The 12-Hole In-Wall

javajaws · #1 01/07/2006, 12:14 PM

It seems I've been putting this day off forever...starting my own thread for my own tank. I decided long ago not to do one of those..."I'm gonna start a tank" threads that seem to drag on forever. I decided I would save you all the pain and anguish (I'm a guy...we're supposed to hold all that stuff in, right?) and wait until I had the thing up and running. It has been a long process. If I started this when I started the tank you all would be well and truly ticked off at my slow pace of progress.

So without further ado, I'm gonna talk (and somewhat show) you how I went from this...

...to this...

...and give you all the glorious, gory details it took to get there.

- Jason

King-Kong · #2 01/07/2006, 12:28 PM

holding on for the ride!

javajaws · #3 01/07/2006, 12:34 PM

Part I - The Epiphany

I had started assembling parts for a new tank 6 months before I moved into my current house. You know how it goes..."Yeah Honey, I just want to start up a nano tank...it'll be small and cheap". Well, as all good ideas go, this one went out the window a couple months into the planning stage. That nano never did see the light of MH.

Then came the move into the new house...I decided ahead of time not to set up a tank until after the move...too much hassle. After the move, I was having the hardest time deciding where to put a tank and what size it should be. I don't live in a mansion, and with 3 kids and a couple dogs there just wasn't much space for a tank. Sure I could have found space for a little 20g here or there...but I knew I wouldn't be satisfied with one of those.

In years past, I've had 2 saltwater tanks...a 75g and a 20g (SSB and BB respectively). Those last saw water around 10 years ago. Having had those tanks before though, I knew what I liked and didn't like about "small setups" and had these glorious ideas about my next tank.

So one day while sitting in my recliner I had this grandious idea of putting a tank in the wall between my living room and dining room. It was like a light bulb turning on. Our dining room had plenty of space available so I could take a foot or so out of the room and we wouldn't really miss it.

Here's a shot of the dining room side of the wall when we first looked at the house (the wife says hi!):

I started ripping out cabinets and sheetrock that very day I had the idea (my wife was out of town so she couldn't freak out too much over the destruction).

And that's where it all began.

javajaws · #4 01/07/2006, 01:13 PM

Part II - The Goal

Very early on, I knew what this tank was going to hold...SPS and lots of them. When I last did saltwater 10 years ago, keeping SPS was but a dream...I was stuck with leathers, mushrooms, etc. Didn't want to go there again (though I do love Rics...never kept those before either). Maybe there is a future for that nano after all...

And I never was a big fish person...so I had no desire to do a FOWLR either.

But SPS...there was something that was not only beautifull, but a worthy opponent as well. Having never kept SPS, I knew I had a lot of homework to do before I could get started. So after a lot of time on RC I formed the kernel of my future tank's architectural needs...stable CA/ALK, lots of flow, lots of light, and not a lot of nutrients.

This ultimately dictated a few things to me...

1) I was gonna have to invest a chunk of money and space to a good skimmer

2) I was gonna have to invest a chunk of money and space to plumbing and pumps.

3) I would have to go barebottom to avoid nutrient problems and sandstorms.

4) With lots of light and a mostly enclosed stand, I was gonna have to worry about heat.

5) I was gonna need a calcium reactor and the space to put it and the CO2 tank.

And although not a tank requirement, I wanted this thing to be as quite as possible since it was gonna be a couple feet from my favorite recliner.

I used all of this throughout the process as my guideposts during design and construction...

jrw · #5 01/07/2006, 01:20 PM

You have my attention. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

headshrink · #6 01/07/2006, 07:28 PM

Nice! You are giving me ideas with the whole arch concept. My house is full of them, BUT I would have to build one for my living rm/kitchen area.

javajaws · #7 01/09/2006, 12:22 PM

Part III - The Plan

As a hobbyist woodworker, I knew I had the potential to make whatever I wanted. And what I wanted most was a clean appearance to both the cabinetry and the tank itself.

Early on, I had this cool idea of having glass shelves on either side of the tank (instead of the doors that are there currently). The idea was to run all of the plumbing lines up and over the tank and around the shelves to run back into the sump area below. Here was a drawing I did for that ill-fated idea:

This plan had great WAF (wife acceptance factor) because of all the display area it would add. However, it was an implementation nightmare. I soon determined that it just wouldn't be feasible to run those plumbing lines up and over like that. So I soon dropped the idea of shelves on the side and decided I would put doors on both the front and back instead. This would allow me to run plumbing in there from the sides of the tank and not be an eye sore along with room for addition storage of equipment (which I knew there was going to be a lot of).

I also wanted to keep the cabinets and countertop on the dining room side of the tank. This meant that the cabinet below the tank would only accessible from the living room side. It also meant the bottom of the tank would be fully enclosed which might lead to heat and humidity problems. My plan for that was to add some ducting the would vent the bottom part of the cabinet to an open space above the top of the tank. Fans could then be added to provide additional fresh air circulation.

