My hobby has gotten to the point where I want to build a shed entirely devoted to fish. I have space outside for an 8x10. I've worked for a shed company, as well as a lot of other misc. construction jobs, so I know how to build a shed, no problem, but I've never thought about a shed purpose built for fish. I know I can't make an ideal settup yet, mostly since I rent, but I'm trying.
The plan so far is to insulate the heck out of it with a combination of rigid foam, fiberglass batts, and reflective foil insulation. The construction would be 1/2" rigid foam on the outside of the studs, covered in 7/16 siding, fiberglass inside, foil stapled to the inside of the studs and then either tileboard, or another layer of 1/2" foam for the interior. I also have the foil covered OSB for the ceiling, and will probably use it for the floor as well since I have it. Probably a very low pitched shed roof, maybe 6" rise from low to high, to avoid having to heat/cool unneccesary head space, roofed with white roll roofing. Flooring will be a solid sheet of vinly, rolled up at the edges. Lighting will be a strip or two of flouros on the ceiling.
Temperatures in Morgan hill are moderate to cold, summers in the 90s usually, sometimes 100, and winters can be freezing. I plan on adding a heater, and a small AC if necessary, but summer nights are still fairly cool, so hopefully it will stay at an acceptable temp with a large amount of water inside. For heating I think an oil filled radiator type would work best, and be safest, but I'm not sure, any suggestions for the most economical type? AC would have to be one of those small window units, mounted in a hole in the wall, unless there is a better solution? I'm also thinking a fan on a timer to blow cool night air in might help, with temp and moisture. Energy conservation is a big factor, plus, all the electricity will have to come from an extension cord through a window in my house (once again, I'm renting so I can't muck with the wiring:mad2
The plumbing will have to come from a hose. No hot water will be available unless I bucket it in from the house. I might have to do that if changing large amounts of water, but I figure a 10% WC shouldn't lower the temp more than a few degrees. I most likely will also include reservoirs above each row of tanks to allow chlorine to gas off and the water to come to room temp. I don't know if my tap has chloramine though. That'll just siphon down to the lower tanks. I may want to design a system so I can fill multiple tanks at once, or have them fill automatically.
Interior layout isn't completely planned yet. Most likely racks of tanks along both long walls, on 2x4 racks. I want an assortment sizes from 10 to 100 gallons, with 10s and 20s in rows with short ends out. I'm not particular as to glass or acrylic, just whatever I can find cheap. I'll probably start out with 5 or so 10 gal tanks from a petstore (cuz 10s are cheap), and slowly build from there. Filtration will be sponge filters in each tank, running off of a central air pump or two, through a pvc piping system. What's the easiest way to attach airline tubing to pvc piping? Not sure about a water changing system yet, but there will be a lot of water to change. There is a veggie garden right outside, so the water will be recycled to there, hopefully with as little bucket hauling as possible... Where I live we also pay for our water, so conservation is a must.
I'd like to keep, and hopefully breed a large assortment of fish, rams, angels, corys, livebearers, convicts, julies, killies, lots of cichlids, and who knows what else, probably some shrimp and snails too.
Please give me your input, I'd appreciate any info you can share, tips or suggestions, and I'd love to see your fish room.
The plan so far is to insulate the heck out of it with a combination of rigid foam, fiberglass batts, and reflective foil insulation. The construction would be 1/2" rigid foam on the outside of the studs, covered in 7/16 siding, fiberglass inside, foil stapled to the inside of the studs and then either tileboard, or another layer of 1/2" foam for the interior. I also have the foil covered OSB for the ceiling, and will probably use it for the floor as well since I have it. Probably a very low pitched shed roof, maybe 6" rise from low to high, to avoid having to heat/cool unneccesary head space, roofed with white roll roofing. Flooring will be a solid sheet of vinly, rolled up at the edges. Lighting will be a strip or two of flouros on the ceiling.
Temperatures in Morgan hill are moderate to cold, summers in the 90s usually, sometimes 100, and winters can be freezing. I plan on adding a heater, and a small AC if necessary, but summer nights are still fairly cool, so hopefully it will stay at an acceptable temp with a large amount of water inside. For heating I think an oil filled radiator type would work best, and be safest, but I'm not sure, any suggestions for the most economical type? AC would have to be one of those small window units, mounted in a hole in the wall, unless there is a better solution? I'm also thinking a fan on a timer to blow cool night air in might help, with temp and moisture. Energy conservation is a big factor, plus, all the electricity will have to come from an extension cord through a window in my house (once again, I'm renting so I can't muck with the wiring:mad2
The plumbing will have to come from a hose. No hot water will be available unless I bucket it in from the house. I might have to do that if changing large amounts of water, but I figure a 10% WC shouldn't lower the temp more than a few degrees. I most likely will also include reservoirs above each row of tanks to allow chlorine to gas off and the water to come to room temp. I don't know if my tap has chloramine though. That'll just siphon down to the lower tanks. I may want to design a system so I can fill multiple tanks at once, or have them fill automatically.
Interior layout isn't completely planned yet. Most likely racks of tanks along both long walls, on 2x4 racks. I want an assortment sizes from 10 to 100 gallons, with 10s and 20s in rows with short ends out. I'm not particular as to glass or acrylic, just whatever I can find cheap. I'll probably start out with 5 or so 10 gal tanks from a petstore (cuz 10s are cheap), and slowly build from there. Filtration will be sponge filters in each tank, running off of a central air pump or two, through a pvc piping system. What's the easiest way to attach airline tubing to pvc piping? Not sure about a water changing system yet, but there will be a lot of water to change. There is a veggie garden right outside, so the water will be recycled to there, hopefully with as little bucket hauling as possible... Where I live we also pay for our water, so conservation is a must.
I'd like to keep, and hopefully breed a large assortment of fish, rams, angels, corys, livebearers, convicts, julies, killies, lots of cichlids, and who knows what else, probably some shrimp and snails too.
Please give me your input, I'd appreciate any info you can share, tips or suggestions, and I'd love to see your fish room.
