That looks pretty great. Thank you for your offer. If I can’t wrangle someone at work into making me a sketchup drawing, I may have to take you up on your offer.This is my fish room. I can literally stand in the center of the room and look around. If you need any help I could whip something out pretty quick.
Tank looks great. I agree it would have been too much for the tank to stick out beyond the cabinets. Nice job.I have a 110 gallon tank, the dimensions are 48" x 18" x 31". I constructed the cabinet so that everything except for the RO/DI unit was self contained. The tank and cabinet are situated all the way against the wall.
First, we are a family of 6 - 4 kids and they come first.
Next my wife and I looked at room placement. Her criteria was simple, it could not render any room no longer suitable for its purpose. Easy enough. My criteria was simple, it had to be located on tile floor. The rest of our house is all laminate, so the kitchen/breakfast area was it. So basically, I only had one viable wall. This wall was 7-ft long, but I needed to still fit a garbage can, access the light switches and fit a cabinet that accommodated electrical, controller, RO/DI storage and salt water storage. Therefore I settled on a 6-ft cabinet with a 4-ft tank.
Regarding depth, we determined anything sticking out past the kitchen cabinets was excessive. We tried a mock up of a 24" deep tank and it was just too much. Sure, it is the ideal depth for a reef tank and I wish I could have gone otherwise every day I mess with my tank...but kids and room functionality came first. If they made a 21" deep tank, my name would have been all over it.
I looked at many options as I wanted the largest tank I could physically fit and keep the room usable for a family, and the 110 was it.
PS, don't mind the gate, we are house breaking a 12-week old golden retriever, it's not for the kids lol. Oh and yes, GHA is out of hand and I am tackling that now.
I'm not 100% that I couldn't go with a 30" width, but am pretty sure it would also require a redesign of my relationship.
I would agree 12" seems pretty extreme. It would be nice to be able to have that space. I will probably let coraline cover the back glass. I have a long Kent scraper if needed to clean from the front. Jumping fish getting stuck may be an issue, though a screen top will be on the tank 99% of the time. All my outlets will be accessible below the tank in the cabinet. I did consider a 125 but feel the depth is a bit limiting for a tank of that length and height. I would use a 125 if I were going with a planted tank. There isn't an option for the tank to be in a room of its own. I will be placing the sump in the basement so space in the stand isn't a consideration.
At the beginning of May I will remove the ceiling in my basement to expose all the joists. The framing is very beefy and pocketed into the masonry wall. I have a feeling I will at the minimum be making new masonry pockets and sistering some joists, maybe more. Either way I have an engineer coming after the demo is complete to examine the framing and make recommendations. I will then be installing a minisplit system and ERV into the basement. A remote sump room will be placed at the rear of my house. I will also be tearing up the floor to install floor drains. As part of all this I plan on running more plumbing in the floor so I could hook an additional large basement system into a shared sump at the rear of my house.Wow, lots of suggestions.
Double check floor support, especially with a old house. Your beams are either very thick, or not. Is the basement an option? I have a 180, 2’ x 2’ x 6’, it’s a great size, and if done right, “ Keep It Simple “. Mine is in the basement, aka, Man-Cave. I suggest the basement so there’s no chance of having direct or indirect Sun, just mho, but to much sunlight leads to algae. A small window in the tank room is important for fresh air, and that will help your Ph, but also to install a vent from a AC for warmer months. I use a portable, and it’s enough to avoid a Chiller. I like internal over-flows, each corner, Skimmer and Heater in sump with refuge. I also wouldn’t open the wall to give views from both sides, it’s a lot of work keeping one side clean. I also like my dimensions, and I have long arms, but can bearly reach the bottom back corners. My R/O is in the next room where there’s a bathroom, plenty of room, and the washer/dryer which has a large sink. You will need to have a sink for the R/O waste water. Wherever you put your tank, remember this, you will spend a lot of time looking, searching, testing, and general maintenance. All the stuff you need has to have a place. And you need room for a ATO and doser, along with a controller. What about a QT tank? It’s nice to have everything within a arms reach. Please consider your basement as a option, you don’t need to have a tank in a living room.........you won’t be watching TV anymore!
