Maintaining tank from behind

reeferericb · Jul 20, 2022

Who does all their maintenance from the back of the tank? Pros/cons? I’m thinking about building a plywood aquarium with a glass front flush with the finished wall it will be viewed from.

I presently do all my maintenance from the front and it’s easy to see what I’m doing through the glass. Will it be similar from the top? I’m not planning on installing a viewing panel on the back of the tank.

Fishnut · Jul 20, 2022

I have a in the wall tank and so all maintenance is from the back. It is a pain in the butt. I have to set up mirrors on the front side so I can see what things look like from the back While scraping or placing corals.

Johnz · Jul 20, 2022

Yeah, it looks cool but it's a pain in the butt. My last tank was 4 x 2 x 2 120 gallon in wall. Very hard to reach the front bottom. It looks cool though and having all the equipment behind the wall makes it dead quiet. I would do it again. Also, the fish never see you when you feed so they don't swarm around when you walk up like do with most tanks.

zheka757 · Jul 20, 2022

same here, i have in wall tank, with no front access, yeah its inconvenience, not to have access, but i got use to it, as its being this way since 2013 for me. mainly i have my wife helping me from the front telling me where to place this rock or this coral, but maintenance wise, i just have magnet on a tank constantly attached and i just leave it in the corner when im done.

djf91 · Jul 20, 2022

I also have an in wall tank. 72”x54”x30”. So without a fish room and rear access it would be impossible. I enjoy getting up on a stool in the front or the cat walk in the back that I built and looking down into the tank with all of the power heads turned off.

Johnz · Jul 20, 2022

I love those dimensions. 54" front to back would be a dream to aquascape.

shakacuz · Jul 20, 2022

djf91 said:
I also have an in wall tank. 72”x54”x30”. So without a fish room and rear access it would be impossible. I enjoy getting up on a stool in the front or the cat walk in the back that I built and looking down into the tank with all of the power heads turned off.

this is beautiful

reeferericb · Jul 20, 2022

We’re still figuring out what we want to do as far as building a house. I’m a thinker, so figuring out the fish tank is a priority of mine first (it will have a factor in the floor plan we choose). My initial thoughts are to have a tank roughly 96”x24”x30” (30” is to top of sandbed, actual depth will be deeper).

I realized today that I do all my maintenance from the front or in the basement. I’m not sure how hard it will be to maintain from the back. I have already considered building a platform to stand on behind the tank instead of using a ladder, I’m glad to see that looks like a good idea at least.

zheka757 · Jul 20, 2022

maybe considering access panels above tank?

maroun.c · Jul 20, 2022

Scrapping coraline on front glass at sand level won't be fun if there's no front access.

Johnz · Jul 21, 2022

I just built my house, installed a 84×30x30 as a room divider. Still working on trim and woodwork, but i will have a hatch on both sides. At 30" deep you will not be able to reach a large part of the tank from the back. Not even close.

zheka757 · Jul 21, 2022

Johnz said:
I just built my house, installed a 84×30x30 as a room divider. Still working on trim and woodwork, but i will have a hatch on both sides. At 30" deep you will not be able to reach a large part of the tank from the back. Not even close.

Not true, I am 5,11 and I got 30" deep in wall build, and just last week I was taking sand out of my tank, and I was able to get to it all the way in the front of the tank. 30" tall tank is not actually 30" deep of water. The water level is more like 26-27"
My tank spec is 96x30x30

Big Smelly fish · Jul 21, 2022

Cleaning the front panel is a drag doing from behind. I did aquarium maintenance and installations for many years and alway tried to explain to customers that having front access makes it easier. Especially on deep tanks.

vetteguy53081 · Jul 21, 2022

reeferericb said:
Who does all their maintenance from the back of the tank? Pros/cons? I’m thinking about building a plywood aquarium with a glass front flush with the finished wall it will be viewed from.

I presently do all my maintenance from the front and it’s easy to see what I’m doing through the glass. Will it be similar from the top? I’m not planning on installing a viewing panel on the back of the tank.

From my pet store , I have installed and serviced wall built-ins and it can be a challenge doing things backwards (as you have to produce in reverse)