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Author Topic: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room  (Read 14061 times)

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Offline Mr Fix-it

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Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« on: August 11, 2011, 07:34:23 AM »
I'm in the process of making some changes to my basement and I'll keep everyone posted on the start date and the process.  Should make for a cool DIY Project

Also, this is to all local in or around my area, I'm downsizing my aquarium stock to move the tank to the basement.  If anyone is interested please hit me a PM and we can make some arrangements.
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Offline Dutty

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2011, 02:50:53 PM »
err...what  exactly are you getting rid of, a tank? or some wabeen and carite?
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Offline Mr Fix-it

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2011, 09:32:32 PM »
all wabeen lol :beermug:
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Offline Mr Fix-it

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #3 on: August 15, 2011, 11:25:46 AM »
Will start this week as I am on Vacation.  Pics of before and after will follow :beermug:
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Offline Mr Fix-it

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2011, 06:59:52 AM »
OK Finally got the tank cleared out, all livestock was shipped off to PJ pets for store credit and awaiting to sell the filters
This is what the tank looked like before




Doh have the after but I'm going to post what it's going to look like once completed



Anyone knows where to get aquarium grade aquarium grade silicone?  Have to get all the seams before I put it into the wall

« Last Edit: September 07, 2011, 06:10:31 PM by Mr Fix-it »
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Offline capodetutticapi

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #5 on: August 28, 2011, 02:26:55 PM »
reminds me of when i had meh 2 75 gallon tanks with tropical and koi.
soon ah go b ah lean mean bulling machine.

Offline Mr Fix-it

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #6 on: August 31, 2011, 12:18:07 PM »
OK so I got the grade aquarium grade silicone, which is in GE silicone 1 for windows and doors.  This think use to have a label stating that it was safe for fish tanks, but because GE selling the thing to aquarium shops they had to take it information off the label so that the aquarium shops could repackage and sell at a higher price

Ok, this weekend I might have some time to re-silicone the tank and make an internal overflow box.  It will look something like this one
looks like I can't use these images.  I'll get some more when I have time
Pics to follow if the wife let me do the work
« Last Edit: September 08, 2011, 12:26:30 PM by Mr Fix-it »
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Offline Sando

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #7 on: September 13, 2011, 04:15:16 PM »
How much money does that aquarium cost you to run in electricity a month.

Offline Mr Fix-it

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #8 on: September 14, 2011, 12:03:15 PM »
How much money does that aquarium cost you to run in electricity a month.

Never really checked.  When I had the apt. the electric was included in the maintenance agreement.  I never really had it running for that long in the house.  With 2 pump, 2 heater, air pump and the light would be around 200 – 400 kWh per year.
When I set it up I'll have much less equipment running, probably only 1 heater, 1 pump, air pump and the light.
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Offline Mr Fix-it

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #9 on: September 21, 2011, 01:48:57 PM »
Sorry alyu, I have a couple other projects going on before the actual tank is placed in the wall.  Lots of pics, but I doh have the time to update the page.  I should have some time on the weekend to show where I am at.  Stay tuned :beermug: ;D
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Offline pecan

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #10 on: September 24, 2011, 07:26:29 AM »
waiting with anticipation ... :beermug:
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Offline weary1969

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #11 on: September 28, 2011, 12:49:53 PM »
waiting with anticipation ... :beermug:

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Offline Mr Fix-it

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #12 on: October 03, 2011, 10:09:24 PM »
Alright, ah hear alyu.

I was unable to update this weekend because of work related issues and I was rethinking my original plans.  While I was pondering the plans, I was working on other DYI projects namely my workbench and a yeast co2 reactor for my aquarium plants (aquarium plants go ape sh*t for co2).

The workbench was really easy as I had a couple of skids from work (really heavy as they transported some servers that Cisco sent to the office).  I was striping the skids apart then I was thinking that the lower parts of the skid made for a good frame for drawers and other little things I would need when I am sawing and all that (vice grip and other little attachments).  So I left them intact and I just measured and levelled the lower and upper skid using 2x4.  Still have a bit of work to do, like add draws, lengthen the table top/smoothen the existing top and then varnish.  One of these work in progress things, but it’s a start and always a good project for any DIYer.



