project5k
Reef enthusiast
Wooohoooo!!!!!!
the 210 gallon in wall project
- Thread starter project5k
- Start date
project5k
Reef enthusiast
More progress today, all the new baseboards and door trim went in, this is only pertinent to the new tank cause it decides what trim that I will be using to fill in the space around the tank and the wall... to "frame in the tank" kinda sorta...
so, we went with this basic square trim board, and these square block things that have stars in them, those went at the top of the front door, and will go at each corner of the tank... I'm gonna paint the stars blue to match the wall...
oh, and did I mention that I’m supposed to go and get my tank and my salt and my sand tomorrow?!?!?! Well, actually no I guess its technically today... in like 12 hours... holy crap!!!
Oh, also got the sheet rocking done above the tank in the fish room... got it taped and the first layer of mud on it... that'll be dry tomorrow and can get sanded and kilz'd and then painted.
If you are wondering what’s with all the wood above the tank stand, well, here’s the deal. When we took out the closets, there were these false headers for the closets, and rather than take that all down, and have the insulation from the attic come pouring through the ceiling, we decided that what we would do is incorporate them into the design, so basically they create a division in the room... also, that will give me a place to mount the curtain track, and by covering the ceiling in 3/4 plywood, I can put a eye hook any where over the tank I want to, and never have to worry about it pulling out... so now I can hang my lights, and then have an ingeniously designed system of pulleys and cables and things to raise the lights up when I need more access to the tank.. hehehehe
so, we went with this basic square trim board, and these square block things that have stars in them, those went at the top of the front door, and will go at each corner of the tank... I'm gonna paint the stars blue to match the wall...
oh, and did I mention that I’m supposed to go and get my tank and my salt and my sand tomorrow?!?!?! Well, actually no I guess its technically today... in like 12 hours... holy crap!!!
Oh, also got the sheet rocking done above the tank in the fish room... got it taped and the first layer of mud on it... that'll be dry tomorrow and can get sanded and kilz'd and then painted.
If you are wondering what’s with all the wood above the tank stand, well, here’s the deal. When we took out the closets, there were these false headers for the closets, and rather than take that all down, and have the insulation from the attic come pouring through the ceiling, we decided that what we would do is incorporate them into the design, so basically they create a division in the room... also, that will give me a place to mount the curtain track, and by covering the ceiling in 3/4 plywood, I can put a eye hook any where over the tank I want to, and never have to worry about it pulling out... so now I can hang my lights, and then have an ingeniously designed system of pulleys and cables and things to raise the lights up when I need more access to the tank.. hehehehe
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Ted
Living one day at a time
The plywood over the tank was a good idea. I had to try and hit studs when I hung my fixture.
PRC
Stop Quoting Me!
Project5k,
I just stole about 4 ideas from you! Nice build, great looking project. Can't wait to see it finished... I put my tank in my wall as well, I was about to paint the back 3 sides, Rwynn mentioned that you were hanging a curtain. I also like the shelf above the tank, that's gonna come in handy.
I went out yesterday looking for some fabric for the curtain, I couldn't find anything that I liked well enough to buy, I took an 8' piece of 1/2" conduit and bent it around the tank at the top for the curtain, it should give me the ability to slide it all the way around, kinda like a shower curtain. Are you planning on hanging your curtain from the top shelf? Are you going to weight down the bottom of the curtain to eliminate any possibility of light getting through by movement of the curtain? Your thoughts?
I just stole about 4 ideas from you! Nice build, great looking project. Can't wait to see it finished... I put my tank in my wall as well, I was about to paint the back 3 sides, Rwynn mentioned that you were hanging a curtain. I also like the shelf above the tank, that's gonna come in handy.
I went out yesterday looking for some fabric for the curtain, I couldn't find anything that I liked well enough to buy, I took an 8' piece of 1/2" conduit and bent it around the tank at the top for the curtain, it should give me the ability to slide it all the way around, kinda like a shower curtain. Are you planning on hanging your curtain from the top shelf? Are you going to weight down the bottom of the curtain to eliminate any possibility of light getting through by movement of the curtain? Your thoughts?
project5k
Reef enthusiast
take all the ideas that you want, thats why we're all on here, is to share and learn together...
