Wall material for In wall tank

Raoul5Duke

Active member
I'm planning an in wall tank in my basement. The display side will be in the finished portion of the basement, with the backside being in a large unfinished room (20'x20', probably bigger) that will store all equipment, etc. I am looking for advice on how the backside should be finished. I assumed I should use greenboard to seal it up and make it water resistant, but I have seen some threads that suggest this is no better than regular drywall. The back room does not have to look nice, I just want to make sure the house is protected from the moisture and salt corrosion. I plan on buying a large dehumidifier (70 pint per day) to control humidity in that room. I'm not concerned about spending more if its the proper way to get this done.

Specific questions:
1) What material should I use to cover the walls and should I replace the current insulation with something different?
2) Does the display side (regular drywall) need to be redone?
3) The back room is where my furnace, etc. is housed. Is there anything that needs to be done other than the humidifier?

Any advice is appreciated or links to threads with good details.
 
I have the same setup. No need for green board or anything like that. I live in the midwest and humidity is only a problem twice a year when it is warm but not warm enough for AC and even then it isn't that big of a deal. I have a dehumidifier but never use it.

My tank is a 120 if that helps.

Sound was a bit of an issue. The tank can turn the wall into a giant subwoofer of sorts. I ended up relocating the sump to a far wall and isolating all the plumbing. Vortech pumps were too loud to consider and even tunze pumps were a bit loud although I use them. I have a set of modified hydor magnums that are far quieter than either the vortech/tunze but aren't directional (due to the modification) and large.

One other thing. Heating is a bit of an issue. If my MH are off my heaters are on. I have the sump enclosed to retain a bit of neat. If you are thinking of LED or T5 there will likely be little to no electrical savings.
 
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I agree, I also have a in wall and used normal drywall, no problem for me since I did the in wall in 2005. I also run a De Hu due to heat since the tank is in my furnace room and the heat the tanks lights give off.

I didnt do anything special. I did add insulation just to cut down on fan noise from the halide canopy. but thats it.


The only thing I can say I wish i did sooner was wrap my copper water lines with the sticky insulation stuff. My pipes started to go green from the tanks humidity it put off, even with the DE HU running. Try using a emry cloth on all the copper and having that taste in your mouth for days. lol
 
Thanks for the feedback. The dimensions I am thinking about are 96"x36"x24", 3/4" acrylic. Given the dimensions I am likely going to use MP60s which I know are loud, but I like minimal equipment in the tank and I need the flow as this will be a predominately SPS tank and I don't want a closed loop.
 
I agree, I also have a in wall and used normal drywall, no problem for me since I did the in wall in 2005. I also run a De Hu due to heat since the tank is in my furnace room and the heat the tanks lights give off.

I didnt do anything special. I did add insulation just to cut down on fan noise from the halide canopy. but thats it.


The only thing I can say I wish i did sooner was wrap my copper water lines with the sticky insulation stuff. My pipes started to go green from the tanks humidity it put off, even with the DE HU running. Try using a emry cloth on all the copper and having that taste in your mouth for days. lol


I didn't have the copper turning green humidity problem but I did have a condensation problem once in a while if the water was super cold. I have pipes that run over the top of the fish tank and I can't imagine water dripping from a copper pipe is good for the fishtank.
 
green board is only a few dollars more a sheet.. It can't hurt and is great for "damp" areas.. The paint you apply over it is what really makes the difference though and provides the ultimate protection..
 
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