# crshadow's Fishroom Journal *56K Warning*



## the_noobinator (Jun 10, 2006)

that has some serious potential. is it finished currently, or are you still in the process?


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

I would have to say it is about 90-95% completed right now. It's completely functional and up and running though. I'm only missing some of the final components such as a tall water storage tank or two. Maybe some shelving, and other tidbits. Also, I can still fit a couple more tanks in, as soon as I can afford to.

-Jeremiah


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

My wife had one stipulation about building a fishroom.... It had to look nice. So, that meant it would have to be fully drywalled, painted, etc. This added quite a bit to the cost, but in the end I'm happy with the results.

Anyway, with some of the basics in mind, I sat down to plan everything out. The room is 16' wide, but one of the 16' walls is broken up by the entrance door to the room. So I figured the best idea would to place all the tank racks against the full length 16' wall. With numerous tanks planned, I figured it would be spiffy to have numerous receptacles along the wall so that I could plug in equipment without having to worry about powerstrips. This turned out to not be such a good idea as it was a lot of trouble to wire so many receptacles, as well as cut all the holes in the drywall, etc. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't put so many... Oh well.

The room would also feature a small 5000 BTU Air conditioner, to keep the entire room at the appropriate temperature. (No need for individual tank heaters.) I live in deep South Texas, so I need to cool down the room instead of heating it... Winter is pretty much doesn't exist down here. 

Here is my preliminary sketch of the room:


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

With so many receptacles it is important to properly plan the electrical usage of all the devices that are to be used so that the circuit(s) are not overloaded.

To do this we must determine how many amps each device draws. To determine this we take the wattage of the item in question and divide that by the voltage of the circuit, resulting in the amperage used. Household voltage averages between 110-120V, so we can use 115V as an average. Here's an example for a 60 Watt Light bulb:

Watts/Volts = Amps
60 / 115 = 0.52 Amps

We would then repeat this process for all devices planned, and add the amps of each together. The total should be kept below the maximum rated amps of the circuit in question, as shown on the appropriate breaker. (Most household circuits are rated at either 15 or 20 amps)

I was lucky enough to have two 20 Amp circuits that i could draw my power from. No other devices were on either of these circuits, so again I lucked out in that both circuits would be solely dedicated to the fish room. I made a spreadsheet to help me calculate power usage of all the devices I planned to use and spread out the usage between both circuits. Below is pic showing everything.










As you can see, I kept the amp usage well below the maximum rating of each circuit just to be safe.


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

I couldn't resist doing a 3d rendering of the layout to get a better idea of the final look.




















On the left (West) side of the room you can see the tank racks. On the right are a couple of water storage tanks, a utility sink, and a crate where our dog sleeps at night. The final layout turned out a bit different on the right side, but it remained pretty close.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Ahh, the suspense is building... You're pulling a "scolley" on us! Looks great, well the 3D rendering sure does. How big are the tanks going to be?


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## the_noobinator (Jun 10, 2006)

if it really looks like your 3D-rendering, then you've got one heck of a room!


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

Betowess said:


> Ahh, the suspense is building... You're pulling a "scolley" on us! Looks great, well the 3D rendering sure does. How big are the tanks going to be?


Thanks Bob! It's much more fun with a little suspense.  Tanks are various sizes: 2 55 Gallons, 2 25 Gallons, and a bunch of 10s' and 5's.



the_noobinator said:


> if it really looks like your 3D-rendering, then you've got one heck of a room!


Thanks! Well, a few things did change as the project progressed, but it is mostly the same. You'll be able to see as I post more pics.

-Jeremiah


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## KevinC (May 24, 2004)

crshadow said:


> With so many receptacles it is important to properly plan the electrical usage of all the devices that are to be used so that the circuit(s) are not overloaded.
> 
> I was lucky enough to have two 20 Amp circuits that i could draw my power from. No other devices were on either of these circuits, so again I lucked out in that both circuits would be solely dedicated to the fish room. I made a spreadsheet to help me calculate power usage of all the devices I planned to use and spread out the usage between both circuits. Below is pic showing everything.
> 
> ...


I'm not a licensed electrician (though I have done some of my own home electrical work), but a couple of things strike me here: What does the national electrical code and your local building inspector have to say about:

A/C on its own circuit breaker? (I know some household devices are required to have their own circuit - not sure about AC)
Maximum number of devices per circuit breaker? (I thought 6, but maybe 8 - you seem to be above)

Neither of the above really matter if you and your heirs never plan to sell the place . . .


