insulating tank room

ReefEnabler · 01/05/2008, 12:41 PM

Hello,

I have finished building the stand system for my tank-room.

It will hold
50G refuge
35G frag
50G RO holding tank
50G water changing/mixing tank

As you can see, it rests on my garage floor. I am going to encase the outside and inside with drywall in order to keep it temperature regulated. my house AC/heating duct is right behind it in the crawlspace (where the red brick is), so I will use a dehumidistat fan to circulate the air with the house.

My question is this:
Should I use drywall and tape and compound to seal the stand to the garage wall, or will this seal eventually start to crack and break down if the garage floor shifts at a different rate than the foundation (which the wall rests on). If not, is there any way I might seal behind the corner posts in a way that won't have this problem, but will also be moisture resistant? I am painting using epoxy paint.

Also, what's the best way to seal the stand to my garage floor? It's not shown in the above pic, but the stand uses these lifting leveler feet to make it level:

I am not sure how to cut the drywall such that it allows for the feet to be in the inside (accessibly for adjustment), and still sealed.

Thanks

ReefEnabler · 01/05/2008, 04:05 PM

bump

SCR · 01/05/2008, 04:21 PM

"I will use a dehumidistat fan to circulate the air with the house."

You really don't want to circulate the air in the garage with the house air. (fumes from cars, lawnmowers, etc.)

stuccodude · 01/05/2008, 04:23 PM

they sell a drywall stop, a metal you run that would sit next to your excisting wall. it will crack at the new meets the old unless your garage and house share the same foundation and by the looks it dont. its good you have those leveling feet because if it was to sit directly on concrete then you would want to use a pressure treated wood. your not making a whole room right just inclose what you framed with some sort of door. i ask cause your garage door and i myself was going to put a tank room in the garage but your idea looks more room efficiant, good luck

ReefEnabler · 01/05/2008, 04:50 PM

thanks for the tips! I'll have to go back to lowes and ask them about the drywall stops. Probably going to be a challenge, because the brick foundation you see below has 2 steps of 1.5" away from the main wall (the brick, and the flat 2x6 laying on the brick).

yes, I am just enclosing the frame you see above. I am going to try making my own sliding glass doors. Still looking for a glass distributor but I'll want to make each door double paned.

to stabilize the stand, I am going to use big long lag screws and washers. The lag screws will go into my garage wal studs, but I will make sure the hole drilled in the stand will be a vertical groove allowing for plenty of vertical motion. This should prevent the stand from rocking while still allowing it to settle with the garage slab.

"You really don't want to circulate the air in the garage with the house air. (fumes from cars, lawnmowers, etc.)"

well the area will be enclosed and insulated, so I'm thinking this would be minimized. Would it not? the glass doors will be to minimize opening and closing (and help keep temp stable).

ReefEnabler · 01/05/2008, 04:57 PM

when I search for drywall stops, this is what I see:

Is that what you're talking about?

I guess it just helps the drywall remain rigid, but doesn't help create a seal? if I am not going to use tape/compound/paint to seal the corners, what can I do? Would I want to put weather striping on the wall where it meets the drywall or something (in addition to insulation between the layers)???

Man, this project has been alot of work for somebody whos as much of a n00b as I am

head...exploding...any....second...

stuccodude · 01/05/2008, 05:03 PM

its a casing bead, look for plaster stop and its similiar to that, comes in 10 foot pieces, i might steal your idea for my set up, good job

ReefEnabler · 01/05/2008, 05:14 PM

awesome

do you have a thread where you're disccussing your setup? Seems like youre more experienced than I am with this sort of thing so I'd love to see how you work out the details.

one thing thats going to be annoying is that my existing garage drywall is really curved and bowed. hopefully the drywall stop will be able to accomodate the gaps.

ReefEnabler · 01/05/2008, 06:25 PM

well I went to lowes and asked several employees, and none of them had heard of it.

One guy recommended 'backer rod' which is a long thick string of foam. I got 3/8 thick. He said to just do the drywall and leave a 1/4" gap, and then squeeze the backer rod into it, and then squeeze some caulk to keep it in place.

Can you maybe provide more details on what the 'drywall stop' looks like? is it metal or plastic? or is there some kind of rubber sealing part to it, like a doorjam weatherstriping piece?

SCR · 01/05/2008, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RyanBrucks
well I went to lowes and asked several employees, and none of them had heard of it.

One guy recommended 'backer rod' which is a long thick string of foam. I got 3/8 thick. He said to just do the drywall and leave a 1/4" gap, and then squeeze the backer rod into it, and then squeeze some caulk to keep it in place.

Can you maybe provide more details on what the 'drywall stop' looks like? is it metal or plastic? or is there some kind of rubber sealing part to it, like a doorjam weatherstriping piece?

It looks like "J" channel, and it come in metal or plastic.
It should be in the same area where they keep the corner beads.

ReefEnabler · 01/05/2008, 06:52 PM

ah, this stuff?

so its just to protect the edges, and doesn't insulate? I guess I was confused, thinking it would help create a seal. but it doesn't look like that stuff will bend very much like I may need it to.

Should I use the backer-rod in addition to one of these stops/jchannels?

ReefEnabler · 01/05/2008, 06:57 PM

found another product called super seal j-bead.

http://www.trim-tex.com/catalog/jbeads.htm

couldn't find anything that looks like that at lowes, but I might run to home depot in a bit. if I find some regular jbead I'll get that and use it in combination with backer rod, since I really don't feel like a waiting a few days for something to ship to me.

