? on inwall build

[4everwet]

How much larger should I frame the rough opening for the tank? My tank will be 60"x36"x30 and I figured I would frame the rough opening 1 inch bigger than the tank. Is that about what everyone else is doing?

 

[mech0522]

when i put my 90 in the wall i went 3/4 to 1/2 so trim would cover the gap

 

[kingsland]

At a minimum, leave enough space between the 2x4's and the tank side so that you can fit a magnet cleaner in between. Otherwise it is a real pain to clean. You also want a bit of room so that as the wall expands and contracts, it does not put any pressure on the tank.

 

[4everwet]

Anyone else with any advice?

 

[Kreeger1]

1 inch is a good mark, you can then make a frame to cover the gaps and what not. Its what I did for my inwall

 

[4everwet]

Yea I figure better to be a little oversize than under. And then close it back in with trim as needed.

 

[Kreeger1]

yeah, thats the same thing I thought when building it

 

[4everwet]

Did you set your tank out flush to the interior wall or is it reccessed the width of the 2x4 wall thickness? My original plan is to have my tank and stand just but up to wall on fishroom side and then from inside the house it would be reccessed the thickness of the wall. I also want to incorporate front access above the tank. Which way would finish out nicer?

 

[Kreeger1]

Kinda hard to explain. My tank sets reccessed about 1 1/2 inches in the wall. I didn't want to us a 1 by 4 or 1 by 6 as the inner trim piece, I used a 1 by 2 which is really 3/4 by 1 and 3/4. Heres a pic before the paint was done.

my tank is 8 foot long but the viewing front is something like 7' 3"
Hope that helps
erik

 

[4everwet]

In your oppinion, if it were inset the width of the wall would it take away from the built-in look? Sorry for all the dumb questions, but I will be finished with the fishroom and wall by the time the tank arrives, so I want to be sure it will look right! Thanks

 

[Kreeger1]

It would look fine, In my case the tank went from wall to door frame, I had no other option to do. I wanted the picture frame look and that wouldn't of worked if I had the full front exposed.

 

[4everwet]

Ok thanks for the advice!