4 Foot Wall Tank - Project log and Product Review

[dakar]

As you may have noticed the new banners in the upper right hand corner of our site, it is our pleasure to introduce our first sponsor to our forums; Bizarre Aquariums (http://www.bizarreaquariums.com/). Blaine was kind enough to donate one of his products to us for a review. You will not believe the really cool idea's he's got for unique tanks, coffee tables, lamps, you name it, after you read this, jump over and take a look at his site and you'll see what I mean, if you don't come away from there with some new inspirations...go straight to your RO unit and mix yourself up a tall glass of seawater or straight RO/DI and look again ;)

Actually, not just one, but two of these beauties will have been provided to Captive Reefing. What's the second one for? Are you that impatient? You haven't even seen what it is yet unless you've skipped ahead, no worries, everyone will know soon enough.

Let's roll back a few days when this magically shows up on our doorstep courtesy of FedEx.
http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-01.jpg

First let me say I've never seen anything packed in quite this manner, the box is just over 4 feet long, 8 inches wide, and 18 inches high, weighs in around 40 lbs. Took one look at all the screws holding our new prize captive and ran for the screw gun.

http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-02.jpg
Packed securely enough that even FedEx can't bust it up in a 2x2 frame wrapped in 3/16" MDF and thousands of foam peanuts.

http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-03.jpg
After removing another dozen or so screws... Ah there she is. Glad most of the dogs are outside, I might have a chance to get the peanuts picked up before they are discovered and scattered to every corner of the house.
http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-04.jpg
http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-05.jpg
http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-06.jpg
Oooooo... look at the goodies.
http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-07.jpg
Included from left to right were
Install Instructions/Owners Manual (does anyone read this stuff?)
20" AGA Strip light, complete with a 15w T-12 (new electronic ballast, no more of those little starter cans to burn out)
150watt submersible heater
and 2 Whisper MicroFilters
Everything perfectly in tact.

http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-08.jpg
A shot of the corners that can be completely removed for maintenance and such. The center is permanently sealed to protect the light fixture from splashes.
http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-09.jpg

The tank itself measures a hair over 48" long, 6" deep, and 16" tall. For those not wanting to do the math to find the total volume that works out to just over 19 gallons.
Dry weight is just over 30lbs, wet will be somewhere around 190lbs +/- anything but water. Keep this number in mind should you want to set one on a shelf.

Construction itself looks great, all seams are free of bubbles and appear very solid.
The sides measure .365" thick with the top and bottom measuring .235" thick cast acrylic.

What we have now is the fixings for an extremely unique fish only, low light reef tank, species specific tank, or anything you can think up, we're going with a Pony Corral (seahorses and pipefish). She'll be completely framed into the wall on both sides, so picture a live picture if you will.

Now all that's needed is a victim to bash a serious hole... errr... I mean a suitable wall to mount this puppy in.

Ah here is the spot between the hallway and Angel's office. Yes, she's getting the hallway and living room painted out of the deal too.
http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-10.jpg

I'll be running a couple of new isolated "home runs" to the breaker panel using GFI breakers (HIGHLY recommended, remember salt water is a great conductor), we'll be keeping all of the wiring in the wall so it stays out of sight.

Stay tuned for Part II, time to put down the camera for a spell, go get some power tools and start some serious Tim the Toolman action. :D

This thread sponsored by Bizarre Aquariums (http://www.bizarreaquariums.com/).

[Whoyah]

Sounds fun. Let the destruction begin!!!! :bricked:

[dakar]

Part II - hacking up the wall.

Not a lot to write about here, with a little help of a couple straight line lasers, levels and framing squares, and only after bashing a few holes here and there to locate the existing studs and make sure there were no electric wires running in the area I wanted, marked off the location for the tank so that I would have at least 3 studs to support the tank. Actually a slight addition of a 2x4 along an existing stud on the right side gave me 4 to use to put my mind at ease a little more. Three really would have been plenty to support the weight but more is always better.

put my saws-all to work. End result. Big Hole! hee hee
http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-11.jpg
http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-12.jpg
here you can see the base to support the tank, just a 1x8 of yellow pine cut down to size to match the size of the tank bottom.

