125g thru-wall dream project

[KRG]

So my dream tank is to have a through wall tank viewable from the living room on one side and walking up the stair case from our front door on the other side. The first obstacle to overcome was the weight issue. The staircase wall was non load bearing and had joists running parallel to it. In other words, the absolute worst possible place to put it! But I am determined and as the saying goes, “When there’s a will, there’s a way”. I hired a contractor to build a load bearing closet downstairs in my girls bedroom. (it used to be a rec room so they needed a closet anyway) He cut out the ceiling downstairs and we found two 2 x 10 joists and the staircase wall to work with. He added 4 TGI’s along side both joists and 1 more TGI against the staircase wall. He then added studs underneath the now 7 joists for the 2 wing walls on the new closet. I didn’t get a picture of the ceiling before he sheet rocked it, but it’s beefy and solid. The first thumbnail is the almost finished closet downstairs. The tank upstairs is positioned on top of the closet downstairs. Upstairs he cut the hole, cut out the carpet and made the tank frame for the inside of the wall. I asked my contractor to build this thing for an earthquake and WOW, he did. As you can see from the pictures he used 10 sets of 3 2 x 4’s nailed together for the legs (they also will be part of the wall). The top of the stand is made with 2 sets of 2 x 4’s and a sheet of 1” plywood. Foam will be placed on top of the plywood. Under the tank will be used for storage. I have 24” on each side of the tank for a small sump and refugium if I decide to use them. Initially I am going to start this tank out sumpless with 2 Remora Pro skimmers on the sides. (I've never used sumps on any of my tanks, should but I like simplicity and I'm scared of leaks) There will be 2 x 4’s mounted above the tank for hanging lights and top off containers. We are still figuring out what material we are going to use for leaks at the base of the tank and where we are going to put the drain to the outside. I’m also having a fan installed that will draw air in from the living room through the wall and will tie into the bathroom air duct to blow it outside. It will be hooked up to it’s own thermostat that will kick on at 80 deg. The stair case side will be trimmed as a moving picture frame. The living room side will have panels that open up to access the interior of the wall. The look I am going for is very similar to a tank that was showcased in an online magazine in August.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-08/totm/index.php

I included a picture of my 55g that will be broken down once I transfer everything to the new tank. The new tank will be a softie tank also.

I’m really excited about this and will keep posting pictures as the project progresses!

~ Krystee

 

[KRG]

One more pic plus the 55g that will be getting a new home soon.

 

[Krish]

Great start Krystee! I love the idea with it being viewable fom the staircase! Good luck with the project! I'll be tagging along

 

[tike]

SWEET! I always have wanted an in the wall unit *sigh*. I will follow along and maybe sell my wife on the idea!

 

[alison]

lucky

I'm so jealous you have the space and accessability to do something like that. It takes a lt of luck in a house to be able to do an in-wall that is easy to use and practical (space-wise) to set up. I only wish I could knock out a wall in my apartment and do that.

 

[KRG]

Thanks everyone !!!

My contractor called me tonight and he will be back out in the morning, so I should have new pics tomorrow! We have one of those outdated popcorn ceilings in our living room and he mentioned that they shouldn't be exposed to moisture.....so in the morning when he shows up he will cut the ceiling out in the "new wall space".

~ Krystee

Update: Oops, no pics today. The majority of the work done today was finishing work on the closet downstairs, some leveling adjustments on the stand and running the air duct for the interior wall fan. Hopefully tomorrow .

 

[KRG]

Ok, I need some advice now.......

For underneath my tank, should I use 1/4" or 1/2" foam insulation? My tank is 99.9% level as of right now but because the 1" plywood is not perfect I have a couple of credit card gaps here and there. The tank is glass and all the weight is distributed around the outside edges. I was thinking 1/4" fanfold styrofoam insulation but would I be better off using 1/2"? Since the lip on the bottom of my tank is 1/4", I am hestitant about the 1/2" because I don't want any pressure being placed on the floor of my tank. Is this something I need to worry about? I've read so much about both sizes but I do not know the pros and cons of either. Any advice would be VERY WELCOME!!!!

