Lyle's 150H in-wall build (with pics)

I'm think of a way to hold a removable piece of egg crate across the edge of the fuge baffle. I want to be able to remove it to clean. I was thinking of putting this extra 2" piece of glass I have at an angle to hold the egg crate. Like this...fuge section on the left, return on the right?
8e93a766.jpg


Any thoughts or suggestions on this idea? I haven't siliconed it up yet!
 
I'm considering an in-wall build for my 125, but haven't put much thought into it yet. I currently have 2 clowns and 3 damsels and waiting for my live rock to finish curing, so I don't have need for a skimmer yet, but it's coming soon. For this reason I have no idea how much maintenance a skimmer requires. Hence my question...

I notice the sump platform on the right is extended out and thought that was for sliding the sump out for maintenance. But now I see your plumbing arrangement I'm not sure. Is there enough clearance on top of the skimmer to clean it out?
 
I'm considering an in-wall build for my 125, but haven't put much thought into it yet. I currently have 2 clowns and 3 damsels and waiting for my live rock to finish curing, so I don't have need for a skimmer yet, but it's coming soon. For this reason I have no idea how much maintenance a skimmer requires. Hence my question...

I notice the sump platform on the right is extended out and thought that was for sliding the sump out for maintenance. But now I see your plumbing arrangement I'm not sure. Is there enough clearance on top of the skimmer to clean it out?

There's JUST enough room for me to get the whole skimmer out when needed. I can easily lift the cup off and clean it out though. I made the skimmer platform a bit bigger than needed just so I could easily move the skimmer around in there if needed.
 
I'm about to pull the trigger on these AI Sols and been speaking with George at ReefGeek. He said that if I can raise the lights 12" above the tank (I can) that I would only need 2 units instead of 4. This is obviously great news as it'll save me a ton of money, but I am concerned about the distance from the lights to the sand bed of my tank. The tank is 31" tall and I plan on only having 3-4" of sand so we're talking 40". I think I'm going to take his advice since he's the expert unless anyone on here has conflicting experience. Especially since I can easily add 2 more units later if needed.
 
My tank finally arrived yesterday and looks really good! I'm very happy I went with Miracles in Glass for the tank. The build quality is great and man is this thing heavy. I had four big guys help and it was a struggle to get it in the wall. I don't know how people handle those really big tanks!

Here are some pics of getting the tank in the wall. Now I start the final plumbing so I can get water in here.

Here's the final placement of the tank in the wall.
0c55c490.jpg


Hole is cut...point of no return officially passed!
6db3adb8.jpg


After de-crating she's ready to be brought in.
95fcccad.jpg


I was helping so I have no pics of putting it in place. It was difficult though because I only had like 1/4" of play on either dimension in my wall hole.
0fc5e71c.jpg


I think the tank is really nice. Can't wait to see it in action!
46734170.jpg


Trim can happen as soon as I get the plumbing done...hopefully this weekend maybe.
e3f060e6.jpg
 
So I need a couple plumbing parts to keep going...the bulkheads I bought are each about 1/16" too big for some reason. Ordering those today.

I also need to figure out a way to make a removable backing to surround the workshop side of the tank. I don't want to look into the workshop from the display side, but don't want to paint the tank so I can see in when I need to do something on the workshop side. I could use some sort of static sheet but it would be a pain in the *** to put on and off. So I'm thinking about building some sort of folding 'screen' out of 1/8" material I paint black. With a couple strategically placed magnets it should easily sit in place resting on the 1/4" lip of stand I have around the tank.

Something like this:
tankscreen.jpg


I would paint it black so hopefully the seam wouldn't be visible. Even those would be better than looking at all the junk in the shop though!

Has anyone encountered this issue before? Any ideas?
 
also...last question for now...Does anyone have any suggestions for hardware (clips, straps, hangers, etc.) to hold the plumbing in place? Something I can firmly attach but release at anytime would be ideal. I don't think velcro would be strong enough.
 
also...last question for now...Does anyone have any suggestions for hardware (clips, straps, hangers, etc.) to hold the plumbing in place? Something I can firmly attach but release at anytime would be ideal. I don't think velcro would be strong enough.

Not the prettiest solution but it works great and cheap:
plumbers strap roll of metal strap; one end attach to the stand and the other end loop around the pipe and attach together with wingnut for easy removal.
pt26.jpg
 
Quick update before a hopefully busy week. I got the new foam put in place today and cleaned up the shop in preparation of plumbing and installing lights and Apex this week (hopefully!). Here is where I stand with the return plumbing pretty much ready for PVC cement. I had to buy new bulkheads that weren't schedule 80 as the ones I had were a little too big for the holes drilled by Miracles. Once I have the bulkheads I'll rough in the drain plumbing and then cement and test.
257138ad.jpg


I also got my 'screen' built which wraps around the tank on the shop side to block the view of the shop from the main display side. I used corrugated plastic which was a suggestion from Whitebread and a great one. This stuff was cheap, really easy to cut and use, and is plastic so it will stand up to the water. Plus it's lighter than the thin plywood I was planning on painting and using so it's easy to take on and off when needed. Looks great too!
1277844c.jpg


From the display side...
43c1f692.jpg


One last shot of the tank room area in the workshop with the doors closed. I finally got the room clean enough to actually close the doors! I still need to paint this side of everything. These are so I can still cut wood and stuff in the shop and not worry about the dust getting in the tank.
26d85b6c.jpg


That's all for now. I'll post updates as I get in the last of the supplies. Hopefully I can be far enough along to at least tap water test everything next weekend.
 
