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Why
do we need a fish room? Sooner or later,
every cichlid hobbyist will be confronted with the need for extra tanks. One
or more of them is really no luxury and actually more a must for every
advanced and devoted enthusiast.
Diseases and casualties:
To reduce losses, new bought fish should be kept in a quarantine/ tank for
several weeks (quarantine tank = mostly bare bottom tank in a quiet corner
with an exact known volume - important for medication dosage - and without
decoration, so it's easy to clean). Sick and damaged fish should be also be
kept in such a hospital tank, so they can be treated or fully recover from
their wounds without infecting the others. An extra advantage of a separate
tank is that it can be blinded to prevent the breakdown of delicate
medication.
Breeding: Occasional or
semi-professional…When your cichlids finally spawned and you're sure you
want to raise the fry (for replacing the parents when they're old or for
selling/donating them to others), a stressing floating hatch container in
the main tank or a large fish net won't do the job. Juvenile cichlids simply
need a separate aquarium to ensure a fast and steady growth.
A. Location
One or two small tanks) in
the same room as the main aquarium can be a solution, but this usually won't
be appreciated by the other inhabitants of the house, as this can get really
messy if you're not that handy. If you plan to become a semi-professional
breeder you'll soon need at least 10 tanks in different sizes. The real
solution is a separate room or a corner in the cellar or garage that usually
is occupied by old rubbish. All you need is the courage to finally throw
away the stuff that is a waste of space and never will be used again. If you
have the choice between different rooms, you'll have to find out what's the
most suitable place in terms of accessibility, costs and how important they
are for the hobbyist.
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Pro |
Contra |
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Cellar/Basement |
* Temperature stable
through all the seasons
* Plumbing and electricity mostly available
* Water spills not dramatic |
* Extra pump and barrel
needed to bring water to ground level
* No daylight
* Accessibility (ceiling height/steep stairs?) |
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Garage |
* Plumbing and
electricity mostly available
* Water spills not dramatic
* Daylight (maybe through a skylight) |
* Temperature unstable if
not insulated |
|
Normal room in the house |
* Located near the main
tank
* Daylight |
* Plumbing mostly not
available
* Moisture/mildew problems
* Water spills not desirable |
|
Greenhouse/closed porch |
* Daylight
* Water spills not dramatic |
* Plumbing mostly not
available
* Temperature unstable if not insulated |
B.
Utilities
1.
Racks
We definitely need to pay
very much attention to the racks that’ll be used to put the tanks on, both
to minimize safety risks and to preserve a good functionality. The best
materials for such a construction are wood, iron and aluminum.
Wooden
racks are easy to dismantle and a pleasure to look at, but need proper
treatment with several layers of wood protector and waterproof varnish to
last for a long time in a moist environment. An advantage of this material
is that it’s relatively cheap, especially when you assemble it yourself.
With a minimum of tools like an electric drill, a level, good screws,
carpenter glue and basic DIY skills, they’re easy to build. Be sure to use
thick enough beams to carry all the weight. Compared to iron and aluminum
the bulk of wooden racks limits the space available for tanks. Of course the
price of such racks depends on the kind of wood that's used. Pine is the
cheapest, but if you want better quality like beech, chestnut or oak, you'll
definitely pay a higher price. As we fish keepers have a bit an ecological
heart, tropical wood definitely should be avoided. All we have to do is take
accurate measures, go to the lumber yard and let cut all the parts needed
for the rack
Iron
is cheap, but a professional welder must do the construction. Few people
have such an apparatus in their toolbox at home, and it’s quite questionable
they’re able to assemble a safe rack with strong connections. Can you
imagine a rack full of tanks collapse when you’re in the neighbourhood? A
drawback of this material is its sensitivity for corrosion, especially in a
moist environment. Several layers of a good quality paint (some brands can
be put on the iron and even directly on rust) and a yearly repaint is a
must. There is also a possibility to let "powder coat paint" the complete
frame. In this procedure the paint is sprayed as a fine powder, not a
liquid. After the powder has been applied, the heat from an oven liquefies
and hardens the paint. Also electroplating is a possibility. Plastic pads
under the legs of the rack helps to protect it from rust at the most
critical part of the construction.
Aluminum
is the perfect material for building racks. It's light and practically
immortal, and if you additionally
use electrostatic coated beams, then you can forget about it once and for
all. You can also choose any color that matches that of your basement.
Aluminum is very expensive compared with wood, iron or electroplated iron.
The construction of racks must be done by a professional, and his wages are
also expensive, although the tools needed for such constructions are cheap
and easy to use. All you need is a clinch tool and rivets. There is a
special technique to fit the beams together. The best craftsmen use aluminum
profiles in the joints that they can fit within the beams, so the rivets do
not rumple them when clinched and practically the beams’ thickness and
durability is doubled. Additionally the joints are not evident.
