20 replies to this topic

[Witters]

Hi all.
Wanting to seek some advice and ideas for the tank i am planning to have in the entry way of my new home, soon to be constructed.
I have modeled the house in Google SketchUp to help with planning and visualising different aspects (not just the tank)
You will see in the picture below that i have incorporated a store room adjacent to where the tank is located. The plan being that i can put the equipment in here and run the pipes through the wall. I was thinking of using a sump (symbolised by the box looking thing in the left of the store room) Would it be simple enough to cut the hole in the wall where the inlet and outlet holes are drilled and plum it all up. The tank will be 5x2x2 with the sump around 2x1x2. Would you foresee a problem if other electrical equipment was stored in here with the sump if it was ventilated? (i.e. router and tv splitters)
 house_plan1.png   177.01KB   106 downloads

The other area i would like comments on is the way the supporting wall is designed. After seeing Steve Green's presentation at this months meeting it gave me the idea to better use the space below the tank. Originally i had all three sides of the wall solid so the tank could just sit on top which should have given enough support. I'm now thinking of putting a dividing wall in the middle for support instead of the back wall and adding in a steel inner frame to support the open side which would then have cupboard doors built to cover this side.
 house_plan.png   322.3KB   110 downloads

For a bit more context this image shows the floor plan view. The Tank is 4M from the front door.
 floor_plan.png   323.46KB   63 downloads

This one shows the larger picture of where the tank sits in the house, the dining room will be next to the tank.
 house_plan_wide.png   336.83KB   76 downloads


Any and all comments and suggestions, ideas and tips would be much appreciated.

Cheers
Ryan

Edited by Witters, 10 May 2012 - 10:55 PM.

[Anka]

If it's right at the front door won't it see to much action?

i.e. draughts/heat waves may effect the tank temperature, movements may startle fish, etc?

[Bowdy]

not sure bout you anka but i spend more time in the living areas of the houses i lived in and not much in the front hall way.
definatly a unique place to put it, hope it works out man

[sandgroper]

I'd just build it as a cabinet, scribe it to the wall. You could leave it free standing or fixed to the wall. The room along side is a good idea, the sump i'd make bigger if the room allows. Plumbing through the wall is easy as drilling a hole and fitting a flange to neaten it up. Steve

[Anka]

Perhaps

Edited by Bowdy, 10 May 2012 - 12:05 AM.
sorry pressed edit instead of reply.

[Bowdy]

but in reply to your comment before you edited it out and changed it i wasnt being a smart ass i was being serious.
cheers

[Anka]

I realised and therefOre edited. Sorry I was being too sensitive - sometimes its hard to recognize tone through text

I just know that my front door gets used 20-30 times a day and we live near the beach so it's often windy

[Witters]

Thanks for the comments so far.
Traffic shouldn't be too much of an issue, it would see maybe 2 people a day past it. Coming home and leaving once a day.
It's about 2-3 meters from the front door so shouldn't be a problem with temp. The other side is the main living area which should remain pretty constant.
It's good to think about everything though, make sure I haven't missed anything.

Steve - the sump probably can go bigger, if i made it an L shape to fit in the corner efficiently
I had also though about just putting a cabinet in, but there was originally a wall there anyway so i just shortened it.

[garlic shrimp]

i don't mind it,but maybe a vent you can have open or closed in the ceiling of the store room to help with humidity and possibly a whirley bird on the roof.
all the best with it,
Con.

[STEVEGREEN]

Paint the wall before installing the tank

Cheers
Steve Green

[Bowdy]

hehehe nice one green man

hey witters is there a reason why you have wanted to go with a sump? a good size canister like a eheim 2080 would do a great job take up less room cleaner you could still drill and hard plumb the tank. inline heater and all is hidden.

have you thought of turning the tank around that corner so looking at picture three instead of the tank going to the left its pointing straight ahead, and fully enclose the tank except for the front and left hand side of the tank. at the rear of the tank you will have a small finter room, just an idea.

[bobby dazzla]

Looks like an interesting build but with the double front doors wouldn't that be the ideal way to get big furniture in and out ? looks like the fish tank could get in the way in that case.

Not sure what the back of your house looks like though maybe you have other alternatives

[werdna]

In the last picture I see two walls jutting out in what I am assuming is a living area that seems to be a perfect out of the way spot for a fish tank...

[Witters]

Thanks for all the comments. I can see that most feel that it is in the way where is is. But the idea was to have it replacing the wall that was originally there, so no loss is made on distance between the tank and the wall. Its the same size as a standard door way so if furniture can't fit through there it wouldn't be able to go in a room anyway. The back door could be used to gain a few extra centimetres if needed.
I am thinking if I have the filter and other accessories below the tank I wont have to go through the wall. I guess I thought I could filter the larger amount of water more efficiently with the sump and make for easy water changes through the garage.

[Bowdy]

With out the tank there what purpose did that wall serve anyway ? To me a wall there would just be pointless it's just blocking a nice walk way.
Your space would be much better used if the tank was around that corner. The sump room is still a great idea I think.

[Witters]

I know what your saying, but say if there was no wall and no tank, with the dining room being there it might feel like your eating in the entry way and if you had windows in your doors you could see all the way through the house.
If the tank was moved in to the dining room it would loose a lot of space for that room as you wouldn't put a dining table in front of the theatre room doors.

[Bowdy]

Can you put up a full plan se you get a better understanding of what's where and how big ect

[Witters]

 HOUSE_SKETCH_A3.PDF   344.04KB   25 downloads
Here is the floor plan for perspective

[bobby dazzla]

I see what you mean about eating in the entry way now. An in wall (even if it's a stud wall ) in that position could look cool would be a definite feature when you walk through the front door

I reckon that storage room right next to the tank is calling out to be stuffed with marine gear But I have been reading sh!t loads on the MASA forum lately with big built in display tanks