Kevin


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## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

Yeah nice project. The model looks great. I do like the idea of having my fish in plain view in the house, but your purposes are different than mine. Good luck! We will be watching this closely....thanks


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

KevinC said:


> I'm not a licensed electrician (though I have done some of my own home electrical work), but a couple of things strike me here: What does the national electrical code and your local building inspector have to say about:
> 
> A/C on its own circuit breaker? (I know some household devices are required to have their own circuit - not sure about AC)
> Maximum number of devices per circuit breaker? (I thought 6, but maybe 8 - you seem to be above)
> ...


Great points Kevin, I appreciate the input. I'm very open to input and suggestions. I'll try and answer your questions as best as I can. I did my research for a lot of this quite some time ago, so I'm a little rusty on exact details.

As far as the A/C goes, it's a small Window Unit consuming only about 5 amps. The electrical code does specify that major appliances should be on their own dedicated circuit. However, IIRC, for a smaller A/C like this one, it can share a circuit with other minor appliances so long as the amp usage of the A/C is less 7.5 amps.

As for the maximum number of devices per circuit, I double checked and code specifies a maximum number of duplex receptacles per 20 amp circuit of 13 receptacles for commercial applications, and does not specify a maximum for residential applications.

Now that being said, having that many receptacles could pose a dangerous situation for future residents if they unknowingly overload the outlets. So I decided early on that if we ever move out that I would dismantle the excessive outlets.

I'll also take this opportunity to make a disclaimer and point out that I am by no means an expert in carpentry, electrical, plumbing, etc. At best I am a tinkerer and DIYer. Therefore I don't recommend anyone doing what I've done unless they are comfortable in their own DIY abilities, have done proper research, etc, and/or have a professional do the work.

-Jeremiah


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

fresh_newby said:


> Yeah nice project. The model looks great. I do like the idea of having my fish in plain view in the house, but your purposes are different than mine. Good luck! We will be watching this closely....thanks


Thanks! I also enjoy having fish in the house, but I'm just going to limit it to one display tank.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

well i think im not alone wanting to see more pictures,.....

- fish newb -


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

Fish Newb said:


> well i think im not alone wanting to see more pictures,.....
> 
> - fish newb -


Your wish shall be granted. 

The following pics were about a month and a half later, I think in September of 2004.

After covering the former window openings, I began with framing and electrical. I added studs so that there would be a stud every 16" on center. Also, you will notice that there is a 4" wooden shelf/rail that runs across the walls about 3 feet off the ground. I decided it might come in handy, so I did not remove it. Unfortunately it made it more difficult to drywall later on in the process by having to work around the shelf. By the end, I wished I had taken the extra time to remove it, but it did end up coming in handy after all. More on that later...










For added safety I added these nailing plates at every location where electrical cable passed through a stud. They serve to prevent accidently nailing or screwing into the wires. You can also see the NM cable secured by cable straps.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

crshadow said:


> Your wish shall be granted.
> 
> The following pics were about a month and a half later, I think in September of 2004.
> 
> ...



only two more photos?:icon_cry: thats like getting coal from santa. with a note that says more will be coming later! lol

thats a good saftey with the metal plates in the wall so you cant electricuit yourself, but then it isnt as fun drilling into the wall after :icon_roll :hihi: :icon_twis 

more pictures!!! i like looking at fish rooms!

- fish newb -


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

Fish Newb said:


> only two more photos?:icon_cry: thats like getting coal from santa. with a note that says more will be coming later! lol
> 
> thats a good saftey with the metal plates in the wall so you cant electricuit yourself, but then it isnt as fun drilling into the wall after :icon_roll :hihi: :icon_twis
> 
> ...


LOL Here come some more!

As I mentioned earlier I would be tapping power from an existing exterior outlet. When I opened the outlet to begin the work I was greeted with a gruesome discovery!

* WARNING - THE FOLLOWING PICS MAY BE A BIT GRAPHIC *
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FRIED MOUSE! To my surprise there was a perfectly preserved mouse skeleton still clinging to the wiring behind the receptacle. It appears that it was biting on the ground wire when it's foot accidently touched the hot terminal, resulting in its untimely demise. Poor mousey, I felt bad for it.