Awesome built. Do you have a livestock plan?

Not really...I have a 34g nano set up now for 5+ years which has 4 different kinds of SPS in it doing very well along with a few other types of corals that I'll move over. Basically anything that I can frag out of there without taking the rock. The tank isn't overrun with aptasia or bad worms or anything, but I really don't know what's in there and want this new tank to have the best possible shot!

In addition to the coral I have a 5 year old clarki clown that I'm pretty attached to, 3 blue green chromis', and a red scooter blenny that will make the trip. I'm a little worried about that move hurting anybody so I'll take any advice on how best to do that!

Once all of that is happy and thriving I'll start adding new livestock. I definitely want some more exotic SPS and maybe a clam. Other than that I'll get whatever fish I can that will live in peace and are preferably tank raised. We'll see!
 
I got my RO/DI unit yesterday and got that installed. I ran a supply line from the hot and cold lines of my sink so hopefully I can get near the 77* they say the water should be to optimize output. I got this one because it has a built-in pressure gauge and I had no idea what our water pressure was. I feel like we have really strong water pressure, but my gauge says we're only at 40lbs and I need to be over 50lbs. I doubt I'll put a booster pump in though because it's just more money and would take up more space. Plus after hooking everything up this one is putting out a lot more water than the AWI system I have at the office. My other surprise was that our water was only running at 37 TDS. That's amazing to me. At my office the water is over 300. I didn't think it was even possible for municipal water to be that low.
145fa0f5.jpg


Kinda hard to see but I ran hot and cold into a Y fitting.
e2dc0037.jpg


Still no word from Premium Aquatics about my lights or controller. I hope to hear today that they're shipped. <Fingers crossed>
 
I got my RO/DI unit yesterday and got that installed. I ran a supply line from the hot and cold lines of my sink so hopefully I can get near the 77* they say the water should be to optimize output. I got this one because it has a built-in pressure gauge and I had no idea what our water pressure was. I feel like we have really strong water pressure, but my gauge says we're only at 40lbs and I need to be over 50lbs. I doubt I'll put a booster pump in though because it's just more money and would take up more space. Plus after hooking everything up this one is putting out a lot more water than the AWI system I have at the office. My other surprise was that our water was only running at 37 TDS. That's amazing to me. At my office the water is over 300. I didn't think it was even possible for municipal water to be that low.
145fa0f5.jpg


Kinda hard to see but I ran hot and cold into a Y fitting.
e2dc0037.jpg


Still no word from Premium Aquatics about my lights or controller. I hope to hear today that they're shipped. <Fingers crossed>

I had the same problem with the RODI system I just put in last month, the built-in gauge showed only 35 PSI! I started cranking up the setting on the pressure reducing valve on my main water line and got it up to almost 60 PSI. The pressure reducing valve is really only there to protect your pipes and fixtures from intermittent pressure surges from the service authority, so if you have a reducing valve on your water line you should try raising the pressure there.
 
I had the same problem with the RODI system I just put in last month, the built-in gauge showed only 35 PSI! I started cranking up the setting on the pressure reducing valve on my main water line and got it up to almost 60 PSI. The pressure reducing valve is really only there to protect your pipes and fixtures from intermittent pressure surges from the service authority, so if you have a reducing valve on your water line you should try raising the pressure there.

Thanks Chris...I was thinking about that. So this is something I can easily do myself? I've never messed with that before but I know where the water main comes in. I just don't want to screw up our plumbing!
 
What do you guys recommend for the drain pipes? I have a 1.5" and a 1". I'm planning on running some sort of Herbie method drain. I think I'm going to have the 1" be the main siphon drain and the 1.5" be the emergency/overflow/open drain since the 1" should be able to handle more than enough flow and leaving the 1.5" open is more safe in emergencies.

Do you have the pipes just standing up in the overflow box wide open? Do you cover them with anything? Does anybody have pics of how they've done this?

I know I need the drains to terminate like 1" below the water line in the sump and have seen pics of this, but no good pics of the stand pipes. I'm thinking I can cut them on a bias, riddle them with holes like a silencer, put some sort of durso cap on them, do nothing...and I don't know what's best.
 
Thanks Chris...I was thinking about that. So this is something I can easily do myself? I've never messed with that before but I know where the water main comes in. I just don't want to screw up our plumbing!

If your reducing valve is like mine, there is a bolt that you can adjust with a wrench and raise the pressure. Reducing valves are more important for older homes. - with modern pipes and new fixtures like yours you should not have anything to worry about.
 
If your reducing valve is like mine, there is a bolt that you can adjust with a wrench and raise the pressure. Reducing valves are more important for older homes. - with modern pipes and new fixtures like yours you should not have anything to worry about.

Thanks man...I'm going to mess with it tonight. I spoke with our builder, Charlie, today and he told me we were pressure tested to 100lbs so I could easily raise it to 60. He said he keeps his house at 55.

I talked to him briefly about your situation. He said that you may have called him. I've told a couple people about him and he's gotten a couple calls so I wasn't sure. Next time you're in the area let me know and stop by and I'll show you my progress!
 

Similar threads

Back
Top