Possible fish room build out of a shed.

coolname1 · May 3, 2012

So my addiction with acros has been spreading like a disease and my wife said no more tanks in the house. Not even the possibility of upgrading to a bigger set up either!
We then agreed upon that I can set up anything I want outside of our living space. I originally wanted to put up sheet rocks and divide our garage in to half. Half reserves for her car. The other half is all for myself since I don't have a nice ride to park in it anyway. Having putting some seriously thoughts into the fishroom build out. Given the humidity and heats problem in Houston, I concluded that I won't be feasible having in done in the garage. Besides, my wife already planning of purchasing another house within the next few years. Don't wanna add more mess to the garage just to end up fixing it later on.

So one last resort, Im contemplating of doing in the Shed we have in our back yard instead. Space will be limited since the dimensions are roughly 12'x8'. The good thing is that it already equipped with AC and dedicated breaker box.

I do have alot of questions regarding the build out. Mainly foundation structure related. Pics of the Shed will be posted soon with tons of questions follow.

revsgirl · May 4, 2012

:bump:

GregAW · May 4, 2012

I hope you keep us up to date as you renovate your shed into a fish room. That would be nice.

REEFKEEPER10 · May 4, 2012

That is one way to get away from the wife. :angel:

GregAW · May 4, 2012

REEFKEEPER10 said:
That is one way to get away from the wife. :angel:

Divorce is another.

revhtree · May 4, 2012

This does sound like a cool reef cave in the making!

GregAW · May 4, 2012

revhtree said:
This does sound like a cool reef cave in the making!

Great idea. An easy chair, a TV, stereo, and a fridge full of beer and snacks. Oh, don't forget the microwave oven and maybe a coffee pot. :wink:

Reef Scene · May 5, 2012

The humidity in the garage is an issue. I did the conversion, thought that one QT tank would not be an isssue. The humidity is not that bad except during the winter, water clings to the outside door. I have no idea as of yet what to do, but I also have not put much thought in to it also.

coolname1 · May 5, 2012

Been behind on the pics. Here they are though:bigsmile:

coolname1 · May 5, 2012

Here's the problem I've running to. The shed is sitting on only 2 horizontal support beams, one on each end. I'm not sure the on safe factor of putting around 500-600 gallons of waters on top of it. Suggestions are welcome. Thanx

GregAW · May 5, 2012

Looks great! I think I would try to put more support under the floor. I'd do at least 2"x6" every 24" on center. Just my 2 cents. But it's coming together nicely.

m and m · May 5, 2012

I have thought about doing this already, My big thing was heat. In the winter how are you going to keep it warm? Is it insulated if it is I would still recommend getting ducs run from your house to out there. Another thing do you think that floor is made to hold a 500lb's of water if not more?

larryl · May 5, 2012

Sweet fish house!

coolname1 · May 5, 2012

GregAW said:
Looks great! I think I would try to put more support under the floor. I'd do at least 2"x6" every 24" on center. Just my 2 cents. But it's coming together nicely.

Thanx! I will most likely reinforce it with something. Haven't figure out the proper way to do it yet.

m and m said:
I have thought about doing this already, My big thing was heat. In the winter how are you going to keep it warm? Is it insulated if it is I would still recommend getting ducs run from your house to out there. Another thing do you think that floor is made to hold a 500lb's of water if not more?

Good point. It is pretty freezing here in houston during the winter time. Running ducs could be an option. I'll probably would stick with an inline heater in the mean time though. That floor is defintely make to hold at least 500lbs. If u meant 500 gallons of water then that will be a different story.

Reef Breeders · May 5, 2012

You may need to dig a cement foundation, move the shed, dig down 2 1/2 feet, put down 6" of gravel, then pour 2' of cement, that shed won't budge. It will probably take 4 or 5 friends to do

coolname1 · Aug 1, 2012

Haven't updated much but a lot of things have been in progress since. I went ahead and proceeded with the fish room build out. Mainly because I'm taking my main tank down due to problems associated with the livestock. The plan is to get this fish room up running asap so everything could be transferred in there.

I went ahead and got a another 8x10 shed built right next to the current one. Foundation problem will not be a concern since the new shed will actually hold more water and the floor was supported with plenty of 2x6s. . Here are some old pics of the new shed. It actually looked more completed now.

SeahorseKeeper · Aug 1, 2012

Awesome!!! Good luck with the build!!!!!!!!!

coolname1 · Aug 1, 2012

SeahorseKeeper said:
Awesome!!! Good luck with the build!!!!!!!!!

Thanks!

Just worked on the plumbings a bit more. Snatched some recent pics as of today. Any advice or critism are welcome.

cdrewferd · Aug 2, 2012

I would just make sure that where you have the 3 tanks next to eachother, make sure they are spanning multiple floor joists. Also wouldnt' be a bad idea to try and get another 4x4 skid right under those stands.