Tips, tricks, and advice for an in wall tank build

Amps Reef Life · Oct 2, 2017

Hey, everyone, I need tips, tricks, advice, and opinions on a reef tank going into a wall. I just bought a new home and It has the perfect wall to put a tank in and have a nice little fish room in the back for maintenance on the tank. With an awesome Living room, Dining room and kitchen view.

First things first I am looking at two tank options.
72x24x24 or 60x26x25
The tank will be all glass with a black background and a ghost overflow. Maybe euro brace the tank to help with evaporation due to the tank being placed somewhat into the wall?

Will 6 feet vs 5 feet open up a lot more fish options?

Here are the two reasons I am looking at these tank sizes. The wall the tank is going on is 7 feet long. The width of the room is 55 and a half inches.

I was thinking I would have enough room on the wall to place a 6-foot tank but some family members think it will be too big (long). One option is to put the tank dead center of the wall the other option I'm thinking and favoring is placing the tank on the corner of the walkway so not only do you get the view of the tank from the front but you also can view one side of the tank.

One question I have is should I have a carpenter build the tank stand into the wall with wood? This is what looks to be the most common way people are doing there in wall tank builds or I could have the same company building my tank build a metal stand that I can slide into the wall space? I would much appreciate any opinions on this or share your experience with me if this is something you have done.

Please share your thoughts or experiences I want to make sure I think of every little detail about this build as I only get one shot at building this the right way.

I do plan on taking plenty of pictures and videos to start a build thread on here for everyone to follow. I will post a few pictures of the wall and future fish room.

PS: I have never had an in-wall tank before my current tank is a 105 gallon rimless.

Thanks,
Kman

Amps Reef Life · Oct 2, 2017

These pictures are before I bought the home with the current owner living in it.

oceanfreak09 · Oct 3, 2017

Looks like a beautiful home!!

First let me tell you what I hate most about my in wall build. I have to access my tank from the back, which makes it painstaking for aquascaping and placing Corals in the tank. (A lot of back and forth!)
I would suggest decorative panels that are removable on the Viewable side! They don’t necessary have to be stained wood. (They could blend with your wall color) It’s a lot easier to reach in and move something and then look through the glass ,rather then run around the other side every time.
Second- I would get as wide of tank as possible if you would like to be housing tangs.(one of my favorite types of fish)
-they require more swimming room and enjoy cruising longer distances.
Third- I like your idea of having the tank along the walk way so you can view from 2 sides instead of one. (Only extra maintenance would be a little more glass scraping)
-as far as ,should you have a carpenter do the work? If you have the time and are handy, many people make there own stands. I would suggest out of wood unless you are going to do over 300 gallons.
The only other suggestions I would touch on, is tanks lower to the ground are easier to maintain. (Less or no climbing)This would most likely mean your sump may not be able to be placed under the display because of lack of room. It would have to be piped off somewhere in your fish room. The other thing is Electricity breakers. I would have your main pump run off its own circuit.
-I hope you find this information useful and I look forward to following your build thread!! Good luck and I hope everything runs smoothly!![emoji224][emoji225][emoji226][emoji224][emoji225]

Amps Reef Life · Oct 3, 2017

oceanfreak09 said:
Looks like a beautiful home!!

First let me tell you what I hate most about my in wall build. I have to access my tank from the back, which makes it painstaking for aquascaping and placing Corals in the tank. (A lot of back and forth!)
I would suggest decorative panels that are removable on the Viewable side! They don’t necessary have to be stained wood. (They could blend with your wall color) It’s a lot easier to reach in and move something and then look through the glass ,rather then run around the other side every time.
Second- I would get as wide of tank as possible if you would like to be housing tangs.(one of my favorite types of fish)
-they require more swimming room and enjoy cruising longer distances.
Third- I like your idea of having the tank along the walk way so you can view from 2 sides instead of one. (Only extra maintenance would be a little more glass scraping)
-as far as ,should you have a carpenter do the work? If you have the time and are handy, many people make there own stands. I would suggest out of wood unless you are going to do over 300 gallons.
The only other suggestions I would touch on, is tanks lower to the ground are easier to maintain. (Less or no climbing)This would most likely mean your sump may not be able to be placed under the display because of lack of room. It would have to be piped off somewhere in your fish room. The other thing is Electricity breakers. I would have your main pump run off its own circuit.
-I hope you find this information useful and I look forward to following your build thread!! Good luck and I hope everything runs smoothly!![emoji224][emoji225][emoji226][emoji224][emoji225]

Thank you Very much for taking the time to share. This is great information! This is exactly the type of response I was looking for and hoping a few more people chime in. I'm going to have a carpenter come out in the next week or two and take a look. Hopefully, I'm told a 6-foot tank is doable. The stand is going to be decently high as I want a great view of the tank standing and sitting this I have thought about very carefully. I'll be able to have the sump under the tank and I know I'll have to live on a stepping stool but that's ok. Great point about having access to the front of the tank I'll definitely think that through. Again thank you for sharing!

oceanfreak09 · Oct 3, 2017

Kman237 said:
Thank you Very much for taking the time to share. This is great information! This is exactly the type of response I was looking for and hoping a few more people chime in. I'm going to have a carpenter come out in the next week or two and take a look. Hopefully, I'm told a 6-foot tank is doable. The stand is going to be decently high as I want a great view of the tank standing and sitting this I have thought about very carefully. I'll be able to have the sump under the tank and I know I'll have to live on a stepping stool but that's ok. Great point about having access to the front of the tank I'll definitely think that through. Again thank you for sharing!

And So you don’t need a stepstool in the fish tank room you could build a walking ledge like I did for my 120 gallon in my Fish tank room.

Sorry about the mess I’m in the middle of replacing the 120 with a 180. The 180 will be just tall enough that I can stick my arm right into it.

Amps Reef Life · Oct 3, 2017

oceanfreak09 said:
And So you don’t need a stepstool in the fish tank room you could build a walking ledge like I did for my 120 gallon in my Fish tank room.

Sorry about the mess I’m in the middle of replacing the 120 with a 180. The 180 will be just tall enough that I can stick my arm right into it.

GREAT IDEA!!!! Love IT!