Test fit;

http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-13.jpg

from the backside
http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-14.jpg

I changed my mind once I saw the fit, the rather than having 3/4" hanging out in to the hallway the tank face will be flush with that wall and trimmed in to look like a picture frame, should look really nice. This also allowed a bit more working room on the opposite side of the wall to gain access to the tank and such. The backside will overhang by 1.5" and some additional support will be incorporated into the trim work, again just for that warm and fuzzy feeling.

Also ran a couple of new 12/2 lines to the load center and mounted 4 outlets inside the wall as well for power, plenty of juice to run such a small tank, again GFI breakers are warranted here, the other option would have been to use outlets with GFI built into them.

Heading off to HD to go pick up the breakers and some trim, I'm feeling lazy and don't want to mess around with routing out my own right now.

But you can get a general idea of where this is going now.

More to follow soon..........

This thread sponsored by Bizarre Aquariums (http://www.bizarreaquariums.com/).

[Reptoreef]

Heck yea!!! Should be up in no time...

[dakar]

I picked up some very nice oak trim for the front facing side, put in the new stud to replace the on missing on the side and added a bit of support for the back side that overhangs into Angel's office, tonight all the trim and bare wood surfaces will get a good soaking of polyurethane and mudding up the 'ooopses' from my drywall hacking., only thing holding me back now is the new paint for the walls. She may get that picked up today. Just may get this puppy wet by the weekend :)

[Reptoreef]

Awesome step-by-step... really showing to be quite easy.

[Shultzybabe]

I bet that Angel's just loving the mess!! Ha Ha. Better you then me. But then again, Repto will have his fun soon enough.

[Grandmaster_Toad]

Looking great so far!! Its awesome to see a step by step work in progress.
Cant wait to see it all trimed in and flowing with some H2O...... Im pretty impatient and its not even mine. I looked at the bizzare website and besides the in-wall tanks I saw some neat stuff. I kinda liked and tables...heh heh
GT

[Reptoreef]

Repto's gonna have a whole lotta fun soon enough!!! I'm thinkin a 180 to a 300 gl in wall with a fish room behind it...HA HA HA.... Oooops, let me get this drool off the keyboard... I must have dozed off. Nope, It was that aweful wishful thinkin getting the best of me.

[dakar]

Thanks for all the nice comments, but yeah GT they've got some just the coolest ideas of things to turn into tanks, some of them lacking a bit in being practical but just the cool and unique factor more than makes of for it.

Repto... I felt the breeze all the way up here of that skillet Chels was wielding as it just cleared the top of your head..... :lol: I think Angel's been a great sport about the mess (though her office has a light dusting of drywall powerder all over everything), it's the end results that she's seeing. Got plans to completely re-arrange her office/craft room so she can watch her ponies.

Hopefully more updates by the weekend.

[Reef_Angel]

You don't hear me complaining now do you?? :)
........Angel :)

[Reptoreef]

That wasn't a skillet... a 36" TV was much closer and you have no idea what adrenaline will allow even the smallest lady to do until you've seen this sweetie irate!!!

[Shultzybabe]

Hmmm. Maybe not the best thing to say when I can read it. I would never use the TV. I'd use something comparable to your hard head! :)

[dakar]

Things have finally moved a few steps closer to getting this tank wet. A few updates;

The electric is all run as you can see I installed two socket boxes directly to the outside studs. Leaving all the wiring in the wall to keep things nice and tidy when it's finished. I also removed an extra 9 inches or so of drywall and the studs to leave room for lighting and other things as well as provide easy access to the tank. This will be covered with a canopy hinged at the wall. Hope to have this completed tomorrow complete with paint to match the wall.

http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-4-2-1.jpg

If you remember the tank is 6" wide and the wall is only 4.5" wide, so the backside will stand out an extra 1.5", so I added a little extra support to the base (actually another run was added after I shot this picture), but it's anchored to the studs using 3.5" course threaded drywall screws so it's not going anywhere. You can see where I didn't countersink the pilot hole deep enough and cracked it a little, a little cosmetic damage. sshhh Don't tell Angel I ripped that chunk of her pretty wall paper border, it'll be covered with more oak trim later.

