Starting my 300 gal build (1 Viewer)

[cobraden]

Hi all,

I'm kind of new to posting on this board but I've been lurking here for quite a while.

After reading about may of you starting new tanks, I finally get the chance to post a build page of my own.

I just moved into a new home (or at least new to me) and while looking at houses, I was always looking to see where I could put a big tank. So much so, that my realtor started making suggestions when we would walk into a house.

Well, I ordered an aprox 310 gal tank from Glass Cages a few weeks ago. It's scheduled to be delivered this Sunday.
The tank will be built into a wall. The dimensions of the tank are 96x30x25 and the front is made with low iron glass. I didn't ask my friends to help move furniture but a few of them have been put on notice to move the aquarium this Sunday.

Once the tank gets here and I get it all plumbed, I'll combine everything out of my 110g and 210g aquariums.

Anyway, the person building my cabinet has finally started and if I can figure out how to do it, I'll include pictures of the progress.

 

[jhand]

Come on with it....... looking forward to the pics!

 

[cobraden]

Here are a few more pictures.

 

[cobraden]

The electrical was put in today. Ran 3 20A dedicated circuits!

 

[aggie4231]

what kinda sump set-up you going to run? if a large one, how you getting in the stand?

 

[CoachVela]

AWESOME BUILD!!! Cant wait to see more. tagging along for this ride!

 

[cobraden]

Justin,

the opening in the front of the cabinet is 4 ft wide. I am using an fairly large acrylic sump.

I designed the stand to be able to get to all my equipment and be able to remove it without breaking down the tank if there were ever to be a problem.

I will upload some equipment pictures soon.

 

[chadhender]

I would suggest building a little room behind the tank before you get to far along. I have a set up similar to this and its a pain to work inside the tank.

 

[fishcraze]

I would suggest building a little room behind the tank before you get to far along. I have a set up similar to this and its a pain to work inside the tank.

ditto on the back access to the tank. Also check if you can keep your chiller in the garage or outside the house to keep the hot air/ noise from your room.

 

[cobraden]

hey guys,

there is only a 8-10 inches behind the tank so really no way to put a room in behind the aquarium. I had a similar set up in my old house with my 110 and learned a few lesson on cabinet design from that. All the lights with retract upward and I am working on a rail design to have the MH's move to the side as well, to give me more room to work and all the doors on the front, both top and bottom are on Stainless steel demountable hinges. I had the tank euro braced as well. When I really need to get in there I should have pretty good access.

I would have put the chiller outside for sure if the aquarium were on an ouside wall. However it looks like, I'm stuck with it under the stand. The aquarium is going on an interior wall. I have talked to a few people on "sound proofing" the cabinet to decrease the noise. The cabinet will of course have to be vented so I will have to endure some sound.

I thought about running pvc up the wall and through the attic and then down to the chiller outside, but figured with the heat we get, by the time the water got back to the aquarium it would probably be warm again.

 

[Guest]

i have never used a chiller but couldnt you just put it in the attic so you dont have to have so far for it to travel

 

[Cathman]

Just a thought, but maybe you could make one of the doors with the mesh stuff over it like speakers have. Aesthetically ok, and would allow fresh air into the stand. As for a vent, put it opposite and maybe going out that back wall. You could place an air conditioner and or dryer type vent on that wall and have an icecap fan attached to it with the temp probe. If the chiller is going under the stand, i would put the temp probe by the exhaust of the chiller so it will speed up only as needed. Maybe have a second fan mid way down to do routine cooling and the other only really kick into high when the chiller cycles. I know a chiller needs cool air to work effectively as it has to cool the coils and a good cooled supply is much more efficient than a warm supply.

 

[BayAreaAquarium]

hey cobraden my brother in law handles sound proofing and media work and there is a pad that you can buy and just lay it on the inside of the cabinets and it becomes almost sound proof. the only draw back is that that pad will also hold in the heat as well. the pad can be purchased on the internet for a reasonable price. but again once you've done that you have to battle the heat issue. and with a chiller under there that is going to be a big problem i have a 1/10 chiller on a tank right now and initially i had it in the stand but the heat that it produced was extreme to say the least. so i moved it and just placed it next to the stand.

 

[Andy]

I had my chiller in the living room yrs ago & the heat it puts out will kill your AC bill in the summer.

If there is any way to run a vent tube with a fan out of the stand to at least the attic I would do it. You could put a sircuit strip on your controller & everytime the chiller comes on the fan would come on.

 

[Guest]

While you can add a duct up the wall behind the tank, it would be a great time to do that. They make retangle vents for dryers that would work perfect. I would duct the air exust from the chiller up the wall & into the attic.

Awesome project. Keep the pics coming!

 

[Guest]

Cant wait to see the finished product.

 

[cobraden]

Thought I would add a few more pictures. The venting will be installed this weekend I hope (since the tank gets here Sunday). There will be an intake vent, and and exaust vents with a fan to pull the hot air and humidty out and into the attic.

 

[cobraden]

IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!!!

Met the Glass Cages delivery truck this morning and picked up my tank. They happend to be delivering less than 10 minutes away from my house.

After looking over the tank I can say that I'm pretty satisfied. After hearing the stories of poor quality and sloppy work, I'd say this was not the case as far as my tank. Looks pretty clean and the work seems pretty nice.

Here are a couple pictures of the pick up and then it finally being on the stand.

 

[cobraden]

Here are a few pictures of some of the equipment that I have aquired for the project.

 

[Guest]

Was it only 4 of you guys who moved the tank in?