# turning an unfinished basement into a fish room



## cornbread_5 (Oct 2, 2007)

ok my mom has decided to let me turn my basment into a fish room, So i need ideas. The basement is basically split in half so i am not sure if i can use both sides , but one side that i will probably use is 16 and a half feet by 12 and half feet. The floors are cement and there is a sink down there to. My mom plans on getting somebody to finish off the basement for her and i need ideas of what to do to to my basement, i want to turn into a fish room with racks and tanks and probably an air supply, as i will use sponge filters. i have never done this or thought about before so all ideas are welcome here are some pics of my basements


----------



## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

Let me guess; in order to make a fishroom you have to clean the basement first!  
I'd find out exactly what space you have and then plan accordingly! If you can post a sketch of the floorplan it will help people come up with ideas for you.


----------



## kornphlake (Feb 12, 2004)

Build racks and put fish tanks on them. What was the question? If you have a local aquarium club now would be the time to look into joining, you'll be able to get fish and maybe equipment to fill your fish room a lot cheaper, plus you'll meet other hobbyists and probably get to see their fish rooms.

The Greater Portland Aquarium Society (oregon) has members with fishrooms ranging from a full scale commercial hatchery to people who have a couple aquariums in every room of their house including the bathroom to dedicated fishrooms in a basement. There are lots of ways to set up multiple tanks.


----------



## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

I wasn't certain if he wanted to go the multiple tanks route or make a 'monster' tank


----------



## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Stack up cinder blocks for stand legs and where you need a shelf for tanks, turn the blocks sideways so you can insert a 2 by 4. You can screw a rectangle of plywood onto the 2 by 4's if you want a solid shelf that you can put different size tanks on, or use to store items next to a tank, or even have an area to bag up fish from the tanks and take them to fish auctions or ship them to buyers. If you have sucessful tanks, your cichlids will multiply to fill them and the surplus will have to go somewhere.


----------



## BillD (May 17, 2005)

The first aspect of construction should be insulation and vapor barrier. It would be best if you have access to a floor drain, as it makes water changes much easier.


----------



## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

Mcdaphnia said:


> Stack up cinder blocks for stand legs and where you need a shelf for tanks, turn the blocks sideways so you can insert a 2 by 4. You can screw a rectangle of plywood onto the 2 by 4's if you want a solid shelf that you can put different size tanks on, or use to store items next to a tank, or even have an area to bag up fish from the tanks and take them to fish auctions or ship them to buyers. If you have sucessful tanks, your cichlids will multiply to fill them and the surplus will have to go somewhere.


how much weight could something like this hold?


----------



## kornphlake (Feb 12, 2004)

I can't remember now, but once upon a time someone asked about using cinderblocks to hold up a car, I ran some calculations and came out with a number. It seems like each block can hold somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 lb, so 1 block under each corner of the vehicle = 2000lb assuming the 4 corners are evenly weighted (unlikely in a car but very likely with an aquarium,) the determination I made was that depending on the size of the car and the quality of the blocks, using cinder blocks instead of jack stands could be dangerous. Honestly I can't remember the exact numbers, my 500 lb per block suggestion may be way off, I do remember being suprised that the maximum recommended load was lower than I expected. Of course there is a safety factor applied and the calculations were made for the lowest acceptable quality blocks, in practice you could probably load a block with much more weight and not suffer any consequences.


----------



## Mikey13 (Apr 1, 2008)

Call me an idiot, but i think cinderblocks have rediculous strength, and i would not hesitate to get under any car with them as support, if put in correctly. You have to try to think in terms of geometric shapes, and cinder blocks are formed to handle extreme loads in my .02 worth.


----------



## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

well my question was not if the cinder blocks could hold weight but the two 2 by 4s with a plywood shelve...how much could that hold ...a 75G?


----------



## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

BRANT13 said:


> Mcdaphnia said:
> 
> 
> > Stack up cinder blocks for stand legs and where you need a shelf for tanks, turn the blocks sideways so you can insert a 2 by 4. You can screw a rectangle of plywood onto the 2 by 4's if you want a solid shelf that you can put different size tanks on, or use to store items next to a tank, or even have an area to bag up fish from the tanks and take them to fish auctions or ship them to buyers. If you have sucessful tanks, your cichlids will multiply to fill them and the surplus will have to go somewhere.
> ...


One of the live coral/ sw fish distributors here started out with cinder block/ 2 by 4 stands for tanks of all sizes and up to 180 gallons. When he retired after years in the business, he still had the original stands in operation and had added more of them.


----------



## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

this is intersting....ty mcdaphnia...any chance on scoring a diagram?..


----------



## Fishfeind (Jan 16, 2007)

make sure that you stack the cinder block with the holes facing up, not towards you. They have a quarter of the strength the other way.


----------



## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

> somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 lb


Industry standard is 1,000psi for all comercially sold concrete masonry units(block=8x8x16)..crush strength goes up for special construction applications.


> block with the holes facing up


 :thumb:


----------



## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

but wouldnt it be resting on 2 by 4s amd plywood as stated above...thats why i was questioning it?


----------



## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

BRANT13 said:


> but wouldnt it be resting on 2 by 4s amd plywood as stated above...thats why i was questioning it?


a 2x4 on edge can bear a **** load of weight. I've made several stands from wood that used 2x4's on edge with plywood on top (and without) and as long as you have the load transferred directly to the floor by a vertical member you are rockin' - what you don't want is the weight being held up by screws or other hardware.

The only question I have with 2x4's on edge is how much distance can you span without a supporting member... The answer is probably quite a bit but the most I've gone for a 90g tank was 4 feet. (technically more like 42" - 45" or something).


----------



## 20 20 (Jun 25, 2005)

Don't forget to plan for humidity.


----------



## CICHnes (Jan 30, 2009)

Build the rack out of 2 x 4's. This way you can easily square the rack and adjust it just in case the floor is uneven. I've seen a rack system out of 2 x 4's hold several 90 G tanks, no problem. You can notch the 2 x 4's so that the horizontal members fit inside them, so the weight is taken on by the vertical member rather than hardware. If you're not going more than 90 gallons, then you're fine with this type of construction and you don't even have to brace the span. You don't even necesarily have to use plywood underneath the tanks. You can have them sit directly on the 2 x 4's or place styrofoam underneath the tanks.


----------