http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-4-2-2.jpg


The hallway has been completely repainted (if you remember that was part of the deal). I found a great deal on some solid oak trim at Home Depot, add a little golden oak stain, a few cuts on the miter saw and you end up with this.

http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-4-2-3.jpg

http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-4-2-4.jpg

Here's an extra shot, though slightly out of focus, it'll give you an idea of how much the tank really dresses up what was a pretty plain hallway.

http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank-4-2-5.jpg

All of the marks left from the nail gun have been filled and the trim, base and studs have all gotten a nice coat of polyurethane (oil based, the water based stuff doesn't seem to stand up to saltwater as well), the smell of it is still lingering in the air. And yes I have removed the blue masking tape from around the door frames and stuff :)

If all goes as planned more updates tomorrow and maybe, just maybe some water if things go well.

[davejnz]

nice work,that tank is gonna be so cool the way its flush mounted into the wall.Now,to just figure out how to get around all those people that stop in the hallway to stare.

[dakar]

Never thought about that.... maybe we need to get some rubber mats for the hallway since to get to the bathroom you'd have to pass the tank, and how do you walk by something like that without stopping? The rush is really on now to get things finished up so we can get her cycling and start sourcing the ponies.

Wonder what the tax assessor would think of this, too bad I won't let him into the house.... Like everything else I've done around the house I was probably supposed to get some sort of building permit or something, I must have a whole stack of fines waiting for me at the county by now :)

[Reptoreef]

That is looking great!!!

[dakar]

Only a week or so behind schedule, I finally got the canopy finished and installed over the tank. Didn't turn out half bad considering it was all from my scrap bin. Just some yellow pine, golden oak stain and a couple of coats of poly.

http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank3-1.jpg

A good view of the side
http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank3-2.jpg

Of course flips up and stays up for access to the electrical boxes, maintenance, and of course putting in critters!

http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank3-3.jpg

Here you can see just how far it really sticks out from the wall on the 'back'.

http://www.captivereefing.com/images/walltank3-4.jpg

Going to try and finish trimming it in and I'll remove the protective wrapping and she'll be all set. Of course the sand and SW for her is already aging downstairs :) Now to find some good looking live rock to start her cycling. I suppose Angel will want me to get all of my tools and stuff out of there soon, as well as finished cleaning up all of my mess too.

Then to find some really cool macro algae and stuff to add later. (some pony favorite suggestions would be welcome here).

[Reptoreef]

looks sweet... are ya gonna add to the lighting or filtration(small skimmer, etc... DIY, of course)???

[dakar]

Not sure what I'm going to light it with yet, still researching a bit. For the most part it'll be a low flow heavily planted SW tank (with ponies of course) I want to stay on the lower end of the spectrum, thinking about running a pair of 36" NO T8's @ 5100K.

If we were going to have more than ponies in there I would have DIY'd an 'in wall' skimmer too, but since the bioload is going to be extremely light and loaded with macros we are going to see if we can get away will going skimmerless with frequent water changes for a while and see how it goes.

[Reptoreef]

Sounds like a plan worthy of the "Dakar Dabble".

Repto

[dakar]

I haven't finished with the trim on the back side yet, but I couldn't resist, we are going with a medium sandbed (~1/2 bag Southdown) gives us about 2.5" deep to anchor the macros with and newly aged SW, pretty much tossed it in there for tonight. I really did consider, for about 3 seconds, testing the tank and everything with just FW, then filling up with SW but trial by fire is much more fun.

We're still deciding on whether to use live rock out of our display or to pick up some new rock to cycle her (I'm thining 20lbs or so of tonga branch) but my part of this project is just about complete so I'll leave the hard stuff to Angel to decide on.

This pic is with just the 15w strip lamp that came with the tank. The real lighting will be following shortly.

