Greenhorn equipment question : Im planning a build after being out for 25 years

[Marc316h]

Im planning to build a custom reef tank. It will be an in-wall unit so I only need glass on the front. I want to use plywood on the other sides. The tank will be ~120-160 gallon (not set on exact dimensions yet.

My concern is powerhead and gyer mounting. If I use plywood it will be 3/4" plus the materials to waterproof, pushing it close to 7/8ths of an inch. I dont think the standard magnets will hold through that thickness from what Im reading. Ive seen add-on magnets that say they will hold on up to 1" glass. Im skeptical especially with some of the heavier equipment out there. I dont want to chance it...

My question is this: Is there a magnet on the inside and outside (wet and dry sides) of the powerhead and gyer?If so do you HAVE to have both?

What Im thinking is if there is one on the wet side I could imbed a sheet of ferrous metal under all the waterproofing on the plywood sides and just use that one magnet to stick. I would run 2 metal strips vertically on each side of the tank so that I could move the powerheads/gyres up/down and front to back to find the "sweet spots" in my tank for optimal flow.

Thoughts, comments?
Thanks in advance...

 

[KrisReef]

Both sides of the mount are magnetic, so having only one side that would be attracted to the embedded metal but that is not the same as having two attractive magnets pulling together to hold the equipment.

 

[Ultra Aquatics]

Maybe just consider an off the shelf tank for that size? 120 can be had for pretty cheap and will save you a lot of work/headache.

 

[Marc316h]

Ultra Aquatics where are you seeing "pretty cheap" 120-150's ? Im seeing $1k plus. More for the dimensions Im looking for (48L,30H,24D) as the standard off the shelf are typically only 18" deep. Then you add holes for overflow and low iron front, etc and the $$ just keeps going up and up. Any links would be appreciated!

 

[Ultra Aquatics]

Ultra Aquatics where are you seeing "pretty cheap" 120-150's ? Im seeing $1k plus. More for the dimensions Im looking for (48L,30H,24D) as the standard off the shelf are typically only 18" deep. Then you add holes for overflow and low iron front, etc and the $$ just keeps going up and up. Any links would be appreciated!

You should be able to get a Seapora 120 which is 48x24x24 for under or close to 1k. Try your LFS. This tank will have low iron, black silicone and reef ready.

They have a 150 with your specs but I would expect to pay closer to 1200-1300. I am basing this off the wholesale pricing that we get.

 

[Marc316h]

You should be able to get a Seapora 120 which is 48x24x24 for under or close to 1k. Try your LFS. This tank will have low iron, black silicone and reef ready.

They have a 150 with your specs but I would expect to pay closer to 1200-1300. I am basing this off the wholesale pricing that we get.

Thanks for the info! I does look like there are some available options in the $1k range.