Caravan's 180g in-wall

C

CaravanShaka

Membership Expired
The project has begun!

Tank will be built between my office and dining room. I won't physically attach the tank to the wall, but the stand has a 4" overhang that will rest on the 12" header I had my builder put in at 40" high in the wall. Dining room side will only be a picture frame around the tank, while the office side will have cabinetry with removable faces (magnets)

Main Details:
Tank and Sump are being built by Concept Aquariums out of Canada. Surprisingly, even after shipping, they had the best pricing and everyone I have read that has a tank from them raves about their quality. http://www.conceptaquariums.ca/index.php/custom-aquariums/custom-aquariums.html
Tank: 60x30x25, starphire front and back panes, 3" eurobracing, external overflow on the 30" side
Sump: 48x22x16, 4 chambers (Sump, Fuge, Frags, Return)...note that the pics show a 55" long sump, but decided I didn't need that much room, so take the 7" out of the middle
Stand is a 1.5" square steel frame built by a fellow DFWMAS member

Other Equipment:
Lighting will be DIY LED, likely using CNCreef heatsinks, meanwell drivers, and Cree Lumia 5.2 arrays
2 MP40's for flow
2 Jebao DC6000 return pumps, both T'd off for reactors and a water change outlet
SR Octopus Prime 200 skimmer (not yet out, but pre-ordered)
dual BRS reactors for carbon/gfo as needed
Bubble Magus doser and BRS 2-part
Apex controller with dual EB8's, breakout box, and auto-feeder
BRS Fiji dry rock, will probably be lightly aquascaped since it goes between the wall


So far, I have ordered the tank, sump, and the stand. I have begun constructing the framing for the cabinetry, and added some cabinet lighting on a switch on the american DJ panel. The entire cabinet frame has been coated in a generous coating of Kilz primer, and the side of the cabinetry that faces the tank will see that treatment as well. I will be covering the drywall from the tank down with a plastic sheeting to protect it from splashes. I will also be adding venting to the top of the cabinetry with 4 120mm fans to push/pull air.

Here are some pictures:

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View from my front door as you walk in:
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frame in place:
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Close up of right side with DJ switch panel and lighting on:
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@Sherman wrote:
Are the cabinets going to be for fish related items only? said:
Yes, will house all of my fish supplies, buckets, Apex and wiring, etc. I contemplated sectioning off one of the bottom left to be for other storage, but I don't think it is worth it.

I do have my wireless router sitting on top of the whole setup, so it is wired to the DJ switch panel, but that is it.
Click to expand...
 
Very nice! Well thought out....

@CaravanShaka wrote:
[I]@Sherman wrote:[/I][quote="Are the cabinets going to be for fish related items only? said:
Yes, will house all of my fish supplies, buckets, Apex and wiring, etc. I contemplated sectioning off one of the bottom left to be for other storage, but I don't think it is worth it.

I do have my wireless router sitting on top of the whole setup, so it is wired to the DJ switch panel, but that is it."]
Click to expand...
 
The office side of the wall has been cut open. Will leave the dining side as is until I have mocked up exactly where the tank will be. Next step is sealing the open wall area and covering the drywall with a hard plastic sheet to protect it.

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Orders placed with:
Premium Aquatics (apex stuff, skimmer, salt, heaters, sand, etc...)
Bulk Reef Supply (reactors, 2-part containers, bulkheads, etc...)
CNC Reef (LED heatsinks)
Coralux (Drivers, Storm Controller, Driver boards)
eBay (Jebao returns)

Stand took a final coat of paint last night, and will hopefully be placed into location today so I can wire up the rest of the cabinet LED's.
 
Got the stand in place and the rest of the cabinet lighting wired up.

I am a little concerned about levelling the stand. My floor is pretty unlevel, and composite shims don't appear to Abe quite enough to get it level. Should I get some aluminum bar to get it close, and then shims to get it perfect? Any suggestions?

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Are you protecting the woods floor from water? I usually make a mess on the floor.


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I am going to build a tray for the sump and ato to fit inside of, but I am going to raise it up off the wood a bit so any water spills can be partially soaked up with a towel, and a fan put there to air dry the rest.
 
7x Cree Lumia 5.2 arrays and everything else for lights have been ordered!

BRS and Premium Aquatics orders have arrived, so the wiring has begun :)
 
So excited, the Lumias have arrived, and the coralux storm x and drivers are on truck for delivery today!

Unfortunately I will be out of town this week on business, so won't be able to get anything done.
 
No pic updates yet, but got the heatsinks in and have some lighting hooked up and running (2 of the six Lumias). Also ordered the pukani rock from BRS today since they have 10% off. I believe I have everything but the dosing pumps and mp40's now.

Hoping to get some pics in the next few days of progress
 
Stand is in place and levelled, just need a center brace installed after the sump goes in. I have tested the lights and took a quick actinic pic with 2 pucks lit. All the wiring is done, but I am in need of more centralized cooling than the Asis is designed for, so waiting to see what Chris at CNCreef designs for me to finish up the lights.


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80 lbs of Pukani rock arrived today (no pics yet), and I got the display tank lights all running. I thought the Asis would t handle the power, but it turns out I was reading the temp on the wrong part of the array. The copper puck needs to stay below 150, and the Asis keeps it at 110 running full blast!

Couple quick teaser pics:

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