[Whoyah]

Nice. :thumbleft:

[Reef_Angel]

Wonderful! Pretty soon I get to play! Next we'll get that cycle started and before you know it, I will have my seahorse tank ready for its expensive little inhabitants! I can't wait! My husband did a fantastic job putting it in with minimal mess or fuss. I hope everyone enjoyed watching the tank go in step by step with Dave's witty commentary along the way! :) I couldn't believe how fast it went up! Thank you Bizarre Aquariums for making this tank possible for me & my family!! :)

Sincerely,
Susan Cochran
Captive Reefing - Administrator
_________________________

[ramoth41]

Looking good!!!!!
can't wait to see it with the ponies! I've always wanted to try them but I'm pretty much a chicken...! let me know how it goes and maybe I'll try some!
sarah

[Clay9Bess]

looks sweet... are ya gonna add to the lighting or filtration(small skimmer, etc... DIY, of course)???#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Hi! I'm interest in know how much you charge to install a 4ft. aquarium in side my wall with all the trimmings and lighting the works? Thanks for your quote and reply!!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[dakar]

Wow thread hasn't been touch in quite a while.... I think summer got in the way or something. The lighting over the tank now consists of a pair of 36" T8 NO tubes. I did a Frankenstein on a couple of T12 fixtures that I got for a few bucks each, swapped out the T12 ballast for one that would fire the T8's and hacked the lamp holders into the fixture. Grabbed a couple of off the shelf Sylvania tubes, burning at 4400K a bit too much on the yellow side, the macros seem to enjoy it but they'll likely get changed out for a 6500K and an actinic tube. 20ish pounds of tonga branch.

We needed to relocate some critters from another tank so right now it's temporarily housing a pair of false perc's a basslet, a few dozen snails. Putting a good bio-load on it to boost the nitifying bacteria population, seems to be handling it pretty well.

I'll get some new pics taken and post then shortly.


Hi! I'm interest in know how much you charge to install a 4ft. aquarium in side my wall with all the trimmings and lighting the works? Thanks for your quote and reply!!

Clay9Bess, to whom were you directing this towards? You did not fill your location so we have no idea where you are to even formulate a guess ;)

I sure hope it wasn't to me, I'm so far behind on my projects I need about six months vacation time to even start to catch up. But if you want to hire a contractor to do it I'll happily provide any other details that may not be posted here.

[dakar]

Well it's been a while since this thread has been updated, and seeing as how it's been wet for over 10 months now the whole system is pretty much matured enough to start looking for inhabitants, that and Angel has put in WAY too many hours this week getting it ready, not sure if she's done or if she even thinks she's done... but it sure is getting sharp.

I did change out the lighting, the T8's were just to clunky and in the way, so I recessed a 36" 96w 50/50 power compact retro into the wall above it, securing the ballast to a stud up and out of the way. Fit nicely and provides a much nicer lighting for the whole tank, and does not block access to the electical outlets.

Enough rambling on.... a quick shot I took this morning.

[perpetual98]

Lookin' good! What inhabitants are you going to go with?

[butterfly_babe4200]

Wow I want one of those!!! You need to come to my house!!!

[graphixx]

I love it!!!

[jerryc]

Excellent looking good

[conch]

Great Looking installation. I was wondering if you have finished the trim on the office side (the part that sticks out I am really curious as to how that side turned out) I am thinking about doing one of these instalations myself, and would love to see the complete finished project on both sides


Thanx
Conch

[dakar]

Conch......Shhhh.... Angel might hear you!!! I ummm, well, oh yeah.... Haven't quite gotten around to finish the trim on the backside yet. We actually ended up relocating all the sehorses, inverts, basically everything but the DSB from the tank and moved them into a larger tank. Need to remove the tank from the wall and try to polish out the scratches in the acrlyic, then it will be converted into a fish only tank here in the very near future. (And I'll finish up the trimwork).

