A Great Way to ruin a perfect wall; My 400 Gallon Project

[melev]

Um... you'll need more money to do that. :fun4:

 

[ChloroPhil]

Servo,

Thank you for sharing with us. My wife and I are getting ready to think about beginning to start the process of moving. I'm thinking about modding a closet or similar space to be a hardware room for my new tank. Your progress shots are very helpful, please keep them up.

I need to ask, what is a Physiatrist?

Regards,
Phil

 

[ReeferMonkey]

Hey Ryan,

It was nice meeting you at the tank tour. Shoot me an email and I'll send you the links/pics we talked about, including the aquascaping shots.

Nathan

 

[jeffbrig]

Servo, how much of this is DIY vs. hired help? Looking great, BTW!

 

[acanthurus4lyfe]

that looks amazing. ilike how you did the top of the fram as a canopy to get to the tank. very creative

 

[extinguishfire]

Looking awesome Ryan and Tammy. Can't wait to check it out in person. It will be an awesome tank if it rivals Peter's, Rick's and of course Marc's.

 

[SERVO]

The way it is currently being set up, it will kinda be like Marc's (bigger) little brother!

 

[NexDog]

Glad I found this thread. Will be tagging along.

 

[BAJA272]

Servo:

Looks great. I have the same tank and love it. If you have any questions, I will gladly try to help. I have been down the same road and made a few adjustments along the way. Either way, good luck

Jeff

 

[fishnerd]

SERVO

When knocking down your wall, how did you support the beams above your tank, or were they non-weight supporting beams?
I am getting ready to do the same project but DIY (for the most part).

thanks bryan

 

[tgrunewald]

I think if you look at the 5/15 post there are pictures which show a support beam that has been installed. In your own project you need to figure out if you are working on a structural wall or not. Either way if there is room I would put in a couple 2x12 to carry the weight, it can't hurt. A lot of times you will not see movement in the area the wall was removed right away, but a couple years down the road you see sagging begin. Tom

 

[fishnerd]

Thanks tgrunewald

I think the better idea is to have some hired help for that part.

SERVO
Can we get some updated pics? Did you seal the tank from the other room with anything ie: weatherstripping

thanks bryan

btw nice framing of the inside wall (and everything else)

 

[SERVO]

Below you can see at the top of the tank a 2X10 header that supports the studs in the upper portion of the wall. The wall is not a support wall because there is nothing above it. Even if we decide to put a room above the garage, it will still provide adequate support.

On the lateral aspects of the support beam are two other 2X4 studs to offer support to the header. Hope that helps you.

I can't wait to host one of our DFW tank tours. :strooper:

 

[fishnerd]

Thanks SERVO

That is a hefty piece of wood, did you do anything to seal the tank from the other room or does it just butt up against the frame?

thanks bryan

 

[SERVO]

No, I'll try to get a good updated picture to show you the front. It is now painted and looks awesome. The tank is flush and there was no need (or room) to put any weather stripping.

There was only about a 1/16 of an inch gap before it was framed out. The wood trim covers about an inch and 1/2 to cover the metal trim of the Oceanic Pro Line stainless steel tank.

I'll take a macro shot of that to show you.

 

[SERVO]

LOL Brian, You are posting too fast for me to keep up with your questions

The wood closes flush over the vertical column trim pieces. I need to get an updated picture!!!

 

[fishnerd]

LOL thanks SERVO

Its hard to fathom all the little decisions you have to make to put a tank in the wall. I thought I would just cut a hole about the size of the tank and presto !!

YES YES with the pics (one or two of the mermaid also), and I will slow down

thanks bryan

 

[SERVO]

:lol: By all means, don't slow down! The lession that we all learn is plan plan plan, cutting the hole is the easy part!

More Picutures. Sorry, the full frontal tank nudity just doesn't turn out right. The back of my house is mostly windows so, the light is intense. The wall by the tank is very dark. Force flashing looks bad and when it won't flash it looks too dark. Anyway, I have some ok shots here, but it just doesn't do it justice.

Now for Bryan and anyone else that may be interested
Here is a close up of the right side of the tank with the "canopy" lid open. You can see that small gap. Next to it is a small 1mm thick piece of wood that was painted black. This primarily was put in place to hide the stud from looking into the tank and peering out of the side.

As you see, the tape is still on from the painting. There is a cardboard lid over the tank to keep anything from falling inside during construction.


Next, you can see the lid as it is closing down over the vertical frame. It is wedged out at 45 degrees. This gives you an idea of how it juxtaposes upon the wood.

Finally, here is a picture to show you just short of the lid becoming completely flush to the wall and the frame.

Hope that helps,

More to come soon.

I hope to have this thing plummed in about 2 weeks. I am having a bit of difficulty with some small details ()

 

[melev]

That really does look sweet from the front. I hope the back looks just as good once you are done.

 

[SERVO]

BTW,

The whole idea was to model and frame out the tank to match the fireplace in the adjacent great room. Here is a picture of that prior to us moving in. THis will really give you an idea of how wonderful everything flows together. FYI, the mantel is 6 feet across to give you a perspective. The door ways are 9 feet tall.