My 180g in-wall pre-build & build thread

[ycrazyy]

So what started out as a "nano" hobby has now grown into much larger hobby, now that my better half has gotten involved and "interested" (by interested, I mean she likes the pretty colors and decided that we need a big tank so she can get a blond naso tang, pretty much the one factor in tipping the scale to do this project).

So we are moving into a new apartment and gut renovating it. We have some room in an area towards the dining room to put a 60"L x 30"D x 24"H tank. I plan on building the tank myself (since I have a glass shop) using 1/2" starphire glass all around (only 2 sides are viewable, one long and one short). I am going to do some sort of euro-bracing around the top since it won't be viewable anyway. I plan on putting this tank in the wall where fortunately I will have easy access to both drainage and fresh water lines to run my RODI.

Mostly I am looking for help in designing the area appropriately to house the tank, as the back side of the tank will basically be inside the master closet so I must make it as water tight as possible. I am no construction person, so I am counting on the experience and expertise of my fellow reefers and my GC to do everything properly and using whatever advice I get here to forward to my GC since he is no expert in aquarium design.

My equipment is going to consist of:
Flow: 4x Vortech MP40W
Lighting: 3x 250w (maybe 400w) MH pendants w/T5 supplement
Return: not sure as of yet
Skimmer: not sure as of yet
Sump: I'll make something probably in the neighborhood of 50g +/-

So any help I can get in the prep area is greatly appreciated. I am moving up from a 30g so this is a big step. Demo starts next week so I am trying to get everything lined up before hand. Thanks in advance!

[Kannin]

I am in the middle of a build similar to your's (not in wall though) and the two biggest things I had to learn about was plumbing the manifolds and the pumps. I went with inline pumps as submerssibles add heat to the system. I chose Barracudas which are probably a little big but, I felt it is better than too small.