Another view from a different angle.










One more angle.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

now those are some pictures!

thats amazing, not graphic just awsome, full skeleton? i hope you kept that lol...

now that was worth the wait!

- fish newb -


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## yoink (Apr 21, 2005)

I was a little sad to see only two pictures, but that mouse totally makes up for it. I hope you kept it too.


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

Nope, I didn't keep the mouse. There's no way my wife would have allowed it! It came apart when I removed it, but the skull remained biting on the wire. Believe it or not, the head was harder to remove from that wire than expected!

I'll try and post a couple more pics shortly.

-Jeremiah


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Are you plumbing it so you can have auto water change systems on the bigger tanks? That's my next project, I hope.


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## organic sideburns (Dec 22, 2005)

lol! Poor mouse, wonder how long hes been there.
updates are looking sharp!


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

Betowess said:


> Are you plumbing it so you can have auto water change systems on the bigger tanks? That's my next project, I hope.


Nope, no automatic water changing system... I will however have various gizmos to make changing water easier and more efficient. Nothing too fancy though... Well, you'll get to see what I mean as I get further along with updating this thing. 




organic sideburns said:


> lol! Poor mouse, wonder how long hes been there.
> updates are looking sharp!


Thanks, I'd bet he had been there at least a year. :icon_eek:


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## mrbelvedere (Nov 15, 2005)

That is one cool shot of the skeleton. Looking forward to more updates/pictures.


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## Ryzilla (Oct 29, 2005)

awsome shots of the mouse. Wonder how long that skeleton has been there. No flesh = long time.....


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## the_noobinator (Jun 10, 2006)

this is such a great thread. probably the first appropriate reference to a mouse skeleton in a discussion about being an aquarist.


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## JenThePlantGeek (Mar 27, 2006)

I must subscribe to this thread  Great pics and I LOVE to see how other people put together their fishrooms. Mine is still in the planning stages.


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

Thanks everyone! I'm glad you all enjoyed the mousey.

Jen, I hope you enjoy the journal!

I'll try and do a decent sized update tomorrow.


-Jeremiah


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

crshadow said:


> Thanks everyone! I'm glad you all enjoyed the mousey.
> 
> Jen, I hope you enjoy the journal!
> 
> ...


can't wait, but i wont be home,... oh well,

- fish newb -


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

After the framing was done, I continued with the electrical and started insulating.

One of the walls of the fishroom is a brick wall, so I used these surface mount boxes and conduit for the electrical on the brick wall. These switches are at the entrance to the fishroom and they control the overhead lights. My early rendering showed 3 flourescent overhead lights, but I ended up changing it to 2 lights and a ceiling fan. One of these switches will control the lights, and the other controls the ceiling fan.












A closeup of the same electrical box.












I used R13 insulation for the walls. Here's one of the rolls.












These switches are near where the racks will be. There are three more just like these just below. Each of these 6 switches are linked to an outlet so that certain outlets can be switched on and off. I will be using these to control 6 banks of tank lights independently.


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

9/6/2004: Continuing with the wiring... Several outlets are done. Insulation is partially done.










A 2 gang electrical box. This will house two switched receptacles. These were intended to be used for water pumps in my water storage containers, so that I would be able to easily turn on and off the pump. In the end, they were used for something else because I rearranged part of the room.



















The ceiling joists were 2x6's so I was able to use R19 insulation for the ceiling. Here's a pic of the insulation up and of a ceiling box.










Another angle of the ceiling.


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

After finishing the wiring, I used this circuit tester to verify that everything was working properly. This tester also features a button on top that will simulate a ground fault so that you can test to make sure your GFCI's are working. The first load on each circuit is a GFCI, so every single outlet and light fixture in the fishroom is GFI protected.


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

Now it was time to start drywalling!

I rented this drywall lift to help me install the drywall on the ceiling. This is also a good shot of the opposite side of the room.









About a week later I got around to installing the drywall on the walls. I figured I'd invest the extra dollar or so per sheet for water resistant drywall, which is why it is green. It was a real pain to cut out all the holes for the outlets! :icon_eek: 











9/27/2004: Finally done with the drywall. You'll notice the aforementioned water spigot on the wall, which is where I'll bring in my water from.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

all those wires.. I hope you have arck detectors! and why a bunch of small tanks? why not one huge custom made tank? with dividers? :eek5: ior two small large tanks? or several 350 gallosn that stretch thw whole rom stacked atop each other?


