Exterior wall penetration

AaronFReef · Dec 9, 2021

I am building out myself for a new fish tank coming this spring. I am building a lean-to shed to hold my water mixing station and RODI just behind the tank on the other side of an exterior wall. I need to come up with a way to cleanly (reduced airflow and no mice entry points) pass through multiple aquabus cables and three RODI tubes (ATO, and two AWC lines) and a skimmer air line. That’s what I have planned. Maybe I’ll come up with more needs later such as chiller lines. What ideas do you all have out there to pass at least my needs through there and then maybe my want of a chiller?

I saw a similar thread a couple years old where a guy recommended using something like this Pipetite https://store.csidesigns.com/en/product/pipetite/pipetite-wall-boot-size-1-precut-1-105--PT1-100

i was thinking I could pass a 1” PVC pipe through and put 90s facing down and then an end cap drilled to pass through the cables and tubes I need to reduce the air gap and make a mouse’s life more difficult.

Is there something more professional or purpose built for that?

mdb_talon · Dec 9, 2021

I used something similar to below on each side and pvc connecting them. Once i had everything ran through i used the expanding foam insulation to fill the interior(which works great for sealing it completely and not being visible....at the expense of going to be a hassle if i ever need to replace the lines running through.

Rectorseal 84016 3.5-Inch Wall Inlet, White

Borat · Dec 11, 2021

Drill a 16mm hole -that's enough to pass 3 RO tubes... I am not sure you have micro-mice (the size of a grain) in US&A given high protein foods everywhere (anything larger than a rice grain will not be able to squeeze through)... I have 3 tubes coming through 30cm brick wall channeled to the outside lean-to cover..

AaronFReef · Dec 12, 2021

Thanks. I am also trying to pass some aquabus cables though which have a large USB A connector on them.

JPM San Diego · Dec 12, 2021

Our home is going through a remodel now. Our plans are for a 7225 Water Box peninsula tank separating our dining room from our living room. Our water mixing station and chiller will be outside in a plastic garden shed. We just cut two 4-inch holes through the wall. PVC pipes, strapped to the stud pass through the wall. One will be for water tubing, the other for a ventilation fan. The ventilation fan tube will have a screen to keep out critters. The other 4-inch hold will be filled with spray foam insulation once all of the necessary lines are in place. The advantage is that I will be able to easily drill a new passage in the foam if another line is needed in the future. The PVC pipe with be hidden by a small cupboard between the wall and the tank stand. We are inserting the cupboard between the tank and the wall to center the tank in the space it goes. Plus the cupboard will have a water proof top as I am alway setting something wet down next to my tank. The sides of the cupboard will l have cut outs matching the cut outs on the side of the Water box stand. The power cord and all tubing will pass through unvisualized. The white receptacle will power the tank. The blue box is the receptacle on the outside wall that will provide power to the chiller and pumps. The wall is still open as the remodel has just started.

theMeat · Dec 12, 2021

I’d frame a small square. Maybe 8 inches or so. Use two pieces or plexiglass spaced an inch and half away from each other to get a thermal barrier. Then drill whatever needed through the 2 plexiglass, using uniseals for a nice tight fit.