# 120 gallon in wall



## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

Starting the planning phase of my dream tank. I have already started framing out the rooms in my basement and will be starting on the framing of the tank stand and wall over the top of the tank. This is going to be a slow process, I'm hoping to have the frame up in the next month and I still have to finish the rest of the basement and money is tight so it's gonna be slow. With luck I should have water in the tank by the end of the year, tax time next year at the latest.

On to the design, 120 gallon 48x24x24 tank on a custom framed stand built out of 2x4's and a 1/2" plywood top It will be dry walled all the way around with a nice wood trim frame making the tank look like a living picture frame. The left side and the back of the tank will be painted black. The tank will only be accessible from the rear to keep the front as clean looking as possible. I might put the front top trim piece on some kind of invisible hinges if I can find them.

I'm dividing the basement into 3 rooms. The laundry room, a photo studio for my wife, and a rec room with my pool table and a couch for TV and gaming systems. 









Here is the existing spot where the tank frame will be built.









Design for the Tank Frame, It is built directly over top of the floor drain.
Front:









Access From Rear:









With glass, Drywall will cover all the framing.









In case your wondering what the small framed sections running along the ceiling in the main room are. I'm building a drop to cover the Heating Ductwork and steel I beam with drywall.

Any comments or suggestions are always welcome. I will update this thread as progress is made.
Thanks.


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## BigDaddyK (Nov 6, 2006)

I completely understand the money situation. The fact that you're building your own stand will save you several hundreds... I know this is a dream tank and perhaps 120 is the dream. speaking from a dream 135'r that is considering ripping that tank apart to make a 240, consider the biggest you can buy 8). I like the layout but I don't get why your cutting yourself off at 4' when there is clearly more room there. Why not flip the door to the wall opposite the ductwork and make the entire wall where the 4' tank currently sits ?

Please understand this is not criticism but statments from a fellow dreamer that didn't dream quite big enough the first time LOL


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## mel_cp6 (Feb 3, 2009)

nice layout to but i will also dream bigger (180 or so) if possible. 
this is a one time project from the look of it, so why not bigger since you have the room.
also, it may look better if it were flush to the wall. so it would be inside the laundry room.
this way you gain that extra 2' of space.

its good to ask questions and for advice before going ahead with projects.
people may see something you dont. *** made that mistake x2 with my fish room project.

good luck with the project and keep us posted.


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## Chunkanese (Feb 4, 2011)

Awesome, you got some skills for sure. I have a 4ft 90 gallon, dude, i wish i had a 6ft or 7. This thing is going to be permanently in your wall, your never moving it. I would go big! 150-200 gallon for sure! Length is better than depth in most cases. I can attest to that, i have a 90 tall, and territory can be a problem because not as much footprint. Going big will have a draw back, moving it in, you will need maybe 2 friends to help, thats it really. I understand your trying to place it over your drain, however if your basement ever floods, which is unlikely, it would run all towards your aquarium wouldnt it? or would you have gaps at the base to allow water passage? Are you going to make that room your man cave, cant tell if the rec room is split from the aquarium, or is that the over head pipes?


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## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

You guys up North are so lucky to have basements. A basement would double my living space, but for some reason we don't have basements in Texas. Not this part of TX anyways.

Looks as though the rec room is that whole side of the basement, seeing as he said there are three rooms and the other two are clearly defined. I initially thought the same thing though, with the drop down he is going to use to cover the ducts.

I'll second what others have said, if you can go bigger than 4', do it. I have three 4' tanks and am not satisfied. This is a permanent and one-time thing, you don't want to have regrets. As far as I remember, I've never heard anybody complain about their tank being too big.


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

BigDaddyK said:


> Why not flip the door to the wall opposite the ductwork and make the entire wall where the 4' tank currently sits ?


Believe me I would love to do that. Problem is the plumbing. It's not drawn in the pictures but the main plumbing and drains for the house sit there so I can not put a door on that side or move the tank to that spot. The door to te laundry room has to stay where it's at and I can not have the tank in that wall.

I thought about rotating the tank 90 degrees and making it into a room divider between the rec room and making a 4th small room like between the stairs and the laundry room but this will just make both rooms look much smaller and that room will be too small by itself to really do anything with. I have made many designs and this one so far satisfies the most of my needs with space and tank size. I would love to have a larger tank, concerns are money (cost of tank, equipment, upkeep, more fish, larger water changes) and space the tank concumes. I used to have a 125 and it was nice don't get me wrong but seems like it just took up too much space. I don't need to have that monster tank. I've been living with a 28 for a few years now and i'm good with that. If I had a larger home and more money to blow I would love to have a 240 or so but that is still some years down the road.


