Framing an in-wall tank

[trompet3]

Could anyone give any hints/advice with the framing of my new in wall tank?
How should the tank be positioned relative to the wall?
When I cut the hole in the wall and frame it, should I drywall the the horizontal segments that were once the "insides" of the wall and have the tank sit flush with the inside wall, or should the tank sit on that part so that it sits flush with the outside of the wall? If the latter, how do you build the stand to accomodate for this?
Thanks

 

[thangbom]

um... welll since this is your 'custom' in-wall tank... it dont really matter how it will look.. or how it will look.. since it's your custom tank. and wall design.. certain people like certain things.. soo my answer to you is.. do whatever u want.. as long as it works.. it's good..

 

[trompet3]

obviously I could do whatever, but has anyone ran into problems with setting it up a certain way? ie - gaps in b/t the wall and tank, anything I can't think of.
anyone who has done this - did you have a way of setting things up that you found worked well for you? Anything in retrospect you would have done differently?
any pics?

 

[robchuck]

I went with both methods on my in-wall tank. The front pane is flush with the wall. I basically built the front of the stand into the wall and let 1/2" of the plywood top overhang the stand so that it is flush with the wall. I haven't finished the wall yet, but I plan to use some ranch moulding to "picture frame" the tank.
As for the left side of the tank, I wanted it to be visible, but a support column prevented me from having this pane be flush with the wall as well. So I cut a hole into the wall to make a "window" into the tank. I'll frame this out as well.
The first pic shows how the tank sits flush with the wall.
The second pic shows how the front of the tank is flush with the wall and also the window on the left side.

 

[trompet3]

RobChuck -
Just to clarify your setup, do you have the plywood top overhang the 1/2" drywall so that the edge of the plywood lines up with the front side (viewing side) of the drywall and then have the tank line up with that?
Or does the end of the plywood line up with the back side of the drywall?
From what I think you said, it is the former. If so, did you do put anything over the exposed cut drywall on the sides and top?

 

[robchuck]

Originally Posted by trompet3
RobChuck -
Just to clarify your setup, do you have the plywood top overhang the 1/2" drywall so that the edge of the plywood lines up with the front side (viewing side) of the drywall and then have the tank line up with that?
Exactly!
From what I think you said, it is the former. If so, did you do put anything over the exposed cut drywall on the sides and top?
I used some tape and mud to tidy up those exposed surfaces a little.

 

[trompet3]

Thanks, from the pics it didn't look to all line up, so I was a little confused.
I ask about the exposed drywall on the sides and top because...1-exposure to moisture and 2- I want to silicone seal all the edges so that in the event of an overflow, water cannot get to the other side of the wall.
How much extra space on each side and top did you cut in the wall?

 

[robchuck]

I left about 1/4" on each side of the tank and 3/4" above. The top was originally 1/4", but when I first put the tank in the wall, there was one low spot where the tank was touching, and I was worried about the wall settling on top of the tank, so I enlarged the opening to 3/4".