Fish house extension

[Lee Nuttall]

I have just begun the work in extending my fish house which is a heavy duty shed. I have decided to add another 6ft on to the existing shed.

The work will be carried out by a good friend of mine who is a carpenter, the only work i'll will have to do is construct the concrete slab and the building work for the stand. I have dug the turf and soil out ready for the contruction of the shuttering frame.



The hole is then filled with a layer of hardcore and mesh, ready for the concrete to be poured on.



The tank i'm planning to install is a 8 x 2 x 4ft wide. I had a fantastic deal with a 'back to nature' background, so this will be one of the main features of the setup. Here's a couple of photos to show you a better idea of the dimensions of the tank and how the background will fit in.

[Dean Hougen]

Looks awesome! Can you get me a deal on one of those backgrounds?


Dean

[Lee Nuttall]

Sorry for the late updates, had a nasty accident with my hand that put me out of action for several weeks.

Just to re-cap:

The concrete pad has been laid, this is around 6" thick, sand and gravel mix with a 2" hardcore base.



Next are some photos of the construction of the shed extension.

The photo below shows the beginning of the bottom frame for the side frame work to be supported on. Part of the flooring beams are put in. The rest will be left as concrete, as the block work for the tank will be built in the space.



The frame work and part of the roof frame is contructed.



The roof is constructed and the shiplap is nailed on to the frame. I have also had the door moved on to the side.



Inside shot showing the two buildings blended together. You can see that we had to construct another beam to strengthen the new part of the roof.



Insulation fixed in, progressing slowly.



Also gave the shed a spray of cupinol.

[Lee Nuttall]

The block stand was built over the weekend and the 18mm plywood base is laid. Only bit left to do is box the front in and lay a 25mm polysteryne base on top of the ply.

I will be ordering the tank on Friday, and then the fun begins.

[Dan Woodland]

Sweet!

Thanks for the update, looking forward to the finished product!

[9winDuDown9]

Very nice, I wish I had one of those, O well maybe in the future.

[christoph]

nice building

[Lee Nuttall]

The tank build was finished tonight, very pleased with the overall quality. The silicone will need to cure for at least 12 days before the tank can start to be filled.

Here's a few teaser shots.









You will notice that the background looks short. There will be another piece that needs to be spliced onto the main background to make up the length.

[Dan Woodland]

Great looking setup Lee. Question: why make the base with the five "fingers"?

[Lee Nuttall]

Great looking setup Lee. Question: why make the base with the five "fingers"?

Thanks dan,

To tell you the truth, there is no particular reason why the stand is built that way. With the amount of spare blocks i had it seemed a good idea to do it that way. All of the colums are tied in from the back for extra strength.

The tank won't have a sump underneath, so there was no reason to build the base in a way so that i can keep equipment there. Everything will be hidden behind the background.

I imagine there are quite a few different ways to construct a stand to be honest.

What materials are you thinking of using to construct your stand?

[Dan Woodland]

I haven't decided but I've thought cement, concrete blocks, or maybe "laminated" wood perhaps a 4x4 sandwiched between 2x4s.

I'm leaning away from wood for obvious reasons (water) and toward concrete/blocks because I may build in a couple "vats" for raising fry or over-sized hospital tanks. Since my tank will be two or three feet off the ground and the filter will be built-in (using large sponges and power heads) I would have the room.

I asked about yours because you didn't mention anything special about it's design and you covered it so it made me curious.

You use the blocks you did because you had them, would you have any pointers for someone starting from scratch?

[Lee Nuttall]

I would also stay clear from wood frames, especially for very large tanks. I know some people use them, but for long term i personally wouldn't have faith. Most people i see who have very large tanks tend to either use concrete blocks or steel constructed frames.

As for pointers, i don't really know what else to add.

