THE FISH ROOM PROJECT - Update #4

THE FISH ROOM PROJECT

Update #4

It's been a couple of months since I last posted, but I finally have a bit of free time to relax and write about what I've been doing with my mini-fish room project. The 1" pipes really worked out well and gave me exactly the flow I need while offering me a number of plumbing options and maximizing my usage of space behind the tanks. The first drain system I installed didn't quite work out, so I tore it down and re-did everything (recycling whatever pieces I could, of course). It's too bad I didn't notice the problems that the first drain system had until after I had glued everything together and tested it, but I guess that's what a test run is all about! 

Anyway, this drain system is working out well. It's what I should have done to begin with. I don't have any pictures of my current drain and return plumbing setup for the filter yet, but I've done even better this time: I finally have a video that I can share with you now..! Here is it!

On my last post, I was debating whether to connect the vertical drain pipe from each of the tanks above to the tank directly below them. You will note that this is not wha you actually see in the video. That's because I decided to try it out, and much to my chagrin, discovered that a straight 1" tee will not function properly as a drain if there is water flowing from above into the same pipe that it connects to. Essentially, it didn't work out. I couldn't connect the drain from the top tanks directly to the drains from the bottom tanks without having a little bit of water from the top tanks flow into the bottom. That also means that the bottom tanks were not draining properly.

I could have done something like this with 2" overflows on my tanks because there is a piece (a drain tee) that is designed specifically for this sort of application (it has a curve to it that prevent water from flowing into the side outlet. However, that would have been overkill in terms of flow rate, which is not really a problem. I just designed the system with 1" overflows in mind because that's all the flow rate I needed while maximizing the space behind the tanks.

An important side not for anyone building a fish room: leave yourself enough space to work with behind the tanks. You'll be spending a great deal of time there, especially at the beginning, and you need room to work, tighten pieces, adjust, turn around, etc.

In the end, I am pretty happy with my little setup. Put simply, it works as intended. Now I have to install lighting and lids, but that should be relatively easy and not really vital to the success of the rack as a system (not yet anyway). Instead, I think I'll turn my focus to purchasing, installing, and plumbing a large water tank in the corner of the garage. I'm going to install a constant drip system for automatic water change system so I will not have to break my back with buckets, etc. and I can achieve the greatest consistency of water quality. 

The Fish Room Project: Update 3

The Fish Room Project

Update #3

Last time I posted, I realized that my blog wasn't very eye-catching. I was missing images, something to give my blog some life, ideally something that would illustrate the stuff I've been writing about. Therefore, I determined to take some pictures of the next step, and this time I was prepared!

I was pleasantly surprised to receive the bulkhead kit on Saturday, just as I made up my mind to go ahead and drill the tanks. This was exactly the push I needed. I finally got up the nerve to do it, and I am very pleased with the results. I'm going to post some pictures and captions below and just get out of the way for now.

I set out to drill the tanks first thing in the morning (after feeding the kids, of course)...

I covered the work area, brought in the hose, got my materials together, etc.

I wasn't able to film myself drilling the holes, but the long, loud squeaking of the diamond hole saw was worth it. Actually, I was surprised that the glass didn't take longer to drill.  GLASS DRILLING TIP: Besides keeping water in the hole cutting area at all times, go gently!  Don't rush glass cutting!

Here are the tanks, freshly drilled, lined back up on a table in my yard.  I find it easier and more efficient to prepare all the tanks together, step-by-step rather than setting one up at a time.

I proceeded to paint the back and sides (Krylon Maxx, Coler: Aqua).  I really like how the light blue came out. It looks good against both the black frame of the aquarium and the false sand that I painted under the bottom glass.  You can catch a sense of that look from the tank at the bottom, right side.  The other tank at the bottom is coming soon. I just ran out of paint and plan to swing by Wal-Mart later tonight to buy some on my way home from work.

Here's a look at the strainer and overflow.

I noticed that the overflows lined up neatly above one another, so I could conceivably run one length of 1" PVC pipe down the back of the rack and into the drain pipe that will feed the wet-dry trickle filter at the bottom.  I'll think about it for a while. If I do, I had better install some unions in case I want to detach a tank from the system.

I'll keep you posted as I make progress on my mini fish room!

The Fish Room Project: Update 2

The Fish Room Project

Update #2

It's been a while since I've written up anything about my project, so I have quite a bit to report upon.  Since my last update, I've painted the bottom of the tanks with a fake stone texture and brick red color to make it look like sand from the inside of the tank. They look pretty nice, but I should have used more of the stone texture because it would have made it look even better. I only used one can for all four bottoms.  I should have known it wouldn't be enough. I also discovered, by happy accident of some polarized sunglasses that my beautiful wife gave me, that the tanks are not made of tempered glass, so I plan to drill the tanks and install regular bulkheads and overflows instead of the PVC overflows. I think the PVC overflows looked kind of cool in their own way (my uncle called it "industrial"!), but the traditional overflow is simpler and more reliable, which is what I'm ultimately going for in my setup. The delay caused by this modification to my plan will hopefully be offset by the benefit of streamlining my set up even more.

