# joey13 - 185+ Gallon In-Wall Setup



## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

G'day guys and girls,

Well my obsession has evolved and grown into the next level as I'm sure many of you have experienced before. I have recently shut down my previous 140gal pride and joy. I felt that I could not go any further with it but was also extremely happy with how it turned out.

For those interested, tank is here. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/tanks/index.php?mode=tank&tank=24069

I am now in the planning stages of setting up my new in wall setup and so I thought I would start this build log. As always, I am also seeking some advice and opinions from my fellow enthusiasts.

*THE PLAN*...so far

Planning on keeping either a Frontosa / Altolamprologus tank or all male Hap and Peacock Tank.

I originally wanted to go with an 8ft setup but after consultation with several carpenters, I sadly had to come to terms with being restricted to a smaller tank. I did not want to put the tank in any other location and so the wall to be used wouldn't accommodate it.

*Tank*

So far I am set on the length and width of the tank but undecided about the height.

1890mm (6.2 Feet) X 610mm (2ft) X 610mm (2ft) / 686mm (2.25ft) / 762mm (2.5ft).

This would give a rated tank volume of 185gal / 209gal / 232gal respectively.

The glass would be 10mm thick for the 2ft height but the other 2 would have to be made in 12mm thick.

Now when I say the tank will be "In-wall", it won't truly be 100% in the wall. I have selected my office wall which is the adjoining wall to my 2 car garage. The plaster will be cut out, and the existing roof and wall studs supported and a frame made for the tank to set in. The tank will set 90mm into the wall but the remainder will be sitting on a constructed timber stand on the other side which will be fixed to the wall and bolted to the concrete slab of the house. The side and rear glass will be painted black or blue and so it will create the illusion it is entirely in the wall. Tank will be finished off with a nice frame most likely constructed with the same skirting that is already used in the room.

*Filtration*

Tank will have a weir built into the side and drilled with durso standpipe and emergency.

_Sump_ will be 4ft X 18inch X 18inch for 2ft height and 4ft X 18inch X 20 inch for the other heights.

I plan to have a wet/dry media tower sitting in the first section above the sump if that makes sense. Water will trickle down into a drip tray through 3 different grades of "Poret" filter foam, through bio balls and SeaChem Matrix and Purigen.

*Return Pump* - See "Questions"

*Heaters*
2 X Eheim Jager 300W

*Chiller*
I know a chiller is not typical on a Freshwater setup however, due to the tank sitting in the garage and Australia suffering very hot summers, I will be required to install one. I only expect this to be running 3-4 months in a year.

*Lighting* - I have not thought this far ahead yet.

*QUESTIONS*

1. What is the recommended flow rate for a sumped African Cichlid setup? With canisters it is 6X-10X tank turnover but from what I hear, sumps do not require this much turnover and it is more beneficial to have the water in contact with the media for longer. I was unable to find a definitive answer to this question.

2. What would be a suitable size/rate sump return pump for this application. I estimate the distance between the water line of the sump to the waterline of the tank to be between 5.3ft - 6.2ft depending on the positioning and height of the tank which is undecided at this point.

3. I would like to go to 2.5ft height but have a few concerns. The first being the ability to reach the bottom for maintenance or accessibility in placing rocks etc. The second being light penetration to the bottom of the tank. I would love to go LED but they are still quite expensive for the decent units that are capable of lighting a tank this size so if I am limited to T5's, will they be powerful enough for a tank that deep. What are people's experience this depth?

That's all I have for now. Pictures to follow once work begins in the next week or so.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts and advice and thank you in advance.

Cheers, Joe.


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

Question 4: What size chiller will work for my setup?


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## dwebkombi (Aug 8, 2012)

Hi Mate,
Look foward to seeing this build progress, great plan


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

Took the plaster down last night to inspect what I'm in for.

Turns out the wall is a load bearing wall which will require a little more work but no big deal.

Due to wanting to have the tank completely centered on the other side of the wall, I've had to reduce the length to bang on 6ft because as you can see it will be quite close to the internal access door. The security door will be removed (since it's a pointless door anyway...not sure why the previous owner had it there) and there will be 660mm between the side wall and where the tank starts.


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

Haha! I know right! I'm trying to convince my family that there is method to my madness but it's not working! Ah well I'm doing it anyway.

Yes mate, spot on! A beam will be going in to support the roof.

