blinds? sofa against radiator to admire fish.

 

[deepseadiver]

Just ordered 100 GPD REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEMS : 100 Gallon Per Day Professional 4 Stage Reverse Osmosis System with DI Unit hope its up to the task. Im aiming to have 2 x 125 litre vats 1 with salt mix and 1 with pure ro which i will then syphon into display tank on weekly maintenance. also going to fit an extractor fan into wall of room so that humidity doesn't get too high