Hi everyone I just came across this forum and was hoping if anyone can help me with a project that Im trying to do in my own house. I'm looking to buying a 55g tank and would like to set it up in a wall. Any thoughts on this. Had anyone attempted this, if so what are the pro and cons on this idea.
Building a tank into wall
- Thread starter dannyl
- Start date
Here's a start: House of Laughter's In-Wall Project
Another: InWall 180g
One of my customers has a 55 gal in wall set up ,It very nice.
Everything is enclosed behind the room the tank is in.
Only things i find a problem with ,Is the working on the tank .If your room you bulid you tank in is too small then that would sux ,Heat is another prob ,
you need to have a back up to keep our tank temp stable ,Chiller or fans would help
other wise it is really nice when set up the right way.
Everything is enclosed behind the room the tank is in.
Only things i find a problem with ,Is the working on the tank .If your room you bulid you tank in is too small then that would sux ,Heat is another prob ,
you need to have a back up to keep our tank temp stable ,Chiller or fans would help
other wise it is really nice when set up the right way.
Not to many cons provided you have enough space behind the wall to do the maintenance.
One this is for sure though. You will regret putting in a 55g. The one advantage an alone standing system has is its easy to upgrade to a bigger tank. The upgrade bug will bite you without a doubt. You would want something with more depth and dimension. Personally I think 120g is great for an inwall project.
Just remember that a lot of planning goes to such a project as the humidity and temp in the room behind the wall will get quite high. What kind of sheetrock, what paint, ventillation AC vs Chiller etc etc.
Give us the measurements of the wall and the space behind it and we can give you better examples of what people have done and we can guide you as to where to get all of the stuff you need.
HTH,
Herman
One this is for sure though. You will regret putting in a 55g. The one advantage an alone standing system has is its easy to upgrade to a bigger tank. The upgrade bug will bite you without a doubt. You would want something with more depth and dimension. Personally I think 120g is great for an inwall project.
Just remember that a lot of planning goes to such a project as the humidity and temp in the room behind the wall will get quite high. What kind of sheetrock, what paint, ventillation AC vs Chiller etc etc.
Give us the measurements of the wall and the space behind it and we can give you better examples of what people have done and we can guide you as to where to get all of the stuff you need.
HTH,
Herman
Well thats the thing this is something im trying to plan out. Basically i want to build a closet in my dinning room. The closet space is going to be the span of half of one sided wall. The space between the two walls ( the current wall and the new wall that will be built) will be like 3 feet deep. I will set up a door on the side which will give me access to go in and maintain it. The reason why im looking into the 55g tank is because im not sure how strong my wood floors are. These are the same original floors from when the house was build which goes back about 80 years. I was originally looking into a 120g. But reading about how much this will weight and when i have guest in the house kind of scared me. You might be wondering why am i build a 3 foot deep closet? Well the answer to that question is im planning to span my kitchen out about 3 feetinto my dinning room. So on one side of the dinning room will be lost to the kitchen. The other side well i figure to make a small closet which i figure hey let me build a salt water fish tank in it with reef and all.
the best advice is make sure you buy a wide tank ,(front to back ) that will help with your aqua scaping ,55 is a small tank for reef .,jmo ...it will fill up really fast ...try 75 ,denem,,,48x16x22 ,,that would give you the 4 ft lenth with the right amout of space between the front and back to place the rock without beoing to close to the front of the glass ,a reg 55gal is just not wide enuff ,JMO ,My brother and 2 customer of mine have 55gals and not too much to do with them
3 feet wide(or deep) room is very small, even for a 13" wide tank (55g), just imaging getting between a wall and a tank with less than two feet of space with a bunch of stuff hanging off the back of it. I can't do it and I am a small guy.
Built a nice stand and canopy for a larger tank instead, it will be easier to work on the tank and easier to get rid of later. Sheet rock, plaster, and 2x4’s are heavy too if you are worrying about weight.
I have a 180 gallon in my 80 year old house’s wood floor, reinforce the floor joist and extra support in the basement is all I did.
Built a nice stand and canopy for a larger tank instead, it will be easier to work on the tank and easier to get rid of later. Sheet rock, plaster, and 2x4’s are heavy too if you are worrying about weight.
I have a 180 gallon in my 80 year old house’s wood floor, reinforce the floor joist and extra support in the basement is all I did.
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