Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > Reef Discussion
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 04/13/2011, 06:55 PM   #1
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
Smile Fishdisease's 180 Gallon In-Wall Build

Hello,

Welcome to my build thread, this is something that I've wanted to do for a long time and I can't help but document it along the way. I have been inspired by a number of people along the way and one who deserves recognition is Drummereef. His build thread has inspired me to do things with a level of detail that in the past I would have not thought necessary. If you have not read his build thread please do, it is a wealth of information and a forum to discuss every step along the way. I will try to make this thread as informative and as exciting as his and the other threads I've enjoyed over the years.

I started in the hobby a few short years ago about 5 years ago with a small 33 gallon tank with a hang-on skimmer and a few fish and LPS. I quickly moved into 90 gallon mixed reef which I kept up and running for over 2 years. However a move to the other side of the country forced me to sell everything and wait to start again.

For the past year and a half I've been slowly acquiring equipment and planning. To be honest, I thought I knew what I was going to do, but everyday I'd question it. But watching various builds and asking many questions have given me what I feel is enough to start.

So here we go, don't expect there to be water in this tank for a while, or livestock for even longer. But I will try to update this thread with lots of pictures and create a resource for myself and for others.

Here is my very first tank, at about 1 year old.




Attached Images
File Type: jpg tank april 16.JPG (91.5 KB, 12 views)
__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.

Last edited by Fishdisease; 12/14/2017 at 06:04 PM.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/13/2011, 07:10 PM   #2
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
So it begins...

I moved into a new house when I moved back to the East Coast and we decided to leave the basement unfinished (well, finances decided it for us). When we were house hunting, I actually considered space for a fish room to be essential.

Although there hasn't been any work in the basement thusfar, I was given permission from the wife to build my fishroom first. She appreciated that it'll get the gear off of the floor and into a dedicated space and she loves me and knows that I've wanted a big tank for a while. The space backs onto the utility room in the basement and therefore I get more usable space.

Here it is before I started gathering supplies


And here I've started bringing in stuff, so much stuff...



__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.

Last edited by Fishdisease; 12/14/2017 at 06:07 PM.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/13/2011, 07:17 PM   #3
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
So it took me two weeks of here and there work, but I have framed in the room. You can see what it'll turn into now and it really excites me. This is a fairly standard framing job for an in-wall 180. I did make the opening 3 inches wider then the tank on each side, this is to allow space to get my hand into the space between the wall and the tank for moving the magnetic cleaner. I also used two 2x6s for the header above the tank to allow for as much space for my light rack as possible.

The space in front of the tank will eventually be our rec room downstairs, but with a little one one the way (due June) and a new house I am very lucky to have a wife that will allow me to make this project priority.



__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.

Last edited by Fishdisease; 12/14/2017 at 06:11 PM.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/13/2011, 07:21 PM   #4
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
The space is 6 feet wide, this will allow 4 feet of space behind the tank to work. I do plan on adding a 12-18 inch shelf/bench on the back wall for general use. But for the most part the room will stay as clean as possible.

Here is the inside view



__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.

Last edited by Fishdisease; 12/14/2017 at 06:11 PM.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/13/2011, 07:22 PM   #5
bigdaddystar
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: San Bernardino CA
Posts: 325
looking good cant wait to see the progress....always been a goal of mine to have an in-wall


bigdaddystar is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/15/2011, 12:59 PM   #6
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
OK, so here's a question.

I am going to insulate all of the walls of the fish room. The exterior walls for the obvious reason (I live in a very cold climate) and the interior walls for sound proofing. But here's the question: should I vapor-barrier the walls on the room? I read a thread a while back that suggested that the vapor barrier could retain moisture int he drywall. Sure it'll prevent moisture from getting into the walls but the author made the argument that allowing the walls to breathe would prevent any long-term mold issues.

Any opinions?

I'm stopping at the orange box tonight to buy the rest of the electrical and construction supplies I'll need to finish the room, hopefully this weekend. More pics to come!


__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/20/2011, 01:24 PM   #7
brockboi
Registered Member
 
brockboi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 47
good luck with the build. can't wait to see the finished product. Can you tell your wife to pass these words along to my wife; "she loves me and knows that I've wanted a big tank for a while"!


brockboi is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/20/2011, 08:03 PM   #8
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
Update:

So I want to keep this build as clean as possible. So to that end I looked into Melev's conduit setup for running individual outlets to my apex (which I'm getting this weekend). I was originally going to run a similar setup to Drummereefs conduit setup but I thought to myself, "If I'm building a room from scratch, why don't I wire the outlets internally?"

So I did. But the best part was that I was going through my company's obsolete inventory and I came across a coil of heavy duty wire. We manufacture custom marine sensors and make our own interconnect cables. this stuff was something we don't use anymore and up for grabs. It's 16 gauge, rated for between -40 and +90C and I had my friendly electrician look at it and he siad it's far better then the 14-2 they use to wire houses nowadays.