I think i'm still gonna paint the tank, but i'm thinking about a couple different ideas, but i think that the one that i like the best so far is to paint the sides of the tank the same blue as the wall, and then paint the back black, but i havent committed to anything yet...
There is no shelf anywhere in anything that i built... i think what you think is a shelf is just what i did for my ceiling...
yea the curtain is gonna be some heavy green crushed velvet that i have a couple rolls of, dont ask....
the conduit is a good idea, but i did that around the top of my CNC machine and what i figured out was that in order for it to hold up the weight of the curtain, it took extra supports and that got in the way of the curtain sliding along the EMT...
I think i'm still gonna paint the tank, but i'm thinking about a couple different ideas, but i think that the one that i like the best so far is to paint the sides of the tank the same blue as the wall, and then paint the back black, but i havent committed to anything yet...
There is no shelf anywhere in anything that i built... i think what you think is a shelf is just what i did for my ceiling...
yea the curtain is gonna be some heavy green crushed velvet that i have a couple rolls of, dont ask....
the conduit is a good idea, but i did that around the top of my CNC machine and what i figured out was that in order for it to hold up the weight of the curtain, it took extra supports and that got in the way of the curtain sliding along the EMT...
PRC
Stop Quoting Me!
Gotcha, what looks like a shelf in the picture, is actually butted up against the ceiling. Hard to tell in the picture. That's the reason why you said to prevent the insulation from falling. Duh.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
I love those starfish tile things! Where did you get them?
dcantucson
Reef pro
Project5k you have great ideas. This is going to be a super build. :claphands
project5k
Reef enthusiast
well, the stars werent my idea, i cant take credit for it, that was the wife's idea, actually, building the tank into the wall and revamping the entire house was her idea, its what she wanted to do with her anual bonus... and since i'm not working and i'm here all day.... free labor... plus i get a 210!!!
the star blocks were about $5 each at homedepot, they're back with the rest of the millwork...
hehehe yea PRC, devil's in the details, but yea, i did the plywood for mounting surfaces and the insulation, i did fill the void above the plywood with some great stuff, that expanding foam in a can... just to help seal up any air leaks...
alrighty, all this stuff has its first coat of KILZ...
the star blocks were about $5 each at homedepot, they're back with the rest of the millwork...
hehehe yea PRC, devil's in the details, but yea, i did the plywood for mounting surfaces and the insulation, i did fill the void above the plywood with some great stuff, that expanding foam in a can... just to help seal up any air leaks...
alrighty, all this stuff has its first coat of KILZ...
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dcantucson
Reef pro
I've often wondered with these in wall tank builds, how exactly do you clean the front of the glass? Those mag float scrubbers don't always work that well and with a tank as long as yours p5k ......... Has that been a thought or concern?
daugherty
part time reefer
one idea is dark acrylic sheets that you can get and then clip them to the back of the tank so that when you work on the tank you can take them off and you will be able to see into the tank easier
project5k
Reef enthusiast
well ive thought about cleaning the front glass, and i figure i'll do it on the new tank just like i do on the one i have now... long handeled scraper, i'll be able to get to all of the tank from the back if i stand on a steppy stool, so, thats kina what i was thinking i would do till i find out that it dosent work...
hmm clip on sheets, now thats an interesting thought...
hmmmm
so i'm sitting here just waiting for the phone to ring so i can take off towards the LFS to get my tank, the owner is supposed to call me as soon as the delievery truck pulls up...
hmm clip on sheets, now thats an interesting thought...
hmmmm
so i'm sitting here just waiting for the phone to ring so i can take off towards the LFS to get my tank, the owner is supposed to call me as soon as the delievery truck pulls up...
fastrd400
It wasn't me!