For the CO2 reactor (pics below) all you really need is 2 bottles, one for the yeast and sugar mixture and the other has plain water to separate the gas for any yeast gunk that might have moved through the tube.  Then I had a check valve for water that might syphon back from the pond to the bottles.
 


I had to figure out how to dissolve the co2 in the water before it escaped to the surface. For this I added a small container at the end of the tube and put some scrubbing pad at the mouth to stop the bubbles from escaping.



 Below is the finished product, I had to wait 24 hours for the yeast to really start gobbling up the sugar to produce the co2, then I realized that the pressure wasn’t building up in the yeast bottle because one of the seals was leaking.  Had to re-silicone the cover and wait another 24 hours, then the pressure was building up properly and I was getting bubbles of co2 every second (the way it should be). 



Now I’m battling an algae bloom and some hair algae on some of the plants which might have been caused by a combination of having the light was too close to the water/and on for 24x7.  I had to deal with that before the plants all died and then the wife will kill me for wasting all the yeast and sugar LOL.  Anyway, check out the pics and you’ll get the idea.






I’m still awaiting a couple of friends to come over to move the 100 gal tank outside so I can re-silicone it, but then I was thinking that I don’t want to be outside when it’s cold and the silicone might not cure properly.  I might just move the tank into the furnace room where it is warm, problem is if the tank is curing the fumes might end up being circulated through the vent system.  Not sure what I might do with that yet, or I might just put the tank into the basement area and just suck up the beating that the wife going to give me because of the smell.  Anyway, my friend from work might pass by this weekend to help me move the tank, when he comes by I’ll decide what I will do.
Once the tank is in the basement I’ll have time to decide which wall I’m going to use.  The first pic would have been the original wall that I wanted to use.  I would have stripped the carpet around 2 feet then make a room for the tank. 

Problem is that behind that wall is a storage room that might wife uses, and she might not like the moisture build up.  The other problem is that I have no drains near that room and to clean the tank I’ll have to run a hose through the basement area into the bathroom around 15 – 20 ft away (water and carpet don’t really mix). 

The other idea I have is to use the unused space under my staircase that leads into the basement from the main floor. 


I should have enough room to place the tank/sump/equipment without me losing sq footage and it will only be a few feet away from a sink and drain for easy clean up and no carpet will be affected really.  Problem, I have central vac system/light switch/light/power socket all along that wall like it’s no tomorrow.  If I do go with this idea, one of the lights and power socket will be diverted into that room, but I might have to relocate everything else.  This thing getting complicated and I’m not even sure if I’ll need a permit for any of the electrical work being done (what they don’t see wouldn’t hurt them yes).  Anyway, while the tank is being fixed will give me some time to decide if I’m going to use the existing wall on the right (leading to the storage room) or under the staircase.

Hey if anyone on doing construction or anything in the GTA area and have drywall/insulation/vapour barrier/2x4/interior door that they want to get rid of, hit me a pm and we could work something out (or if you just want to donate to the project.... :beermug: :devil:).

Will post when I am working on the tank.
« Last Edit: December 27, 2011, 11:42:41 AM by Mr Fix-it »
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Offline Mr Fix-it

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #13 on: October 11, 2011, 09:01:51 AM »
Update:

I fixed the tank over the weekend, I hope to have pics and instructions up tonight.

