CD's upgrade!!!

[FunFishin24]

Hello RC. Currently I have a 220 gallon tank. It is in the basement of our new house. With it being down there & me being so busy with the new house it has went downhill--it's my fault. I slacked on WC & actually everything that goes with this hobby-well to the best of my knowledge, which isn't much compared to a lot of folks on here!! [emoji12]. One day my lovely wife came to me & said "why don't you put it upstairs in the wall like you want". So it began.... [emoji106]
I've always wanted an 8' long tank, so I priced some new 300 gallon tanks...outta my price range. I came across this tank on Craigslist one day, for a good price & it all came together. I finally got it in my garage last weekend. 10-8-16.

It is a 550 gallon, oceanic bow front. 8' long X 3' tall X 2' deep(on ends) & 3' deep (in the middle).
Came with the wood stand( I don't know if I'm gonna use it or build a new one but I'll get into that later on), the 2 part filtration system & a 4750 dolphin pump.
Now all the work begins.... I'm gonna build it into the wall & make this front room into a formal sitting room.

This is kinda gonna be a slow build because I want to try & limit some of the "wish I would've done that different" scenarios. I will probably ask a lot of questions & any tips/advice from y'all would be great. I'm really excited to watch this unfold into my dream tank!!!


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[Reel North]

Boooom. That's a freakin BEAST.

One word of advice - make sure you have access to the front of the tank, and use pond liner up the wall and under the stand. Don't ask

That's sweet.

Any questions - just ask

 

[FunFishin24]

That's a fantastic idea about the pond liner--thank you. I've been thinking of front access on the top & maybe on the bottom as well. That has kinda been throwing me for a loop since I can't just use a square door, gotta figure out a way to make it match the contour of the tank. [emoji51]


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[Reel North]

I would use very thin drywall to face the stand in the wall - new stand or the one you have.

You could then also use wood bent on a frame to contour to the top of the rounded area.

I'm sure lots of people here have done in wall bow tanks.

Just have access to the top in the wall

You can access the tank from the back (and therefore the sump) so don't sweat the bottom access

 

[FunFishin24]

Speaking of access from the back( fish room), if I use this wood stand do you think I would be ok with cutting out 5 1/2-6' of the back wall and make a 2X6 header to span the distance & support the header??


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[FunFishin24]

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[FunFishin24]

The picture is the front but the back is 1" plywood along with 2x4's.


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[dave.m]

Not a good idea with the plywood back on the stand. You will want open access from both front and back of the sump, just as you will for the top of the tank. The larger the tank and stand, the more difficult it becomes to reach everything as you will need to for regular maintenance. I would suggest that you completely open the wall top to bottom since this is a bow-front tank.

Dave.M

 

[JustAHobbiest]

Is it just me or does that stand look super beefy? I feel like you could have used 2x6s and saved alot of space.

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[calbert0]

Is it just me or does that stand look super beefy? I feel like you could have used 2x6s and saved alot of space.

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2X6's have a tendency to twist over time and should not be used in stand construction.

 

[FunFishin24]

Yes I am going to need full access from the back. My plan was to cut out the plywood back in the middle section & install a 2x6 header on the inside top.

But from the last post, it doesn't seem like it's a good idea. I'm talking about a piece of osb plywood sandwiched between 2-2x6's--a real header. The span will be 5' 1". If this is not a good idea, I might have to build a whole new stand.


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[FunFishin24]

So I cut the back out of this stand to give me access from the back.

This is what it would look like from the back.

I added this 2x6 on the inside. I can't continue with my original plan due to the size of my sump. I can figure out a way to support this 2x6 if y'all this this will work.


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[FunFishin24]

So I decided to build my own stand that would work for my needs. [emoji4]

I used 12 2x6's on end for the front which will eventually be wrapped with drywall.

Then built a 2x8 header for in the wall right on the foundation wall.

Then I built a 2x10 header for the back that is attached to a 4x6 1/2" piece of angle iron that is supported by 2 7/8 3/8 thick pipe with feet on them so I can secure to garage floor.

Then topped it with 3/4 plywood.

Pretty sturdy & cross fingers that it works!! Lol. It is level all around. Hopefully tank gets put on today. [emoji12][emoji106]


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[FunFishin24]

So far so good!! Got the tank up & on stand.

Now I can start framing out the top to keep the wife happy!!! [emoji106]


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[dave.m]

Make sure you have access from the front, both for the tank above and for the sump below. The harder it is to do maintenance the less likely maintenance will get done, and the tank will suffer for it.

Dave.M

 

[FunFishin24]

Thanks Dave. I will have front access above the tank from inside to feed & simple stuff. The rest I will do from the back of tank (garage) area. I'm tryin to leave plenty of room for maintenance.


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[dave.m]

It's not about room for maintenance. It's about room to reach (unless you're an orangutan and haven't told us).

Dave.M

 

[FunFishin24]

Lol!!! I do looks monkeys but am not one. Good point, I will definitely keep that in mind as I'm building my doors on the front. Thanks.


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[ddanis60]

Love that framing job. tagging along. are you going to re-use much equipment from the 220 or start completely over?

 

[FunFishin24]

Thanks-not bad for a rookie[emoji12]. I will use most of equipment from my 220 but whatever I don't use I will sell with the tank. I have an oversized skimmer on my current set up because I was planning on upgrading eventually.


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