mumofthehoarde Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 I could be face the possibility of moving back to civilisation soon(god I hope so). My house back in Newcastle has a great spot for a fish room in the converted garage. So I have been planning our new room. Got a few questions tho.. How big is your hospital tank? and do you have more then 1? Does it double as a quarantine tank when new arrivals come in? How big in your grow out tank/s? How do you deal with a spawn >20 when it comes to jarring? How many sorority tanks do you have? What other must haves or luxury items would you put in your fish room? Do you think a spa would contaminate the air quality and have an effect on the fish? The aerosol from the spa might contain chemicals. ok..so there is a start..Having not long moved my fish room I have learnt planning is essential...LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Nut Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 Since I don't breed, I'll let someone else covering jarring and spawns. However, a must have for my next fishroom would have to be a sink. I hate carting buckets of water up and down stairs every day, so a sink with a bench area for prepping plants would be ideal. I would also install either a drip or barracks system as it's more efficient than heating every individual tank or the whole room. I think 5-10 litre compartments is a good size for juveniles and adults. I think a good size hospital tank is around 20 litres. A lot of medications are intended for tanks of that size, and it gets hard trying to cut up tablets to fit in anything smaller. As for sororities, I would have as many as I could fit I love my two sororities and hope to start a third one day with some home-bred females. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 How big is your hospital tank? - I have a few different sized plastic tubs with lids, sponge filter and heater that can be brought into service if required. and do you have more then 1? - yes Does it double as a quarantine tank when new arrivals come in? - no - for quarrantine I usually set up a separate tank for groups of fish - have a 2ft and 3ft available. How big in your grow out tank/s? - depending on size of spawn - 2ft, 3ft, 4ft How do you deal with a spawn >20 when it comes to jarring? - I have about 50 'jars' but bigger spawns I let grow out in the one tank How many sorority tanks do you have? none What other must haves or luxury items would you put in your fish room? - have more space for tanks than you think you will need! - a work bench (even a fold down one) is very useful - plenty of hooks to hang nets and other things on - plastic boxes / trays to put under fish racks to store spare gravel, rocks, wood, sponge filters, etc - 50mm water pipe running round the fish room to the outside to drain water from water changes - a tank filling device (don't know what to call it as I made it) lets you hook the hose on the tank and do something else - doubles as a fail safe water change device too. - long garden hose for filling / draining tanks - inline carbon filter to save using chemicals (depends on your tap water situation though) - spare live food area - tank for blackworms, tank for brineshrimp, storage for microworms / vinegar eels - 1 large air pump to run all your sponge filters (quieter than a bunch of small ones and more reliable) - comfortable chair for wasting hours watching your fish - fridge for storing favourite drink for use while watching fish in above mentioned chair Do you think a spa would contaminate the air quality and have an effect on the fish? The aerosol from the spa might contain chemicals. know nothing about spa's - put a decent bit of wood over it and use it to hold more tanks ok..so there is a start..Having not long moved my fish room I have learnt planning is essential...LOL - whatever you plan you will find a great idea you need to change plans for later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 - comfortable chair for wasting hours watching your fish Man that's what I was going to say... one big comfy chair in the middle of the room, that swivels so you can see any angle. A personal butler would be cool too.. one who does water-changes if you're feeling lazy... But yeah, other than that - can't really add to the above. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumofthehoarde Posted October 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 hmmm certainly need to come up with a good setup for water changes...My back in killing me from carting water from down at the shed and then carting water back outside after a change. input on what you do for water changes welcome too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 Buckets, buckets and more buckets. Lol. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournebetta Posted October 6, 2011 Report Share Posted October 6, 2011 If the spa is heated at all it will evaporate, when it's on, can you smell the chlorine/chems? I'd be tipping it will in fact contaminate your tanks. I like Wayne's suggestion - bit of wood over it, and put more tanks on... or give it a good scrub and turn it into a grow-out. -Ness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadoh Posted October 7, 2011 Report Share Posted October 7, 2011 Simple solution... Spa becomes a growout tank *lol* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumofthehoarde Posted October 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2011 Downstairs where we are wanting to make the fish room we have a spa, 100" screen, a beer fridge and the football on friday nights when it is footy season. I have talked him into giving up the bar to make room for the fish. So there are two chances of turning the spa into a growout tank...buckleys and none... When the spa is uncovered and in use you can smell the chemicals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted October 7, 2011 Report Share Posted October 7, 2011 Damn! I'd keep the bar and dump the spa!!!! Re water changes - will take a pic of my gizmo for water changes tonight for you... it attaches to a garden hose and is used to fill all my tanks.... For draining water you can attach a garden hose to a normal tank vac or use the drainage piping like I do to drain straight to the outside of the shed.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted October 9, 2011 Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 As promised... the gizmo I use for water changes.... very easy to build and from the first photo you could possibly take a copy to your local plumbing / hardware shop and they would be able to get you all the bits needed - easy to make and even easier to use.... all water drains outside via the hose and all water comes inside via the hose - NO BUCKETS!!!! All you need to build it are a hacksaw, a 5mm drill and a lenght of 22mm pressure pipe, hose connector, inline valve, and a couple of adaptors from the plumbing section of most good hardware stores. If you connect it and run a small amount of water through - then disconnect the hose outside the siphon will start running - it will stop as soon as it gets to the holes in the end of the pipe inside the tank (no more draining the tank totally).... once drained - connect outside to the tap again and turn on hose - water fills the tank..... my hose goes through a 1micron carbon filter so do not use chemicals to remove chlorine ..... but at this stage you could put in your usual chemicals if you desire.... The 'gizmo' has an inline valve on it so you can stop the water at the tank - hang it on another tank and repeat the process all over again.... very fast for water changes.... Couldn't find a way to bend the 22mm pressure pipe without making a mess of it so just used 2 elbows and it works just as well.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadoh Posted October 9, 2011 Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 Thanks for sharing Wayne. It looks as if it is compatible with my level of DIY skills I might give it a try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted October 9, 2011 Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 forgot to mention... if you're gluing the pressure pipe - use the green stuff - it's made for use with potable water systems and I've found is safe for fish after its dried properly..... there is smaller diameter pressure pipe available too if you want to reduce the size of the gizmo.... if you need any other info Jarrod - let me know - if you can raise a spawn of Bettas you can build a gizmo :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted October 9, 2011 Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 Great idea Wayne. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumofthehoarde Posted October 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 I like it!! Must add one of them to the list... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts