My Fish House Project

[Big_Kill]

Hello everybody I haven't been around the forums at all lately. I also missed the convention which really sucked but I have a good reason! My girlfriend and I recently purchased a home which obviously puts a limit on funds as well as free time. Located in our back yard was this old run down single car garage. I have been working on remodeling this into a fish house. I was pretty much clueless about construction/handy man type of stuff when this project started but I told myself I am going to do this entire project without hiring anyone. Luckily I have enough friends and family to help me with the stuff that I cannot teach myself by reading online DIY articles. Anyway, I have been working on this since August and I still have a lot of work to do but I wanted to get some pictures up so I can document the remainder of this project. Also, thanks to Ted Judy for writing that three part article in the BB. It couldn't have came at a better time!
http://www.cichlid.org/forums/[IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone071.jpghttp://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone071.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone070.jpg

[Big_Kill]

I started by gutting the building and ripping out all the shelves and crap that were attached to the walls. It was a mess!

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone067.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone065.jpg

I then started digging the ditch which would eventually hold the electrical conduit as well as water lines and water drain lines. I dug this by hand it is about 30 feet all together from the main house out to the fish house.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone186.jpg

[Big_Kill]

I then ripped off the barn doors and put in a man door. We covered this up with new siding. We also installed new vinyl windows and covered this side with new siding as well. These two sides are the sides which get all the weather so I decided to only re-side these. I left the other two to just be re-painted.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone133.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone137.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone139.jpg

We had to cut and re-frame the openings to get the new windows to fit.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone196.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone202.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone209.jpg

[Mikeinco]

That looks like a really fun project. I bet you're learning a lot as you move along with this. I can't wait to see more photos. When do you anticipate finishing this?

[slimbolen99]

Wow! Looks like an awesome project! Keep it going!

[Vaudeville]

Lucky stiff
We are looking at moving soon and have on the drawing board a plan for a combo building (fish for me and plants for my bride).
What are the winters like there?
Michigan's stink
What are you planning on to heat the place

[Kevin Cumberton]

:cool: Cool Stuff

[Big_Kill]

We've only been out of college a few years and this is our first house so yeah Im learning a ton. Im really enjoying it actually. Im now an amateur electrician as well as a plumber and a carpenter :). I hope to have the building done within the next couple months so I can start getting ready for the tanks. I will have to put in my air system and water drainage system.

I live in eastern Washington. The winters are pretty cold (think Idaho not Seattle). The building is only about 20x12 and the ceiling once finished is only 7 feet so I don't have too much area to heat. I will insulate the hell out of it and heat it with fan forced electric wall heaters. Ive estimated it will only take approx. 3000 watts to do the job. Im going to heat the building and not the individual tanks. Im a little worried about the power bill in the winter but its money well spent as far as I'm concerned lol.

[slimbolen99]

Im going to heat the building and not the individual tanks. Im a little worried about the power bill in the winter but its money well spent as far as I'm concerned lol.
Remember, if you use a dehumidifer (which I'd highly recommend), it's going to put out some good heat as well. Mine throws out 85-90*F air and operates in a slightly larger room than you've described. The room stays between 77* and 79*F; although, winter hasn't hit hard yet.

[Big_Kill]

I am planning to use a dehumidifier but I hadn't thought of the fact that it will put out hot air. Is that the only heat source in your room?

[slimbolen99]

Yes, but mine is in a basement; so you will probably needs something other than a dehumidifer I'd imagine.

[Big_Kill]

Yeah no doubt. That is good news though that I will have some extra heat. What size dehumidifier do you use?

[slimbolen99]

I think mine is a Danby 50pt model. The best part about this model is it has a drain line. If you don't get one with a drain, you'll be emptying the reservoir every day, which is not fun at all.
http://www.homedepot.com/Danby/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ4mv/R-202024325/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I maintain my humidity around 50% in the heat of the summer (humid Kansas summers), and 40% in the fall (dryer Kansas winters).

[acbullard]

What a cool project--a fish cave. Good luck, can't wait to hear about tanks and what stock you will keep. Thanks for sharing pics.

[baldtaxguy]

Thanks for doing this (documenting your fish house construction). Jealous.

[Big_Kill]

One thing I have not decided on yet is whether I will filter the water coming in to the building. If so how should I do it? I know it depends on the water in my city but what are my options?

[blaciarmd]

when can you start on mine?

