130 Gallon in-wall build (picture intensive)

[snodine]

OK, here we go. After a long time planning, discussing, agonizing, and selling kidneys to raise money (kidding!) I have started my 130 gallon in-wall construction. This thread will be periodically updated over time as I do more of the installation, set-up, etc. Please be patient and gentle!

A few months ago I bought a used tank and stand. The tank was in pretty bad shape - empty for a few months before that filled with water but no fish. As you can see it was bad, bad, bad!





After cleaning it with lots of white vinegar and water and scrapping with a sharp razor it looked better.





Ok, that part was done. Now, where to put it. The tank came with a stand that was sturdy but not real roomy.



After reading and researching here on RC, I knew I needed a sump, skimmer, heaters, reactors, pumps, lights, and, of course, plumbing to tie it all together. I was struggling with how to get it all in and over the stand. So, in order to increase the expense and make a bigger mess, I decided to do it in-wall. Here are pictures of the front and back of the wall the tank is going. The back picture also shows the room where all the equipment is going.





Here is a shot from the doorway showing both rooms:



Here is a rough outline of where the tank will go. The line of string at the top shows where the top hinged molding will go to allow access to the front of the tank. This has changed from a 1 x 6 to a 1 x 10 allowing 9.5 inches of access.



Any comments are appreciated.

Steve