I was toying with sizes before and I drew it up in chalk on the wall and have been double measuring everything.

I Have a bit of a dilemma I'm trying to solve. As you can see from the pictures, the internal access door is pretty close. With a 6ft tank it is actually only going to give me 650mm from the wall. Whilst I'm not so fussed about the door itself, I'm worried it may be too close and squishy...after all it is still going to be used as a garage and cars will be stored in there.

To be able to use the door , it requires 820mm to clear which is only an extra 170mm but to keep the tank central, I have to go down to a length of 1490mm (4.88ft). So I lose over a foot of tank space and at least 57 liters for 170mm depending on what height I go with.

I really had my heart set on an 8ft and came to terms with just over 6ft...now 6ft and its getting smaller and smaller []

I drew up the different lengths and heights on the wall and calculated the volume of each. I don't want to go wider than 610mm due to cars and I still haven't decided on the height.

If I had to go to 5ft, I would definitely want to go a little more depth to get some more volume but then that also has it's own problem..

Here is the numbers

6ft

1830mm X 610mm X 610mm = 681L - Happy

1830mm X 610mm X 686mm = 766L - Happier!

1830mm X 610mm X 762mm = 851L - Thinking that this may only JUST look ok but the more I look at, the more I begin to think it looks too square

5ft

1490 X 610mm X 610mm = 554L - I think this is too small

1490 X 610mm X 686mm = 623L - I think this is the max height I can go with this length

1490 X 610mm X 762mm = 693L - I think this looks too square with this length

Don't know what to do but need to come to a decision because I can't start cutting materials until I do! It's driving me nuts! Was really hoping to get a bigger tank than my old one but I also want it to be done right!


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

After a few days thinking it over and a lengthy discussion with the better half as well as consultation with my carpenter...I've decided to go with the smaller setup and keep the door functional.

650mm from the door opening will just be too tight. Building regulations say you must have 800mm. This way the work can be guaranteed and legal which means in the event of having to claim for damage through insurance, it will be covered and they can't weasel out of the claim on a technicality.

Tank is now 1490mm (L) X 610mm (W) X 686mm (H). 623L is still pretty decent.

Tank is going to be made in all 12mm thick glass.

Sump is being made 4ft x 18in x 18in. Glass will be 8mm thick. A media tower is being made that is 18in X 18in x 500mm high. This will sit on a beacon about 100-150mm from the bottom of the sump.

Tank and sump ordered and construction begins tomorrow!


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

Tank and Sump finished


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

Think I might be taking the plunge into the LED world for this build.

Think I'm sold on this unit.

48 X 3 watt Bridgelux LED's
24:24 white:blue
5,500 lumens
12,000k - 20,000k
Blue LED's 460nm
1200mm x 203mm x 42mm
White and Blue can be controlled independently


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

UPDATE - 29/07/2013

Installed the beam to support the existing roof.

Ran cable and wired two double GPO's. One up high to power the lights and one a little to the right to power all the equipment.

Noggins inserted.

Frame constructed and fixed to the wall.

Started putting plaster back on.

THIS THING IS ROCK SOLID! I think we are going to need a few blokes to get this 12mm tank up onto the stand. It's 1200mm from the ground!!!! :-? :-? :-?

Going to paint it all up tomorrow. Top board is going on and the remaining plaster.


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## RayVan (Jul 29, 2013)

Love what you are doing with this setup. On board for the progress.


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

*UPDATE 30/07/2013*

Stand painted up.

Top board fixed.

Framed and packed the surround.

Skirting and plaster back up.

Viewing side plaster cut out and framed.





































Tank is being delivered tomorrow.

*Left to do*

Boards for bottom shelf to be fixed

Frame garage side with skirting

Paint top board and touch ups on frame

Paint back and sides of tank - Black.

Tape up and fill plaster

Sand viewing side frame and paint

Drill holes for weir.


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

Tank arrived on Wednesday.

Here is a better pic of my sump and media tower










Started painting the tank. This is the second coat. I'm kind of wishing I hadn't been such a tight A$$ and got it vinyl wrapped. Cost me $50 for materiels to paint. I got quoted $130 to vinyl wrap it. I got impatient I guess. It's coming up ok except I'm having trouble with the corners...

The paint will not stick to the silicone as you can see in the pics and from the viewing side it leaves gaps and light gets through. Any tips on how to cover the silicone?


