In-wall 300 gallon DT and fish room build.
- Thread starter dmStewy
- Start date
muttley000
MTS Sufferer!
Missed it the last time I checked the thread, but in the last pic on your 2/6 update that is one monster bristle worm!
I guess technically speaking the tank will be on a stand, the stand will be attached to the wall on both sides where the wall was that I cut out. The wall that was there was just temporary, it was mad of 2x4s and would have been right in the middle of where the stand is.
The majority of the stand is done, I just need to put plywood sheeting on the top and attach it to the wall. I also need to put cross pieces on the bottom and plywood on top of them as well. Originally I intended to have the sump under the tank but I think now I will have the sump sit somewhere against the back side of the tank. The overflows on the DT are in the back panel near the top so my plan is to set the sump up so if is at an easier height to work in.
QUESTION?
The manufacture requires one sheet of ¾" plywood for the warranty and recommends two sheets of 3/4" plywood with a sheet of of extruded polystyrene foam in-between the top sheet and the tank. My question is this over time (5, 10, 15 years) how much will the tank settle into the polystyrene foam.
Top of the stand.
Stand upside down.
Stand more or less in place.
The stand is all 2x6s except for the corner post which is three 2x4s in a "œU" shape. There is six inches between the top cross beams, and twelve inches between the side posts. The end that faces away from the wall has a 19.5 inch gap so if at some point I decide I want to put a sump under the tank I can cut the sheet rock and slide one in.
Question?
Structurally do you guys/gals think that leaving the gap on the one end is safe?
As always comments, critiques, and feedback are appreciated.
Thanks for Looking!
I have both 3/4" plywood & a sheet of 1/2" foam under the tank and it has stayed steady.I guess technically speaking the tank will be on a stand, the stand will be attached to the wall on both sides where the wall was that I cut out. The wall that was there was just temporary, it was mad of 2x4s and would have been right in the middle of where the stand is.
The majority of the stand is done, I just need to put plywood sheeting on the top and attach it to the wall. I also need to put cross pieces on the bottom and plywood on top of them as well. Originally I intended to have the sump under the tank but I think now I will have the sump sit somewhere against the back side of the tank. The overflows on the DT are in the back panel near the top so my plan is to set the sump up so if is at an easier height to work in.
QUESTION?
The manufacture requires one sheet of ¾” plywood for the warranty and recommends two sheets of 3/4” plywood with a sheet of of extruded polystyrene foam in-between the top sheet and the tank. My question is this over time (5, 10, 15 years) how much will the tank settle into the polystyrene foam.
Top of the stand.
Stand upside down.
Stand more or less in place.
The stand is all 2x6s except for the corner post which is three 2x4s in a “U” shape. There is six inches between the top cross beams, and twelve inches between the side posts. The end that faces away from the wall has a 19.5 inch gap so if at some point I decide I want to put a sump under the tank I can cut the sheet rock and slide one in.
Question?
Structurally do you guys/gals think that leaving the gap on the one end is safe?
As always comments, critiques, and feedback are appreciated.
Thanks for Looking!
What I did on my stand was a similar concept with an open end and I used a 4x4 in the center of the opening that just screwed in place so I can take in & out as needed and it has given the needed support over the past 5+ years. I wanted to have an emergency exit in case I needed to replace the sump if there was ever a problem.
You lilely already thought of this but one other recommendation I would make is to paint the stand interior white - I made the mistake of doing mine black and it shows every bit of salt creep or dried splashes around the sump area.
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Got the top on the stand, and got it leveled.
And then I put a totally awesome aquarium on top of it!!!!
I went a picked the tank up yesterday. It is awesome; everything is perfect very high quality. It was a long trip, 10+ hours but it was well worth it. This thing was a beast to get down stairs.
It barely fit into the back of the Suburban, we had one inch of room.
The quality of the manufacturing is top notch. I cannot say enough good things about Chris/ Midwest Custom Aquariums. Chris even threw in all of the bulkheads for the overflow, returns, and closed loop. Now the real work begins"¦ I hate plumbing.
And then I put a totally awesome aquarium on top of it!!!!
I went a picked the tank up yesterday. It is awesome; everything is perfect very high quality. It was a long trip, 10+ hours but it was well worth it. This thing was a beast to get down stairs.
It barely fit into the back of the Suburban, we had one inch of room.
The quality of the manufacturing is top notch. I cannot say enough good things about Chris/ Midwest Custom Aquariums. Chris even threw in all of the bulkheads for the overflow, returns, and closed loop. Now the real work begins"¦ I hate plumbing.
muttley000
MTS Sufferer!
Looks nice, continue to hear many more good things than bad about Midwest Custom. And everyone knows the plumbing is the fun part:spin1:
Trainwreck618
New member
Looking forward to more updates, great job so far.