Update:

Finally got some time to update the DIY project.  Thanks for sticking around, lately I'm busy on the weekends so things are movin kinda slow.  Hope to have things up and running soon.
Ok, for this stage of the project I had to re-silicone the tank as I suspected it was leaking all over. (I just didn't know it was this bad)

Tools needed for this part of the project:
Razors/Sand paper (both for metal and wood)/painters tape/silicone/vinegar/rubbing alcohol

You'll need loads of razors as the silicone gums up the edge of the blade every few passes.  To minimize the cost I used the sand paper to clean off the edge of the blade.
The painters tape is for the silicone part to give it that factory edge
Silicone naturally is for bonding the glass together
Vinegar and rubbing alcohol to clean off the glass of all old silicone as

The pic below, I took off the trim for the tank.  You could see some nasty crap around the rim


Trim on the metal stand needs a good cleaning


This corner had the most water staining, when I removed the trim I noticed that the silicone didn't go to the edge.



2 Pics below shows that the water was going below the silicone.  It was only a matter of time before the tank would have a major accident.





Pic of the stand with water rusting the crap out of it.  Mind you this is over the period of maybe 6 yr and 3 moves.  Will have to take the sand paper to this and then prime/paint it again



Stripping process begins, man my friggin forearms killed me for a couple of days after this process.  Fingers were raw too.












Finally all of the old silicone was taken out of the tank.  Parts of the body that hurt the most, Back/forearms/fingers/head....Flickin thing took like 4 hours to clean off, but the prep work was the most of it as the silicone would only take 10 mins max to put down



Taping begins









Ok this is the messed up part in more ways than one.  I put the silicone down and this process usually takes 2 ppl to do it as the silicone will get a skin over it.  So I wasn't fast enough and when I was taking the tape off, some of the silicone went with it.  Crappppppp, all that man hours for nothing.  So I just smoothed it over and then let it cure over the next week or so.  Now I have to cut out the tape and clean up the silicone a bit.

Will have more pics over the weekend for the final stages and then it's onto water testing.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2011, 10:22:16 AM by Mr Fix-it »
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Offline Mr Fix-it

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #14 on: November 16, 2011, 01:15:50 PM »
Looks like I'm going to be updating this next spring.  Holiday season coming and I already don't have the time to finish up before the winter.  Anyway, if this weekend isn't too bad I'll do some work and take some pics.
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Offline pecan

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #15 on: November 24, 2011, 09:29:29 AM »
 :beermug:
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Offline Jumbie

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #16 on: December 02, 2011, 09:19:12 AM »
watch dem fish eh call Mike Homes, the length ah time you taking to finish up the contract and give them they home. Allyuh contractors always have an excuse for missing deadline eh.

Offline Mr Fix-it

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #17 on: December 03, 2011, 09:19:59 PM »
watch dem fish eh call Mike Homes, the length ah time you taking to finish up the contract and give them they home. Allyuh contractors always have an excuse for missing deadline eh.

Watch nah, I done think bout dat long time...Last thing I need is for MH to show up at my door, so I ship all man jack to PJ Pets for store credit. :rotfl: :beermug:
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Offline Mr Fix-it

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #18 on: December 30, 2011, 12:47:46 PM »
Can anyone help me out here?  Do we have any electrician or plumbers or any friends in the trade living in TO or close that can give me a hand?

Hit me a pm
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Offline Mr Fix-it

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #19 on: April 30, 2012, 10:35:04 AM »
Hard luck everyone, looks like I can't use the room/space that I had intended to use because of a venting issue.  Too much moisture in the basement.  I eventually put the aquarium outside, near a window and during the summer will add a dehumidifier/Air exchanger to deal with the moisture that is present now.  Not to mention my bathroom was closer and it is easier to clean everything.

Here are a couple of pics, I'm going to enclose the stand when I get some time.

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Offline Flex

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #20 on: December 23, 2015, 05:22:57 PM »
Do you have an update on your tank, and the filtration system?

Post some bigger photos.

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Offline Mr Fix-it

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Re: Basement In Wall Aquarium with Wet/Dry Sump/Hidden Fish Room
« Reply #21 on: September 10, 2016, 07:50:13 AM »
Hey Flex,

Plans get put on the back burner as the kids are taking all my time.  I ended up having multiple tanks instead but sold everything in Feb.

Will post some picks later but yeah plan buss
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