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## BigDaddyK (Nov 6, 2006)

You thought this all through. After I posted I noticed the Main Drain and assumed (although not sure) that was the problem there. If a 120 is going to suffice than by all means buy the 120!! it's going to look great regardless. I was just offering some thought on hindsight :?

You've done the homework on this now you get to enjoy the build!! !


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## Rhinox (Sep 10, 2009)

Just wanted to post to say, in some basements the floor is sloped around/towards the drain in order to get water to go down the drain and not just sit there. Are you sure you'll be able to build a sturdy, LEVEL stand sitting right over the drain light that? And as others have said, won't access to the drain be blocked by the stand if the basement floods?

On the other hand, sure must be convenient to have a floor drain to drain to during water changes 8)


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

Rhinox said:


> Just wanted to post to say, in some basements the floor is sloped around/towards the drain in order to get water to go down the drain and not just sit there. Are you sure you'll be able to build a sturdy, LEVEL stand sitting right over the drain light that? And as others have said, won't access to the drain be blocked by the stand if the basement floods?
> 
> On the other hand, sure must be convenient to have a floor drain to drain to during water changes 8)


Yes the floor is sloped towards the drain, and I will be able to build a level stand there. I'll be using shim blocks to keep the stand level and sturdy. There will be shims under every vertical support if it is not level touching the floor. If the basement floods I'll be very pissed off as I just spent a pretty decent chunk of change waterproofing it and installing a sump pump.


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## pistolpete (Dec 28, 2009)

Consider Green E board for the tank enclosure. This is a water proof white cement board with a paintable surface. That way you will not end up with water damage no matter what you do. Not to be confused with green board which is a moisture resistant drywall.


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## Rhinox (Sep 10, 2009)

cool. Keep us updated on the progress. I'll be following along waiting for updates and pics opcorn: I like all the computer generated models, seems like something I'd be doing.


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## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

jschwab45212 said:


> I thought about rotating the tank 90 degrees and making it into a room divider between the rec room and making a 4th small room like between the stairs and the laundry room but this will just make both rooms look much smaller and that room will be too small by itself to really do anything with.


I see potential for a maintenance/fish room...room dividers are awesome!


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

Well I started on the stand build for the 120 today. Got all the framing for the stand done, It's perfectly square and level, it was a pain to get it there though, literally, my finger has the scar. Drill slipped on a screw head and decided to try and screw in my index finger nail to the wood, split my nail open. I still have to add the 1/2 inch plywood top, waterproofing (Kilz), and 1/2 inch Styrofoam cushion. Once the wall framing is a little further along I can move it into place and truly level it with shims for the slope of the floor. I set it in place and checked and it's perfectly level front to back but the right to left is about an inch low on the right side.

In case your wondering the stand will be 40" to the bottom of the tank which puts the top of the tank at 65" I wanted it taller to be more at eye level than having to look down at it all the time. I used 2 supports in the front on the long side for dry walling purposes I read that you only really need a support every 2 ft. Which is why there is only 1 in the back and also easier access to under the tank for equipment storage and in case later I want to add a sump.

Bottom of stand and supports









Completed framing of the stand









Eventually it will reside here


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

Kinda little far in advance, but it's cool to think about. Gimme some ideas for equipment and stocking.

Right now my plans are to use an Ac110 HOB power filter along with a Eheim 2075 canister filter, couple 200W heaters, couple Koralia 550 power heads, a 4x54W T5 light, the eco-complete planted substrate, live plants and a couple pieces of large real driftwood. Was thinking I wanted a trio or so of Jack Dempseys along with a few others but not really made up my mind on the stocking yet. My 125 used to be a Malawi Mbuna tank, thinking I want to switch continents, but the Malawis are the most colorful.


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## jchild40 (Mar 20, 2010)

:thumb:

opcorn:


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

Made some progress on the build today. Got the wall built on the side and the back, set the tank in place, and made the legs for it to level it out. I also secured it to the side and back walls. Finished the framing for the walls over top of the tank also. The rest of the basement framing is almost complete, I have completed all the drop framing for the ducting and support beam, all I have left on that is framing out for the water and gas meters and a closet door for under the stairs. Next comes electrical, anything special I should do for the tank besides GFCI outlets?


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## shmity72 (Dec 4, 2007)

the only thing i would worry about with that is water changes and where you may have to walk to/across with your buckets...unless you have a cool way of cyphoning in and out the water.

:thumb:

i'm starting a double stack of 55's in the garage. i think i'll just put a fresh bucket of room temp water in the garage. let is stand for a day in order to have some chlorine evaporate...then put it in. though this may be a wives tale.

hope your project is making you happy.

sincerely,~ jason


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## pistolpete (Dec 28, 2009)

you can use your tank for the final leveling. Fill it with about 1/8 inch of water and then shim until you have it all even. If it has a rim then fill exactly to the bottom rim.