[lReef lKeeper]

nice Dakar, wish i could get a freebie like that

[Reef_Angel]

No shhhh'ing about it! I was just thinking about the trim on the wall inside my office, but now that the ponies are moved right next to my bed I'm not as worried about that walltank. Right now it is building up a pod population that is awesome, so I'm going to let it keep producing and add the pods to the Seahorse tank. BUT...I'm going to start spring cleaning, and the thoughts of that tank are with me a lot. I want to make it an all plant tank, or put a bunch of yellow tailed damsels in it. I think they are pretty, but they don't belong in your reef tank. I think it would be pretty to have a school of damsels in there, sweet & simple! It would also be nice to have one tank that doesn't require all my time and energy! So much to do....not nearly enough hours in a day to get it all done!

[perpetual98]

That would be kinda cool with the yellow-tails. Put a mess of them in there and not worry about them terrorizing other inhabitants. Let them play "king of the hill" in their own tank.

Another cool thing to do with that tank would be a dedicated breeding pair of mandarins, provided you could keep them fed. I think that their courting involves a lot of paired up vertical swimming.

[Reef_Angel]

That is a good idea Eric, but I think I'll stick to the damsels. I don't think that getting my head into another project would be a good idea right now. After my long week with Dave gone to CA for business, all the mopping I did from overflowing tanks (argh!). the loss of a few expensive fish, and a body so sore that I hate myself, I just want something to be easy! Every day Dave was gone, something bad happened right up to a few hours before I had to leave the house to pick him up from the airport! Another overflow! We really need to ease up on the $$$$'s that get spent on reefing, and get our house back to the way it used to look before we had 5 unruly puppies running around. They are all over the 1yr mark finally, and they destroyed our house, the nicest sofa I have ever purchased got eaten by them literally! I recovered the spots that I could, but they opened up one corner again when I was out getting Dave to or from the airport. Whenever we go someplace, our baby's tend to pay us back for leaving them. Evey morning starts with finding the kitchen floor since they dumped the trash can. Slow but sure they are learning that they have to sleep on the floor! Toenails on hardwood don't go well together, so we need new flooring throughout the house. We've even retired Tory Rose (my female springer spaniel) and had her spayed. Two litters of beautiful puppies from her is enough. We are against using our pets as breeding stock just to make money like bigger kennels do. Yes, the dogs are very spoiled, but this is ridiculous! We're taking back our control! If this sounds like a nightmare to you, you're absolutely correct! If people wonder why I don't post very often, I'm usually repairing damage or running interference! Spring is here, so the dogs will be outside all summer! YEAH!! Could sanity be just around the corner? Pray....pray a lot for me! :)

[rondi]

Hi, this is my first post. I also just completed a DIY 140 gal (5' x 24" x 18") thru-the-wall aquarium. I have a mix of African Cichlids from both Tanganyika and Malawi. This was a fun project that I have always dreamed of having a tank built into a wall. It came out great. The fish are doing fine and it is very easy to maintain. (My Brichardi's just had baby's so I must be doing something right!) All plumbing is drilled thru the acrylic with nothing visible which makes a very natural looking setup. Everyone that views it is amazed.
Here is a view from the "cabinet side"



http://webpages.charter.net/FOSTER9868/wall%20tank1.jpg

[rondi]

And here is one from the "wall side"


http://webpages.charter.net/FOSTER9868/wall%20tank2.jpg

[rondi]

Mine started out looking like Dakars wall. I taped out the square to cut:

http://webpages.charter.net/FOSTER9868/before1.JPG

and got out the sawzall


http://webpages.charter.net/FOSTER9868/before2.JPG

[rondi]

Then I framed the cabinet and plumbed the lines to the bulkheads. Installed pump, filter and heater.

http://webpages.charter.net/FOSTER9868/before3.JPG

Next up: Undergravel Grids, Crushed coral, Rocks and Water - - add fish......Waalaa


http://webpages.charter.net/FOSTER9868/before4.JPG

[conch]

Rondi,
Tank and install look great, nice clean system. thanks for the DIY picts. I'm going to start doing a project soon. ahhh spring :) and up w/ my 55 reef and a small fresh in wall with a tiny fish room behind them (keeping all the equip out of site was a great sell to the wife muhhahahah). Stay tuned for pictures.

