In Wall Tank Room

[UH_OH_5_OH]

I am a year or so out from doing this but I want to start taking down ideas and looking at others ventures into an in wall tank with a control room behind it for management.


I have a 135 right now but I want to go to a 300 for the wall unit. A few questions to start off....

Is it feasible to have a control room at one end of the tank if I want to make it a room divider tank...? I mean I know anything is possible but is it really practical to route it that way...?

I want to have a fail safe 6 inch drain in the floor of the room ! I have burned too much marital bliss in the past with flood mistakes so no more mistakes this time !

I am considering using my 135 as a Uber-fuge since getting away with two large tanks in the house....uhhmmmmm not gonna happen ! What are your thoughts on a fuge that big...or is it a waste of a tank so large...?

David McLee has a system that is unreal...his lights are on an electric pulley system...he's got a home made wave simulator... the guy truely is my hero!!! All this for his 800+ tank !!! *sigh* someday !!!

I am thinking of MH pendants hidden inside a canopy that goes to the ceiling....Are other lights better suited for this or is it personal preference...?

Anyway...what size or number of Protein Skimmers would be best suited for something like this....? Should I run/build/buy one really big one or 2-3 smaller ones....?

Return Pumps.....? How many for a standard 300 ???? I figure if I'm gonna break the bank on this...might as well be Tunzes with a wave box.....! I have not decided what kind of corals to go with yet...I like Acros but haven't tried them before. With this much water I will need good movement regardless so...any thoughts...?

.....and if you can post threads of others who have built tank rooms I would greatly appreciate it !!!

Thanks folks...I know this is a tall order but thats why I came here....I know you guys know what you're doing !!! Thanks !

[BeanAnimal]

I don't think you need a "fuge" that big... but it would make a great sump and additional water volume to the system.

The floor drain is a good idea, do not forget to slope the floor to the drain and put waterproofing a few inched up the wall and possibly under the door. In other words build it like a walk in shower.

Skimmers? That depends on your skill set and tools. There are several large skimmer threads here at RC. A moderately sized single skimmer should be fine for your setup.

I would mount the "sump" at almost tank level and use a single return pump. The rest of the flow can be derived from large closed loop pumps. You can return the loops via Oceans Motions or your other favorite wave or flow device.

You will want a SINK and countertop workspace in the fishroom. Storage for food and equipment. A subpanel from your main load center. A vent fan with humidistat and if possible SMALL split AC unit to heat and cool the room as needed.

Careful planning of the electrical circuits will save a lot of frustration.

Consider DUMP tanks or other above tank technology for wave making.

Also consider an above tank fuge.

Make sure you have room for a decent size quarantine tank or two, as well as a prop setup.

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Are you off your meds again UH_OH? GOOD!

Oh and who let you out of the lounge?

OK now for the rest.

I have a 90 G sump under my 400 so why wouldn't a 135 work just as well. Unlike most, I've sectioned mine off for both a sump, fuge, skimmer return and general equipment area. i don't have a fish room behind my builtin. But you could still use the 135 under the tank with the rest of the equipment in the room.

One thing that I've liked about my setup that was built by the previous owner is that I have 2 sumps. First is a 30 sump that holds my LARGE skimmer and the tank water flows into. The overflow from that sump and the output of teh skimmer both feed the 90 sump. Just seems to work easier like this for me anyways.

I think bean covered the drain perfectly.

As for protien skimmers, I've read more than once that 2 skimmers is not a good idea as teh compete against each other. One good skimmer is all that you should need.

Also I don't like equipment in my tank, ala tunze, so I prefer external pumps for returns and C/L's. Steve Weast has a nice setup under his rocks with his. I used bulkheads on the ends of my tank for mine. It's not all that intrusive into the tank.

MH pendants could work nicely. You could even put them on light movers to cut down on the quanity. I did.

Dump tanks are a good idea espically if your doing a island. It will give you a nice wave action.

For electrical, make sure you have enough dedicated circuits, and the add one more. I've got 3 dedicated 20 amp circuits for my 400 G tank.

I think you've seen my thread on my 400. If not, let me know and I'll post it. Good luck with the plan AND exicution.

[UH_OH_5_OH]

Thanks for the intel guys...I actually forgot to subscribe to this thread and lost sight of it when I went to find it !!!

[Keelay]

You can never have too large of a refugium! If nothing else you could create a frag propogation section.

I like MH's over Fluorescent mainly because of the shimmer effect. It is nice. It is worth it to me.

Flow generation can be done by most efficiently using stream pumps. That's why i like them. That being said they are ugly and should be hidden if possible by aquascaping. Closed loops are a close second in my book. The plumbing can be easier to hide if done right. Hook up an OM or a SQUID for some random flow generation.

[UH_OH_5_OH]

blown63chevy......Can you post the link to your 400 for me...?
Thanks !

[UH_OH_5_OH]

bump !