2.Tanks
You can choose between
glass and acryl tanks. Acryl is best avoided for a fish room as it is
expensive, scratches easily and colours from medication and other dyes as
time passes. The advantage of this material is the lightness and the ability
to drill holes in it whenever you feel like doing this. Despite the weight,
the thicker plates needed for equal aquarium dimensions and the need for
holes to be drilled in advance, glass is preferred by far, as it is cheap
and easy to construct by you. All you need is a good quality aquarium
silicone (Den
Braven, Bayern, General Electrics…), a silicone
pistol, lots of toilet paper, a razor blade, adhesive tape, a measure,
alcohol or acetone to degrease the glue surface and some sanding paper to
sand off the sharp edges of fresh cut glass, as they can make nasty wounds.
Make sure to check all measurements very good in advance to prevent plates
to be too short or too long. After cleaning all the plates you can start
assembling the tank with gluing the first long side glass plate to the
bottom glass and next the first short side glass. Be sure not to forget any
joint as silicone sticks to all materials when it's fresh and will cause a
huge mess. When all sides are glued together adhesive tape is used to press
and secure all the plates. The excess of silicon that comes out of the
joints after this gentle pressure can be spread in the inner corners of the
tank with a wet fingertip. This will enhance the solidness of the tank. The
excess of silicones that come out at the outside will be left alone to dry
and to be cut with a razor blade the next day. By then it's time to glue
both the transverse and length glass strips that will prevent our
construction from breaking. The same procedure with the excess of silicones
is repeated the next day as mentioned above.
3.
Filters
Different techniques are
available for operating many small tanks in a fish room. Central filter
systems, that only have the small advantage of keeping electricity costs
down, definitely need to be avoided, as diseases can spread in no time with
very high mortality among your carefully collected and selected cichlid
population as a nasty consequence. We suggest:
Air operated filters
are very economical, as they only need one large central air pump that
services all the airlifts in each separate tanks. Be sure to buy a good
quality pump, as all the tanks depend on it for their filtration. For
demanding applications these airlifts can turn out to be a little weak.
Power heads
in each separate tank is the most expensive, but best solution. One pump
failure won't affect the other tanks, so losses will be limited to only one
tank if something really goes wrong. These pumps are capable of moving a
fair amount of water without consuming too much electricity. Most of the mid
sized power heads only need 5 to 20W. Try not to save too much in buying
these pumps, as this mostly has a direct impact on reliability. If there is
a flow control on the pump, this is a plus, as this permits you to regulate
the output flow. Power heads are mostly built-in in an internal
3-compartment glass filter with an inlet chamber that mostly houses the
electrical heater. The second chamber holds both the mechanical and
biological filter media, while the last is the pump compartment. The choice
in filter media doesn’t differ much from that used in normal tanks and isn’t
critical, as long as you’re sure it meets the minimum requirements of
mechanical and biological filtration. Also easy maintenance is a plus. Using
sponges as prefilter can be very handy, as they’re easy to rinse.
Another utility that can be added on each of the
tanks is a hole drilled inside the one of the three filter compartments
(preferably in the compartment that the water pump is housed in). This hole
can have a diameter of 2,7
- 2,8cm, to mount a
½’’drainage fitting. With a small
ball or gate bulb, connected after the fitting we can empty our tanks
easily, fast and with avoiding a messy and wet fish room.
In the
MCH
page
http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/haps/whole_tank_hydraulic.html, you
can get an idea about this utility. You can look at the drainage fitting on
the diagram, that our 3D designer, Takis Tsamis, has prepared for this
purpose.
Internal
power filters can also be used, but can turn
out to be a bit expensive, especially when cartridges from that specific
brand are needed. They also need to be replaced completely when they break
down, especially with smaller and cheaper models.
For mechanical and chemical media
we'll use the market available ones (aquarium
moss, charcoal, peat etc). For biological substrate we can use, except the
commercial plastic bio- or bactoballs and ceramic cylinders manufactured for
aquarium use, all small plastic material that is used for food purposes, as
that normally doesn't contain hazardous additives (stoppers of lemonade
bottles, etc... test them in an running aquarium system to check if they
become slippery = growth of bacteria)
4.Electrical
installation & safety
For our own good, we have
to pay very much attention to our electrical installation.