[lennon]

HI there. I am new to the site and wondered how this in wall tank worked out for you? I am wanting to get one badly but everyone on another saltwater site said that there is no fish out there that I can get for this tank that can live in it and thrive. It makes me so sad because I could only fit this 4 1/2 " deep tank in my house. Please advise on anything. I would truly appreciate it so much!!

Thanks,
Bella:)

[lReef lKeeper]

you could use it for seahorses, dwarf angels, eels, would make a sweet clownfish and anemone tank, would be interesting to see one as a reef too. these tanks have a lot of uses. just hang around here and i am sure we can come up with something.

BTW ... WELCOME to CR, you have found THE BEST reef/saltwater site on the net. hope you stick around. this site is more like a family than a bunch of people that don't know each other (like the other sites).

[dakar]

As Bobby mentioned the tank will easily house a number of smaller fish without problems. At the moment ours is housing 5 rather large green chromis and several corals, zoanthids, palythoas, mushrooms, some leather corals, even a montipora sp. Everyone is quite happy and thriving in there.

Keep the bioload in mind, as there is only about 18 or so gallons of water, a lighter load will make for a good home. Be it species specific or a little community tank, and they really demand everyone's attention.

[Sweetpea]

Hi Bella! WELCOME TO CAPTIVE REEFING!!! I agree with Bobby and dakar... there are certainly options with the wall tank. If the wall tank is your only option, you will be somewhat limited, but there are still a number of critters you can keep! Do you have any ideas on what species you'd like to care for?

[lReef lKeeper]

Dave, can you post a pic or 2 of yours when you get a chance ??

[lennon]

:) Thanks so much for the welcome.

Also, thanks so much for the replies. It truly helped me decide to get the tank anyway. Although I may just do fresh water ONLY because of the maintenance involved in a saltwater tank. Plus, it only has room on top of the tank for a few must haves. I worry that I will kill to many things by not maintaining properly.:(

I wish I had more time, but I feel I should be the one to maintain it since I am the one who truly wants this tank. I have 4 children under 7 to maintain also. lol


ANY and all advise is greatly appreciated. I would LOVE to see pics too!

Thanks again everyone.
Bella

[lennon]

Hi Bella! WELCOME TO CAPTIVE REEFING!!! I agree with Bobby and dakar... there are certainly options with the wall tank. If the wall tank is your only option, you will be somewhat limited, but there are still a number of critters you can keep! Do you have any ideas on what species you'd like to care for?

I would love to get a few interesting things that do not require too much maintenance. I am extremely busy but would maintain as much as I could. Not sure how much maintenance will be involved though:confused:

[lReef lKeeper]

sounds like a softy tank in the making. some shrooms, zoanthids, maybe a smaller leather, oh yeah ... some ricordias, oh we can have some fun with this.

sorry, i get a little carried away sometimes. well a lot of times. lol

[lennon]

But where are the fishies. lol

That is what I love to see. Can fish live together with the seahorses?

I am Sooooo confused. I would hate to put this in my wall and then lose all the things. I heard live rock has some wonderful critters too. But I also heard an anemone is VERY difficult to keep.

I'll can try it and see. The worst that happens is that I would need to close and repatch my wall. OR I just get fresh water fish. (not too nice)

Keep those suggestions coming!!:)

[lennon]

Hi. I also noticed that you do not see any of the filters or things normally kept in a tank.

Is it because you have it below? I am unable to keep things below..Do you think I have enough room on top for what I need?

Thanks again!

[lReef lKeeper]

i would think that these tanks come drilled, but you may be able to get one undrilled. you should have the room, but you may have to make the hole in the back of the wall a little bigger than the one on the front wall (to compensate for the filters hieght). not really a big deal since all will be trimmed out anyway.

as for the anemonies ... i have 1 BTA thriving under 1 powerglo strip light and hosting a pink skunk clown fish. seems to be very happy in the 29gal tank w/ only that one light. and my wife has a sebae anemone in her reef tank (29gal), that is more than happy to be in there with the 3 powerglo's and PC lights. so ite really hard to say but i think an anemone is pretty easy to keep.