Bloke's 210g In-Wall

[Bloke]

I built a new house last June and now I have this unfinished basement that is soon to become this summer's project!! I will begin tackling this job and thought that it would be a perfect time to setup another in-wall system.

I've been thinking for several weeks about a plan and first things first, I wanted to get a basic floor plan for the basement which will include 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, utility room, family room, of course a fish room, and storage.

Here's where I am thus far:

Everything at this point is just in the planning stages. I do have the 210g ALL-Glass tank along with a 125g Sump . I am debating on equipment at this point (internal v. eternal skimmer, closed-loop versus powerheads, etc.)

Undoubtedly, there will be more to come.

 

[Bloke]

I think today is the day to begin... So, no more messing with Google Sketchup.

I have a truck full of 2x4s and a good attitude. I guess today is the day to begin this monster.

I think I have made a few preliminary decisions. I plan to run a SUPER Reef Octopus 3000 in-Sump skimmer and use a PanWorld 150 for a return pump. I am going to drill the back of this tank to run a closed-loop (2 intakes and 4 return holes). I also think I am going to order dry rock from BRS and drill the rocks to create columns similar to my former 180g (shown above - RIP).

I'll take pictures of the progress to document the build; follow along if you're interested.

Shane

 

[Dre59]

WOW!!! This going to be very Interesting . Following along for the ride :beer:

 

[Bloke]

3/27/2011
Here are a few shots before the mitre saw begins the work...

 

[d3hree]

looks like it will be a great build. I like the arched header above the tank, it makes it very different from the "norm"

Will it be fake brick cladding or are you building a brick wall?

You dont have to drill the tank for the closed loop returns, the pipes can come up and over the back wall and be hidden with rock work especially as you have the space behind and dont need the tank's back wall to be flush with a wall.

You could drill the feed holes behind the weir so that if there are any issues with the plumbing the tank will only drain down to the wier rather than the closed loop bulkheads.
IMO the less holes, the less bulkheads etc means less things that can go wrong.
Will be following along...best of luck.

 

[Bloke]

Will it be fake brick cladding or are you building a brick wall? ...You could drill the feed holes behind the weir so that if there are any issues...

d3hree - Thanks, I appreciate it. Yes, I will be building a genuine brick wall and I also like the arch. There are arches throughout the house and I thought the arched header would compliment the house as well as break the standard rectangular opening often seen.

The idea of drilling the CL intakes behind the weir is a great idea, but I like the idea of water circulating and even though more holes means more potential for trouble, I've done so before to the back of a 180g and luck was on my side.

Thanks for following along.

 

[Bloke]

Day 1:
The first thing I had to do was move the door to the fish room. With a 24.5" deep tank I will have about 2' behind the tank but only a mere 11" to move in and out of the room.

The problem is that the wall with the door is also the wall holding up one side of the stairs so the door cannot move very far before the wall is load bearing. I was, however, able to move it about 6.5"; that's not very much, but it does give me a little bit more space.

Afterwards, I started framing the family room. Pretty straight forward stuff, but progress nonetheless.

 

[Bloke]

With a single couch in the family room, it doesn't leave much room for entertaining. So, I think instead of placing the fireplace on the parallel (to the fish tank) wall, I will install a direct-vent fireplace in the corner. This will allow for more furniature as well as a couch parallel to the fish tank for better viewing!!

 

[dave.m]

Better to lose the fireplace and the big-screen TV altogether and just go with a bigger tank.

Dave.M

 

[jhs]

I'm in w/ Dave on that one........:beer:

 

[ReeferChris]

Looks like it will be a great build. I myself did a 280g in-wall last year was a lot of work but definitely worth it. Remember to keep posting pics

-Chris

 

[Bloke]

I'd like to see pictures of it. Do you have a build thread?

 

[Bloke]

It doesn't look like much, but getting this tub in place was a chore! I had to remove three studs from a pre-framed load bearing wall to get it in the bathroom. The plumbing for the bathroom vanity sink and toilet made going through the door impossible!!

 

[Bloke]

4/17/11
Progress is slow, but steady. Framing an entire basement takes time so the gap between tank updates is longer than I'd like. Nonetheless...

Stand complete:

Tank in place:

 

[Bloke]

Stand reinforcement

 

[Bloke]

Well, I've finished framing and the drywallers are scheduled to begin on Monday, July 18th.

 

[Bloke]

Here is the sump: a 125g 3-chambered system with the Super Reef Octopus 3000 skimmer

The beginnings of the RO system. I still need to pick up the DI canisters

I also installed the GE 120cfm exhaust fan:

 

[BlessedG]

I'm definitely interested in following this one

 

[JT3069]

Be careful using partcail board in humid areas it likes to swell and break down the glue

 

[JT3069]

Nice job though

oh and remimber to use good size headers to prevent future sagging