01/05/2008, 12:41 PM	#1
ReefEnabler Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 3,760	insulating tank room Hello, I have finished building the stand system for my tank-room. It will hold 50G refuge 35G frag 50G RO holding tank 50G water changing/mixing tank As you can see, it rests on my garage floor. I am going to encase the outside and inside with drywall in order to keep it temperature regulated. my house AC/heating duct is right behind it in the crawlspace (where the red brick is), so I will use a dehumidistat fan to circulate the air with the house. My question is this: Should I use drywall and tape and compound to seal the stand to the garage wall, or will this seal eventually start to crack and break down if the garage floor shifts at a different rate than the foundation (which the wall rests on). If not, is there any way I might seal behind the corner posts in a way that won't have this problem, but will also be moisture resistant? I am painting using epoxy paint. Also, what's the best way to seal the stand to my garage floor? It's not shown in the above pic, but the stand uses these lifting leveler feet to make it level: I am not sure how to cut the drywall such that it allows for the feet to be in the inside (accessibly for adjustment), and still sealed. Thanks

01/05/2008, 04:23 PM	#4
stuccodude Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: sanger Posts: 1,040	they sell a drywall stop, a metal you run that would sit next to your excisting wall. it will crack at the new meets the old unless your garage and house share the same foundation and by the looks it dont. its good you have those leveling feet because if it was to sit directly on concrete then you would want to use a pressure treated wood. your not making a whole room right just inclose what you framed with some sort of door. i ask cause your garage door and i myself was going to put a tank room in the garage but your idea looks more room efficiant, good luck __________________ fear the wrath of patrick willis!!! no offense is safe. Current Tank Info: 240 all the goodies,hydra 26 led lights, chiller etc

01/05/2008, 05:03 PM	#7
stuccodude Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: sanger Posts: 1,040	its a casing bead, look for plaster stop and its similiar to that, comes in 10 foot pieces, i might steal your idea for my set up, good job __________________ fear the wrath of patrick willis!!! no offense is safe. Current Tank Info: 240 all the goodies,hydra 26 led lights, chiller etc

01/05/2008, 04:05 PM	#2
ReefEnabler Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 3,760	bump

01/05/2008, 04:21 PM	#3
SCR Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Central, Fl Posts: 708	"I will use a dehumidistat fan to circulate the air with the house." You really don't want to circulate the air in the garage with the house air. (fumes from cars, lawnmowers, etc.)

01/05/2008, 04:50 PM	#5
ReefEnabler Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 3,760	thanks for the tips! I'll have to go back to lowes and ask them about the drywall stops. Probably going to be a challenge, because the brick foundation you see below has 2 steps of 1.5" away from the main wall (the brick, and the flat 2x6 laying on the brick). yes, I am just enclosing the frame you see above. I am going to try making my own sliding glass doors. Still looking for a glass distributor but I'll want to make each door double paned. to stabilize the stand, I am going to use big long lag screws and washers. The lag screws will go into my garage wal studs, but I will make sure the hole drilled in the stand will be a vertical groove allowing for plenty of vertical motion. This should prevent the stand from rocking while still allowing it to settle with the garage slab. "You really don't want to circulate the air in the garage with the house air. (fumes from cars, lawnmowers, etc.)" well the area will be enclosed and insulated, so I'm thinking this would be minimized. Would it not? the glass doors will be to minimize opening and closing (and help keep temp stable).

01/05/2008, 04:57 PM	#6
ReefEnabler Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 3,760	when I search for drywall stops, this is what I see: Is that what you're talking about? I guess it just helps the drywall remain rigid, but doesn't help create a seal? if I am not going to use tape/compound/paint to seal the corners, what can I do? Would I want to put weather striping on the wall where it meets the drywall or something (in addition to insulation between the layers)??? Man, this project has been alot of work for somebody whos as much of a n00b as I am head...exploding...any....second...

01/05/2008, 05:14 PM	#8
ReefEnabler Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 3,760	awesome do you have a thread where you're disccussing your setup? Seems like youre more experienced than I am with this sort of thing so I'd love to see how you work out the details. one thing thats going to be annoying is that my existing garage drywall is really curved and bowed. hopefully the drywall stop will be able to accomodate the gaps.

01/05/2008, 06:25 PM	#9
ReefEnabler Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 3,760	well I went to lowes and asked several employees, and none of them had heard of it. One guy recommended 'backer rod' which is a long thick string of foam. I got 3/8 thick. He said to just do the drywall and leave a 1/4" gap, and then squeeze the backer rod into it, and then squeeze some caulk to keep it in place. Can you maybe provide more details on what the 'drywall stop' looks like? is it metal or plastic? or is there some kind of rubber sealing part to it, like a doorjam weatherstriping piece?

01/05/2008, 06:52 PM	#11
ReefEnabler Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 3,760	ah, this stuff? so its just to protect the edges, and doesn't insulate? I guess I was confused, thinking it would help create a seal. but it doesn't look like that stuff will bend very much like I may need it to. Should I use the backer-rod in addition to one of these stops/jchannels?

01/05/2008, 06:57 PM	#12
ReefEnabler Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Cary, NC Posts: 3,760	found another product called super seal j-bead. http://www.trim-tex.com/catalog/jbeads.htm couldn't find anything that looks like that at lowes, but I might run to home depot in a bit. if I find some regular jbead I'll get that and use it in combination with backer rod, since I really don't feel like a waiting a few days for something to ship to me.