In wall setup

[kreidler]

I am considering going with a 240 in wall setup and have searched the forums and seen a few , so my question is to those that have them, how hard is the front glass to keep clean and what do you use to clean it ?

 

[NC2WA]

your tank going to be glass or acrylic?
Will you have a front access panel to work on the front of the tank??

 

[kreidler]

glass, and thats what im debating ..if i dont do an access panel how big a pain is it going to be ...

 

[slim_jim989]

well unless u have a kickin ladder it will be a pain and to see ur progress from cleaning it would suck, i would suggest a front access panel it will make it easier, and you can diguise it to look like the wall if u do it right.

 

[sgwill122]

I have a 180 in wall with no front access. I have a 8 inch ledge built into the stand in back so working in the tank is easier than before the in wall because of the ledge and I now do not have a hood I have to reach over. Cleaning the front of the tank is done with the mag float, occassional coraline scraping and coral placement is a bit more difficult only because I cannot quickly see the front result. As the front corals get taller and taller it will become more difficult to scrape the front from the back. So far the inconvenience of no front access is not be worth the effort to create it.

 

[trido]

IMO front access is the only way to go. I would hate working on my tank without it for several reasons
1: my tank is 30" deep. I can barely get my arm to the bottom to deal with corals let alone the back. If I were doing this reversed I'd have to depend on tongs and get help form my wife everytime Id want an opinion without walking around to the front.
2: I have over the top close loop plumbing with loc line fitiings that would likely need readjusting often if I was bumping them
3: My lighting doesnt have a rack that easily moved out of the way.
3:Working over the top of large SPS corals to get to my LPS in the front of the tank would likey cause me to frag the SPS more than I want.
Here are two pics from my 120 and now my 210

120

If you want, take a look at my 210 build in my sig line for another front access idea.

Here are a couple threads with rear access built ins
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37373
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40416
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24779

 

[NC2WA]

I have a 375gallon in wall setup with NO front access panel. My tank is acrylic custom built by Jason@CFI. All of my equipment, etc. is in the garage with is behind the wall. the main reason I went with no front access is due to the 3 small kids I have. Takes the curiosity out of them and makes life in the home much happier.

However, with that said, it is a PITA to clean the front of the tank. I literally have to put on a wet suit to clean the very bottom of the tank..It is the one manual task that takes the longest and I hate it. (at least I'm honest).

here are some links to get you some perspective:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7329275@N05/521371528/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7329275@N05/2678427325/

to view more of the tank setup, click the flickr link under my signature

 

[kreidler]

Thanks for the replies , gives me some ideas and looks like i have a few options

 

[slim_jim989]

Trido i like how u disguised ur front access makes it look like that wal and nicely too.