In Wall Fish Tank Build Thread

sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
Hey everyone,
We have settled into our new home after a few short months. I've finally convinced the wife to allow me to create my very own in the wall fish tank display. The only area she has agreed to let me take this projects on is within the basement. At the moment this is an unfinished basement but with this project I plan to also finish the remaining sections of the basement. As this is unfinished and barebones I will be putting up the walls and adding some new piping that can be placed into the tank. Here is my end result goal:
In Wall 150 Gallon Fish Tank Display.
Automate (as best I can) water changes. I will have two 50 gallon cans. One will consist of RODI Water, the other will consist of constant mixing salt water. I plan to have a switch that will shut all fans, pumps, and heaters off within the tank, and another switch that will initiate a pump that will drain the tank. I will then kick the switch on for a return pump to fill from the Salt Water 50 gallon can (this will be for water changes/top offs, and I PROMISE to install a GFCI Outlet this time!).
Finally, as I will no longer be using the canopy/stand I have to build a new setting for the tank to sit on and I will down the line purchase LED lights that I can mount to hang above the tank.
I will also be rebuilding my sump/refugium as I will have ample room under the tank so I hope to build a 75 gallon glass tank. This should provide me with ample room for the refugium (more than my previous 20 gallons I had last time... YEEESH!)
I will be placing an extensive amount of insulation throughout the room to keep any heat within to avoid having the heater within the tank running 24/7.
If anyone sees any issues initally please feel free to let me know. I will also be adding pictures as I progress as I'm sure everyone will enjoy seeing my successes/failures. :)
This is an exciting new project for me and I'm geeked to get this ball rolling given the greenlight I was issued and the last thing I want is for her to rethink and say better not after all ;)
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
sound great Always wanted my own fish room. The only question I have is that you said a 150 gal tank. Is the size because it will fit the room or becuase it will fit the fish you want to keep? Because if I new that a Queen Angel (which is the fish I always wanted need a min. 180 gal tank) I would never of gotten the 135 I have now.
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
It's what I already have. I had this tank for two+ years now but I haven't been able to use it recently due to relocations. I'll be adjusting my stock as time goes on but in the meantime the 150 is what I have.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Congrats on the green light, Sparty! Oh, and the new house. Did you end up back in MI or are you in Cali, now?
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
Ended up back in MI. We are looking to buy a second home in CA. I don't think we were completely ready to leave after a year out terr :). Thank you all for the welcome back, I'm excited for this project and looking forward to adding new pictures.
 
marvelfan

marvelfan

Member
Looking forward to following your progress. I'm going through both finishing a basement and a new 120 gallon tank build in the basement in our new home as well. Good luck! Exciting!
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
Measurements are completed. I will be putting up the frame this weekend, possibly next weekend. I'm actually working one wall at a time and this is my first wall. I figured if I botch anything then this will be the wall I screw up on so I'll do it first, this way I can tear down without any issues! Once the frame is up I need to work on building a frame for the tank to sit on.
**I might need someones help as to how many 2x4's I will need/what type of wood, etc. The last thing I would want is for the frame the tank sits on to break once I have it filled up!**
 
marvelfan

marvelfan

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparty059 http:///t/394007/in-wall-fish-tank-build-thread#post_3508269
Measurements are completed. I will be putting up the frame this weekend, possibly next weekend. I'm actually working one wall at a time and this is my first wall. I figured if I botch anything then this will be the wall I screw up on so I'll do it first, this way I can tear down without any issues! Once the frame is up I need to work on building a frame for the tank to sit on.
**I might need someones help as to how many 2x4's I will need/what type of wood, etc. The last thing I would want is for the frame the tank sits on to break once I have it filled up!**
For framing the basement it is recommended to use pressure treated 2x4's for the base and headboards on the outside walls (walls touching our outside cement walls). This is to combat any moisture that may work its way in, or if you have a small flood. The studs can be normal 2x4's. I've been told not use pressure treated wood anyone near aquariums however, so if your framing a portion of your wall for the tank. Don't use pressure treated on that section.
When I framed my basement I left about 1.5" inches between the cement walls and the frame. This way there is a channel of air that can dry up any moisture that may form.
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
Thanks for the info Marvel. I was speaking more so about the "stand" that the tank will sit on. The walls are already completed. I'm thinking I'll just over build and make it the fort knox of tank stands this way there won't be any chance of the sucker breaking once the tank is fully up and running.
 