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## dwebkombi (Aug 8, 2012)

Lookin ggod!
Plastic angle trim for the corners will stop the light seeping in.


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

Well I finally got it up and into place.





































Lights don't actually look that blue in real life. It's much more balanced.

I ended up having to cut out the glass ledges at the top of the media tower to get my drip plate in. They don't really have any structual purpose since the tower isn't designed to hold water. I siliconed some plastic angle strip as a ledge to hold the plate.










New acrylic drip plate.










Drip plate in place.










Return pump arrived. Went with the Laguna 5,000LPH.


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## wax32 (Aug 3, 2013)

opcorn:


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Tank looks great mate. But what's holding that beam up?


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## Bowfront (Jun 3, 2013)

The setup looks good but I see a major problem, at least to me. How are you going to perform maintenance on the tank without being able to access it from the viewable side? The back is painted black so every change you make to the tank, cleaning, rock placement etc...will have to be done from a top down view looking into the tank. Every time you make a change etc you will have to go walk to the other room and look in, go back move, make changes, rinse and repeat. That would drive me insane. I guess you could rig up a little video camera but that would be a PITA. When I'm making changes to my tank or doing maintenance I want to see what is going on and not from a top of tank looking down view.

Something to think about.

.


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

Absolutely awesome. Look forward to seeing it stocked!


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

The beam is nailed in solid. It isn't going anywhere.

The maintenance won't be that much of on issue. I never really play around with my tanks that much once they are set up right. Yeah sure it might be a little difficult but worth it for the effect. I've got a pretty good sense of how tnings will look viewing from top down. Might require a little more tinkering but I'm prepared to do it.

After all...it's quite clear that I'm dedicated to my hobby enough so much so that I tore down a wall in my brand new house.


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

All plumbed up.














































Well that was fun...NOT! Plumbing did my absolute head in but I'm glad it's done. I ended up putting a T in the return with another ball valve and fitted a 18mm quick fit hose connector which I plan to use for water changes. Once pumps are off and tank has drained, I'll switch the main ball valve closed and open the other attached to the quick fit connector with a hose running to front yard. Flick the return pump back on and drain to the desired level.

You will also notice that I put in a couple of barrel unions on the main drain and emerg so that I can break the lines easily for servicing. If I hadn't of done this, it would have been difficult or impossible to get the piping away to get the drip plate out.

Return goes back up the weir box and across to the opposite end to circulate water right around the tank.










10ppi 2" thick, 20ppi 2" thick, 30ppi 2" thick Poret Filter Foam, 300 bio balls and then 14L of SeaChem Pond Matrix in the submerged section. This thing is overkill but I don't care, it's awesome in my eyes!

All up and running now. ran into a bit of a drama as I was filling it up. the water line was 10mm different from the other side. Began panicking and checked everything with the level and it all seemed fine. Couldn't work it out before I realised the arc on the viewing side was out causing the difference. So I have to rip that off and do it again next week. It wasn't an issue I was expecting but I'm glad it's not the frame and the tank is still sitting level. I was expecting leaks from the plumbing but thankfully it was perfect. I got a small drip from the return bulkhead but I quick nip with my hand fixed it. Still need to fine tune the durso. The plumbing into the drip plate is noisy as.

Just got the temp up to 28deg. Added Chlorine and Chloramine remover, added my African Cichlid DIY Buffer to get all the parameters up and I have started dosing with Clear Ammonia today for a fish less cycle.

Using a temporary light at the moment until I order in my Dalua Mantra LED when it comes back into stock. Pictures don't do it justice and it really isn't that blue.

Let me know what you guys think.


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)




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## Graffiti (Aug 17, 2013)

looks great, no corners cut during this build! did you decide yet if your going with frontosa's or all male hap/peacock tank? any who, looks amazing great job so far!


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

joey13 said:


> The beam is nailed in solid. It is n't going anywhere.
> The maintenance won't be that much of on issue. I never really play around with my tanks that much once they are set up right. Yeah sure it might be a little difficult but worth it for the effect. I've got a pretty good sense of how tnings will look viewing from top down. Might require a little more tinkering but I'm prepared to do it.
> 
> After all...it's quite clear that I'm dedicated to my hobby enough so much so that I tore down a wall in my brand new house.


Fair enough. It was just that I didn't see any jack studs under the end of the beam in this pic:










Great job on the build, can't wait to see it stocked.


