In Wall - going for it! - seeking your ideas/feedback/advice

[class clown]

4X4X4... NICE SIZE!!!

I'm guessing you've decided on a Fish-Only tank, with it being that deep??? That depth is also going to be another challenge cleaning, and an access inside the house isn't going to help bunches with that for you...but does elimanate trying to figure out how to hide a hinge I guess.

Oh man Ed, it's late and I'm excited and had monster trucks on the mind. It should've read 4x4x2.. gotta love it. I changed the post so as not to confuse others.
:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[LakeEd]

Pheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew! I was envisioning 4-1500Watt bulbs to light that thang!

 

[Cwazy Clown]

hahah but dang dude, 4x4x2 is HUGEE...that thing is going to be beast/ its like a mini of steve weast's tank

 

[LakeEd]

Any time you are getting a 240+ tank, its HUGEE!!!

What I like about your shape, is the added depth (front to back). That will be AMAZING for your aquascaping!

 

[trido]

You'd better go buy a shorter car now.

 

[NC2WA]

??? I must have missed something there..don't get the shorter car reference.

 

[class clown]

??? I must have missed something there..don't get the shorter car reference.

bigger tank in the garage = more space taken up/less room in garage = need a smaller car to fit in the garage. :lol: :lol: :lol: Don't worry, Duane, I got it.

I was measuring it out this morning and I still got a good foot clearance with the car. Should be interesting though. geo.. mini cooper.. hmm? may need to go the former vs. the later after this project is finished sucking me dry of $.


I'm feeling pretty good about this 4 x4 x 2 idea - 240g is a big tank. I probably wouldn't be able to get all of my favorite things right away, but hey, that's what keeps the hobby fun.. always tinkering, adding, and changing things.

 

[Jan]

Wow, Ben! A 48" wide tank....how awesome is that! I'm envious!

 

[Cwazy Clown]

hahha what a coincidence. hey Ben, remember when u were over at my place and i said something along the lines of "dude, maybe a 240g would work?"

hehe who guessed it :lol:


ohhh, now i get the car thing.

 

[Cwazy Clown]

oh and also, what kind of aquascaping were you thinking of? the rock cliffs on both sides like steve's tank? or something with even more kick?

 

[class clown]

I like the idea of a meandering channel down the middle, but if I do go acrylic, I'm not stacking rock on any of the sides - too much potential for scratching which is something I'll try to avoid at all costs this time around.

Probably two islands w/ 1 mh over each island. eventually I'd probably want to do 4 mh's, but I can only do what I can do with my budget, ya know.

 

[LakeEd]

What I would like to see, is a company that found a way to make reliable tanks, where the front glass was something like the Starfire glass... and the rest was Plexi!

Best of both worlds, put together!

 

[Cwazy Clown]

ahh 2 islands would be pretty cool, but that wouldnt offer too much real estate for coral unless the islands are HUGE but still, it'll look awesome.

haha the plexi and glass would be interesting. too bad you wouldnt be able to seal it too well.

 

[class clown]

I hear ya on the glass/plexi combo - it really would be the best of both worlds. maybe one day.

so here's what I was thinking about for aquascaping. pretty simple. lots of room for swimming around, for flow, and for growth.

 

[Cwazy Clown]

ohhh, you're aiming for growth...haha that would be great for that..yes very good swimming room

 

[class clown]

Here's a basic water flow diagram assuming I did the two islands- critiques & suggestions are welcomed:

I'm not sure where to put the drains for the CL. I beleive it has been recomended to keep them seperate from the overflow box right?

 

[Cwazy Clown]

looks good. but why not take the pvc that is on top of tank and make it side as well and take a t split and 2 90 degree turns with the nloc line? it would help you alot since if you have the pvc tubing...prolly 1"+ right? on top, it would take more effort for you to reach in ur tank and take stuff out without bumping in the pvc. i know it will be like 10-15$ more but for me, i would think its well worth it. =)

 

[class clown]

Lastly - here is my lighting diagram.

pretty weak for this size of a tank IMO, but besides the reflectors, I already have all of the equipment which makes it nice. I can always upgrade as my bank account recovers later down the road.

Ideally, later down the road, I think I'd want 4 LIIIs, and some T5's for actinics, but can only do what I can do..

 

[class clown]

looks good. but why not take the pvc that is on top of tank and make it side as well and take a t split and 2 90 degree turns with the nloc line? it would help you alot since if you have the pvc tubing...prolly 1"+ right? on top, it would take more effort for you to reach in ur tank and take stuff out without bumping in the pvc. i know it will be like 10-15$ more but for me, i would think its well worth it. =)

I hear what you're saying Bolun, but here's my reasoning for not doing it that way: I'm not sure this cube will always remain in-wall. I want the flexibilty to turn it into a total walk around cube later down the road if the opportunity presented itself in a bigger home. This is also a driving factor in getting those 1/8" velcro acrylic pieces built for the sides, so that If ever down the road, I wanted to use it as an out of the wall cube, I could. Plus - it'd probably help with resale if there weren't holes in the side.

 

[Cwazy Clown]

hmm...hehe i think u didnt misunderstood what i was saying. i meant like hanging the pvc...hers a drawing that should clear it up

this is a comparison between my idea and your origional idea. it requires no drilling, just an extra 10-15$ worth of plubing parts.

the view is looking at a side but viewing it from the side so you see a line of glass/acrylic. ....the big blue ball is your main pvc feeding the locline, and the blue lines are more pvc and plumbing parts.