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## pistolpete (Dec 28, 2009)

Smithy, that's a floor drain directly below his tank.


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

well over the weekend I was waiting around without much to do as I am out of basement funds at the moment and I had a few pieces of wood left so I decided to make a rack for my sump and a stand for a 20 gallon tall tank I will use as a hospital/quarantine tank once the 120 is up and running. The 20 currently houses my blue rams as I took down my 28 nano cube to trade it for a 120 gallon tank (sweet trade if you ask me).

Platform for sump and other equipment, the wet/dry I ordered is 30" long and the platform is 40 inches to allow if I want to add an additional canister filter or something else later. It will have a plywood top, just haven't got there yet.


















Hospital/quarantine (or currently blue rams house)


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

Well I picked up the tank over the weekend, found one used that I traded for a skimmer and some other equipment left over from my saltwater tank. It was pretty algae covered when I got it so my son and I cleaned it up before taking it in the house. It has some light scratches along the bottom in the front, I'm guessing from where the previous owner got some sand caught in a mag float, but other than that it's in great shape. Would it be better to leave these in the front or move to back, the back will be painted black just don't know if the paint will make the scratches more visible. Guess I could put them in back and just cover with rocks.

Got the wet/dry in also and went to work modifying a brand new filter by enlarging the intake holes to accept a 1.5" pipe rather than the standard 1" pipe. My glass-holes kit is dual 1.5" drain pipes.


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

Tank drilled, back and side painted, lifted onto stand and final leveled, UGJ system in place, plumbing completed and tank filled for test run. Then I drained it and started on my background.

Tank painted with regular acrylic craft paint and roller, I did not want to carry back out side to spray paint.









Foam Padding installed on stand top, I siliconed it to the wood.









Lifted onto stand and started filling for leveling.









Test fitting UGJ system, I had planned on using 7 jets figured with a 1300GPH pump 7 jets would be cool.









Flow out of the jets is not what I had hoped.









Return plumbing









Overflow plumbing









Decided to cut it down to just 2 jets pointing the water to flow in a circular direction around the tank, basically not to keep from having to vacuum, just to keep the inside of the tank as clean as possible, don't want to use powerheads for movement.









Making a design for my real rock 3D background.









Testing strength of silicone holding a rock to glass. Believe me once this is dry it's a pain to get off. I could hold the roock in this pic and pick the whole tank up and shake it around and it never came loose.









Started attaching rock to glass in the main tank, I had to use wood braces on some of the rocks to make sure they stayed in place while drying.


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## monisaab (Jan 12, 2011)

great work...


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

Well I upgraded the return plumbing from 1/2 inch hose and just hard plumbed it with 3/4" PVC connected to my 1/2" UGJ system with just 2 jets foe water circulation. Much better flow.



















I drilled a couple holes into the tall water entry chamber to fit my 2 gigantic heaters in there. These Eheim heaters are 18" tall and would not fit in the main return area of the filter.










Got my substrate in as well. Eco-Complete African Cichlid Sand


















Ready to start cycling and hopefully get some fish soon


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## mel_cp6 (Feb 3, 2009)

great job so far.
it looks awesome.


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

First Inhabitants went in this weekend.


























































Now all I have to do is finish the rest of the basement around the tank


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## iwade4fish (Jan 5, 2009)

Don't forget to plan ahead for at least two more tanks down there!!!!!
Professional looking work. Could we get a close up of the wet-dry and it's different compartments?!?!


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

iwade4fish said:


> Don't forget to plan ahead for at least two more tanks down there!!!!!
> Professional looking work. Could we get a close up of the wet-dry and it's different compartments?!?!


As requested

Water enters in the noise reduction first chamber The standard wet/dry comes with 1" intake pipes and holes. I enlarged the openings to accommodate 1.5" drains. I also drilled 2 holes in this chamber to drop my heaters in since they were too long for the main chamber, being 18" long they wouldn't even fit sideways because of the media reactor chambers. 1 heater is missing because I found it was defective, 1 day I came home from work and my tank was at 83 degrees, the heater was sticking on and never shutting off. I had to ship it back and I'm waiting on a replacement.










In wet/Dry mode the water flows out of the noise reduction chamber and through the filter pads onto the drip tray and through the bio-balls. This is the way I have it set up, but you can remove 1 of both of these chambers and install a Berlin filter bag instead which will double the flow rate through the filter if desired. The blue tape is my max fill level, if there is more water in the sump than this tape the sump will overflow if I loose power.










