270 In Wall Project Gets Started (1 Viewer)

[tedu]

I ordered this aquarium last summer (as in 2006) from Aquarium Obsessed.
Goal was for them to bring it when they came to MACNA here.
There were issues with the back panel that made it miss the cutoff.
So they shipped it in early November 2006.
I have a lot of patience.
I also have a friend who owns an air freight company (he also has a lot of patience).
He's been storing it since November.
But, I had it delivered today!!!!!!!!!

Dimensions are 72"L x 36" W x 24" H (~270 gallons based on exterior dimensions).
Front panel is starphire glass.
Eurobraced.
External overflow and back panel drilled for closed loop.

 

[Guest]

Nice!

 

[AquaNerd]

that looks fun...can't wait to see a giant hole in your wall. the tank looks amazing. please keep us up to date with pictures all the time.

 

[tedu]

Yeah, about that hole....knew I was forgetting something.

I've known the wall was going to be fun. But the project has been on hold and I had avoided doing any exploratory surgery.
Finally completed my other self-imposed preliminary tasks and made some cuts.

There will be some structural changes I have to make:

"Scariest Environment Imaginable"

(not drawn to scale)

 

[KrAs]

Looks fantastic, can't wait to see it installed. Also glad to see your not using those plastic saw horses this time!

 

[tedu]

Yeah, that was a major setback.
But the mfg did agree that they shouldn't have failed and honored a claim to replace the tank.

 

[KrAs]

But the mfg did agree that they shouldn't have failed and honored a claim to replace the tank.

Sch-weet! Nice to see someone who will actually stand behind their product.

 

[crvz]

My word, that tank is amazing! This will be quite a treat to follow.

 

[MarkieB]

Wow! That is going to be amazing.
Congrats!

 

[Guest]

Hello,

I used to help my friend build homes on the weekend. that beam not only supports ceiling structure but also roof structure. In order to accomplish your objective, you will have to build a temporary support structure opposite the wall for bean to stay stable. Then build a major header beam the height of the beam support over your tank. so you will be building a sort of major tee header structure support, if you where to draw on paper looking down from ceiling. If you have any questions call me I'll be happy to explain.


Lloyd, mobile#832-381-7008

 

[tedu]

Thanks Lloyd!

This isn't the first time I've rearranged some load bearing walls and yep that's pretty much what I plan to do.

 

[fishcraze]

Nice tank. just some suggestions:

- Your setup is similar to mine.. tank in the garage. You may want to consider the heat issues (as I mentioned in my RC TOTM article). Are you going to build a room around it? or install some thing to keep the garage cool? if you are going to use T5 lighting only then it may not be too bad.

- will you have front access to the tank? i think it'll worth it

- You may want to cut the inside wall of the hole (the part in the garage) taller than the tank so you can reach the top of the front glass from the back. I originally drilled the hole just enough to fit the tank but then had to go back to cut the inside wall a little higher (~6" higher than the top edge of then tank).

-plan enough room above the tank for your lighting and maintenance.. Look like that beam need to be removed.

 

[tedu]

Thanks Quoc!

Very aware of your heat issues, there will be an air conditioned room built around the tank (like melev).
And I'm planning on building a vent system using 4" ducting and fans around my lights to pull heat out of the room and vent it outside. At this point lighting is going to be 5 or 6 250w DE MH.

Still debating front access but will probably do it somehow which should also take care of the inside wall issue you raised.

Fortunately, that picture isn't to scale, the beam is ~9 feet from the floor. It will still be a tight fit. I'm thinking about mechanisms for being able to either raise the lighting or move it to the side.

 

[Guest]

Hello,

Boy I cant what till we buy our home, discussions like these really put my mind to use, since I've been laid up since surgery. My trig is a little rusty, being a Quality control inspector for Halliburton/WellDynamics.
Strangely though was driving back from picking my daughter up from school, was thinking tedu, that the beam there looks as though it supports maybe 5 to 10 tons of structure, and maybe you could make the wall out of 2X6's and instead of a wood header, use a steal I-beam header. Might be cheaper since most of this work if your having someone else do is mostly labor cost.

 

[BrianPlankis]

Ted,

Good to see you back in the hobby man, especially with such a great project! Count me as hitching along

Brian

 

[AquaNerd]

yeah, i'm so jealous...i'm greener than the hulk lol.

 

[fishcraze]

Ted, how are you going to block out the light to your overflow box.. since look like it's clear glass b/t the box and the tank. use some black acrylic to lay inside the box?

 

[tedu]

Not sure yet, still thinking about that and how to cover the back of the tank.
Will probably get Nick to make me an insert box out of black acrylic for the overflow.

I'm also really intrigued by the thought of using Black Expanded PVC Foam as a removable cover for the back and sides.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/pr...=USPlastic&category_name=115&product_id=10432

 

[crvz]

Hey Ted.

If you are looking for something removeable, I used coroplast. It's a 4mm thick plastic material that you can get at any sign store. A 4'x8' sheet runs ~$18, and they should be able to get it in stock in a day or two. You can see where I used it in this post. I actually have half a sheet left over that you'd be welcome to, but I don't know that it would be worth the drive over here to pick up!

- Chris

 

[Guest]

Hello,

You can tint it, I did that to my fuge since its not hidden and my wife had a cow when the only way to have a fuge was on a stand next to tank. I went and bought a deep blue tint, looks pretty good though.

Lloyd, mobile#832-381-7008