The diamond coated hole-cutting bits arrived a couple of days ago, but I quickly realized that I had not bought any bulkheads, washers, or any other fitting for the holes I intended to drill. I had done some window-shopping online but more to determine what I needed to do while I procrastinated the purchase, which actually turned out to be a good thing in the end because I saved some money. I had seen some nice low-profile strainers on Premium Aquatics, but they are almost $3 apiece, and that's not even counting the bulkheads. I ultimately went with eBay, where I found a great deal on four complete overflow kits with bulkheads, strainers (not the low-profile type, but I can always get those later), and the whole shebang, which is exactly what I needed.  I also bought a couple cans of a nice, light blue spray paint for the back and sides of the tanks, but I haven't painted anything but the bottoms yet because I wanted to install the bulkheads first. Now that I have the saw bits, however, I might just drill those holes soon, so I can go ahead and install the bulkheads as soon as they arrive.

In the meantime, I'm taking care of a sick discus in the 10-gallon quarantine (QT) tank that I set up on a couple of cinder blocks la couple of weeks ago. I kind of like the look of the cinder blocks to be honest. I think I'd really like to do something with that in a future build. As for the fish, I had two: a bigger one that did not fare well in the transition to the QT tank and died only a few days later, and this one. This one is doing better but hasn't eaten much, if anything at all, over the last few days.  I'm beginning to think the sickness that has been afflicting many of my baby discuses is parasitic in nature.  In any case, I have the tanks on a regiment of at least 25% water change every couple of days. I just need to stock fewer fish.  I don't want to keep more than a handful of the babies. so I will probably cull the smallest of the discuses and remove all but 4-5 from the the the the the 55-gallon tank in the living room.  If I have the rack set up by then (highly unlikely), or at least in place (which is more likely), I can even take the 55-gallon out of the office and put it in the garage in the spot, if not on the stand, that I intend to put it anyway.

I'll keep you posted...

The Fish Room Project: Update 1

The Fish Room Project

Update #1

My mini fish room / discus breeding project is progressing nicely - one small step at a time.  I took the latest step yesterday when I finally cut the rest of the 1" PVC pipe for my HOB overflow tubes and attached the 2" drain pipe (with the 1" reducers and the 3/4 inch Male threaded outlets that I picked up in the sprinkler section of Home Depot) to the rack.  My 3" screws were a little long for the 2x6's, so I drilled straight through in one place - oops! - but I'll just pick up a box of shorter screws and replace them later when I glue the pipe together. I want to counter-sink those holes anyway so the head of the screw is flush with the wood, not sticking out.

I haven't glued anything yet because I want to make sure I'm happy with the plumbing system before I make anything permanent.  The next step is going to be attaching the "feet" (just three 2x4's really) to the stand using metal L-brackets.  I want to steady it a bit that way to make sure it doesn't tip over while also making it easier to level the stand.  I really can't wait till the plumbing is done! I want to be able to fill these tanks and see them working already! However, I'm taking my time, getting things as right as possible. It's my first time, so I'm learning as I go, just trying to make this rack functional, efficient, practical, and nice to look at.  I'll have to start painting the tanks soon, speaking of nice to look at.  That should take a few days, given my availability as well as drying times.  I'm kind of on the fence still about the exact color. I'm thinking light blue or white, but I don't want the colors of the discuses I plan to keep in them to appear washed out either... Black backgrounds, though elegant, are out of the question because I notice that it makes my discus too nervous.  I'd also love to find some nice large pieces of driftwood with some nice branching going on...  I might have to start looking around the Everglades soon if I can't find any in stores!

I couldn't get much done last weekend due to an insane social schedule at my house. I feel blessed that we're popular enough to be invited everywhere by our friends and the friends (and parents) of our kids, but it really puts a dent in my productivity over the weekend!  I really don't expect to get much done this weekend either since I'll be attending the "Man Up" conference at St. Edwards this weekend, but I'm looking forward to spending some time at the church in quiet reflection as opposed to having to quiet my boys constantly in order to concentrate on the Mass.  I really enjoy going to St. Edwards. I'm not going to deny it. I find it peaceful, comforting, and refreshing in a way that I can't find anywhere else. It will also be good to reconnect with my Emmaus brothers and make new friends at the church too. I like our sense of community and fellowship at St. Edwards. I'm also eager to stoke the fire a little bit and re-calibrate my mind, heart, and body according to God's Will. Valentine's Day comes on Sunday too, so there is little chance to put in more than 30 minutes of work on the rack, but we'll see...  Maybe I'll cheat a little and put in an hour and a half...

I guess my fish room project can wait a few more days while I hash out my pans for the drip system and I figure out what to do next. I've learned to concentrate my building in 30-45 minute min-steps. It's really the best way for me to get this done. I'll write again when I take that next step! Maybe I'll even throw in some pictures next time!

Hello World!

So I've decided to begin a blog called "Wet Elbows" as well as begin a sentence with the word, "so"... These are two things I never do, so I guess it's safe to say I'm being productive.  As far as what I plan to do with Wet Elbows, it remains to be seen. For now, transfer eleven of my baby discus over to a 5-gallon Home Depot bucket so I can take their 20-gallon hospital tank off my new rack and install the new legs I wanted to attach to the rack to lift my entire system up by 14 inches.  I can already tell this is going to be exciting stuff!!! (Yes, I was being sarcastic.)  I'll keep you posted...