Info on putting my 125 in a wall?

osolow

osolow

Member
Hi, This is my first post here I hope to find some good help.
I just got moved in my new house and have wanted to put my 125 reef tank in the wall behind my couch.
(I have wanted this for ever)
ok my first ? is what is the best way to build the stand?
i would like to build it abought 4 or 5 feet high would this be a problum being so high.
I have a steel stand i am useing now we thought abought making someting to lift it.
I have a house framer to build it as he is told how it should be built. (we have ideas)
the wall that it is going in is not a supporting wall but on the other side it will be in a clouset will this be a problum with heat ?
it is my office so i'm not worried abought space.
thanks for any ideas James
 
osolow

osolow

Member
I tryed to e-mail him but I can't if any one chats with him ask him to read my post Please....:D
osolow
 
jferrier

jferrier

Member
Osolow:
How you build your tank into the wall really depends on how you want it to look. Do you want a sill like a window in front of the glass or do you want the glass to be flush w/ the wall. Are you talking 4 or 5 ft to the bottom of the aquarium or the top? I personally like ones flush w/ the wall w/ a nice trim around the cut-out. But that's my opinion.
Heat buildup could be a problem in a small closet w/ out its own air vent.
 
osolow

osolow

Member
Hi,
I want the glass to be flush with the wall and the bottom of the tank about 4 ft from the floor, what would be the best way to build the stand...is there any thing I need to put between the stand and the tank? (foam rubber any thing like that)
and with Heat buildup problem in the small closet, the closet's in a bed room and Closet door is abought the size of the tank I was going to put vented closet doors up with fans. I'm looking at eather venting it into the attic or into the bed room out the top of the closet. I really don't know how much heat there will be...
but any one that has done this any info would be great:D
OsoLow
 
lou_brakant

lou_brakant

Member
osolow, I have the same size tank and are in the middle of doing the same thing(tank in wall). What you need to find out if how are your upper and lower house/floor joists running(parallel with tank or not)? Do you have a basement(makes it easy to span floor)? Is this wall one of the houses supporting(load bearing) walls? The reason you want to look at all of this is to make sure the wall(which will have to be built stronger) can handle the load. Just think the water weight alone is about 8lbs a gallonx125=1000lbs in about a 10 ft square area, then add your tank weight, sump, sand,etc. Here is a pic of what I have so far. This is between my kitchen and living room, refquim is on other side hidden below, I spanned the joints to disperse the load and doubled studs to give added strength, also placed it above basement I-beam, then placed another support right below tank and I-beam. Email any questions to me I can send pics and help out with anything possible. keithkaulsky@yahoo.com:D
 
lou_brakant

lou_brakant

Member
Here is another pic, sorry sh#tty pics took them late last night with little light(did not want to wake girlfriend) . This is the side with access to sump/refgurim. Also has hinged door on top in shelf area(lifts up), that will hold my DIY VHO/MH setup. As for heat build up, I will have 3-4inch fans, built into the top shelf pulling heat out, vent on the side wall will pull cool air in. Now the tank has holes drilled in the bottom so I can place to sump under it with a gravity overflow, and a mag 12(3 powerheads inside tank for added circulation) pushing about 4 ft of head back to the tank. Please let me know if you want better and more detail of what I did. keithkaulsky@yahoo.com:D
 
osolow

osolow

Member
Hi,
My upper house joists are running runnning with tank and my house is on a slab....(that won't move).
the wall is not supporting(load bearing) wall.
what did you make it out of 2x4 or 2x6..
it looks good i hope mine will look that good.
osolow
 
lou_brakant

lou_brakant

Member
osolow, All the framing was done with 2x4's, but all corners have 4 2x4's total. What I did was draw everything out first, including all equipment sizes, measure everything then go from there. I also redid all electrical, so aquarium and equip was all on one circuit. I can email more pics if you want. send me an email address.
 
osolow

osolow

Member
Ok here it is..I will try to put up a pic.
this is the wall that it getting the tank.
now you can see why I want to put it here.
I think it will go in this week end.
Thanks for all the info.
osolow
 
S

sebae0

Guest
i personally wouldnt use the iron stand with it, all you have to do is cut opening in wall to the size of the tank. behind the wall using 2x4's just build the rest of the stand to hold the tank 48" up to match the opening in the wall. i agree with the earlier post about quadrupling the 2x4's in the corners and double studing everything else. currently im building a wall to put in a 180 gal in my basement, i thought it was going to be hard but actually very easy once you can picture it in your mind. good luck and post pics of your progress plz.
 
osolow

osolow

Member
ok here is the 2nd pic with the hole and part of the frame.
I will post more soon as I do more work this week.
 
surfnturf

surfnturf

Member
Osolow, I would support the tank with 4X4 posts every 12-16 inches(on center), with a 2X4 top rail for the tank to rest on. Good luck on this endeavor and we all await the beautiful pix!
 
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