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## RoseHawke (Mar 10, 2004)

Very nice job Shadow, very neat wiring. And I speak as someone who has done more than their fair share of the stuff :icon_roll (at one point I about had the pertinent parts of the NEC memorized.) 

I commiserate with you on cutting receptacle holes in the drywall. I usually end up patching something :hihi:, but it looks like you got them perfectly situated! Excellent job!

Looking forward to the next installment!


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

CardBoardBoxProcessor said:


> all those wires.. I hope you have arck detectors! and why a bunch of small tanks? why not one huge custom made tank? with dividers? :eek5: ior two small large tanks? or several 350 gallosn that stretch thw whole rom stacked atop each other?



It was definitely a lot of wires, but everything should be ok. I went with multiple small tanks because it allows for more versatility. Plus they'd be much easier to handle that big ol' heavy tanks.




RoseHawke said:


> Very nice job Shadow, very neat wiring. And I speak as someone who has done more than their fair share of the stuff (at one point I about had the pertinent parts of the NEC memorized.)
> 
> I commiserate with you on cutting receptacle holes in the drywall. I usually end up patching something , but it looks like you got them perfectly situated! Excellent job!
> 
> Looking forward to the next installment!


Thanks! The holes were a big pain! What I did was use a sheet of cardboard to make a template, and then transferred everything to the drywall for the final cuts. Unfortunately I still made a mistake or two. :icon_frow 

I will update again this weekend.

-Jeremiah


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

what are you goign to put in them? what sizes are the tanks?


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

Right now I've got a few strains of guppies, cardinal tetras, cherry shrimp, longfin ancistrus, some cories, and some young Zebra Pl*cos.

As far as tank sizes go, I have 2 55 gallon tanks, a couple 25 gallons, and several 10s and 5s.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

I see I see.. shoudl ahve put a pond in the floor and use a large class hatch to wlak on >> haha


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## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

That is one awesome project! Nice work!


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

All right Jeremiah. Nice work indeed. Reminds me of when I put my room in our garage, where my semi "fish room" is. Man, sheetrock is a lot of work, and I didn't have to put up a ceiling. But its definitely fun work - when its for a hobby room. Can't wait to see the finished job.:thumbsup:


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

CardBoardBoxProcessor said:


> I see I see.. shoudl ahve put a pond in the floor and use a large class hatch to wlak on >> haha


Now that would be a sight to see!




> That is one awesome project! Nice work!


Thanks, I appreciate it!



> All right Jeremiah. Nice work indeed. Reminds me of when I put my room in our garage, where my semi "fish room" is. Man, sheetrock is a lot of work, and I didn't have to put up a ceiling. But its definitely fun work - when its for a hobby room. Can't wait to see the finished job.


Yep, it was a strange combination of tedium and fun at the same time. I've been meaning to update the journal, but something always comes up. Hopefully in a day or so....

-Jeremiah


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## the_noobinator (Jun 10, 2006)

the drywall looks nice. did you use a saws-all?


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

lots of drywall in there! now for more pics?

- fish newb -


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

I see there is a water spout.. what about warm water?


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## Steven_Chong (Sep 14, 2004)

Good luck with this dude-- I don't really have anything useful to say until you get to the scaping. I'm not so good at all this hardware stuff. ^^;


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

my house has several outdoor spickets, one would imagine any house does. ANyways, one in particular gets used alot, and for many different projects. So my dad had a hot water line plumbed into it, and you can alternate between hot or cold inside the house(basement) with a lever. Pretty sweet setup although unless the fish room is going to be unheated, doesnt really warrernt the extra time and or money.


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

the_noobinator said:


> the drywall looks nice. did you use a saws-all?


I used a utility knife to cut large sections and a hand held drywall saw to cut the holes.



Fish Newb said:


> lots of drywall in there! now for more pics?


Sorry for the lack of pics, I'll get some up as soon as possible.



CardBoardBoxProcessor said:


> I see there is a water spout.. what about warm water?


At first I was just going to stick with cold water for simplicity's sake, but later added a source of warm water. I'll show some pics of that later on.



