AZ 450 INWALL Becoming a Reality!

[Fitchguy]

Hi everyone! For a long time I have been going through this thread of large tanks and the amazing pictures and planning have just left me in AWE! I never thought that I would be able to join this elite club anytime in the near future but I have and and feel priviliged to be among the other large tanks. So here are a few steps of my current 450 build.
A local tank builder built my tank on site and I was able to help out every step of the way, and learn the ins and outs of tank building. Which was a great experience! The tank is 96" X 36" and 30" Tall with 3/4" inch glass and 1" bottom. The front is Starphire Glass of course! All supported by a steel stand. So here are some pictures and I will go into the guts and glory afterwards!

 

[Fitchguy]

By the way, I have to give credit to where credit is due; I used MFLAMB's 300 Inwall as a model for mine. He had such a great detailed, informative thread and his room and everything fit exactly what I needed. But I did change it up a little. So hopefully he takes it as a compliment.

 

[Fitchguy]

So since building this tank, I wanted to make sure that I am able to add as much "Natural" Filtration and stuff that I could. Since I do have about 4ft behind the tank as a fish room I am able to incorporate a lot. I am going to have a 125 gallon sump/refugium/deep sand bed along with 2 55 gallon Sump/Refugiums all underneath the stand. I want to have a huge refugium and lots of live rock between the three tanks. Besides all that natural filtration, I would like to start making my own rotifers and phytoplankton and have a continuous drip/supply. Now onto the equipment:

Lighting: 3X400 Watt Coralvue Reeflux in Lumenbright Reflectors
Skimmer: Brand New Reeflo Orca 250
Ozone:Red Sea 200 MG/Hr Ozonizer Deluxe w/controller
Sump/Refugium:2 55 Gallons and one 125 Gallon
Water Movement: Hammerhead with Ocean Motions 4 way
Return Pump: Reeflo Dart
Calcium Reactor: MRC CR-5 Dual Chamber Calcium Reactor

 

[K5reefer]

wow your tank looks awwsome and the in wall turned out very clean. you guys did a great job cant wait to see more pics of fish room.

 

[Fitchguy]

Thank you I will be posting the progress of the fish and is comes together, right now I just laid tile down, behind the tank.

 

[Crazy One]

Looking good so far!! The trim around the tank gives it alot more detail.
Just a suggestion I would paint the wall and trim a darker color so the tank will stand out more when the lights are on.

 

[Fitchguy]

I would have liked to but the wife did have something to say about that! LOL Just think how big and awesome tanks we would have if we didn' have the wives! LOL

 

[Fitchguy]

Finally done, except for some tweaks here and there!

 

[Fitchguy]

Equipment room pictures:

 

[robot2222]

that is one nice tank , good luck keep us posted.

 

[Dustint21]

Love the tank! I would get rid of the GSP. You will regret it later, we all do! LOL keep us updated!

 

[H20ENG]

Nice work!
Would love to hear more and see pics of the actual tank fabrication. Methods, silicone used, etc.
Thanks

 

[beefcake]

Nice, i love the natural look covering the back glass.

 

[Fitchguy]

Thank you for the comments. The tank is constructed of 3/4 glass on all sides with the front panel being Starphire glass. The bottom is 2X 1/2" pieces laminated with silicone making a 1" bottom. The tank was built by Southwest Aquatics owner Robert Inman here in Tucson. It was built on site and came out beautiful. The framing was and bare drywall was done by a contractor and the rest was completed by me. Which I surprised myself how well it all came out. I dont have any experience in carpentry or anything. Again thank you all very much

 

[Lightsluvr]

Beautiful!

Beautiful!

Tell me about the back of the tank - is that inside the tank or just a background? It is very complementary to the feeling of the tank.

I am in the process of a similar installation (in Oklahoma), and would love to hear more about your filtration, sump(s), controller, and other decisions you made along the way. Teach me obewan...

I am tagging along your thread... Visit my build thread, if you'd like.

LL

 

[Fitchguy]

THanks again! The background is inside of the tank, it is made out of Black Handi-foam. You can pick some up from a Grainger supply store or online. I had it on my last tank as well and works great. It is pod heaven as well. Plus you can attach frags in it as well.

I am still adding filtration, to the tank to include a refugium, and an ozonizer. But currently I have a 125 gallon sump which has about another 50lbs of live rock in it. The skimmer is a Reeflo Orca 250. And I have a CR5 MRC Dual Chamber calcium reactor. No controller yet but I am probably going to get a Reefkeeper Elite.
.

 

[Jflip2002]

I had that foam wall on two of my last tanks also.... It looks outstanding when it matures a little and gets covered in Coralline. And youre right, the pods love that, unfortunately so does detritus.

Thats a sweet looking tank so far, I love the height on the in wall.

 

[BonesCJ]

Yep the foam wall is great! I have done it on my last 3 tanks including my current 220. Plus you never have to worry about cleaning the back glass to keep it looking good

 

[da5speed]

That is the same type of setup I want to plan. Just need a huge tank and a house of my own. Already told the girlfriend to be ready for it lol and she said thats fine. wow

 

[SMOOTHIE]

What's the firefish beside the purple? Beautiful fish