marvelfan

marvelfan

Member
SnakeBlitz did a DIY Build a stand thread up a while back,... https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/393760/new-180g-stand-and-canopy-build-diy-how-to
Check it out for an idea. He knows his stuff.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
Seth's stand build guide is a good guide and could easily be incorporated into the design, but most in walls usually utilize a portion of the wall as basically the front of the "stand" per say....Meaning the area in the wall where the tank would actually sit, you would use a header in that area to carry the load per say.....Same would go basically for the top or opening of the wall above the tank.....
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
Hey all. So I've decided I just can't wait any longer. So the tank I was using previously as my QT tank (I didn't use any copper or any meds) I will be using as a coral tank for now. My only concer is... I picked it up from storage last night and was about to get my RODI running tonight to mix for the next few days until I noticed a corner has a small chip in it where the glass is sealed together. Does anyone think this should be cause for concern, or should I continue to carry on? I'd hate to have to buy another tank as this would have been fairly decent (60 gallon hex) tank to use in my office.
I just purchased one AI Vega Color system so I believe that should be enough light for a 60 gallon. Dimensions are 27"(corner to corner) x24" (wall to wall) x28" (top to bottom).
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Small chips wouldn't concern me as much as small cracks would. Got a pic of the chip in question?
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
I can't seem to get a good enough picture of it because it's such a small chip. I ran to my local hardware store and picked up some silicone and just sealed it up. My initial look at it worried me because I thought the glass had separated but apparently that wasn't the case. The tank standing now and I will run to the LFS when my Vega comes in and I'll grab some LR/Live Sand (This time the normal looking sand... oy, I won't do the black/white sand ever again). I'll get pictures up as soon as I can! One question though, as this tank (for the time being) is going to be my coral only tank is there any rule to having to wait until it matures to add the corals? This is really my first time dealing with REAL corals... my only experience was GSP that Flower was kind enough to send me, and frogspawn (or hammer coral I don't remember which it was). I was hoping I'd be able to get an anemone and some brain corals as well. I am keeping in mind about the cycling needed. I'll wait until that has fully cycled, although I don't think it'll be too long this time since I'll be using live everything to get the levels balanced faster.
Thanks again for the information Shawn! Cory, thanks again for looking out!
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
Ok, so I've begun my equipment arrangement. In the basement I now have two 32 gallon BRUTE bins. I have connected a 50' 1/4" hose that will run from my laundry room sink upstairs down into the RODI placed beside the pure water BRUTE bin. Aside that will be the bin for saltwater mixing. Yes, I know 32 gallons may not be a lot, but this is what I have to work with at the moment. In the pure water I will have a small pump that will push water out of the bin into the mixing bin.
At the moment, I am keeping a coral tank upstairs in my office so I have something I can enjoy while working. I will be running another 50' 1/4" hose (pump attached to it inside the salt water mix) from the salt water mix upstairs through the floorboard and out the wall (ideally where the Vega's rail sits so I can make it look clean and run it under that). Once that is complete I will be adding one last pump that will empty the tanks water so I can do water changes simply and quickly!
If any of this seems flawed please let me know. My style of building is measure once... cut... rebuy item, remeasure, cut... success. This one can turn to be a very costly measure once cut once, so any thoughts feel free to chime in!
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by acrylic51 http:///t/394007/in-wall-fish-tank-build-thread#post_3511055
You peaked my interest....1/4" hose for water changes.....
So yes... I know that may be little... and I know that may take a loooong time. But it has the least amount of damage (i.e. hole in the wall). The 1/4" will be only for the 60 gallon so I'm guessing that might take ~10 minutes to fill 20 gallons. Again I know that's significantly longer than the usual water change but automated is better in my mind, even if it does take 10x longer. Are you thinking amount of time vesting in water changes with 1/4" versus the standard, or is there something else you're thinking about?
 
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