Steven_Chong said:


> Good luck with this dude-- I don't really have anything useful to say until you get to the scaping. I'm not so good at all this hardware stuff. ^^;


Thanks! Feel free to chime in anyway. Speaking of scaping, I really need to update my tank journal....



sayn3ver said:


> my house has several outdoor spickets, one would imagine any house does. ANyways, one in particular gets used alot, and for many different projects. So my dad had a hot water line plumbed into it, and you can alternate between hot or cold inside the house(basement) with a lever. Pretty sweet setup although unless the fish room is going to be unheated, doesnt really warrernt the extra time and or money.


Very interesting idea for an outdoor spigot, since they are always cold only. 

I ended up adding both hot and cold to the fish room later even though I was originally only going to have cold. It probably wasn't critical, but I figured I might as well go the extra mile.


-Jeremiah


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## SnyperP (Dec 31, 2004)

Nice work so far! Heh, my old job required me to upload, for hours on end, tract home inspection pictures. It looks like you're craftsmanship is much better than 95% of the contractors out here. 

I'm looking forward to more updates!


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## Steven_Chong (Sep 14, 2004)

How about, "It looks like it's gonna be super cool." ^^


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Update?

Thanks,

- Andrew


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## Ds11375 (Jan 28, 2006)

Hi I was wondering if there have been any updates to your fish room.

Dan


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## turbosaurus (Nov 19, 2005)

Wow- just caught the fish room. That's some serrious "DIY" :eek5: 
Will you marry me?


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## tropicalfish (Mar 29, 2007)

crshadow said:


> Nope, I didn't keep the mouse. *There's no way my wife would have allowed it!* It came apart when I removed it, but the skull remained biting on the wire. Believe it or not, the head was harder to remove from that wire than expected!
> 
> I'll try and post a couple more pics shortly.
> 
> -Jeremiah





turbosaurus said:


> Wow- just caught the fish room. That's some serrious "DIY" :eek5:
> *Will you marry me?*


Hehehehehehehehehehehe:icon_roll


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## Naja002 (Oct 12, 2005)

A little late for You, but here's a Drywall tip: Just mark the outlets with an X on the drywall--then use a router with an appropriate bit. As long as You enter inside of the outlet box move in any direction to the side of the outlet box and then run the router bit around and Wha-La--it's done. Quick, simple and easy.

You're doing a Great Job! Really Nice! :thumbsup: 

HTH


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## LeapingGnome (Apr 15, 2007)

I also wonder what happened with this. He hasn't posted since last November.


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

Greetings everyone! I still exist, just a little worse for wear. I apologize for the lack of updates to this and my other journals, I've just had a rough year in 2006 and am just starting to get back on track. 

For those of you who have followed my other journals, you might recall that my "bad luck" started with an aquarium fire in November of 2005. Then in March of '06, my wife and I had to endure the trauma of a stillbirth of our first child. In July I had a partially detached retina which required emergency surgery. We became pregnant again, but lost that baby as well. It was very early on in the pregnancy this time around, so it wasn't as traumatic, but still depressing. Next, in December, my wife's twin sister lost her husband in an accident who was on his way home for Christmas. We've been helping her and her children these last couple months cope with the situation by staying with them. Being there for them has in turn brought us a great deal of comfort and contentment. In fact, we are now pregnant a 3rd time, and everything is looking great so far. Ironically we found out we were pregnant this time on the exact day that we lost the first one a year ago. Things seem to be shaping up pretty well this year.

I hope to start updating all my journals again very soon. I would also like to thank everyone for their support and for keeping tabs on me.


-Jeremiah


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## LeapingGnome (Apr 15, 2007)

Wow, rough 2006 Jeremiah. Congratulations and good luck with the third pregnancy!


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Keep on keepin on, Good man


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

Sorry everyone, I've been away a long time dealing with a lot of the issues mentioned in one of my last posts.... 

...However...... 

It's my pleasure to announce that my wife and I just had a happy and healthy baby girl a few weeks ago! It's been a long wait, but now that she's here a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I'm enjoying fatherhood and hope to be hanging around here on PT a little more now. More updates to come.

-Jeremiah


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## dekstr (Oct 23, 2007)

Congratulations!

Suscribed. Looking forward to the completion of the fish room!