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

the beam is notched in and nailed and then nailed on the sides! Thanks mate!


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## SOU812 (Jun 11, 2013)

great job,did you put filter floss on the drip tray?if not,putting some might quite it down a little,probably not easy to do,but,making some kind of a cover you might want to try,again,I think it turned out,good job!


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

Well what a PITA that was! Removed 20mm bulkead and replaced with 25mm bulkhead. (Although I had only tightened the previous bulkhead by hand, you think I could get the **** thing off??)

Replaced all the 20mm PVC with 25mm Pond Flexi Hose the entire way through! Note: Flexi Pipe is the worst stuff I have ever worked with! The pipe is extremely difficult to get onto the fittings!

Result: MUCH MUCH QUIETER! After the first ball valve, there is absolutely no vibration in the pipe at all. I cannot hear it anymore when I'm in bed either. It's still a little noisy though and I think I can get it quieter. I've had to use a suction cup for now to hold the pipe against the side glass in the sump and that is causing some vibration but nowhere near as much. I realised that the "19mm" vinyl tubing I had at the start of my previous setup was much smaller internal diameter and I suspect that coupled with the 20mm PVC was causing a lot of back pressure.

Anyone no where I can buy some rubber matt cut to size that is safe to use in the sump (inert)? Might wrap some foam around the body of the pump as well. Wish they came with a better cradle to sit them.

Must have changed the flow rate because my weir level was fluctuating and started rushing periodically. Backed the drain off and now I have a nice quiet trickle whereas before it was way loud so solved two problems and no it's flowing perfect.


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

Thanks guys. Water is flowing nicely...very quite steady trickle. I'd say its the same as yours Shak. Yours might be a bit quieter because you have a softer drip tray but I'm happy with the noise. The pump seems to have "settled in" and is real quiet now.

Fishless cycle doing my head in (1st time) but I'm staying determined. Realized I was making the mistake of adding ammonia daily after my initial dose and it went too high.

Did a 30% water change last night and got it back to 4ppm.

Visited a friend today and got about 1 1/2 liters of matrix from his 2 year old established tank. Just put that into my media tower now so hopefully that will kick start the bacteria growth!

Decided to go all male peacock tank.

Just purchased:

I was there today. He's a prick of a bloke to deal with. I got my hands on

Aulonocara steveni blue neon
Aulonocara baenschi benga
Aulonocara stugranti maleri chidunga rocks
Aulonocarq mozambique hueseri

All adult size.

Also picked up 2 labidochromis caeruleus males. Once my tank is cycled, I'll go pick them up and get them in.

Put in an order for some German imports as well!

Can't wait!


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

Day 8 of the Fishless Cycle. Still no ammonia drop.



God this seems like it's taking forever!


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## Idisc (Jul 30, 2013)

Why not just use someones well established filter media and rise it off in ur tank or filter system...u will have the tank up and going in 24 - 48 hrs.. I did my first ever tank fishless cycle and it took around 24 days. After that I use seed filter media and I put fish in the tanks the same day and no any problems.


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

I've put some established materiel into the media tower already (approx 1L) from a mates 2ft cube. He's only got 3-4 Africans in it. Nowhere near enough to cycle my tank. Nothing has happened since putting it in. I don't know anybody else with a tank either.


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## Austinite (Jul 27, 2013)

That tank looks amazing!


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

I think the cycle is progressing. Ammonia still hasn't zeroed out but over the past 2-3 days its slowly gone from 3ppm-1ppm and nitrites have slowly risen to 2ppm.

I thought it was a sudden drop but obviously mine is going slow.

Testing my patience I tell you!


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

Day 27 of the fishless cycle and I am happy to report the decline of nitrite has began. Was/has been off the chart for some time but has just tested between 0.5-1ppm.

I had an incling it might be on the way down last night. When I tested it, it took longer than usual to turn to the deep purple colour.

Fingers crossed should see fish in by the end of the week.

*Does happy dance around room!*


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## k7gixxerguy (Jan 12, 2012)

Nitrite off the charts likely slowed down your cycle. For future reference, keep it below 5ppm.


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## joey13 (Jul 10, 2011)

I did do a few partial water changes over this time which I'm sure kept it in check. When I say off charts,
The colours are difficult to tell. 28 days is relatively short from what I've read so it couldn't have effected it that much.

Thanks for the tip!


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