I wanted to maintain the existing arch along the top of the wall opening so it would blend in with the other arches in the house. Actually, there was only 1 other arch..but I have since added 1 more "virtual" arch along the ceiling of the living room that forms a painted alcove along a wall for the screen of my projector. I was able to reuse the same plywood template I used for the aquarium arch to make that arch as well.

That's pretty much it for the rough plan I had put in place. I ran through numerous revisions that entailed various ideas for the tank and the plumbing to/from it, but I'll save that for a future installment.

javajaws · #8 01/09/2006, 12:27 PM

Oh, forgot to mention I thought about running those return lines straight down along with sides of the tank though top-to-bottom overflow boxes...but this would make the cabinetry look funky because I would have to have the faceframe of the cabinet cover them up...and they would have to be at least 6" wide or so, which just didn't match up well with the dimensions for the faceframe that I had in mind. There were other things I had to take in as well with this approach...like being able to put enough holes in the those overflows without making them too big, etc.

SweetFawn · #9 01/09/2006, 12:58 PM

Wow, very impressed with your planning, and taking the time to do it right the first time instead of getting excited and having to build and rebuild.

Can't wait for more info!

javajaws · #10 01/10/2006, 10:05 AM

Here's a full tank shot I took this weekend. I think I'll hang some black fabric on the back for future shots like this to make it clearer (now isn't that an oxymoron):

The frags in the pics were just added this last weekend...some digitata, green slimer, some green/orange caps, a milli, and a couple others. These are gonna be my "guinea pig" frags to make sure I'm set to go before I start putting in more expensive stuff.

FloridaFishMan · #11 01/10/2006, 10:19 AM

I like the design. I wonder if my roomates would mind if I made an inwall for the living room...

minimalist · #12 01/10/2006, 12:41 PM

Stunning.

FuzzyLogic · #13 01/11/2006, 03:55 PM

Nice woodwork!. Java, those bottom doors look huge (26" X 30") maybe? Did you have any concerns about warpage? I am still in the design phase of my stand with about the same size doors.

notoriousB · #14 01/11/2006, 04:51 PM

Nice write up so far! Looking forward to the next installment.

javajaws · #15 01/11/2006, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by FuzzyLogic
Nice woodwork!. Java, those bottom doors look huge (26" X 30") maybe? Did you have any concerns about warpage? I am still in the design phase of my stand with about the same size doors.

Some concerns yes...but not much I could do about it. So far I haven't had any problems (knock on wood). The doors were put together with a rail and stile router bit and have 1/4" panels. I finished them with spar urethane or whatever that marine type finish is on the inside and lacquer on the outside (less yellowing).

Thanks for all the compliments. I'll try to log another installment in the thread tonight.

ledford1 · #16 01/11/2006, 05:20 PM

I like the look of the cabinetry. It all looks very nice.

Doug · #17 01/11/2006, 05:22 PM

Javejaws, that is excellent! Very nice work!!

FuzzyLogic · #18 01/11/2006, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by javajaws
Some concerns yes...but not much I could do about it. So far I haven't had any problems (knock on wood). The doors were put together with a rail and stile router bit and have 1/4" panels. I finished them with spar urethane or whatever that marine type finish is on the inside and lacquer on the outside (less yellowing).

Thanks for all the compliments. I'll try to log another installment in the thread tonight.

Good to hear no warpage. I would love to hear more about the woodwork in your future insallments. Can't wait!

shouldabenacowboy · #19 01/11/2006, 06:07 PM

Very nice work!!

SBC

jacmyoung · #20 01/11/2006, 06:09 PM

javajaws, beautiful woodwork. Did you say you also have a home theater with a projector in the same area? It maybe off subject but I'd really like to see how you did the screen, I am sure I have something to learn on that one if you have a picture of it too.

deansreef · #21 01/11/2006, 06:14 PM

looks good so far

javajaws · #22 01/11/2006, 10:08 PM

Part IV - The Tank

Here's the skinny on the tank: 52x22x24...roughly 106 gallons by the inside dimensions. I'm pretty sure i'm the only person in the world with this size tank. How I came to these dimensions is a pretty weird and idiotic process (full of regrets). Before anyone starts laughing...here's how it went:

Before construction (and somewhat during deconstruction) I layed out where I was going to move those dining room cabinets. The original wall with the opening behind them (where the tank would go) was originally only 8" deep. Part of the deconstruction/construction process was going to be making a good portion of that wall as deep as the tank. I measured out a standard 24" and moved the cabinets accordingly to see how much space this was going to take out of my...excuse me...my wife's...dining room. For some goofball reason I had decided that 24" was going to take too much out of the dining room. I tried 22" and for some god awfull reason it seemed "better". Also part of the decision making process at the time was that the deeper the tank/wall the deeper those shelves on the side of the tank were going to be...which from some mockups I did I thought would make them too dark and dim at that depth. To this day this is the one decision I regret more than any other. Why oh why didn't I make it 30"? Why?

