My 50G Acrylic Inwall

[MinibowMatt]

hey all,
I finally have gotten my 50G inwall fully installed and wet! I have been planning this reef for over a year. It started as a 29g, and quickly grew to a 50G with a sump and fuge!

Setup Basics:

50G tall Glasscages Acrylic Tank with eurobracing (36x18x17)
tank is custom drilled in eurobracing and rear wall for return and CL
Tank has a DIY external overflow installed 11" comb, with a 1.5g capacity overflow and single 1" drain with a durso
29G AGA Sump
29G AGA refugium
Lighting is by a DIY sheetmetal pendant
2x175W XM15k MH
2x40W NO URI actinics (may upgrade to vho)
3x40W CFL LOA bulbs over fuge
1 40W NO FL over sump (shop light)

Basic Equipment is:
mag 9.5 return
velocity T4 CL
Custom Electric panel
custom fuge inlet for bubble reduction, and custom outlet cageto prevent clogging by macro/snails


ok-- now for some pics:
this is my newly finished basement tank room

Now the good stuff!

So what do you all think? Any questions or comments? I would love to hear suggestions on different things I can improve on.
Thanx!

 

[MacnReef]

Nice!:thumbsup:

I was planning on putting my 58 in the wall but was concerned that it would be too small. But I see it looks fine!

Mike

 

[MinibowMatt]

the room its in is a small room, it is only 11x19, so it fits nicely. i really couldnt have gone larger.
thanx for the compliment!

 

[2fishy]

I like the swing in front of the aquarium! Now all you need is a cd with ocean sounds piped into your room and a tanning light and you will have your own little island room! I think it looks great!

 

[MinibowMatt]

HAHAHA! thats very true! I do have a nice home theater system in there, so I can get a video of waves going too!

 

[MinibowMatt]

Up for the evening crowd... Anyone see anything I can make better?

 

[FishyBiz]

You can put a fish tank in the wall but you cant hide the seaker wire! lol

Just messing wit ya. It looks really good and you did a super clean job. It just a shame you did all that work for a 50 gallon.

 

[CyberGuy]

I am in the process of putting in the in wall tank myself. It is a 42 gal tank.

Now my question is, how do you do the framing for your tank? Do you go to Home Depot and get a long 3.25 inch board and cut & glue it into a frame? I went to Home Depot the other day and saw a perfect board to make a frame for the in wall tank.
At first I bought the custom frame from Michaels craftstore but I cancelled it because it was a little too expensive (even with the 50% off coupon).

 

[MinibowMatt]

I set the tank flush to the drywall, then used baseboard molding with a nice edge. I set it flush to the tank on the outside. I sended up covering about 1" all the way around the tank. that was good though, as the tank had 3/4" trim on the corners..
Thanx!

 

[drummereef]

Looks really good, i like it! :thumbsup:

 

[beetle-b]

Looks good, very nice set-up!! Only thing I would suggest, as it is very cheap... is to put some receptacle covers over all those outlets, that way it will be up to NEC code...acutally it still won't be up to code...but at least it will prevent any elements (like salt or condensation) from corroding anything and causing a short in your circuits.

 

[Nano Chris]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8149489#post8149489 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beetle-b
Looks good, very nice set-up!! Only thing I would suggest, as it is very cheap... is to put some receptacle covers over all those outlets, that way it will be up to NEC code...acutally it still won't be up to code...but at least it will prevent any elements (like salt or condensation) from corroding anything and causing a short in your circuits.

Yeah i didnt notice that till you posted that. I do like the way you have it setup though.

 

[MinibowMatt]

LOL Its on my list for the weekend. I am actually going to move that panel to the pillar (to the left of the fuge tank) as well as get covers on the outlets..
I am a little concerned that I should have used 2 1" drains instead of one. I really have to restrict flow to the sump, to get adequate water to the fuge. I may T off my return line, and plumb it to the fuge, as right now, I have to restrict my return with a valve to prevent the tank from overflowing. I dont want to do that as I understand the back pressure could damage the pump...

 

[MinibowMatt]

I have installed the covers for the electric.. apparently no one uses 3 gang duplex outlet covers anymore. I had to go to my electric supply house and order them for 3 bux each!
I rebuilt the support system for the panel and added sand and LR. It is cycling well, and I am well into my second week of cycle and have a nice diatom outbreak and a little HA on some older rocks that came from an established tank.
I upgraded my durso from a 1" durso to a 1.25" durso so I can maximize the flow through the 1" bulkhead. This allowed me to open my return up fully so I do not need to T off my return to eliminate the back pressure anymore. I will get some new pics up tonight.

 

[MinibowMatt]

My Electric Panel:
Front

Back

 

[thor32766]

wow looks great!

 

[miwoodar]

Very nice start! I can't wait until I move so I can find a house that will let me have an in-wall. I am envious.

Careful with the swing. I have a swing just like it and my wife tried to make me hang it in front of the tank....no. One tap with the wooden rod and the tank willl be no more. My brother threw a nickel (yes a nickel) through the front of my tank when he was only 4 years old.

 

[MinibowMatt]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8261429#post8261429 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by miwoodar
Very nice start! I can't wait until I move so I can find a house that will let me have an in-wall. I am envious.

Careful with the swing. I have a swing just like it and my wife tried to make me hang it in front of the tank....no. One tap with the wooden rod and the tank willl be no more. My brother threw a nickel (yes a nickel) through the front of my tank when he was only 4 years old.

Nice Start! I thought I was almost finished!

the swing is positioned far enough away that it can not reach the tank unless the thing pulls out of the cieling (unlikely) believe me, that was a concern when the wife wanted to put the swing there, but now I love it, I can sit and swing and watch my tank.