__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.

Last edited by Fishdisease; 12/14/2017 at 06:12 PM.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/20/2011, 08:11 PM   #9
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
So I wired up the room with 6 outlets on each side of the tank. Four outlets above the water line on each side for powerheads and pumps, and 2 outlets on each side at sump level for heaters, skimmer and anything else.



So here's the wire bundle of for 1 individual outlets. I'll get a breakout box or something to have a nice clean exit from the wall for the wire, put male plugs on the end and plus them into the Apex EB8's



However I forgot to number the wire and had to retrace them all to number them so I'd know which is which.




__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.

Last edited by Fishdisease; 12/14/2017 at 06:21 PM.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/20/2011, 08:21 PM   #10
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
The other addition I made was a 5 stage RO/DI unit. I picked this up from a company in Vancouver and i have to say the price and quality was awesome. I'm running 3 lines out of it. One to the fridge, one to the kitchen sink and one dedicated for the fish tank (the only one using the DI).

I am lucky that I can walk down the street and get filtered seawater straight from the ocean, but for ATO the ro/di was clutch.




__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.

Last edited by Fishdisease; 12/14/2017 at 06:22 PM.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/02/2011, 08:24 PM   #11
brockboi
Registered Member
 
brockboi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 47
any updates?


brockboi is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/04/2011, 07:14 PM   #12
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
Ask and you shall recieve!

So I've got the room almost drywalled. I hate mudding, I really do, But I got the first coat on tonight and I should finish it this weekend. I've also collected a bunch of new to me gear over the past three weeks.

Here's the room fully vapour barriered and taped. I did some reading and although there are mixed opinions I decided to vapour barrier every wall and the ceiling. I guess you can't really over do it.

I also added in a bathroom fan last minute. it was easy to install before the ceiling was done and I want to put it on a humidistat to turn it on automatically when the humidity gets up too high. I'll also have a dehumidifier in the basement to handle any stray moisture.




__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.

Last edited by Fishdisease; 12/14/2017 at 06:25 PM.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/04/2011, 07:23 PM   #13
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
Equipment List Update:

So I've decided on my equipment list, well, I decided a long time ago. I just had to think about it for a long time before it became official. Here;s what I have so far and what I'm getting down the road

Apex Lite with breakout box for ATO
1 X Lumenarc 250W Ballasts
2 X Ice Cap 250W Ballasts (newer version)
1 X Coralview Mini reflector
2 X Lumenarc Mini reflectors
Octopus Extreme 250 Skimmer
2 X BRS Reactor (for carbon and gfo)
2 X Koralia Evo 1400
2 X Koralia 8
2 X BRS Dosing pumps
2 X 250 W titanium heaters


__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/04/2011, 07:26 PM   #14
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
When I got the Apex I noticed that the way that the store packed it, the EB8 bar was pressing into the display, and that the back panel of the display was cracked. I contacted Neptune and they're sending me a new back panel. Great customer service.






__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.

Last edited by Fishdisease; 12/14/2017 at 06:26 PM.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/04/2011, 07:28 PM   #15
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
I'm hoping that the difference between the lumatek and IceCaps won't be too much. I'm going to put the lumatek in the middle and the caps on either side. I want to use Phoenix 14Ks for all of the lights. I like their color and they seem to get good reviews.






__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.

Last edited by Fishdisease; 12/14/2017 at 06:27 PM.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/14/2011, 11:13 PM   #16
brockboi
Registered Member
 
brockboi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 47
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishdisease View Post
Ask and you shall recieve!

I'm going to go ahead and ask again! any progress recently? Can't wait to see this finished project, hopefully LIVE one day!


brockboi is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/17/2011, 12:01 PM   #17
jjmill1980
Registered Member
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 33
WOW! Awesome build. Some day I hope for similar.

I picked up a 135 gallon setup a while back and when I went to pick it up I realized that anything that big really should be built into the wall. The guy I got it from had changed flooring in the room since he had set up the tank. So not only was it a mess when he changed the floor it was a mess when he got rid of his tank.

Keep us posted.


jjmill1980 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 05/17/2011, 02:40 PM   #18
Lynnmw1208
Registered Member
 
Lynnmw1208's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Brunswick, Ohio
Posts: 3,306
awesome! did you look into get moisture resistant dry wall? not the green board but apparently they have one that is completely moisture resistant on both sides to prevent mold. the guy who repaired our basement told us about it. can't wait to see more progress!