Hmmmmm, seems to me we've heard that story before. Wasn't he supposed to call you and give you prices at some point to order the tank, and then didn't?
project5k
Reef enthusiast
yea, well, lets just say that theres no tank today, but this time its not his fault, he did call me, he did leave me a VM saying no tank, but i didnt notice the missed calles on my phone, so, anyway, i just got back from that pointless 2+ hour round trip for nothing...
long story short- the distributor/sales team screwed up and "sold" my fish store a tank that they didnt actually have to sell cause they hadnt updated thier inventory on thier computers before making the comitment...
so, anyway, on the brighter side, now i have a whole extra week to get everything else ready...
something else that i noticed, they had what i believe was a 250 in the store, same overflows as mine, but the holes arent drilled like the guy told me from Aqueon, so i'm about to call him back and get the straight poop cause i already ordered my 1-3/4 bulkheads, and if i find out that they wont fit, then i'm gonna be pissed.
long story short- the distributor/sales team screwed up and "sold" my fish store a tank that they didnt actually have to sell cause they hadnt updated thier inventory on thier computers before making the comitment...
so, anyway, on the brighter side, now i have a whole extra week to get everything else ready...
something else that i noticed, they had what i believe was a 250 in the store, same overflows as mine, but the holes arent drilled like the guy told me from Aqueon, so i'm about to call him back and get the straight poop cause i already ordered my 1-3/4 bulkheads, and if i find out that they wont fit, then i'm gonna be pissed.
project5k
Reef enthusiast
ok, so the story is that allglass uses the same size holes, well aqueon was getting tired of ordering 2 different sizes of bulkheads and diamond drills, so they switched to the allglass method and started drilling all the new tanks with 2x 1-3/4 holes in each overflow... and since we now know that there arent any tanks at the distributor, we know that the tank will have to come from the manuf. meaning it'll be a new one, so i should be in good shape...
also after talking to the engineer guy, super cool dood btw, he said dont put anything under the tank, just make sure that the stand is level flat, and once the tank is sitting there dry, measure it and make sure to check level corner to corner, he said that not being level corner to corner causes more tank failures than anything else(not counting oops) he said that the "twisting" motion of not being level corner to corner will stress the joints and cause it to fail...
also found out that this tank is tempered 3/8 on the bottom, and then non tempered 1/2" on the vertical parts... total dry weight, 343lbs.
also after talking to the engineer guy, super cool dood btw, he said dont put anything under the tank, just make sure that the stand is level flat, and once the tank is sitting there dry, measure it and make sure to check level corner to corner, he said that not being level corner to corner causes more tank failures than anything else(not counting oops) he said that the "twisting" motion of not being level corner to corner will stress the joints and cause it to fail...
also found out that this tank is tempered 3/8 on the bottom, and then non tempered 1/2" on the vertical parts... total dry weight, 343lbs.
PRC
Stop Quoting Me!
Geez. That's a heavy tank. How much is that mutha gonna weigh when it's completely filled with water, sand, rock...It's gotta come close to 1.5 tons. Kinda freaky when you start counting your hobby in tons and not lbs. WOW!
KidJ57
Struggling Reef Addict
Shoot, that's nothing, couple of 2-by's and some 1/2" ply and you'll be fine...oh, and maybe a nail or two, but I think liquid nails with some duct tape would look a lot cleaner :shock:
....So when do the trusses arive? Or do I have to go back and read where you already installed those :lol: ?
....So when do the trusses arive? Or do I have to go back and read where you already installed those :lol: ?
Oscarsdad608
Reef enthusiast
I have seen where people put window tint on the back of their tanks. You can't see trough from the front of the tank, but you can from the back.
dcantucson
Reef pro
Oscar thats a great idea!
Project5k sorry you didn't get your tank today. I know how much you were looking forward to it. :(
Project5k sorry you didn't get your tank today. I know how much you were looking forward to it. :(
Ted
Living one day at a time
Only 343 pounds I thought you said this was gonna be heavy. So I know I am gonna be on one end of this thing and you and the misses on the other end so what are the other people gonna be doing? Are you sure this is gonna be next Saturday? I will talk to my boss see if I can take the entire day off to help. :D