The oddball width (52") I can defend more easily. I was gonna have to get a tank custom built...so why restrain myself to the typical 48"? To come up with the exact dimensions I first made some scale drawings of what the cabinetry was going to look like. From there I just played around with the dimentions until I got something that looked right. I didn't want the tank too long and skinny and I didn't want the cabinets on the side to be too skinny as well....so I just ended up with 52". That width also seemed to go well with a 24" height as well so I was set.

The tank itself I had built by Glasscages. The front and back glass are low-iron (not StarPhire) and the top is eurobraced. All sides are 1/2" glass. I wasn't entirely pleased with the resulting product (too much chipout on the holes), but for the money I think I got a good deal.

So now we get to the thread title: the tank has 12 holes in it for the various bulkheads. Here's the rundown:

2 x drain lines (for sched 80 1.5" bulkheads)
2 x closed loop intakes (for sched 80 1.5" bulkheads)
4 x closed loop returns (for 1" closed loop #1 returns)
4 x closed loop returns (for 1" closed loop #2 returns...TBD)

The 4 returns for closed loop #1 are in the top corners on each side of the tank. The returns for #2 are in the bottom corners on each side of the tank. The drain lines are between two of the upper closed loop #1 returns on one side, and the 2 closed loop intakes are between the other two #1 returns on the opposite side. To make things simple with the builder, the hole patterns on both sides of the tank are identical:

I did make 1 very bad mistake however...I had them cut the smaller holes for sched 40 bulkheads. The larger ones were sized correctly for sched 80. Bad mistake! After breaking a couple of the sched 40 bulkheads I decided I wasn't going to be happy with the situation. So after a few days of strategery I decided to enlarge all of the smaller holes...all 8 of them. It actually didn't turn out to be too hard. I used a dremel and a tile cutting bit and just slowly made them bigger. I covered the inside of the hole with a fruit cup taped to the glass so I wouldn't make a mess of everything. I also sprayed some water somewhat continously to keep things cool. It took most of a day to do all 8 holes with breaks (for rest...not the glass kind of break!), cleanup, and all the rest thrown in.

As for how I came up with the hole locations...that will have to wait for separate installments on the plumbing, closed loop, overflow, etc.

I have one final note to other glasscage owners or future owners who wish to go barebottom. Glasscages builds there tank with some internal eurobracing along the bottom edges of the tank...which leaves a large void if you just go and plop some starboard down on top of it. To get rid of this void I put a piece of 3/8" acrylic in there under the starboard...no more void and no trap for detritus. Just FYI, I siliconed the starboard (black, BTW) along the edges.

I'm sure I forgot plenty of other things...if you think of something I didn't mention just ask.

javajaws · #23 01/11/2006, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jacmyoung
javajaws, beautiful woodwork. Did you say you also have a home theater with a projector in the same area? It maybe off subject but I'd really like to see how you did the screen, I am sure I have something to learn on that one if you have a picture of it too.

Doubtfull you'll learn anything from me on that one. Its just a painted screen (Behr "silverscreen) with a painted black border...$20. It gets the job done. One day I'd like to replace my TV with a plasma and the painted screen with a powered drop down screen that will come down in front of it. Until I win the lottery however, here's what I've got:

The aquarium is on the wall to the left. The projector (Optoma H31...great AND affordable projector) is mounted on the ceiling. Since the aquarium and all the equipment are "right there" in the living room I've tried to make some of my equipment decisions based on the amount of noise they produce.

The "arch" on the ceiling is the exact same arch (size/radius/etc.) as that on top of the tank...funny how perspective skews things, ain't it?

jacmyoung · #24 01/12/2006, 10:42 AM

The arch is difficult to see but I get the idea. You are too modest, I have seen painted screen do just as well as a $2,500 "professional grade" screen, and some sub-$3,000 projectors do better than $25,000 ones in the showroom. Does the light from your tank get in the way of watching moives on the screen at night?

I can totally feel your regret on not going 30" wide on the tank. But to a casual viewer the tank will look equally stunning. Not to mention having the wife feeling guilty about your sacrifice, priceless, I would remind her of such fact from time to time

javajaws · #25 01/12/2006, 12:48 PM

Oh yeah...it's definitely lights out on the tank before movie time. The tank lights up half the house at night. It's worse than a normal tank because the light spills out on both sides of the wall. Its a real sight looking in from outside the house...everything is this eerie blue color (phoenix 14k bulbs).

I can't complain about the painted screen. My $1k projector and $20 paint job look better than most movie theaters I've been in.