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In-wall vs. Stand alone tank


Gil&Fin

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I'm in the beginning stages of a new tank build.  I'm thinking some where between 220 and 280 gallons.  The first step is deciding whether it will be an in-wall or stand-alone tank.  In total have an 11' x 23' room to work with for the display tank, frag tanks, and home office.

 

If it were an in-wall, that would roughly give me an 11' x 8' room for the back of the tank and frag tanks, and an 11' x 15' room to view the tank/home office.  It would be viewable from one side and the front.  If it were a stand-alone set up, the back room would be smaller, like 11' x 5' or 6'.  My hope, of course, is to have the whole system run from one sump.

 

I'm looking for pros and cons of an in-wall vs. stand-alone tank generally, and if you have any feedback about the set-up above, that would be great.

 

Lastly, if you have an in-wall and could share some pictures, or even would be willing to let me come take a look, let me know.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

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My vote would be in-wall. I love how clean they look and how it's not sticking out into the room. I also like how all of the equipment is hidden behind the wall and there is almost no sound from the equipment. Yes you can hide that stuff in the stand but I feel like and in wall is just so sharp looking! We have a 180 in-wall in my house behind our bar. I love how it looks. When I have my own house I'll do an in-wall also. You are more than welcome to come look at it if you want. But I'm located down in the Salem area. I'll take a few photos in a minuet and post them.

 

 

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An inwall would satisfy your OCD wants , desires, needs.. Holly. That's the beauty of them. We all hate the wires and equipment and noise that is needed to have a saltwater tank. It is nice to have a separate room that you can work in while your tank looks great wire and equipment free from the front side! 

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IMO it's about usage of the space.  Have you thought about instead of it being just in wall, doing a build out around the tank.  Like a bookcase style build out?  Not sure how that would work, look in the room.  You get the benefits of in wall with regards to hiding everything.  Since this is a home office, i think it would look good to build a usable shelving system around the tank.  

 

some google pics of what i am suggesting:

 

doug01.jpg

DSC_7805.JPG

contemporary-home-office.jpg

kitchen%2Baquarium3.jpg

230_Cabinet_Access_Panel_Open.jpg

 

 

Now if you want to go 'baller' style!! 

 

3c314eab0d5da18f_3004-w500-h348-b0-p0--b

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That settles it...I'm going to build a tank just like the last picture!  :nutty: 

 

But seriously, thanks for the pics.  There are some great ideas in there.  Shelves around the tank would be perfect for a home office.  The only down side is that I'd have to go smaller on the tank.  I've only got 11' to work with and I need room for the door swing.  I was thinking a 6' (72") tank.  I'm partial to 24' depth just because I like to be able to touch the bottom, but that's not set in stone.  I don't want to go smaller than 220 gallons because I'd like some fish that need more swimming room.  Hmmm.  Lots to think about.

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Hadn't thought about a cube.  I'll pencil that out on a drawing of the room and see how it looks.  I don't think I could get three sides visible, although two sides are definitely possible.  In fact if I do that, I could put shelves on the other side.  That would totally work.  I could do a 60" x 30" x 30", with 3 foot shelves, or even 72" x 30" x 24" with 2 foot shelves.  Both sizes would give me about 240 gallons.

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If you have the space/option to do in wall I would hands down do it. I was so jealous of Danik's in wall setup when I first saw it I knew if I ever had the option that would be the route id go. Space for equipment is such a premium with tanks on stands I would definitely have an equipment/sump room if possible. Another benefit is the noise isolation with a fish room. Stands require quiet equipment to achieve what avg or loud equipment in a sump room can do.

 

The extra space is the main thing for me though. Think about if you wanted to add a frag tank. Even with a small in wall setup, just add some plumbing and BAM frag system tied in. No chance doing that in a stand if your sump is large or Ca Rx and skimmer is taking up the space.

 

That's my .02, think long term for your setup and flexibility

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Imo a in wall is only a good option if there is room behind it to work and clean it but that really depends what kind of tank you want if you stay under 24"wide 24 tall a i wall could work. But if it was me I love having a wide tank and large tank I have from now on will be 36"wide minimum

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Yep go in wall and a fish room. The Dimension Blackice posted would be a sick looking tank. I am not sure how deep Brads is but that thing is nice to look at.