[smitty]

Would love to see more photos as to how your project is coming along.

[oldcarbuff]

You definitely need to address humidity more when heating the entire room. I've heard of discus breeders whose house started to rot due to their basement fishroom humidity and when I heated a single room to 80 degrees in an unheated basement for my massive betta breeding effort in Minnesota, I made the mistake of keeping my fish books and computer in the same room. They were all ruined by the humidity.

[Dean Hougen]

I'm looking forward to more updates as well. Keep us posted!


Dean

PS. Dick, it is good to see you here.

[Big_Kill]

After the trench was finished we put in a 100 amp subpanel in the fish house and ran the conduit and wire.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone189.jpg

The box on the right goes to the car garage. The hole on the left is where we connected the conduit to the fish house.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone184.jpg

[Big_Kill]

Luckily I had a pretty good spot to access the plumbing I needed. This picture is in my basement where the laundry is located. This wall faces the back yard and allowed me to run the plumbing and electrical in the same trench.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone195.jpg

Here is where the electrical conduit splits from the plumbing lines. The electrical enters the house just a few feet away from where the plumbing enters it. I ran a 2" abs drain line which ties into the drain line for my washer box. I will probably only use the drain during the winter. During the other seasons I will drain my tanks into the garden and/or yard. I ran two 3/4" pex supply lines. I plan on putting a hot water heater in the fish house but just in case I ever need hot water from the main house I will have access to it. Pex is rated for direct burial but as you can see in the picture all the lines are buried in sand. This is to prevent any potential sharp rocks from damaging a line when the ground settles. I filled in the trench with sand several inches below and on top of the water lines.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone272.jpg

Here is the hole in my basement wall. We first attempted to use a core drill but we broke several teeth on a rented core bit which was not cheap :o so I decided to finish the hole with a roto hammer which is why it is so uneven.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone234.jpg

Here is the bit that we busted up. It was pretty cheap to rent but once you start busting those teeth off you get charged per tooth for damages. My buddy had the core drill so we didn't have to rent that.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c7/Big_Kill/Fish%20House/Kylesphone222.jpg

[Big_Kill]

You definitely need to address humidity more when heating the entire room. I've heard of discus breeders whose house started to rot due to their basement fishroom humidity and when I heated a single room to 80 degrees in an unheated basement for my massive betta breeding effort in Minnesota, I made the mistake of keeping my fish books and computer in the same room. They were all ruined by the humidity.

Im actually having a hard time deciding on how to control humidity and keep the heat in at the same time. I haven't decided on which type of attic ventilation to use. I also haven't decided whether or not I'm going to install an exhaust fan. Im hoping that sufficient insulation along with a vapor barrier and a dehumidifier will do the trick. I am open to any suggestions that anyone may have....

[paddysdaddy]

Chalk up one wholehearted recommendation for an air exchanger. Dehumidifiers are popular but I experienced short lifespans on them and the heat produced in summer is a considerable factor in many areas.
Air exchangers are often available used and inexpensively on Craigs List, through HVAC contractors and even recyclers. I have a massively oversized one in the hopes that it's rating of 5 times my square footage will result in a much longer service life-it runs for a very short time on each cycle.

[dstuer1950]

Nice job. Looks a bit like my garage, you've got me thinking.

[oldcarbuff]

The discus breeders I referred to ended up putting in heat exchangers (must be same as air exchangers mentioned by others) which dump humidity out and return heat back into the room. Not quite sure how they function.

[Big_Kill]

I would love to put an air exchanger in. I have actually done a little research on these babies. I would need an HRV (heat recovery ventilator) because of the cold climate I live in. Basically an air exchanger does just that, it exchanges the stale humid air for new fresh air from the outside. An HRV on the other hand uses the outgoing warm air to heat the incoming cold air so you are not losing all your heat. If I remember correctly the ones I looked at heated the cold incoming air to about 70-80% of the inside temp. The reason why I figured this was not practical for my setup was because my building is so small and I couldn't find any HRVs that are rated even near this small. I might have to do more research now and see if I could use an oversized one like scott has recommended.

[leisure_man]

This is what I use as a passive humidity control in my fishroom. It also help create a slight negative pressure in the fishroom to help minimize moisture penetration behind the drywall.

http://i1003.photobucket.com/albums/af160/wethumbs/Fishroom/Lifebreath155ECMHRV.jpg