Update: I ended up using 1/2", called 6 different insulation companies, HD and Lowes and couldn't get 1/4" sheets. Hope it's the right stuff.

Thanks in advance! ~ Krystee

 

[KRG]

Here are the latest pictures. There really hasn't been much progress upstairs. The interior wall has been partially framed and the styrofoam has been placed on the plywood. Also the vent to the outside was put in. I added that pic too, whoo hoo, it's a good one :lol:

 

[matts125]

this is going to be nice!! keep the pictures coming!!
I sure like my inwall I did this summer in my upstairs loft...
However I didnt pay the money to have someone else to do it. so I did it my self...

Good luck..

Matt

 

[KRG]

I sure like my inwall I did this summer in my upstairs loft...
However I didnt pay the money to have someone else to do it. so I did it my self...

Do you have a thread on your construction Matt? I'd love to see it!!!!
~ K

 

[matts125]

I sure do, check it out!

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15497

Matt

 

[KRG]

Matt,

Wow!

I've seen your post before (I just needed my memory jogged) and your project was one of many that inspired me (love the pic of your daughter.....I don't think my 4 would fit in the space provided for my tank......mine range from 4 to 12). I viewed your post waaaaaay before the 117 reply mark. I've got a lot of catching up to do! Awesome job! Hopefully mine will turn out as good as yours! BTW, I will visit your post in the am to say something and subscribe so that I don't miss any other responses!!!!!

Congrats and please pass on any tips that I might be able to use in my setup! ~ K

 

[class clown]

this will be really neat. I LOVE in wall setups!

 

[KRG]

Today the interior wall framing was completed (except for the framing for the lights). Next the air duct was run to the outside for the fan. The fan and thermostat will be attached to the top of the duct and secured to the wall. The vent for the air intake will be on the wall on the other side of the tank so that air is drawn in, passes over the tank and out the other side. We wrapped the cut out opening on the staircase side in PVC which will be covered in wood trim on the staircase side and plastic trimmed on the inside of the wall. He then wrapped the entire living room side frame in visquine, cut out the openings where the panels will go and then sheet rocked it! The PVC and the Visquine were installed to prevent moisture damage to the sheet rock. It was a lot easier than trying to paint the exposed surfaces and wait around for it to dry. Plus moisture can still penetrate some paint but not plastic and pvc. We also filled the tank up with water so that in a couple of days we can recheck the level. So far everything is going on plan and working out great! ~ Krystee

 

[matts125]

so are all 6 of the openings going to be swinging doors?

that is going to be very nice!!

keep the pic's coming!!!

Matt

 

[KRG]

Matt,

Yes, 2 swinging doors on the sides and 2 each swinging doors on the top and bottom (the top will be divided in 2 as well as the bottom. The braces on the bottom will be partially in the way, but shouldn't affect my storage). All hinges will be hidden on the interior. We will be doing a shadow box effect. My contractor is looking into how we will add metal strips around the edges of each panel for the reflective look I want. I also talked to my contractor tonight and added more work for him.....he said "ugh" but then said "ok". Afterall it's his wallet that gets bigger. I decided to have him plumb in a water facet to the interior wall. Since there will be a drain, I might as well have water too. That way I don't need to go anywhere but the wall to do my maintenance.

~ Krystee

 

[Krish]

Looking good Krystee!!!

 

[KRG]

Here is the fan and thermostat my contractor bought for the wall. It's pretty cool, I think it is typically used for an attic. Also, hard to see from the pic (since it's the same color as the mud), but he also installed this U-shaped plastic around all of the interior openings of sheet rock that were'nt already protected by visquine (the side edges of all the sheet rock). It gives it a very clean finish and like the pvc and visquine, adds protection from the elements! I'm still going to have to varnish the 2 x 4's but everything else has been taken care of! We also decided to add a slop sink on the interior. The incoming facet will be attached to the sink with a drain on the bottom leading to the outside. My contractor will probably never do another job like this again, I keep changing things on him every day , oh well. ~ K

 

[dragoneggs]

The construction looks great! How much power do you have to your tank? Two dedicated circuits is almost a minimum for a large tank.

 

[KRG]

I have power from two circuits running to the inside of the wall. Neither are dedicated only to the tank though.