Also, that's some impressive DIY. You must know a lot about construction.
What training did you have? Or did you learn it on your own?


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

crshadow said:


> Sorry everyone, I've been away a long time dealing with a lot of the issues mentioned in one of my last posts....
> 
> ...However......
> 
> ...



This is great news to say the least! Congrats and best of luck to you and your family!

And of course...welcome back.


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

Thanks you two!  

-Jeremiah


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

dekstr said:


> Congratulations!
> 
> Suscribed. Looking forward to the completion of the fish room!
> 
> ...



Thanks! No official training in construction or anything, I just like to learn, and tinker with a lot of different things. Of course I do my research to ensure safety and everything, and I won't tackle anything that I feel is over my head.

-Jeremiah


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## Harsh (Jan 14, 2007)

Congratulations man


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Looking good, from the wiring diagram I would have guessed you were an electrician or at least have seen enough blueprints. The only thing I would've done different is install a small sub panel. Good move on the nail plates. The mouse fritter looks deelicious. :hihi: 

That 3D rendering looks awesome, what app did you use?

Congrats on the baby!


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

Harsh said:


> Congratulations man



 




jaidexl said:


> Looking good, from the wiring diagram I would have guessed you were an electrician or at least have seen enough blueprints. The only thing I would've done different is install a small sub panel. Good move on the nail plates. The mouse fritter looks deelicious.
> 
> That 3D rendering looks awesome, what app did you use?
> 
> Congrats on the baby!


A subpanel probably would have been a good idea. I did the rendering with 3D Studio Max.

-Jeremiah


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Nice. I tried to run that on my comp, but with all the audio production apps I have stuffed in here, it left me with about 1g on my hard drive, ran like poo. 

Maybe I'll infiltrate the woman's pc. :icon_smil


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## dave3007 (Mar 10, 2007)

Big congrats to you and your wife. Well done m8 =)

Looking forward to updates.


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## jinx© (Oct 17, 2007)

I had clicked through this thread awhile back and seen it kind of dead ended. (before I was even a registered member) 

Its good to see you back and hopefully updating. I'd like to do something similar myself at some point.

Welcome back and congrats to you and your wife on the baby. :thumbsup:


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## styxx (Jul 2, 2003)

Subscribed. I'm looking forward to the completion of this project and wish you continued success with the family.


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## Tdon1md (Jun 3, 2007)

Dude, I'm so sorry to hear about all of the misfortune you experienced in 06'. I truly hope you're on an upward trend now. Congrats on the new baby! Now I'm really amped about seeing how you completed the room so as time permits, on with the show!!!
________
One Hit Vaporizer


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## styxx (Jul 2, 2003)

Tdon1md said:


> Dude, I'm so sorry to hear about all of the misfortune you experienced in 06'. I truly hope you're on an upward trend now. Congrats on the new baby! Now I'm really amped about seeing how you completed the room so as time permits, on with the show!!!


I echo those sentiments...now where is that next update!? I'm starved for information...I'd love to initiate a project like this...but I'd just hire someone to do it for me...I'd risk death anytime I try to do anything electrical! lol.


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## styxx (Jul 2, 2003)

So tomorrow will be a week, anything new to post? I'm so excited, can you tell that I'm living vicariously through your work!? lol!


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## turbosaurus (Nov 19, 2005)

I am so happy for you, but I am also sure this project will be on the back burner for a while now with the new addition to the family. We'll all wait for updates to the fish room, but how bout a picture of that baby girl? I am sure you've got TONS of pictures of her- so lets see!


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

turbosaurus said:


> I am so happy for you, but I am also sure this project will be on the back burner for a while now with the new addition to the family. We'll all wait for updates to the fish room, but how bout a picture of that baby girl? I am sure you've got TONS of pictures of her- so lets see!


Of course! Here's one of her a few days after she was born, before she plumped up.










Here's another. :icon_mrgr 










-Jeremiah


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

styxx said:


> So tomorrow will be a week, anything new to post? I'm so excited, can you tell that I'm living vicariously through your work!? lol!


No worries, here come some long awaited updated pics.


After putting up the drywall, I began the process of taping the seams and smoothing everything out with joint compound. You can see that I also installed the lighting and ceiling fan. (Makes it a lot easier and more comfortable to work in the room now.)

North side of the room.










North side again.










South side.


