Mgers21's in-wall see-through build thread

Mgers21 · 11-25-2010, 07:35 PM

Hey guys heres my tank build. It has been up for just over a year now but I hadn't got upstairs done till this spring. I also have something that I'll tag on here a little later. It isn't quite done yet

The start, bringing the beast home. Got it from a fellow reefer in Monroe. Starphire on 3 sides.

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We had to cut apart the deck to get it in the house.

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My help getting it into the house. Thanks guys!

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Here is the basement before the fishroom work began. It was all open and I decided I needed a dedicated room to do it right and have room for future endeavors in the hobby.

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The wall that the tank is going to go in

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Beginning to tear it apart. It was a load bearing wall so I had to build and install a header.

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Inside the bedroom looking into the living room

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Building the header

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Building the wall directly below the tank

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Here is what I gave my electrician buddy

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Building the stand

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Tank in place

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Sand

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The rock all came from marco rock and I seeded it with liverock in my garage for 3 months while I was building the setup

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Metal halides, also did t5 actinics

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Return pump was a backfin 3600, I was beta testing for reeflo but ended up going with a hammerhead instead.

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Geo Ca Rx

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some flow

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digging the sump for the sink in the fishroom, by far the worst step of it all!

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Getting all the fishroom drywall/ electrical finished up

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all primed and getting the floors prepped for epoxy coating

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light rack and vent fan for the hood

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Sump tank and frag tank rack

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Drilling the tanks, brandon was not happy that night! I made him do all the drilling

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FW testing the display

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Nice night for a dip in the pool

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The foodgrade star board for under the sand to protect the bottom glass

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plumbing everything together

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The fuge/ cryptic zone

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Frag tank

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QT tank

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Future site for the water mixing station

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300GPD rodi

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Washed the sand in display

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early stages of the motorized privacy screen

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The big day! Saltwater!

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So about 4 months went by and I finaly got the ambition to finish the display's stand here we go

The samples

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Framing it up

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Bedroom side all done

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Screen closed, it is operated by remote control

building the living room side doors, I never want to build any doors again!

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sealant I used for the living room side. Bedroom side was Kilz'd then painted the wall/trim color

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Had to build a vent, didn't want some metal crap next to the oak

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Living room side all done. Skinned in solid red oak besides the doors which were laminate

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I still need to get some updated fishroom and come coral pics.. these pics are about 6 months old and tons has changed. I'll post more soon!

MyNemesis · 11-25-2010, 08:23 PM

Beautiful job for a dream tank and build. A great deal of thought went into your set up and you will be rewarded by your efforts, I'm sure. Fascinating read as well. Thanks for taking all the photos for those of us who dream of a set up like this some day. I'd hate to see the credit card bill.

Sir Patrick · 11-25-2010, 08:58 PM

Awsome build!! Excelent job!

Chris · 11-26-2010, 01:22 AM

Looks awesome man... how big is the display?

creefer · 11-26-2010, 05:48 AM

Beautiful job, man. As stated before, thanks for all the pics for those of us who dream about this set up. Btw....nice obligatory bud lights in the background on lots of the pics!

ReeferRob · 11-26-2010, 08:13 AM

Booyah baby, just made my day looking at this build. One day I hope to have something as nice.

Only thing you forgot was to build a secret passageway through the cabinet to the basement via fire man pole or elevator!

Gyyro · 11-26-2010, 10:34 AM

That tank really is SWEET Mike just need to put some updated pic on here...

Mgers21 · 11-27-2010, 09:37 AM

Thanks for all the positive comments guys! The display is a 3 sided starphire 300G built by Great Lakes. Its not the standard 300g dims its 30 wide rather than 30 inches tall, its only 25" tall so it gives very good depth. Frag tank is around 25g also built by great lakes then the sump is a 135g that I picked up from another reefer many years ago and resealed.

I just cleaned the tank so I'll try to get some pics up tonight!

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Mgers21's in-wall see-through build thread

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