Any ideas for an outdoor fish shed?

[JoshH]

https://www.trane.com/residential/e...ess-systems/mini-split-indoor-unit/4mxw6.html

Another fantastic option albeit more expensive is a cooling/heating in wall unit. Provides both and is clean looking. VERY popular in small cabins and cottages

 

[Cory]

https://www.trane.com/residential/e...ess-systems/mini-split-indoor-unit/4mxw6.html

Another fantastic option albeit more expensive is a cooling/heating in wall unit. Provides both and is clean looking. VERY popular in small cabins and cottages

Thats a pretty sweet unit. Probably out of my expected cost though. Maybe an upgrade in the future. Its nice it heats and cools. Iirc lots of mexican homes use these.

 

[JoshH]

well you never know until you look into it it might be very well worth the extra expense off the get go if they are as efficient as they say.

 

[Cory]

well you never know until you look into it it might be very well worth the extra expense off the get go if they are as efficient as they say.

Ill keep it in mind for sure! Im thinking of ditching the tank and making a pomd style with fish liner. Heres a few pics that i like. What do you think?

 

[JoshH]

looks pretty cool actually very interesting idea

 

[JoshH]

would be super expensive lol

 

[Cory]

Lol. Probably would. The good news is a pond liner at home depot 12x14 feet is only 120$ ish. Up to 800 gallon pond. I figure ill double up on the liner for extra thickness, throw some sand in, and maybe make a wave machine tipping bucket. Possibly have one end like a sandy beach to break a small wave. Itl be like im in mexico lol. The wave machine would be tricky to make though.

One can dream right?

 

[JoshH]

a fun little sketch of what your aquarium shed could look like lol I find this very interesting

 

[Cory]

a fun little sketch of what your aquarium shed could look like lol I find this very interesting

Wow that's impressive. Love it, even got a couch! Thanks for the drawing, i wanted to draw one on paper but didnt

 

[JoshH]

well you gotta have a place to view it, and no problem it looks like a very interesting project. Hard to do on the phone without a ruler but still the image is there and a good start to get the creative juices flowing

 

[JoshH]

could even do half a glass roof over the tank and the other half regular covered to reduce costs.

 

[Cory]

could even do half a glass roof over the tank and the other half regular covered to reduce costs.

Good idea. i have an acrylic shower door thats like 1/2 to 3/4" thick i was thinking on refinishing and using. Plus acrylic has better impact resistance to hail iirc. But if that doesnt work out id do glass for sure.

 

[JoshH]

I honestly wouldn't use the shower door, hail will still crack it. Glass designed for roofs or polycarbonate roof system would be far better given they are specifically designed for that application and will hold the heat and cool in much more effectively than the solid acrylic panel.

 

[Cory]

I honestly wouldn't use the shower door, hail will still crack it. Glass designed for roofs or polycarbonate roof system would be far better given they are specifically designed for that application and will hold the heat and cool in much more effectively than the solid acrylic panel.

Good idea, thankfully you chimed in about this. Plus come to think of it acrylic may warp from heat. Probably a sheet of tempered glass is best no?

 

[JoshH]

Do some research on glass atrium systems or polycarbonate roofing systems and talk to an expert to see what they say.

http://sepio.ca/product/clear-roofs-insulated/

A quick search brought up this company, they even offer DIY kits you can install yourself. might be worth an email to them to solidify your ideas with some expert opinions. Always good to do as much research as possible and really iron out your thoughts and plans.

 

[Triggreef]

Good idea, thankfully you chimed in about this. Plus come to think of it acrylic may warp from heat. Probably a sheet of tempered glass is best no?

I have 3 sheets of tempered glass, 3. 5 feet x 5 feet feet. You can have them free come get them.

 

[mcarroll]

Unless you are in the tropical part of Alberta , you need to do a little research into cold weather greenhouses.

Whether you buy one is up to you, but at the very least you need the research so you can see what you need to be doing build-wise – steal their ideas.

Greenhouse would be nice. Im not sure but considering its mostky glass or plastic, and our winters can be -40 celcius, i dont think a greenhouse is a viable option.

Cold weather greenhouses do not look like the stereotypical glasshouse.

The glass house was invented at the beginning of the carbon age before anyone knew anything about anything other than starvation – food=good. Unfortunately, glasshouse ≠ smart. (Look into the history of the greenhouse to look at the precursors, as people truly came up with some genius growing methods before oil/easy carbon shut off our brains.)