Make sure you have a reliable spirit level when constructing block work. lol

[Dan Woodland]

I would also stay clear from wood frames, especially for very large tanks. I know some people use them, but for long term i personally wouldn't have faith. Most people i see who have very large tanks tend to either use concrete blocks or steel constructed frames.

As for pointers, i don't really know what else to add.

Make sure you have a reliable spirit level when constructing block work. lol

Thanks Lee.

[Marko Lenac]

The tank won't have a sump underneath, so there was no reason to build the base in a way so that i can keep equipment there. Everything will be hidden behind the background.

how you will reach your equipment as there is no space around the thank? all through it?

[Lee Nuttall]

The tank won't have a sump underneath, so there was no reason to build the base in a way so that i can keep equipment there. Everything will be hidden behind the background.

how you will reach your equipment as there is no space around the thank? all through it?

The answer to that is step ladders. I'm using an extremley cheap basic, but very effective filtration method. There is no complicated pipework, just simply sponge and two powerful pumps either internal or external to draw the water through and circulate it back into the tank. Also the heaters are placed at the back.

It might appear a little strange, but i assure you it has never been a problem maintaining the tank. As you may know i have another setup the same size on the other side.

Maintainance is a matter of simply pulling out a large sheet of sponge when needed and this is not a problem when using a set of step ladders. I have found the tank to be very low maintainance and have only cleaned the sponges twice in almost 4 years.

Equipment like heaters can simply be pulled out if need replacing.

[Dan Woodland]

The tank won't have a sump underneath, so there was no reason to build the base in a way so that i can keep equipment there. Everything will be hidden behind the background.

how you will reach your equipment as there is no space around the thank? all through it?

The answer to that is step ladders. I'm using an extremley cheap basic, but very effective filtration method. There is no complicated pipework, just simply sponge and two powerful pumps either internal or external to draw the water through and circulate it back into the tank. Also the heaters are placed at the back.

It might appear a little strange, but i assure you it has never been a problem maintaining the tank. As you may know i have another setup the same size on the other side.

Maintainance is a matter of simply pulling out a large sheet of sponge when needed and this is not a problem when using a set of step ladders. I have found the tank to be very low maintainance and have only cleaned the sponges twice in almost 4 years.

Equipment like heaters can simply be pulled out if need replacing.

THAT is EXACTLY what I'm after!!! Infrequent and easy maintenance !!!! (not to the point of abusing my charges of course - the automatic water change system will help see to that.) I had my current room to the point where I could actually work with my fish not for them.

[Marko Lenac]

I use this system too. but I have to clean my power head rotors because they get dirty and don't work on full power...

[Lee Nuttall]

THAT is EXACTLY what I'm after!!! Infrequent and easy maintenance !!!! (not to the point of abusing my charges of course - the automatic water change system will help see to that.) I had my current room to the point where I could actually work with my fish not for them.

This was the main goal, i see too many keepers that constatly maintain their tanks, to the point of being an obssessive chore. I spend more time observing my fish than maintaining.

Don't get me wrong, i keep up with water changes and syphoning twice weekly, but this small chore only takes 30 mins.

This method suits me fine, however i understand it won't be for everyone.

[Marko Lenac]

THAT is EXACTLY what I'm after!!! Infrequent and easy maintenance !!!! (not to the point of abusing my charges of course - the automatic water change system will help see to that.) I had my current room to the point where I could actually work with my fish not for them.

This was the main goal, i see too many keepers that constatly maintain their tanks, to the point of being an obssessive chore. I spend more time observing my fish than maintaining.

Don't get me wrong, i keep up with water changes and syphoning twice weekly, but this small chore only takes 30 mins.

This method suits me fine, however i understand it won't be for everyone.

I perfectly agree! some of mine filters were not cleaned for years, but the power heads on the sponges start to work much slower after 6 months or more because of the film that develops on the rotor. can you give us a photo of the opposite aquarium?

[Lee Nuttall]

Mark, photos of the other tank can be found in 'cichlid tank 1' threads on the blog.