To inwall or not to inwall?

[Off The Deep End]

That is the question...

So i think im going to go inwall with my new 75g, i want to hear your pro's and con's on inwall's. What did you like and what sucked, any suggestions or experiences i should think about. This will be a 75g inwall with a fish room behind it so lots of room to work..or maybe an upgrade

 

[Boogie]

DOOOO EEEET already

 

[Walter White]

I cannot speak from personal experience YET but I think if you can have the equipment/fish room behind it then it would be awesome and cant think of any reason not to do it. I already know mine is going to suck because the tank is 36" deep and I will only be able to access the front and one side for cleaning and aquascaping. I just hope it wont suck too bad. :/

I think you should do it!!

 

[lpsouth1978@msn.com]

I love my inwall! The only piece of advice that I can give is - Don't paint the back of your tank. I am planning to get some black plastic that I will attach to the back and sides of the tank using velcro. This way I can see what I am doing in the tank. Otherwise I can only see things from the top down while working in the tank.

One thing that I REALLY like about having an inwall is that I'm not constantly concerned about how everything looks. As long as the aquarium itself looks good I am happy. My fishroom is UGLY. The stand is just a bunch of 2x4's, there are hoses and tubes everywhere, my DIY LED fixture is not real pretty, but the tank looks great from the other side. Here is a pic of mine taken a couple of months ago when it was still a freshwater tank. I am in the process of switching to a reef tank.

 

[Calvin415]

Pros:
Clean Look
Fish Rooms Rock
Much Quieter

Cons:
Difficult to clean
Only 1 viewing side
Look down to work on sucks

 

[Walter White]

Oh yeah I guess without any way to get to the front panel that would be tough. Love the steps on the back though. That was a great idea.

 

[Zooid]

A couple access panels on the viewable side would be a good idea.

 

[tlsrcs]

Yes do.it!

 

[Dbarnes]

I love mine, access to the rear of the tank is a absolute neccesity in order to keep the tank clean and well maintained. if your building it in to a new i suggest doing what i did and use water ressistant drywall and tar paper backing to insure you never have a moisture issue on the wall. I also lined the interior of my wall with 10mil plastic as to avoid any moisture issue inside the cavity of the wall. the beauty of the in wall is if you have the space behind you can seperate your sump and ref to allow for far greater area for toy like calc reactors, big *** skimmers and anyother fun stuff BRS has on hand, it also prevents any unwanted algea growth in the sump area which keeps everything looking clean! i think total i have six tanks in my sump room which makes everything a breeze for caring for and keeping well maintained. my only con that i have is i should have went bigger, once you put the hole in your wall and in my case put in a load bearing header it pretty hard to go back and expand your tank, in my case i went with the 150 but would in hiegn sight went with a 250 or larger, other big con i have is i have way to deep of a tank, a shallow tank is much nicer to maintain the the deep tanks (applies to in-walls and non in-walls). overall it looks better and cleaner in my mind than a tank and stand, but cutting a hole or building a wall adds up quick and in the end ussually costs more than finding someone with a decent stand and a RRtank on C-list. I attached a few pics of what mine ended up looking like, i am installing a new and much larger sump tomorrow!!!! IN-WALL ALL THE WAY!!!!
View attachment 5438 View attachment 5437 View attachment 5439 View attachment 5440

 

[Off The Deep End]

Thanks everyone, i think im gonna attempt the inwall! I was already thinking of doing a removable door above the tank so i can get to it from the front but i need to figure out how to do it and still make it look good I like the thought of extra space behind the tank for new goodies and am looking forward to adding breeding tanks and a frag tank to the system. Thanks for the input and look for a build thread soon to follow!

 

[Dr.DiSilicate]

You people have an addiction problem! Lol

 

[drtymnky]

buy me some beer and i will come over and watch you work on it. i might even nag you about how you doing it wrong

 

[Off The Deep End]

buy me some beer and i will come over and watch you work on it. i might even nag you about how you doing it wrong

Hell yes!

 

[ritmar]

Thanks everyone, i think im gonna attempt the inwall! I was already thinking of doing a removable door above the tank so i can get to it from the front but i need to figure out how to do it and still make it look good I like the thought of extra space behind the tank for new goodies and am looking forward to adding breeding tanks and a frag tank to the system. Thanks for the input and look for a build thread soon to follow!

http://www.thescmas.com/forums/showthread.php?8919-Ritmars-270g-build/page3
Post 49 I put a door that will stay open.

 

[deadrock]

God I wish I had a house where I could do something like that, I've debated frameing it into my wall just so it looks clean lol , and then pipe everything into my closet . unfortunatly I would be killed by my wife

 

[Dbarnes]

Do it why she is at work bro, that's what I did lol

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[lpsouth1978@msn.com]

God I wish I had a house where I could do something like that, I've debated frameing it into my wall just so it looks clean lol , and then pipe everything into my closet . unfortunatly I would be killed by my wife

My inwall is exactly what you just described. I framed it and everything is in the closet. It only takes up about half of the closet. Just give up your half

 

[Dbarnes]

Ahahaha... better still do it why she's gone lok

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[MattL]

I had an install system, but mid sucked because of the lack of size in the fish room. My advise is make sure you have the room to get above and clean it plus the filtration space as well.

 

[Haulin Oates]

God I wish I had a house where I could do something like that, I've debated frameing it into my wall just so it looks clean lol , and then pipe everything into my closet . unfortunatly I would be killed by my wife

It's easier, in my experience, to ask (or pay for) forgiveness than to ask permission!!