Heat loss a lot? Its about 1/2" thick. You think itll be the same as a norma window with gas between the plates? The slope would be 45 degrees or so, like most homes.

While the material may or may not be fine...

It's not hard for the snow to come down faster than it will melt due to heat-loss, so do the research on snowfall rates and the load that snow can create before you design the roof.

Yeah thats a little too much (not if i had the cash though)

Im guessing this shed will cost me 1000$ ish dollars to build (not including tank stuff)

Im thinking of putting down 2x10s for the foundation resting on a gravel drivway thats there and not in use. They will be placed on cement pillars that are like 5$ each at home depot. Good idea?

How will you insulate the floor?

Once it's on top of the pylons and insulated, how high will the usable floor be off the actual ground?

Since they are only like 5$, i could put 20-40 of them with no isues.

I just like that its outdoors. Get me pretty excited.

As far as electrical, was just thinking of running an outdoor extention cord theough a hole in the wall lol. Bad idea? Im just thinking electricity and humidy is a bad idea. I wonder if they have special water resistant electric outlets .

Come to think of it, i could put an separate room for filtration and an electric outlet.

Since they are only like 5$, i could put 20-40 of them with no isues.

That's like $200 worth of pylons alone....you sure about that budget?

Since they are only like 5$, i could put 20-40 of them with no isues.

I just like that its outdoors. Get me pretty excited.

It's another house that "outdoors" just like your main house that's also outdoors...seems like there's more to the story, but that's OK too!

As far as electrical, was just thinking of running an outdoor extention cord theough a hole in the wall lol. Bad idea? Im just thinking electricity and humidy is a bad idea. I wonder if they have special water resistant electric outlets .

Yes, correct – the extension cord is a bad idea.

A typical outdoor electrical outlet should be more than enough as the doors seal and would keep salt spray out of the un-used outlet(s). Anything like these:

If you aren't certified to run power to the fish house correctly, I'd get someone to do it who is.

At the very least, do the correct work yourself and get them to certify it.....if that works.

Whats it take that get a permit for a 15x 20 shed?

Now you're talking! If you do it, do it right – especially the basics.

could even do half a glass roof over the tank and the other half regular covered to reduce costs.

Back to the cold climate greenhouses mentioned above....ideally I bet you'd want even less than half-glass.

Interesting project, but I think it's worthy of some more research and thought to save lots of cursing later.

 

[Skydvr]

Foam board insulation and expanding foam, like great stuff, to eliminate air gaps and is more efficient than just stuffing fiberglass between the studs. Filling the rest of the void with fiberglass should get you some good R values.

I looked up cold climate greenhouses real quick and there are some interesting concepts.

 

[Bradw18]

Dig down a few feet of possible will help with insulation. Think I read some where they built semi underground greenhouses to grow grapes in up north for wine making.

 

[JoshH]

Foam board insulation and expanding foam, like great stuff, to eliminate air gaps and is more efficient than just stuffing fiberglass between the studs. Filling the rest of the void with fiberglass should get you some good R values.

I looked up cold climate greenhouses real quick and there are some interesting concepts.

You NEVER and I mean Never use foam insulation board between studs. foam insulation board in a wall application is to be used outside ontop of the exterior plywood where you can get a tight joint between foam sheets. This is why they typically have staggerd ends so you can over lap the sheets and tape the joint for a proper seal. Fiberglass insulation is to be used between the studs down to a gap of roughly 3". Anything smaller and you should, as you did suggest, use an expanding foam insulation such as GAP. And even that is questionable if you're looking for a good R value. The reason for this is expanding foam insulation, just like it's hard board counter part is rigid. When you build a new place 9 time out of 10 you are using fresh, undried wood. As the structure ages and the wood dries out it will twist a little, this twisting of the studs will separate the stud from the hardened foam leaving you with an air gap. This is one of the major reasons we usually pushed clients away from the use of spray foam insulation. I can't count how many houses we have been in that have used this product and after even a week of it being installed you can see massive cracks in it as the structure flex's. Fiberglass or roxul insulation will flex with the studs and as long as the studs are properly spaced will not produce air gaps as a result. Obviously in a small gap it is impractial to use these products and the expanded foam is the way to go. in this case you are only risking a couple gaps here and there vs. up and down every stud and joist in your entire project.