Need some Ideas

[JR]

Well it is time for me to set up my new fish room. And I need some ideas. My Brothers are a Electrical and plumbing engineers. They have there Ideas. But they are way out in left field. I dont understand anything they are trying to get me to do. I have never had all my tanks on one system. I have drains on both walls and the middle of the floor.

[LizStreithorst]

I don't do a central system, either.  I keep it simple.  The big guys have everything automated.  Turn one valve and the tanks drain.  Turn another another and the tanks all refill.  I perfer a little more one on one with my fish.  I like to siphon by hand to get all the poo off the bottom.  While I'm siphoning I can wipe down sides.  I have all my refill water hard plumbed, though.  I can post pics of my set up if you like.

[JR]

I would like to see that Liz

[Mugwump]

While an 'all in one' system has advantages, I prefer the manual method myself....I have a pump for draining and cleaning....and I have a pump for filling...shared water in a sump type system ,to me, invites issues if one tank has a disease problem or something...LFS's usually are on systems and..look at the progression of sick fish as it spreads.....now if you're going to keep your tanks indiviualized...cool....go for a efficient water changing system then....they're great, easy, and a time saver....all while leaving you in control of their respective environments..just my 2cents....to each his own....( plus, I just like playing with the fish,too..hehe...)

[Frank The Plumber]

I plan to build a centralized grow out rack of 24 40 gallon breeders with auto drains and float stop refills. The plan will be to use ozone to kill all of the bugs. The system will combine into a central vat that causes the solids to drop from suspension and then into a series of oxygenated towers to break down the nitrates and polishes the water, prior to returning to the tanks I want to burn the water with an ozone unit. I plan to start the wet dry unit, sump, towers and suspension vat soon and will do a build thread on the system. Cost is a factor, this system will have a cost of around $6,000. A bit of an investment for certain.

[Mugwump]

I plan to build a centralized grow out rack of 24 40 gallon breeders with auto drains and float stop refills. The plan will be to use ozone to kill all of the bugs. The system will combine into a central vat that causes the solids to drop from suspension and then into a series of oxygenated towers to break down the nitrates and polishes the water, prior to returning to the tanks I want to burn the water with an ozone unit. I plan to start the wet dry unit, sump, towers and suspension vat soon and will do a build thread on the system. Cost is a factor, this system will have a cost of around $6,000. A bit of an investment for certain.

Sounds like quite a rig,Frank....ouch on the cost tho.....

[JR]

I will have 3 Rows of Tanks 30 20 longs for the Cory In the middle I will have the 5 650 for the Rays. Only have 2 650 at this time. on the other wall 30 40 gal tanks. For what ever I decide on breeding. I wont 3 systems 1 for each row. all I would like to do is Drain and fill these tanks. But like you said Jon walk into a LFS and see a dozen tanks you cant buy fish out of. I don't wont that.

[BillT]

This is one of my favorite topics, setting up fish rooms. I have set-up lab systems and much simpler home systems. Figuring out the right balance is fun.

I can post pics of my set up if you like.

Pictures would be great. I always like to see how other people do things. It is my philosophy that there are always useful and interesting features you can pick up from seeing other people's set-ups whether fancy or simple.

Generally, a good approach to take is to define your goals as far as what you would like to have done, such as light controls, a centralized water delivery system, centralized air maybe overflows to drain and once you have these things clear in your mind talk with those who are willing to do things for you. Where there is a valve, you can always (for money) automate its control. But then you will want an overflow also.

When it comes to a water system, you can have a flow through system where new water comes in to the tanks and the overflow from the tanks goes down the drain (this is similar to the Ted Judy system that Dennis had a link to), or you can have a recirc system where most of the water flows into a tank and then out to a sump (usually for many tanks) where it is cleaned up and is then sent back the the tanks. Since water from different tanks will be essentially go to all of the tanks on the system, and i tend to be a cautious person about these things, I am going to have a UV on the line sending the water back to the tanks. In theory, this would prevent any disease in one tank from getting to others. Many of these tanks are being changed over from an easier to set-up flow through system, so I am going to keep that system in place so that I can change a tank over to the flow through system if the fish in a tank gets a disease. UV sterilizers really are only effective in a statistical way. They may kill 99.99% of a particular pathogen that goes through them, but those few that get through can be trouble.

Recirc systems usually will have a water adding function for exchanging (via the overflow) some percentage of the water each day (or more often). I am now working on a system where something like 16 tanks will be hooked up to a sump. The sump has an overflow (standpipe) to the drain. The new water will come from a tank that is kept filled with RO water. This will be controlled with a timer and solenoid valve. The sump will have a conductivity sensor controlling a dosing pump with will add brine until the conductivity (a stand-in for salinity) set point is reached. The lights on the rack are automated with a timer. The sump will have a heater in it. The room is unheated but heavily insulated (and vapor sealed) and keeps warm by the tank heat.

I could post pictures, but I need to figure out how to get beyond the 128 kB limit.

The plan will be to use ozone to kill all of the bugs.

A warning about ozone. It can be good for killing things that might be circulating in the water (or for modifying chemicals or debris in the water which can result in them clumping and being easier to filter out). However, it requires an somewhat extended contact time and it is a very strong oxidizer that can kill your fish. The contact time requires a holding chamber for the water to reside in during the contact period. In addition, many people will have either a UV or charcoal filter or both downstream of the O3 in order to ensure that it does not get to the fish. Trickle (wet-dry) towers may be able to blow off the ozone, but this is not commonly used in aquaculture. The charcoal can also remove chemicals that are partially modified by the oxidation. In some aquaculture systems has been shown to be better for the fish.

Ozone buildup in a room can also be a human health problem.