50 Gallon in-wall project

Well, I've decided that my little 15 reef just doesnt cut it so within the next couple of days my room will be undergoing a complete makeover. Yes, i am taking the 15 gallon out of my room and building a 50 gallon tall into the wall. It's actually going into the closet but will have the illusion of being built into the wall. This will be interesting and challenging as SPS corals and ricordea are what i have in mind. If you wish to subscribe to this thread please just say "bump" as I will be uploading several pictures a day with descriptions. If you have any questions or comments feel free to PM me. Ok, on with the pictures!

This is day one:

A little more construction being done:

Dimensions of stand are :

36"long

40" tall

15" deep

I want it to sit up high so it can be seen a little bit better from a standing position, and so its about eye level when laying in my bed.

Assembled for today:

"bumbp"

Today I get the tank, im excited to get this project rolling! Here is assembly as of 11:00am PST on Sept 29. Pictured is the stand with the 29 gallon acrylic sump. Time to go to school, more pictures this evening..

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Here it is! 50 Gallon Tall Tru vu acrylic 36x15x20.

Here it sits on the stand. Top of tank reaches just about 60" from the floor.

Just an update on the cost (tax included) so far:

50 Gallon tank......159.99...........$159.99

(5) 8 ft 2x4's.............3.18 each--- $15.90

(32)Bolts...................0.16 each---$ 5.12

(32)Washers.............0.06 each---$ 1.92

(32)Nuts....................0.08 each---$ 2.56

California state tax....0.0825%

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Grand total so far-------- $200.79

Things are adding up quickly, but if everything turns out, it will be money well spent. Updating probably later tonight with new things done.

I'm setting up a 50 gallon too.

Nice stand, thats the same desgin as i'm going to do.

What kind of retrun pump are you going to use?

what kind of lighting are you going to use?

What are the dimensions of the inside of the stand, where the 29 gallon is?

Another pic of the empty tank on the stand. Going to home depot shortly for flat black spraypaint and to my store to get some bulkheads.

The lighting will either be 2x250w 15,000k bulbs or 2x400w 20,000k bulbs. The 29 Gallon barely squeezes into the stand. The 29 is 30" by 12" by 18" i think. That is about the amount of space i have in the stand too. Its a very tight fit. The return pump will either be a viaqua 2600 or a viaqua 3200 or possibly both running at 5 minute intervals to simulate waves. ah the beauty of digital timers. Thanks,

ss

I'm thinking of a similar project for a 55g fresh water I have to make more space in our dining room. I'll be watching how you do it. Thanks!

The 1 1/2 inch "megaflow" bulkhead. Cost: $12.99

Hole drilled. Took forever! Being very cautious. Part used: holesaw 1 1/2 "

My pvc-izzle in the bulk head. This will lead down to the 29gallon sumpfuge

Painting back of tank with flat black spraypaint. Saved about 80$! Why buy it when you can make it?! Black acrylic is very expensive, and so are predrilled tanks. Completing this portion of the project gave me great satisfaction in knowing that i saved $120 by drilling myself and painting it.

note: sand the tank lightly on the surface to be painted to avoid paint run

all done with the painting! I dont know if its visible but i decided to use the squared corner side in the front and the rounded in the back. Because the tank is going to be encased in a picture frame, i think that the flattest side with the squarest corners will give a more finished look instead of bowing in on the sides of the frame.

Bulk head in tank. I will probably put some kind of strainer or strainer insert on it when i get fish.

Draining out the water after the test run. Its actually very quiet! I selected the 1 1/2 inch overflow bulkhead for its amazingly high flowrate, however, i think it will flow much faster than my pump which would cause an unsightly low water level. A ball valve may need to be added. The following items were purchased since last price update:

Flat black spraypaint 2.99

Bulkhead 1 1/2" 12.99

10 ft of 1 1/2" pvc 3.99

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Total after tax $21.62

Total spent on project: $222.41

Not too bad! Quality reef izzle. I have a lot of parts already so hopefully I will at most spend another $500 to get this thing in the wall. My original budget was $800. It looks like i *might* be able to pull it off for even less. Then again, the reef hobby can be very demanding and require much more than that. Oh well, thats why I work ;-)

Everything looks great! In wall tanks are the shizzle fo rizzle.

If your using the via aqua for a lot of waterflow you may have to run another bulk head if you plan on running a via aqua 3200. I'm running a 3200 up 6' of 1" pvc and overflowing to two 1/2" pvc overflows and they can barely keep up with the water coming in. The only other option which I hate is hiding a pump behind a rock for additional flow.

I also suggest creating a pathway in the 90 degree elbow overflow out of marine epoxy clay. Without it the overflowing water gives a crazy sucking sound that may drive you insane.

Also I would suggest T-ing off to a valve where you can do waterchanges easily without pulling out the syphon.

How is your return going to be set up?

B16A2NR,

The system is actually very silent, and being behind a wall will help with sound even more, but thank you for the suggestion. I will be running a Viaqua 2600 and a Viaqua 3200 most likely at 5 minute intervals to break up dead spots and to give a "wave" like feel for my beloved acro's. The bulkhead is rated at over 1,000 gph so i dont think i will have a problem ;-). Also, the sump is beastly so i dont need to break flow in the inlet tube or the outputs, but as a precautionary measure, I will be drilling airholes for the outputs so they suck air to prevent siphon in the event of power outage or routine maintenance. Im still debating on whether or not putting a small powerhead behind my rock structure to blow out any waste, but powerheads do go out in time and the last thing i need is to have to go disassembling my structure just to change out an impeller. What do you think? The return will be just like yours on your propagation setup. How much were those again? (the black flow directors)

Also I forgot to mention. I will be placing a float switch in the sump which will run a viaqua 360 in a separate 10 gallon aquarium as the top off reservoir. I havent quite figured out how im going to be dosing the kalkwasser. Any ideas B16? I really doubt my reef will require 10 gallons of kalkwasser. It will go bad before then.

Dont hesitate to subscribe people! this tank will be the ish! Goes in room soon.

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