 

So why go with a fish room.....as stated all the behind the scenes garbage is hidden. You can make one hell of a light rack and just hang it. Sump can be open with easy access. If an option put a drain in the floor as you know there will be spills. Plumb a sink in there so you have access to water for a RO unit plus can just drain into it for a water change. Also a little counter space as you know you will need it. And best of all it is all contained in one room you can put AC in there and keep it cool in the summer. Run ventilation also for the humidity. Hell so many reasons to do one and not many except the cost and the room not to do it ;)

 

Good luck on the quest and hopefully you end up with what you are after.

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so do a cube.... have it protrude out a little bit. It will make for a great center piece of the wall unit, and you get to see 3 sides. 4x4x24" cube is 240g.

That is my dream cube!!! I love the depth of a cude. It just seems to go forever. My next cube is going to have a coast to coast off the back of the tank. I have gotten to a point that I really dislike my corner overflow.

 

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That is my dream cube!!! I love the depth of a cude. It just seems to go forever. My next cube is going to have a coast to coast off the back of the tank. I have gotten to a point that I really dislike my corner overflow.

 

sent from a Samsung note 4

Yes very much agree I hate those [language filter] boxs

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In wall is pain in the butt when cleanning (ask ReefJunkie for opinion).  Sharpfire glass island cube or stand alone system for me. 

IDK, my tank is pretty deep and every weekly round of cleaning....I go like why the heck I got into this pain in the butt hobby.....

Edited by caolewis
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Robyn had said this is going to be a FOWLR tank is that correct?

Well, that was the original plan. I'm really wanting some butterfly fish and some angels, but now I'm thinking about converting my 110 gallon into the fish only and having the larger tank as my reef tank. Go figure. But there are plenty of angels and butterflies that would be perfectly happy in an 110 gallon. I won't be able to have the larger, more active fish, but on the other hand it would be really hard to have a 220+ gallon tank and not put corals in.

 

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In wall is pain in the butt when cleanning (ask ReefJunkie for opinion). Island cube or stand alone system for me.

Interesting. Is that only when the access is from the front? Access to this tank would be from the back in the frag room. Do you think it is harder because it would be a stretch to reach the front glass to clean it? I wonder if I could put in access from the front, and also have it open from the back. That way I could clean the front glass much easier, as well as access corals in the front.

 

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Interesting. Is that only when the access is from the front? Access to this tank would be from the back in the frag room. Do you think it is harder because it would be a stretch to reach the front glass to clean it? I wonder if I could put in access from the front, and also have it open from the back. That way I could clean the front glass much easier, as well as access corals in the front.

 

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Does not matter front or back access....you can't fully clean the bottom front algae build up from the back.  So craw underneath that tiny window and scrub its bottom off weekly.  And if you have a deep tank that your hands can't reach the bottom?  You'd be swearing weekly :-).  That's how it goes for my 700 gal system

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Does not matter front or back access....you can't fully clean the bottom front algae build up from the back. So craw underneath that tiny window and scrub its bottom off weekly. And if you have a deep tank that your hands can't reach the bottom? You'd be swearing weekly :-). That's how it goes for my 700 gal system

700 gallon system??? Seriously? Wow, Tom. We need to have a club meeting at your house.

 

Okay, so good advice on the depth of the tank. I really like reaching the bottom of my 24" deep 110 gallon, but the allure of having a 280 gallon versus a 225 gallon (24 inch deep vs 30 inches deep) was drawing me in. I'll have to think about that one.

 

It sounds like you're skeptical about me crawling in an access door from the front of the tank. Are you calling me fat??? [emoji6]

 

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Are you kidding me Gil&Fin, no wayyyyyyy.  You are gorgeous :wife: .

 

In wall is nice and you get away of the 2 sides and just the front for cleaning.  Design the upper front door well so you do not bend to much to reach bottom for cleaning.  Everything comes with pros an cons.  Deep tank are cool with fishes but hard to clean.  

 

700gal is at store but it was forcefully placed there without my will :-(.

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