Basement Fish Room Idea

[Bluefalcon2017]

Good afternoon everyone,
I love the reef hobby and community, and have been a part of reefing since 2014 or so.
I purchased my house about two years ago, and I have a full, unfinished basement that the wife and I want to host an amazing fish tank.

My thoughts are having a large, 250-300 gallon display tank in the wall in the "living room". My thoughts is to use the under stairs closet area would be where the tank stand hold the weight and electrical.
There's a room behind that area that I would want to store the filtration, water storage, a frag tank, etc all in one system.

I am working on trying to sell this idea to the wife, but cannot find another post similar. The ones I've seen have been pretty much fish store looking fish rooms, and thats not what I'm really for. I'm looking for a like, Georgia aquarium, feel. All displays with the guts hidden.

Let me hear some advise please. Thanks guys and girls

 

[New&no clue]

Definitely no "Georgia Aquarium Feel", but here is my tank it's in the wall in my dining room.

And my basement fish room

 

[Soren]

Definitely no "Georgia Aquarium Feel", but here is my tank it's in the wall in my dining room.

And my basement fish room

You came to mind when I considered commenting earlier, since I knew your tank was in the wall and you had a fish room to hide the equipment!

I also consider the basement fish room of @DiefsReef & @TDiefRN to be quite spectacular.

Though I personally have a fish room in my unfinished basement of a country home, mine is blandly utilitarian other than having some freshwater tanks as well as saltwater QT's for viewing enjoyment.

 

[Sean Clark]

Here is my old (and very messy) basement fish room setup. The best part of a remote sump is that your display is completely silent.

 

[Sean Clark]

I am working on trying to sell this idea to the wife

Also, often the best way to sell an idea to the wife is to make the whole concept her idea

 

[jhuntstl]

Here is my current(and very messy) basement fish room setup. Very much a work in progress.

 

[AlgaeBarn]

Also, often the best way to sell an idea to the wife is to make the whole concept her idea

I think you're onto something there

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Under the Stairs for your filtration and feeding the cords through the wall is an excellent idea for that wasted space. You might want to consider extending it and putting a door in, that is on the same plain as the wall behind the aquarium, to give yourself some extra room. My under the stairs has the Water heater there, so some of the space is taken up. The sheet rock wall behind my Aquarium, I painted Behr “Ink” for the color. Also my Isolated Ground Rod, through the floor, is in that area. I know someone how creates Scenes for stages, I’d love for them to make half of a Wood Ship Wreck on that wall.

 

[Stang67]

Basement fishrooms are awesome.

 

[Sean Clark]

I used this flexable PVC product to make all of the drains and return lines one single piece from the tank down to the sump to eliminalte any possible issues in the walls and ceilings. My five plumbing runs were just over 25 feet each.

TEKTUBE 1.5" Dia. X 50' - Black Schedule 40 Ultra Flexible PVC Pipe - Made in The USA

 

[DiefsReef]

You came to mind when I considered commenting earlier, since I knew your tank was in the wall and you had a fish room to hide the equipment!

I also consider the basement fish room of @DiefsReef & @TDiefRN to be quite spectacular.

Though I personally have a fish room in my unfinished basement of a country home, mine is blandly utilitarian other than having some freshwater tanks as well as saltwater QT's for viewing enjoyment.

Thank you for the kind words @Soren
@Bluefalcon2017 if you have the room you just cant beat it!
I second @Sean Clark with the flex tube. My longest run was just over 20' and it works great. No 45 or 90 bends so flow rate doesn't take the hit as much.
Room is a mess but best I have at the moment to show the setup
Older pic of Mixing station on the right. Still isn't fully integrated yet so I use hoses to move water to tanks but it works well enough.

 

[TDiefRN]

Also, often the best way to sell an idea to the wife is to make the whole concept her idea

Thank you for the kind words @Soren
@Bluefalcon2017 if you have the room you just cant beat it!
I second @Sean Clark with the flex tube. My longest run was just over 20' and it works great. No 45 or 90 bends so flow rate doesn't take the hit as much.
Room is a mess but best I have at the moment to show the setup
Older pic of Mixing station on the right. Still isn't fully integrated yet so I use hoses to move water to tanks but it works well enough.

It WAS my idea!


And thank you @Soren !

 

[DiefsReef]

It WAS my idea!


And thank you @Soren !

Shes stalking me

 

[atomic081]

Here is my fish room. The room is 10x24 and I truly wish is was bigger. The display is 800g and I have 3 frag tanks (24x24 Anemone, 24x48 Soft coral, and 24x72 SPS/euphillia). The tank takes up alot more room than i realized and walking space is a premium. I rarely have more than 2 people in the room. When I do though, I always wish i had more walking space.

 

[DiefsReef]

Here is my fish room. The room is 10x24 and I truly wish is was bigger. The display is 800g and I have 3 frag tanks (24x24 Anemone, 24x48 Soft coral, and 24x72 SPS/euphillia). The tank takes up alot more room than i realized and walking space is a premium. I rarely have more than 2 people in the room. When I do though, I always wish i had more walking space.

How do you deal with moisture? Have a ERV installed?

 

[atomic081]

How do you deal with moisture? Have a ERV installed?

I just installed a whole home dehumidifier last week. I had 2 smaller ones running and a fan pushing air outside at all times. Since my house is foamed, Moisture was an issue in the basement. Hopefully this unit will help.

 

[JumboShrimp]

If space becomes an issue, I was able to find these very sturdy work benches from Sam’s Club that will just barely accommodate these 70 gallon “horizontal leg” tanks underneath. Best wishes on your project!

 

[DiefsReef]

I just installed a whole home dehumidifier last week. I had 2 smaller ones running and a fan pushing air outside at all times. Since my house is foamed, Moisture was an issue in the basement. Hopefully this unit will help.

Im jelous!

 

[jda]

The easiest sell for the wife is the cleanliness. I have a used dishwasher and sink in my fish room - worth their weight in gold. Also, the noise. There might be times where you need to use fans and stuff and being able to close the door to both hide a mess and keep noise down is huge.

 

[ReefDreamz]

My basement sump room is still a work in progress but coming along nicely.