calling all 'in-wall- DIYers

[InRiverview]

Hello.

I am in the planning stage of setting up a new system at my just purchased house. The home has a couple of nice options for a good size tank, however the one that is most intriguing to me is an in-wall tank in my living room. My question is, do I have enough room to do it. Here is the situation:

The main wall of the living room backs to the kitchen/breakfast room. -- The kitchen has a ton of Pantry space, three seperate ones in fact. -- Well, it turns out one of the pantrys shares a wall with my living room. This pantry is 24" deep and just under 4' wide. It has the folding closet style doors on it.

Is this pantry a good candidate for creating an in-wall tank? -- I think the size is fine for a good size tank, not a 200 gal, but maybe a 72 or 90? -- what about moisture in the pantry? There is no place to vent to, as this pantry/shared wall is an interior wall. Any major hurdles I need to look out for?

Any design ideas? -- does anyone live 'In Riverview' Florida and feels like helping a fellow addict in designing 'the perfet pantry system'? I am thinking plywood... good/bad?

Thanks in advance.

--adamb

[JDM130]

Sounds like it can work. I have a simillar situation. The wall I put my 75 in was not originally there. I have a large foyer, to the left is my living room and to the right is my dinning room, before I put the wall up, you could walk straight back in to my family room. I put the wall up because I didnt like the original lay out and made a nice modifaction and I needed an excuse to put a tank in. Now the first thing anyone sees when coming in to our home is my reef. It especially is nice to have room to work behind the tank. The only P.I.T.A. is cleaning the front glass. But boy does it look nice. I like tanks in a wall so much, I even cut a hole in a wall in my condo and installed a 90. I am currently building a full wall unit for my new 360 :D Can't wait!
Anyway, I say GO FOR IT!!! best of Luck

Here is an old pic of my reef

Jeff

[bmcq]

I would think the pantry would be sufficient for a fish room!!! The tank itself could only be partially built into wall ...... you could always have about a foot of the tank protruding out from the wall with some nice cabinitry built around it!!! This would give an illusion of more depth to tank .... this would also allow for "doors" on the front to allow for front of the tank maintenance!!!!

[InRiverview]

Thanks for the encouragement.

Do you think moisture will be a problem? -- the pantry will be a dedicated fish closet so, keeping food dry is not my concern. My concern is just general dampness in a this room over time.

Also, what about heat buildup. I can run fans in the closet/pantry to circulate the air, but the heat will have no place to escape to. I guess I could always put a small vent above the closet doors, venting on the breakfast room side. -- Think this is needed? any other ideas?

I am thinking a tank size of 48"w x 18"d (or 20") x 20" h -- with a sump/ref located below.

Once the location issues are more thought out and solved. I will start planning the system.

I am hoping to be able to set up a full reef setup with a couple fish, some coral (lighting lighting lighting) and of course, live rock and a DSB. -- With lights, comes heat, and that is why I raise the heat question above.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

adamb

[JDM130]

In my fish room, I got a fairly cheap de humidifyer from Wal-mart. I am running 2 175MH and 2, 110watt VHO's with an open top. There is a lot of evaperation, I have to dump the drain for the de Hum. about every other day. But somehow, my temp stays at around 77-79. If you think heat will be an issue, I would first get one of the square fans that are like 24"X24" and have it blowing the heat out of the room.

[Adam101]

Inriver, can youtake some pics so we can better understand your situation as for heat buildup do the folding doors close with no gaps at the top and or bottom( My house that we built has gaps at the top and bottom of folding closet doors, as for humidity try it without a dehumidifyer and you might be able to get by without it, No matter what tho I would put a fan inside the closet( room) to keep the air from going stagnent, vents above the doors might be a good choice( cold air return vents) sounds Interesting, Im starting a project myself a 8ft by 5 ft by 30 in tall plywood/acrylic aquarium, Going in the basement( dont have to worry about the floor thank goodness) LOL good luck and post pics if you can pics are always a good thing.

[InRiverview]

Sorry, no pics at this time - I will try to post some over the weekend. -- The pantry/closet doors do not close airtight. There will be small gaps on the top, bottom and down the center.

I defintatley will put a fan inside, just to keep the air moving.

The more I think about the pantry tank, the better I am liking the idea. It also helps that no one here has said not to do it, or that I would run into major problems if I do.

Thanks again

adamb