Question for people with fish rooms...

My wife and I are going to be buying a house soon and I will be able to have a room for all the equipment that runs my aquarium. I am looking for some does and donts from experience mainly. Also looking for the cleanest way to run plumbing through a wall into another room. Current house we are looking at and going to put a bid on will have the tank in the basement and fish room in a room off the garage no windows or any real ventilation. Would this cause problems should it have some sort of exhaust?

 

An unventilated fish room will end up like a sauna with all the evap that goes on. You'll want to add an exhaust fan of some type, either in the ceiling or the wall. Our garage fish room, which is passively vented (no fans) feels like a jungle in the summer (I'll be adding some fans in the wall under the eaves soon).

As for running your plumbing, what materials will you be going thru and how large a hole(s) are you considering?

We just plumbed our latest tank build thru one of the exterior walls into a dedicated 6' x 6.5' "tank equipment shed". I ended up using a 4" holesaw to go thru the exterior stucco, and a dryer vent/hose to run the plumbing between the house and the shed. Here's there build thread for that tank: 210 gal Things With Stings Tank

BTW, Post #347 shows the hole saw we used, and #351 shows the ducting for the plumbing/electrical line.

 

I also agree that an exhaust is a must, not only because of the humidity, but also heat. Over time you will also build up mold and corrode whatever is in it.

 

The wall is just an interior wall so it'd be studded and drywalled. I will be feeding at least 3-1 inch lines and 2-1.5 inch. I kind of figured I would need ventilation in there. Would a dehumidifier be a good idea too?

Edit: I'm not sure the type of plumbing I will be using yet that was one of the things I was looking for advice on too.

 

I pretty much plumb everything with black flexible thickwall tubing (Lee's is the brand I see most often). Besides looking nice, the black prevents algae growth on the ID of the tubing, and the tubing allows for easier modifications down the road if needed.

I use threaded connections, and true-union ball valves in places where I may need to "break" the lines for equipment removal/maintenance.

Here's the back of a 48" 100 gal setup we're running, minus the drain hoses (I use smooth ID corrugated pool hose):



I LOVE the external O/F box on this setup...it makes it very clean, and with the exception of the return fittings, there's nothing but fish, rockwork/substrate, and live macro in the DT.

 

I don't have any exhaust per say, but there are heating and AC vents, which are sufficient for circulation.

If not then some sort of ventilation would be good probably. I think a dehumidifier wouldn't work well though, as there is a constant source of evaporation. A vent my not get the humidity down as low, but won't double your electric bill as a dehumidifier might.

 

My buddy has black mold everywhere in his "equipment room". Make sure you allow somewhere for the moisture to escape.

 

if you cant do an exhaust fan, I would definitely recommend a stand alone dehumidifier. we run one in our fish store and it pulls about about 2 gallons of water out of the air every day.

 

Well things fell through with the house we were looking at so the search continues. Anymore definite does or donts? Would a utility sink be very helpful?

 

Yes a utility sink is a must IMO.Also having a floor drain in the room is a great idea. Makes WC's a snap.