Fishroom expansion

[Jody]

Currently each tank will be filtered on it's own,  but soon there will be an integrated system connecting them together. I am just waiting for the parts to arrive to get them running.

[matttimms49]

great updates I'm looking forward to seeing this up and running!

[Jody]

So I was able to get 13 tanks up and running today with their filters. 2 more tanks are filled, with 6 more that have had a slight set back.
I had purchased some plumbing parts from Rona which fit a 1" PVC pipe nicely. So not realizing that brand matters, I purchased the same fitting, different brand, from Lowes. They have a slightly larger inner diameter, which means the 1" PVC just falls through. Not a huge issue, but it means I will have to go out and get some 1 1/4" pipe tomorrow.
I have hooked up my new fishroom air pump, the EcoPlus  Commercial 5 Air Pump. 1300 gph and 8 watts.
Running the 13 tanks, is no problem, and I should easily be able to add another 30-40 tanks to it with no issues (hopefully). It is a bit loud, but that is because I have 6 of the 8 valves turned off, but once they are opened it quiets right down.

Jody

[Box Jockey]

Are you planning on setting up a automatic water change system?

[Jody]

No, I am not thinking of doing an automatic water change system at this point, but may set up an auto top off system.

So finally got all 21 tanks filled with my homemade filters running on them.
I have one tank being used as a quarantine tank for some fish for a client who's tank I work on.
I do need to run a bit more airline as I have a few tanks that are running low flow with how I currently have it hooked up.
I picked up some LED strip rolls, so that will be the next project on this rack.

Following that, I will start on the next two racks..
Jody

[CC-Slider]

Is your airline in a loop, From what I have seen and read if your airline loops around and re-connects at the pump it will eliminate the air pressure drop off at the end of the run, as there is no end of run.

[Jody]

Yep,  that is an eventual plan to get a closed loop air system..for now the pump manifold has 8 outputs I can use though..

[Jody]

So I was able to get another rack of 4 tanks cleaned up, with bulkheads put in today. Still have a couple of things to do to get that rack running. I have to get some 1x3 to give the tanks a bit larger lip to sit on, install the internal piping and get the sump set up.
While cleaning the tanks, I found two that were cracked. One I was able to patch with a piece of glass, as it was just a small  bit in the top corner. The second tank was a write off as it was cracked across the bottom. I have no idea if I got it that way or it happened during one of the tanks shuffles in the fishroom. I didn't notice it until I was cleaning the layer of dust/dirt off the bottom.  Not a giant issue, as there was 1 tank that didn't really fit in the rack space properly,  and it opens up some space for another slightly smaller tank or two that will fit the space better.
Next week, I will be going to pick up all my plumbing, and can get the systems running 100%
After a lot of back and forth trying to decide whether to run the new tanks as 3 or 4 systems. I decided on 4, which allows me more options as far as water conditions go. It will be 2 racks of 4 30gals, 1 rack of 12 20s and a rack of 8 20s (plus two non-plumbed 20s). This will also make it much easier to do the plumbing as well.


Jody

[Jody]

So Santa came early today. I picked up all the plumbing parts I ordered and I am now set to get the racks fully set up.
Of course it does pose some problems as many of the tanks are full of fish and a number of them are set with pH adjusted low, and will require some rearranging..

Jody

[Jody]

Today was a productive day. I was able to take advantage of the mild weather to do some pvc gluing and I now have one of the new small racks fully plumbed, and just waiting for glue to dry/cure.
I have spray bars mostly done for the two big racks as well. Plus, I put together and glued the output for one of them. That was the part that needs the most precision in the cuts and gluing. As it connects 3 tanks, every piece needs to be exactly aligned or it won't work.  It is currently airing outside, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it is all good.
Once I get that in place, I can hook up the sump/filter, rearrange a few fish and then the first 8 20's are fully online.
Still a couple of projects to do after that. The output plumbing on the big rack (12 20s), plus the filtration for it.
A full small rack to finish as well, 4 33 gallon tanks, plus a 20 long sump. This is removing and replacing old bulkheads,
installing internal plumbing, figuring out filtration and adjusting the rack. I installed the bottom level slightly lower than I would like, and makes some space issues for working on the sump. Also, I designed the rack larger than needed (as there was another tank that was supposed to go on which ended up broken), I want to cut it down. This isn't a huge job, and will actually provide me with more room for some fry rearing containers. I am running out of space for them currently.
Jody

[rivermuse]

If you had a camera crew or a head mounted go pro - you have yourself a full scale documentary on mass set ups... or even ur own reality show! Seriously .. you need to do some video documentation! There are people that struggle to know where to start when they have a growing number of aquariums.

Awesome progress Jody!

[Box Jockey]

Are you taking pictures of your work/progress?

[matttimms49]

yea, i would love to see some progress photos too but I'm sure you have enough work to do building the whole room!

Thanks for the updates, can't wait to see it finished.

[Jody]

I haven't been keeping up on progress pictures too much. Mostly concentrating on the work..
Maybe I will do a little video in the next couple of days.

Jody

[Jody]

Okay a few current pics of the fishroom.. still a work in progress, and quite a mess.
So there are two pics of the long wall. A total of 21 (eventually 22) 20 gallon tanks. These are all up and running with homemade box filters, and will be set up with plumbing soon hopefully. There will be 2 stand alone 20s, one system of 8 and one system of 12.
The other pic is my shrimp tank, some hatching boxes with my boesmani rainbows, and my live food cultures on the bottom.

[Jody]

So here we have the newest rack, almost ready to go online. Just a bit of testing and running to do on it, and then it should be good. Hopefully, I will get that done tomorrow.
There is also a picture of the rack I need to redo, and some tanks still to be cleaned.  This rack will eventually look like the other one. 4 33s and a 20 long sump.
Then a long look at the back row of tanks. one side will have the two racks, and on the other side 2 75s and a 33.  Though I am contemplating switching out the 33 with a 65 instead.

[Jody]

Okay the last pics for tonight.
This is one of my homemade box filters that I am using on most of the tanks.  I will be keeping them running along with the main sumps on all the tanks. This just gives me a bit of extra back up, in case I need to shut off a couple of tanks for any reason (quarantine new fish, small fry rearing).
This is my male boesemani rainbow and one of the spawning mops that they filled with eggs. So far closing on 100 fry.
The last picture is the currently fully running area of the fishroom. Lots of stuff all over the place there as well, but once everything is up and running, I will be able store a bunch of stuff under the racks..

Jody

[Black_Rose]

Wow that's impressive.

What media is that in the middle of your filter?

[Jody]

Thanks!

That filter has eheim ehfi substrat  pro media,  but I am using whatever I have for the extra bio media. Some have bio balls,  some biomax.. it is a lot of biomedia so I made due with what I can find.

Jody

[fischkopp]

Wow. This is coming along nicely. Looks like you are converting the whole basement into a fishroom. Once you are done, you should come over and finish mine ...