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## eon17 (Aug 30, 2007)

so thats how far you are now?


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

eon17 said:


> so thats how far you are now?


Well, the room was more or less completed over a year ago, I just never got around to digging through photos and adding them to the journal.

-Jeremiah


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

Next I covered all the receptacles, lights, fan, etc to protect them. I sprayed a light orange peel texture onto the walls.










Now it's time for painting! First a coat of tinted primer was applied to the wall.










More priming, and put the first coat of paint on the ceiling.










Another shot.










The long wall where the tank racks will go.


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## tropicalfish (Mar 29, 2007)

Any reason as to why blue?


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

I recently remodeled my bathroom and had to tear out the dry wall to replace it with cement board. 

I know it's too late now but in high humidity rooms, cement boards are the way to go.


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## dave3007 (Mar 10, 2007)

Most fish rooms look very DIY-functional but very basic and ugly. But this is shaping to look better than my living room! 
I like the color of the walls, I bet it makes a nice background to your tanks.


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## Badcopnofishtank (Jan 20, 2004)

Now that is what I call a fantastic hard-scape! Congrats!


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## BiscuitSlayer (Apr 1, 2005)

Crshadow,

Congratulations on your baby girl! The fish room is coming along nicely. One thing I was curious about:

How many receptacles did you run per 20 amp circuit?


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## styxx (Jul 2, 2003)

sooo...cute.


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## jimsuy (Jan 25, 2008)

update????


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## GraemeK (Apr 8, 2004)

yeah update!!!


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## sea-horsea (Apr 4, 2008)

bump...i wanna see the updates!!! and show some more baby pix..soooo cute...


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## honor (Apr 8, 2008)

dope build. should be posted on some kinda construction forum too hahaha


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

I might be going out on a limb here..

But I think he's got a fry thats taking control. of his life 

-Andrew


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

A Hill said:


> I might be going out on a limb here..
> 
> But I think he's got a fry thats taking control. of his life
> 
> -Andrew


Hello all! I still exist! :thumbsup: Andrew hit the nail on the head. This new fry has taken over lately.  She's almost 6 months old now, time is flying. I do hope to update all my threads soon though. I haven't even had the chance to peruse plantedtank to see what's new. Definitely need to catch up.

-Jeremiah


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

crshadow said:


> Hello all! I still exist! :
> -Jeremiah


Great to know you're still alive and well!

Now once the fry learns to sleep you should be able to prowl the forums with some help of the ever popular drugs. (caffine )

How did the amano project due without much effort?

-Andrew


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## crshadow (Sep 4, 2003)

Sadly all the Amano projects failed, with all shrimp dying. I thought it was a little wierd that even in the 10 gallon tank full of algae I had no survivors. I wonder if salinity played a part.... They were starting to grow, but then suddenly started dying. Will try again though!

-Jeremiah


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## Digital (Apr 4, 2008)

Looks real good man. Keep it up! Congrats on the new addition to your fam! (your daughter)


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

crshadow said:


> I haven't even had the chance to peruse plantedtank to see what's new. Definitely need to catch up.
> 
> -Jeremiah


Lots of great advancements lately. We're using dilithium crystals for CO2 now, and new lighting called T-1000 that transforms and does all the trimming and rescaping. 





:hihi: 

Seriously, have a good time with the kid, you're not missing too much. I didn't realize 6 months went by either. :redface:


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## jimsuy (Jan 25, 2008)

any update in the fishroom?


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## cyankal.i (Sep 13, 2008)

your daughter is gorgeous!


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## bubbless (Nov 19, 2006)

subscribed....you are so lucky.....and congratz on the new gorgeous addition to your family!:thumbsup:


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## slickvic277 (Jan 1, 2007)

great build man!looks really good, I was suprised by how nice of a job you did in the electric installation.To many times I see diy electric that just scares the crap out of me (Im an electrician complete with schooling and on the job training) Just because it works dosnt mean its safe.But by your pictures it looks like a sound installation.Good job.Just curious did you get the power for the whole room from an existing outlet?If so you will not have enough power to run your whole room.I would suggest running a few more circuits and split some of the receptacles up as not to have an overload occur,thus tripping your breaker.Ohms law I=P\E amps equal wattage\volts.just some advice.
If you did run a few circuits for your receptacles then you should be golden!
Great job!


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