Converting Shed Into Fish House

[Gun]

The first lot are of the shed. You can see the walls/ceiling area taking shape. Yeah I know guys...PLASTERBOARD lol! Please let there be a paint capable of keeping the moisture out

The other pics are of broken down pallette wood (some decent wood here), some of my tanks, family dog Kai and some of my fish.

The last three were taking today outside work. Those wasps are viscious..go straight for your face and then come back for more and more, lol! Some sort of plant/weed and a flower.

 

[BigC]

I used pond paint then covered this with polystyrene ceiling tiles.
Regards
BigC

 

[Gun]

Thanks for that, BigC

Regarding the plasterboard. I'm not really bothered about the walls, It's the ceiling (sagging) that could cause me a problem. Hmm, maybe the paint will do the trick.

 

[T1KARMANN]

iwas thinking of doing the same thing

but the condensation is the problem

i think you will need a big de-humidifier

 

[Gun]

Hope you do mate

Say all tanks were well covered, whether it be glass/plastic covers or there original hoods. Is the humidity problem really as bad as it sounds?

 

[CFC]

As bad and then some more, with 2000 gallons of water in my 24x10x8' fish house the condensation that forms on the walls is unbelievable.

 

[Gun]

Oh well, If it falls apart I'll have to replace it.

 

[Tolak]

Oh well, If it falls apart I'll have to replace it.

That's the way to add in future upgrades, slides right past my wife.

Plasterboard ceilings are great for falling in fishrooms, once it does in 2-3 years consider a suspended ceiling. It's easier to do any upgrades, as the panels are removable.

 

[pastabake]

Make sure that all the joints are covered, you could skim it with that artex'y stuff that they sell at B&Q for smoothing walls (own brand will do and cheaper) seal it using PVA (follow instructions - something like 5 to 1) then a couple coats of paint (kitchen and bathroom paint is best). Any condensation can then be wiped off.

If you are suffering from condensation then you could boost your insulation. If you have space then you could put expanded polystyrene sheets 50-100mm thick on to the outside of the shed and render with a cement based product.

Finally you could put a humidity triggered extraction fan in.

I wouldn't use a dehumidifier simply because all you'll end up doing is sucking the water from the tanks.

 

[Gun]

Thank's for that Tolak & pastabake

Yeah, the board will be plastered, then painted. Don't think there is anything else I can do other than that. Definitely don't want to be adding loads of coats to the ceiling..as it will just be adding to the weight on the boards.

I'll see how it (ceiling) holds out over time, then maybe think about replacing or adding support lats.

' wouldn't use a dehumidifier simply because all you'll end up doing is sucking the water from the tanks' Isn't the water that they draw not already airborne?

 

[Bungy]

I managed to beg steal and borrow loads of bubblewrap, 50mm thick polystyrene sheets, a load of foam and a stack of 8' x 4' hardboard sheets. All this put between the nogs in the shed (16' x 7'). The hardboard then covers everything and a layer of masking tape to cover any joins. I intend to place a coat or two of White gloss to reflect the light and provide a damp proof course for any condensation to drain downwards. My tanks will be covered with Glass to keep evaporation to a minimum. Its work in progress but going ok so far.

 

[Gun]

I managed to beg steal and borrow loads of bubblewrap, 50mm thick polystyrene sheets, a load of foam and a stack of 8' x 4' hardboard sheets. All this put between the nogs in the shed (16' x 7'). The hardboard then covers everything and a layer of masking tape to cover any joins. I intend to place a coat or two of White gloss to reflect the light and provide a damp proof course for any condensation to drain downwards. My tanks will be covered with Glass to keep evaporation to a minimum. Its work in progress but going ok so far.

Hi Bungy

You got any pics mate? Post them up on here so I can take a look

I bought one of those polystyrene sheets (100mm) 2.4 x 1.7 to make a fake background. Cost me £20..pretty expensive. My shed is to be plastered on Tuesday. The walls ended up as plywood (outer) 2x3 framework filled with wool, plasterboard, plaster...and lastly some sort of bathroom/pond paint I haven't decided on yet...

The roof/ceiling is that corrigated tough plastic stuff, with rafters beneath..filled with wool, plasterboard, plaster...paint.

Floor..concrete.

Bungy, what fish you keeping? Still haven't decided myself... Cichlids and guppies so far.

 

[pastabake]

' wouldn't use a dehumidifier simply because all you'll end up doing is sucking the water from the tanks' Isn't the water that they draw not already airborne?

Yes and no. The water in the air is from the tanks. So any water you take from the air will change the equilibrium and further water will enter the air from the tanks.

So a dehumidifier is pointless in an area with loads of water, even having a fan isn't that great but unlike a dehumidifier it costs very little to buy and run and for short periods (like when you want to spend time in the shed) it will temporarily decrease humidity and perhaps just as importantly it will create a throughput of air which will help combat mould.

Humidity isn't something you can really change when you've got gallons of water sitting around ... good tank lids will help but that's about it.

Condensation is a little easier to deal with because basically it will occur only where there is a temperature gradient, so if the shed is the same temperature as the tanks (I've noticed that many people seem to heat their fish houses rather than the individual tanks in them) then the floor, roof, walls and windows will be the main problems.

In the past to deal with troublesome condensation in places where I've lived I have used thin polystyrene backing (available in rolls from B&Q) covered it with backing paper and painted with wipe able paint. Even though its only a couple of mm thick it really can make a difference - I guess by keeping the face of the wall closer to room temperature so there isn't such a steep gradient to cause condensation.

 

[Gun]

Nearly ready for painting

 

[Gun]

Got a few tanks up and running. Temp power supply set up and everything a bit messy at moment, still to install pipework/lighting also.