240ish through wall help in a new home

LoneRanger

LoneRanger

Member
My Wife and I have a wall in our new house that is being built (we closed the Friday after Christmas) that is exactly 2 feet wide, and 11'2" long that my wife and I are wanting to put a reef tank in. We had this designed into our plans, and I would very much like everyones opinion!

First off, I want to spend no more than 10,000.00 on this project- less is more! ;) the standard 240 gallon tank is what I was leaning towards 2 feet wide, 2 feet tall, and 8 feet long. However this measurement can absouletly be changed (except for width!). We want starphire viewing sides so it is going to be a custom tank. We dont watch TV, and so this will be our primary* entertainment in the great room Except when we are surfing, mtn Biking, Fishing, or Scubadiving! the tank will divide the great room and the masterbed room, and will be viewed from BOTH SIDES. My concerns ultimaetly revolve around having a self sustaining system to the fullest extent possible. We want a reef tank, not a fish tank-although my wife insists on having a "nemo" or two. :)

The challenge lies in the lack of space and that everything must fit inside of the 11'2"X2' wide wall. either above the tank, below the tank, or beside the tank. there is NO room for a fish room! Refuge, ro-di, sump, skimmer, pumps, stored topoff water, EVERYTHING must fit inside this wall! We have discussed tiling the interior of the wall cavity and sealing it completly off from both sides of the house (and attic) due to the ultra high moisture content in such a small space. There is a vent on the roof that will let this wall cavity "breath".

forum member Krazy has a 210 setup and running as seen in this photo~
dscn0401dq2.jpg


the gear he has shown here will (I think*) all fit inside the space we have available. (although I am not sure of the width of his tank)

insite, ideas, opinions, lighting options lol :D I realy would like as much help as I can get. I have been keeping FW tanks since I was 10 or so, and have kept putting off a salt water tank untill I had the resources to pull it off right. I think NOW is the time-

Thanks,

L.R. (Rob Mathews- 352-368-1874 home #)
 
Fitting it isnt going to be the biggest problem, your biggest problem will be access. I would go with a tank that is not as long so there is room to build access doors in the wall next to the tank (personally, I just find doing under the tank is a PITA).

Since you are building the wall could you build a segment that juts out a foot so you could get a 6'x3' tank (so it would be partially recessed in the wall)? For a big tank, I really like what you can do with the extra depth. This would also give you more space on the side of the tank. In general if you could even make the whole wall 3', instaed of 2', I think it would make things a lot easier.
 
the 2foot measurement is the only thing I realy dont want to change (cause I really cant) I am not willing to take the space away from the living room or the master bedroom. I want the tank fairly high off the floor (we have dogs) so I am thinking the bottom of the viewing area would be 4 feet or so off the ground.
over flows would be on the ends of the tank (or a large over flow on just one end?)

any good ideas?

L.R.
 
no, it is a FULL wall from the groung to the cieling (which is 12 feet tall @ the roof peak) the width of the tank wall is 24" from the bedroom side to the great room side. (not counting sheetrock)

the tank I was thinking of installing was 8 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 2 feet high.

the bottom of the tank would be roughly* 4 feet off the ground due to the dogs.



any throught/ help?

L.R.
 
Could you do a sketch-up model? then you could e-mail it about and have everyone add therre bit or make suggestions?

This is just an Idea, for you to gain the maximum from everyone without have very long detailed posts
 
I had actualy posted our pre-lim plans about 3 months ago-(or longer) and did not get much response.

I'll try and scan our final's now and post them here.


L.R.
 
the tank going in that wall will be Double the shown length.


again, can anyone give any thoughts/ ideas to get it all the equipment in there?

L.R.
 
I don't really see what the problem is. You have a lot of space to utilize and many tanks only run with what is directly under it. You have the option of built-ins on both sides that can be used as well.
 
Built in cabinets on either, or both, sides of the tank, could be as tall as the stand, or as tall as the top of the tank, or higher, depending upon what you're looking for. Great way to fit in the equipment needed so it's easier to work with, rather than stuffing it all under the stand (like me). From the layout picture, it seems the location for your tank would be great for the 'built in cabinets'.
 
Maybe extend the length of the tank a bit and put your overflows on the sides, that would give you more real estate for aquascaping.
 
great info, I appreciate it~

the tank is going to be 8 feet long, the size in the above pic is NOT accurate! I was planning on doing the overflows on the ends, or possibly even just on one end?

and yes, the contractor will be building my "cabinets" as I want them, so I am really looking for height, width, light rack's, plumbing, etc.....



L.R.
 
Have it wired with two or more separate circuits just for the tank. Put "wet" stuff on one side and electrical on the other.

Figure out if you want a controller like the Neptune or Octopus so you can have it all wired in your mind and on your plans.

Figure out ALL the equipment before building so you don't finish and go "oh, crap, it would have been nice to have . . ."

Figure out a large storage reservoir for top off that you can have hidden and yet have it easy to put new water in. Maybe set up your RO/DI system in the room behind it.

Be great to have a sink nearby for cleaning the skimmer so the wife doesn't yell at you in the kitchen sink.

Also be nice to have some working surface for fragging, mounting corals, etc.

Have your lights on a rack or something to get out off the way when you need to work. Maybe have the cabinet higher and put them on pulleys so you can lift them up higher to work in the tank and still have light!!

Have the heat from the lights tied into your ductwork so in winter you can add the heat to your vents.

Do some searching on the large tank builds here so you can plan well.

Lee
 
yes I would love to have a controller, and my equipment list I am waiting for forum member help!

I wish I could make the tank just a little wider say 30" or so, I have a meeting with the builder this week so we'll see what I can do.

there is going to be a drain in the wall cavity, and freshwater for the RODI system will also be in there as well! I saw a post somewhere on here about a round plastic storage tank for freshwater that would fit nicely. My father-in-law is an electrician so he will run the wires anyway I ask!


keep the insite comming.

L.R.
 
Something to think about is that square containers hold more water and would fit better into the wall cavity, but they also need to be stronger than round ones. Make sure you have FULL access!
 
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