To start with I contacted about 6-8 different vendors. That was narrowed down to Midwest and Fish Tanks Direct. I went with Midwest due to how close they were and reputation. Fish Tanks Direct is located in Florida so there would have been significant shipping cost. I saved a lot of money picking the tank up from Midwest myself, the tank itself was more from Midwest then it would have been from FTD. But it was also made with thicker material then the quotes I got from FTD.
I have been making progress on the tank I just have not had time to do any post. here is the finished framing around the tank. And one pic of the sheet rock started.
muttley000
MTS Sufferer!
Looking good!
So this was my first attempt at setting up the closed loop"¦.not very successful. So scrap that and back to the drawing board. I am thinking that I need to go with different pumps altogether. I have been looking at Wavelin/Diablo/Jeabo DC controllable pumps (I think all of these are the same pump with a different name slapped on). The mag18s are just not letting enough flow through. I think that this is due to the inlet/outlet being so small. The two CL are different because I glued one wrong"¦.they we supposed to be identical"¦
So I am taking a little break from the CL and working on the clown system.
Pluming this thing was a beast, and it honestly does not work that well. I think long term I will scrape this whole thing clown system and do something else for the clowns.
So I am taking a little break from the CL and working on the clown system.
Pluming this thing was a beast, and it honestly does not work that well. I think long term I will scrape this whole thing clown system and do something else for the clowns.
Tape and texture are done along with the trim. I went with a very minimal approach. I wanted to try and achieve the simplest/cleanest look possible.
And of course I had to take a few baby in the tank pics.
I don't think he was overly thrilled to be in there.
Then I managed to convince the wife to climb in.
And then the dog got jealous.
I ordered two Waveline 12000 DC pumps that I am going to try and use for the CL. The Mag 18s are just not going to work. The amount of plumbing pieces that I was using to go from the 1-1/2 inch outlets on the tank down to the 3/4 inlets on the pump was just not working. The inlet on the Wave line is 1-1/2 inch. So I will be going from a 1-1/2 inch outlet on the tank to the 1-1/2 inch on the pump. Hopefully this will be much simpler. I will still have to mess with some plumbing to get from the 1-1/4 inch outlet on the pump to the three 3/4 inch inlets on the tank.
Any suggestions on what point in the line I should reduce the size would be great. Should it be 1-1/4 inch right up to the bulkhead. Or would it be better to reduce the line closer to the pump?
thanks.
And of course I had to take a few baby in the tank pics.
I don't think he was overly thrilled to be in there.
Then I managed to convince the wife to climb in.
And then the dog got jealous.
I ordered two Waveline 12000 DC pumps that I am going to try and use for the CL. The Mag 18s are just not going to work. The amount of plumbing pieces that I was using to go from the 1-1/2 inch outlets on the tank down to the 3/4 inlets on the pump was just not working. The inlet on the Wave line is 1-1/2 inch. So I will be going from a 1-1/2 inch outlet on the tank to the 1-1/2 inch on the pump. Hopefully this will be much simpler. I will still have to mess with some plumbing to get from the 1-1/4 inch outlet on the pump to the three 3/4 inch inlets on the tank.
Any suggestions on what point in the line I should reduce the size would be great. Should it be 1-1/4 inch right up to the bulkhead. Or would it be better to reduce the line closer to the pump?
thanks.
so just to make sure I understand. Add two more 3/4" inlets for a total of 8? do you think that there will still be enough individual flow that way.... I really do not understand the way plumbing/water pressure/ headloss works.Or you could drill two more 3/4" inlets on the tank.
Dave.M
dave.m
Active member
Well, I was partially kidding (viz. 
), as I don't think you want to get into drilling the tank yourself. But basically, your pump is built to take in so much water and push out that water, usually at a greater rate of speed. That determines the size of the inlet and outlet pipes. Some - BUT NOT ALL - pumps can not only push water through at faster rates, but can also push against great resistance (called "head" or "head pressure").
For a re-circulating pump you probably don't need to push against a lot of head pressure if your pump is located pretty close to your tank's inlets/outlets. But by restricting the size of your plumbing in and out of the pump you will limit the pump's capacity somewhat. Usually you would want to size your pump, including its inlet/outlet pipes, to the plumbing of your tank's re-circulating set-up. You can boost the pump's output by adding eductors, which can effectively increase the output by up to 4x.
Dave.M
), as I don't think you want to get into drilling the tank yourself. But basically, your pump is built to take in so much water and push out that water, usually at a greater rate of speed. That determines the size of the inlet and outlet pipes. Some - BUT NOT ALL - pumps can not only push water through at faster rates, but can also push against great resistance (called "head" or "head pressure"). For a re-circulating pump you probably don't need to push against a lot of head pressure if your pump is located pretty close to your tank's inlets/outlets. But by restricting the size of your plumbing in and out of the pump you will limit the pump's capacity somewhat. Usually you would want to size your pump, including its inlet/outlet pipes, to the plumbing of your tank's re-circulating set-up. You can boost the pump's output by adding eductors, which can effectively increase the output by up to 4x.
Dave.M
