How to Make an Aquarium Room

An aquarium room or fish room is a room dedicated to aquariums. It can be used for different purposes, such as viewing the fish, breeding fish or raising live fish food. In any case, some precautions must be taken to ensure the viability of the aquariums, the fish and the room itself. It is important to carefully design your aquarium room using scale drawings with all plumbing included so you do not make costly mistakes during construction.

Things You'll Need

  • Heavy-duty racks
  • Aquariums
  • PVC plumbing
  • Lighting system
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Instructions

    • 1

      Attach shelving to the walls and floor of the room. You can use tables instead of shelves but having shelves allows you to add more aquariums in the room. Commercial shelving is your best option since you can easily calculate the maximum weight load the shelving can take. As a general rule, assume ten pounds per gallon of water. If you fill the aquariums with rocks, then this adds more weight.

    • 2

      Set your empty aquariums on the shelving where they will remain when full of water. This is a test to see that everything fits together and lines up correctly.

    • 3

      Install your plumbing system. With many aquariums, it is wise to connect them all into the same filtration system for ease of use. This has the advantage of increasing the total water volume of the system, which helps stabilize water parameters like pH and temperature. One disadvantage is that what happens in one aquarium will likely spread to the others. You must take great care in preventing toxins from entering the system and keeping nuisance algae at bay.

    • 4

      Install a fan to vent the air in the room to the outside. This is very important for the health of the aquarium life. Without proper ventilation, carbon dioxide can build up in the room and cause the pH of the aquariums to fluctuate, harming the fish. Additionally, the evaporation from the aquariums builds up in the room and can lead to permanent structural damage of the room itself by rotting the wood in the walls and ceiling. If the room does not have a window, you need to install a fan to vent the air to the outside.

    • 5

      Install your lighting system. Depending on what fish you are keeping, the lighting can be the most expensive part of the aquarium room. Saltwater and reef aquariums require special high-intensity lighting that generate lots of heat (another reason for ventilation). Depending on the types of lights you are installing, you may need to adjust the circuit breakers for the room's outlets.

    • 6

      Fill the aquariums with water. This process is easiest if you attach your aquariums' plumbing system to the plumbing system of the house. This way, you have a ready supply of fresh water for the aquariums, and a way of draining wastewater. Tap water can rarely be used "as is" and often requires filtration before it can be used for aquariums.

    • 7

      Turn on the system and ensure it runs properly. You should check on it frequently throughout the day to make sure it is not leaking and the room is not overheating.

    • 8

      Cut the power to the entire room all at once, check the room and turn the power back on. This simulates a power outage and a sudden return of power. You want to verify the system stops running without difficulty and turns back on without causing a flood or circuit break.