It’s recommended to protect all sockets
against splashing water, what can be done by installing wood or plastic
shields around them. Silicones can be applied to seal cable entries at
sockets. Install circuits for all equipment, like heaters and pumps enables
you to switch them separately, what is very useful during water changes: the
lights will still be on, but you won't risk a shock because all other
equipment will be off. Sensitive fuses have to be used AND also an earth
leak / ground fault circuit interrupter. Even if a system is properly
grounded, minor faults in a circuit can cause dangerous shock to a person
using an electrical appliance in a damp location or near water. For this
reason, it's recommended to use a GFCI to be connected to all outlets to our
tanks and all other locations in the house close to water. The GFCI senses
the flow of electricity through a circuit. If more current is flowing
through the black (hot) wire than the white (neutral) wire, there is a
current leakage. The most sensitive GFCI can sense a ground leak of as
little as 0.005 amps, and will shut off the current in 1/40 of a second,
which is fast enough to prevent injury.
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If you do
have GFCI, it is recommended that you test (and reset) them monthly.
When you push the test button, the reset button should pop out, shutting
off the circuit. If it doesn't, the breaker is not working properly. If
you don't test them once a month, the breakers have a tendency to stick,
and may not protect you when needed. Ask your local
electricity dealer for more info.
This is a European 220V model that shuts
off at 0.03 amps. It should be installed on EVERY aquarium without
exception! |
5.
Lightning
Normal or compact
fluorescent tubes are best suited for fish rooms, as they’re economical and
don’t consume too much space. One lamp for each tank will be more than
satisfying and using more lamps will only cause an increase of the
electricity bill. The use of waterproof sockets for the bulbs is advised
(see above: electric safety) A central timer circuit can control all the
lamps. Natural light that comes through a window or a skylight in the fish
room can also be used to save on lamps: it’s free and it goes on and off
automatically day in day out, but not suited for people who have daytime
jobs!
  
Watertight end caps to connect standard fluorescent tubes |
6.Insulation
& heating
Heating the tanks can be
done by installing electrical heaters in each separate tank. This allows us
to set different temperatures for each individual tank (breeding, treating
disease), but can also cause an increase off the electrical bill. A
combination of central heating and a thorough insulation of our fish room
can help to cut down operational costs.
A radiator connected to the
central heating can keep the temperature up to the desired level. Styrofoam
is best used to insulate the fish room, as it is highly resistant to water
and water vapour. It won't rot, mildew or decompose, and retains virtually
all of its insulating power even in extremely damp environments. Both walls
and ceiling should be covered with these plates. A good air-conditioning in
extremely hot areas can also help to get control on the temperature in our
fish room.
7.Plumbing
& sink
At first we
need a cold and hot water tap to fill and change the tanks with water with a
correct temperature. A single faucet leaver, or better a thermostatic tap is
recommended for our and the cichlids comfort. Quick connections can be used
to attach a garden hose to this tap. If there is only cold water available,
a small electrical boiler will help heating the water. Also some extra empty
tanks can be filled with fresh water. A heater will heat it and meanwhile
all tap chlorine will be evaporated too. A large and deep sink with a large
water resistant counter is essential for many jobs as rinsing and cleaning
equipment and filter foam
and handling the brine shrimp hatchers. A drain in the
floor will help clean up water spills. For cellar
fish rooms under street level, a large barrel - normally used for collecting
rain water - combined with an automatic submersible pump can make water
changes in a fish cellar very easy. All used water can be collected in that
barrel and when the level rises above a certain level the pump will start
pumping it up to a sewer system or the garden.
8.Cost
When you're
planning to build a fish room with about 10, 20 or even more tanks, and you
master the basic DIY (=do it yourself) skills like installing electricity,
construction, insulation, lightning and plumbing, there is a lot of money
that can be saved. Obviously when you have time to run a fish room, you'll
have oceans of time to spend much time on building it yourself. Using
materials from a DIY shop (be sure to compare build quality) instead that of
an LFS will surely yield some profit.
The companies that
manufacture aquarium products keep prices high, because their target
consumer group is small, compared with that of other manufacturer companies
(water/boat related equipment companies for instance).
Simply use your imagination like Andreas did with his
fittings.
9.Additional tools + hints & tips
*Above the
sink we'll install our brine shrimp hatchers. These plastic cones are used
to cultivate Artemia Salina, the best food to raise fry.
*An old (not working) refrigerator
can
be used to store drugs and foods, as it is dry, dark and insulated.
*A
wet/dry cleaner can be very useful to keep the floor dry after a messy water
change.
*Tank dividers can be used to separate tanks in compartments, so the
diversity of the species that you keep can be increased.
*Use the lower tanks for quarantine, hospital and breeding purposes, the
upper tanks as water containers for partial water changes.
*Used water can be applied for the garden, as it is a natural fertilizer
(only if it's free of medication).
*As the lower tanks stay cooler in a fish room with central heating they can
be used for fish that like a slightly cooler environment.
* Use different nets for each separate tank to prevent the spreading of
diseases. |