__________________
equipment: Eshopps psk-200 skimmer, Mag 12 pump, 30gal sump, 2x 300w Finnex heaters, glass-holes 1500gph overflow kit with 3/4" return kits, 72" 8x36w t-5 AquaticLife light, 66lbs of LR, 150lbs of tropic eden reeflakes, 2 Koralia Evo 1400, JBJ ATO, BRS dual GFO/carbon reactors, Hydor smartwave

Current Tank Info: 125gallon
Lynnmw1208 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/22/2011, 05:50 PM   #19
brockboi
Registered Member
 
brockboi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 47
I know you have a lot more on your mind then fishies these days, but anything new


brockboi is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/29/2011, 12:54 PM   #20
jfourn
Registered Member
 
jfourn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 42
any updates??? looking real good.....like to see it all wired up and ready


jfourn is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 12/14/2017, 07:00 PM   #21
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
Wow, so it's been 6-1/2 years since I posted here, life sometimes takes you on a journey and I've been there. My daughter was born a couple of weeks after my last post and she's now 6-1/2! I started a home business which became mildly successful, after 3 years had a healthy baby boy who is now 3, quit my real job to pursue the home business, started a second business and managed to hold it all together. Now there is time for the tank.

So I wanted to resurrect this thread, update it and then hope that someone will read this and help with the knowledge gap I have now after being out of the community for 6+ years.

here's the not-so-mega update:

It took some time but I finished the room and acquired the rest of the gear:

Room: I still remember what a b*tch is was to finish the wiring, taping and mudding!



__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 12/14/2017, 07:04 PM   #22
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
Here's the room with the mudding and painting finished as well as the tank stand. I used several coats of a water resistance paint in hopes to prevent mold. It's bright and white in there, shiny too. I spent probably too much time building that stand, it can hold twice as much as the full tank will weigh but it's better to over-engineer then under.




__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 12/14/2017, 07:10 PM   #23
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
Here's a couple of pics showing when the tank went in from the side and front. I decided to re-silicone the tank as it was an older tank I picked up used. It was full of fish and water when I got it but the silicone was starting to peel. I didn't tank the glass apart, just trimmed the silicone in the tank and replaced it.

I did decide to soundproof the entire room with Roxul. I remember how loud the pump was on the system I had previous to this (90 gallon build). There will be more equipment in this room but I want to keep it as quiet as possible, most pumps that are outside the tank will be sitting on older mouse pads to dampen the vibration.






__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 12/14/2017, 07:31 PM   #24
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
At the time I had some friends making and selling live rock, I got a lot of the "seconds" for a good price so I have a lot of home-made rock. I also got about 120 lbs of crushed coral for the sump.



The sump is something I made as I got a large sheet of grey plexi from my old job and was able to design and cut the pieces there as well. The sump took a while to make, getting things glued properly and leak-proof. Standard sump with a 3 baffle bubble trap and a single return. During water testing of the system the flow was more than sufficient with the 2" standpipe and 2" return.

I have an external pump so I plumbed the sump externally. To save time, drilling and cost I reused a lot of the piping I had from my 90 gallon system and was able to split the 2" return into 3 1/2" returns that come over the back of the tank and are split again into dual loc-line returns. The flwo inside the tank was good, but i also have 4 Tunze pumps to keep the flow high enough for SPS.






__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.

Last edited by Fishdisease; 12/14/2017 at 07:40 PM.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 12/14/2017, 07:39 PM   #25
Fishdisease
Registered Member
 
Fishdisease's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Halifax, NS, Canada
Posts: 311
Here is how it stands today, the front room is almost finished and the back room is in need of a good clean. The last thing I did before I shelved this project was run a week long water test of the system so I'm hoping that it still holds water. My plan is to do another water test to clean out the tank then fill it up and start the cycle. I can get seed rock from friends but I have lots of substrate to use. If all goes well I'll get a CUC in late winter.

I have a few questions I need to answer before I get too deep though, so I'm looking for help if you want to give it. I really just need to figure my lighting - I have 3 x 250W MH Ballasts and bulbs but I'm curious about the state of LED technology and what's up with that nowadays. I was going to supplement with t5 but it might be easier to sell what I have and get a complete LED or even MH ballast. I don't have the desire to DIY myself a lighting system, right now my time is spent with my family and business.

But can you imagine having this is your house for 6-1/2 years and doing nothing with it? It's been tough!






__________________
Dave

Current Tank Info: I've got an empty 180 in my basement...and the build has begun! Check out my thread.
Fishdisease is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
180 gallon, build thread, diy liverock, in-wall, sps coral

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Scott's 50-Gallon In-Wall Build scbauer Reef Discussion 499 07/23/2017 01:20 PM
180 gallon build help AKA MAVERICK Large Reef Tanks 2 01/25/2011 12:19 AM
180 gallon plumbing - starting from scratch oscar.millan Large Reef Tanks 2 12/13/2009 04:18 PM
New direction.....180 gallon in wall build! shawna1972 Upstate Reef Society 225 10/28/2009 09:23 AM
Zooty's 180 gallon Foam Wall build zooty Large Reef Tanks 10 09/11/2009 07:02 AM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:21 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.