Mike’s 300 gallon In-Wall Tank and Fish Room Build

[mattgsa]

I will be running one with low flow for fish pests and the other one with high flow for algae. I stole the idea from Ryan at BRS’s 360 build. I was going to do 2 50w but I found the 80s on sale so I figured why not.

I saw that too, I'm not sure I will go that way, but I was seriously considering it. Perhaps in the future. I couldn't find them on sale and the sticker price is high.

 

[Mike Jenkins]

Control boards built. I hope to get them sanded and painted this weekend. Please excuse the mess in the shop.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

The support stand for the tank has been completed also. It is 42” tall and is constructed of 2x material with 3/4” plywood for the top and bottom. All 2x’s were ripped out of 2x10 SYP floor joists. I jointed and planed all members before construction to insure everything was straight and true. (My other hobby is woodworking.)

I laminated three 2x6 for the rear top rail as an attempt to avoid needing a center post which would block access to the sump. I will monitor deflection on the stand during the initial leak test of the tank. If any deflection is observed, I will be adding the middle post!

The “show-side” of the stand will be skinned with a poplar face frame (and doors) and plywood sides once the stand is in place and secured to the wall.

The wider side posts are where the stand will secure to the wall. 12” of the tank will protrude into the room.

Wow, that's a show piece

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Update time!!

Fish room is coming along: Sheetrock, trim, painting, flooring, electrical, ventilation, and plumbing are complete. And the stand base is permanently in place. I will be skinning it with plywood/doors/trim and building a canopy once the tank is in place. I will be building cabinets/counter in fish room on wall opposite the tank for supplies, quarantine tanks, frag tank, etc but I haven’t quite decided how I want to design it yet.

So far all work has been done myself (except the Sheetrock, I can’t finish Sheetrock to save my butt!).

The tank is scheduled for delivery tomorrow and the synergy reef sump is supposed to ship out this week!

I love this room, is the floor vinyl?

 

[RobB'z Reef]

This past week I finally received my Shadow overflow and was able to get all the holes drilled in the tank. With the current virus situation my wife wasn’t thrilled about having a bunch of people over to help lift the tank on the stand. So, I did a little improvising with some table lifts. My wife and I were able to get the tank up on its stand just the two of us. Doesn’t she look thrilled about the tank build!?

I've never seen that look before

 

[Mike Jenkins]

I love this room, is the floor vinyl?

Thanks for the compliments! Yes, the floor in the fish room is just a sheet of vinyl ordered from Home Depot for about $200. It works perfectly for this room. I wanted to do LVP in there but there was too much slope at the drain for me to install it cleanly. I used LVP on the show side though and the small hallway to the fish room.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Yes each circuit is on its own GFCI circuit. The two GFCI plugs at the start of each branch are on the sink/water reservoir wall for easy reset. (I have a love/hate relationship with GFCI, but safety first I suppose...)

I haven’t had the brain power to make final decisions on the electrical side of things yet. I plan on running an apex with two energy bars, each on its own circuit. There will be several MP40s and or MP60s.

Still debating the lighting. I want SPS dominant and I want to go all LEDs but the 72x36 footprint is a tough one to work out from a coverage perspective. I’m leaning towards 6 Radion XR15s Gen5s. But worried it may not be enough. May go with 6 XR30s but that’s a big price jump from the XR15s.

You’re in Northern VA also? Awesome! What’s your favorite LFS?

Cool, I work for a company in sterling Vaa

 

[Mike Jenkins]

I've never seen that look before

Yep, same look every time I want to show her something new I finished with the build. That’s why I post here for affirmation! Lol

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Control boards built. I hope to get them sanded and painted this weekend. Please excuse the mess in the shop.

Be fun to see this mounted and sorted out. I'm currently pontificating what I want to do with mine just yet.

 

[Mike Jenkins]

Be fun to see this mounted and sorted out. I'm currently pontificating what I want to do with mine just yet.

Yep, building them is the easy part, figuring out how to run all the wires is a whole other ballgame. I think I have it worked out in my head, but we’ll see how that goes...

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Thanks for the compliments! Yes, the floor in the fish room is just a sheet of vinyl ordered from Home Depot for about $200. It works perfectly for this room. I wanted to do LVP in there but there was too much slope at the drain for me to install it cleanly. I used LVP on the show side though and the small hallway to the fish room.

Yeah makes sense. I finished my mechanical room for my build and it's also being used for a fish room but in the end it had two floor drains and I decided not to cover it as the concrete was polished and sealed and looked fine. Nobody goes back there but me anyhow lol. Keep up the outstanding effort! Your woodworking skills are on point. I'm a structural guy, I suck at finishing, with the exception of sheet rock, that I can mud and tape and make it look good lol

 

[Mike Jenkins]

Yeah makes sense. I finished my mechanical room for my build and it's also being used for a fish room but in the end it had two floor drains and I decided not to cover it as the concrete was polished and sealed and looked fine. Nobody goes back there but me anyhow lol. Keep up the outstanding effort! Your woodworking skills are on point. I'm a structural guy, I suck at finishing, with the exception of sheet rock, that I can mud and tape and make it look good lol

Sheetrock is my shortcoming. That’s the only thing on this project I didn’t do myself.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Sheetrock is my shortcoming. That’s the only thing on this project I didn’t do myself.

I hear ya, we gotta pick and choose our battles. I love electrical, and have always done my own, but I just bought the place I'm in and it's really nicely finished but the main panel was in the garage and I just didn't feel like struggling through running two circuits to the basement so I called in a buddy who's a certified electrician to run two 20 amp lines and he made it look easy with minimal repairs. Otherwise, I got this lol

 

[MERKEY]

Great build Mike, can't wait to see you put some fish in their and thank you for sharing!!

 

[Mike Jenkins]

Great build Mike, can't wait to see you put some fish in their and thank you for sharing!!

Thanks!

 

[Mike Jenkins]

I hear ya, we gotta pick and choose our battles. I love electrical, and have always done my own, but I just bought the place I'm in and it's really nicely finished but the main panel was in the garage and I just didn't feel like struggling through running two circuits to the basement so I called in a buddy who's a certified electrician to run two 20 amp lines and he made it look easy with minimal repairs. Otherwise, I got this lol

Yep I love the electrical and plumbing part of it, and of course the woodworking. Hate the painting though. Your build thread is epic, I’m through 7 of 20, and in suspense to see the tank! Gonna have to finish it manana though.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Yep I love the electrical and plumbing part of it, and of course the woodworking. Hate the painting though. Your build thread is epic, I’m through 7 of 20, and in suspense to see the tank! Gonna have to finish it manana though.

Lol sincerely appreciate your interest and feedback. Some say I'm long winded, and they may be on to something. In addition it's all about having fun so there are portions that aren't exactly technical haha

 

[Mike Jenkins]

Control boards ready for some paint!

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Cover those windows if you're spraying lol

 

[Mike Jenkins]

Cover those windows if you're spraying lol

I did, I learned my lesson when spraying the stand!