It can then flow through 1 or 2 media reactor chambers filled with any media of choice, however if you fill both media reactor chambers it will reduce the flow greatly. They are both out of the sump at the moment as I am not running anything right now, but they go where the 2 grey rings are. Finally into the main chamber where the return pump is.


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## iwade4fish (Jan 5, 2009)

jschwab45212 said:


> Now all I have to do is finish the rest of the basement around the tank


Funny where our priorities lie, huh?!!!!!!LOL


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## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

jschwab45212 said:


>


Looks like a Via Aqua pump. Is it?

Can you elaborate on the 'noise reduction chamber'? How does this work?

Very nice work. How was drilling your tank? I want to use the return kit from glass holes but I'm too scared to drill my tank, even though it's already drilled for an overflow.


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

Yes, it is a Via Aqua 4900 return pump. Drilling the glass is really not a big deal, this is the second time I have done it. As long as you follow the directions, go slow and keep the bit lubricated it will be fine. The noise reduction first chamber is just a closed chamber the water enters so that it muffles the noise of the water splashing down.


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## cantrell00 (Oct 30, 2010)

Drilling glass sounds alot more dramatic than it actually is. SLOW & STEADY is the way to go.

The most critical thing is making sure you *aren't* drilling a tempered panel.


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## branw (Apr 18, 2011)

Looks great! Can I ask why you put the styrofoam on the plywood?? Just working on my own built in for 2 90G tanks  Maybe it is something I should do???


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## Vadimshevchuk (May 23, 2009)

Wow i got some ideas with for my build from you! The tank was definitely thought out and i hope to use some of your ideas in my 90 mbuna build also. One is using the sump return to go straight to UGJs. How do you keep it from back siphoning back into a sump in case of a pump failure? Great tank and i will continue to check back for updates! 8)


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

branw said:


> Looks great! Can I ask why you put the styrofoam on the plywood?? Just working on my own built in for 2 90G tanks  Maybe it is something I should do???


Styrofoam just spreads out the weight and ensures you don't have any pressure points on the tank.


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

Vadimshevchuk said:


> Wow i got some ideas with for my build from you! The tank was definitely thought out and i hope to use some of your ideas in my 90 mbuna build also. One is using the sump return to go straight to UGJs. How do you keep it from back siphoning back into a sump in case of a pump failure? Great tank and i will continue to check back for updates! 8)


Drill a small 1/8 inch hole in the feed pipe just under the normal operating water level so when the water level starts to drop in power failure air enters the hole and breaks the siphon.


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## Elijah (Mar 30, 2011)

Wow, fantastic job! It's amazing how ambitious even the more relaxed amongst us can get when we are providing for our fish!


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

Elijah said:


> Wow, fantastic job! It's amazing how ambitious even the more relaxed amongst us can get when we are providing for our fish!


Thanks


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

Some new shots of the fishes. Picked up some Rusties and I got 1 hitchhiker, I think it's a electric blue hap female.


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

It's been a while, I figured I would post some progress pics. I've been working on the basement as time and cash allow. I finished the framing, electrical, recessed lighting, installed the doors and started on the dry walling. I did decide to use cement board around the tank for the moisture resistance. I'm finished dry walling the ceiling and half of the large pool table/rec room, just have my wife's studio left.

Here are some photos of the tank:


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## Agridion (Sep 8, 2010)

opcorn: opcorn: opcorn: . You have sure come a long way. Your basement and tank look fantastic. :thumb:


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Looks awesome! =D>

I will admit I was skeptical at the beginning of these plans and thought the tank would end up looking more like you decided to just toss it on later (even though technically you did :lol: ) but it really ended up looking nice!

I look forward to watching the rest of the build opcorn:


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## luvplantsnfish (Nov 21, 2011)

Looks really good! What did you use to clue the rocks to the back of the tank?


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## CITADELGRAD87 (Mar 26, 2003)

Very nicely done. This is a very nice project.


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## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

luvplantsnfish said:


> Looks really good! What did you use to clue the rocks to the back of the tank?


It's in the previous pages of this thread: silicone.


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## luvplantsnfish (Nov 21, 2011)

Opps I read the whole thing but some how missed that. Sorry.


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## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

luvplantsnfish said:


> Opps I read the whole thing but some how missed that. Sorry.


No need to apologize, just pointing out, it was already pointed out. :thumb:


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## luvplantsnfish (Nov 21, 2011)

No problem. 8)


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## jschwab45212 (Apr 25, 2006)

Yep, silicone 1 not II, you don't want the moldicide in the caulk.


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## luvplantsnfish (Nov 21, 2011)

Ok thank you.


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