Check out my built in tank!

[PeeperKeeper]

Check it out! I'm so happy with the way my tank surround turned out! The frame boards on the right and left are hinged so they swing out so I can get to the sides of the tank. It's so nice having all the cabinet space to put tank maintenance things in (they lock so kiddos don't get into anything they shouldn't) instead of always having to walk back to the storeroom to get a test kit or water change stuff or additives.

[chrisfowler99]

[fishypets]

That looks awesome! Is that the same thank you had before?

[Mike M.]

Hey Peeper,

Cool tank for sure.

I wanted to put a bug in your ear. I used to keep a softies tank in our dental office. We didn't have backup power on it. Construction crew came into the suite next to us on a Friday and shut down power over the weekend and we came in to a Shrek Stew on Monday that made for the end of our dental office aquarium. Since you probably don't live in the store, be sure you have backup power to avoid the Shrek Soup outcome!

Good luck with it. It looks like a great build.

Best regards,

Mike

[offroadodge]

nice lookn...

[PeeperKeeper]

Thanks for the tip, Mike. I can definitely imagine that happening. I've had this same tank in my office for the past 10 years, and I've been lucky so far. I thought about putting a UPS on it, but I don't think that would last long enough to make much difference, besides, it would be the AC/heat that would be important.

I've definitely had power failures which always seemed to cause overflows at my old office, so I planned for that here by having flooring I can mop up easily. I was going to put a drain under it, but it was going to be too expensive to cut the concrete.

For a while, I was worried about the temp because it was getting up around 81F in the afternoons when the MH's had been on all day. I set a fan inside the compartment where the tank was to try to circulate the air, but since there wasn't a vent, it wasn't helping. Then I mounted the fan up high where it could blow across the top of the water and that dropped the temp by like 6-8 degrees! Evaporation is an amazing thing!

Here's a pic with the cabinets open. You can see the fan in the upper left area. The lights are built in above the tank with a panel mounted up high for the ballasts so I no longer have a big mess of cords, timers, etc. tangled underneath.

[Mike M.]

You've done a nice job.  Just consider putting something like a vortech or Tunze stream on a ups to keep the water moving if power goes down.  at something like 45watts, a stream will go a long time on  a mid sized ups.

[Starsprinkle Rainbowsmile]

Very nice in-wall setup!  

[chark]

Nice clean setup.

[+Lamont]

That's Tight! I bet you answer just as many questions about the tank than you do about glasses.

[Timfish]

Looks like a really well designed and integrated display! Who was the carpenter?

[Derek]

Very nice, plus it is tax deductible.

[PeeperKeeper]

Mike that's a good idea, just doing the powerhead on a UPS. I was thinking of the whole setup.

Derek, you betcha! Hmm that reminds me, I never did pay my husband for all the hours he spent getting it moved, plumbed and lighted!

Timfish, the contractor who did all the cabinetry in my office build-out provided the carpentry. I think it was Burrows Cabinets. There actually were a few hiccups along the way (the frame boards on either side were supposed to be 9" taller, but the measurement for the space got messed up somewhere along the way and I didn't catch it in the plans when I signed off on them, so we had to cut down the frame boards) but overall I'm really happy with the outcome. If anyone is getting ready to build a house (or commercial space) I highly recommend my builder. He also built our custom home 3 years ago and we were so blown away by the level of customer service and quality of work that I asked him to do this project for me, even though he normally does residential more than commercial. How many people do you know who still like or even speak to their builder after a custom home build?

[Sea]

A drain? A mop? Do you have external overflows? I turn my pumps off all the time to feed the fish. It looks great, but maybe you could have worked in a tank/sump into the budget that won't overflow?

[Sea]

Ya know, it really is not for me to say anything negative about your tank or say anything about your budget. I apologize if I came across as rude. Bottom line is your tank looks awesome in that cabinet!

[PeeperKeeper]

Yeah, okay Sea. Thanks, I guess.

"Always" was overstating how often I have an overflow. I can turn pumps off without overflowing normally, but sometimes accidents happen. The staff helps me keep the top-off filled, but sometimes someone will accidentally fill the sump instead. I've also had overflows happen when the macro in the refugium overgrows and clogs up its return, although I have a redundant return. Once, the slots on the tank overflow got some bubble algae stuck in them after I'd been messing with it and I didn't realize it, so the display got overfilled and subsequently overfilled the sump when the clog was cleared. Sheesh, just doing a water change you can overflow a bucket if you're not paying close enough attention. I guess in your world nothing ever goes wrong, but in mine I'd rather not deal with salt water on the carpet, so I got hard surface and yes, a mop.

As for the sump, I had the biggest that would fit in my old stand and I do plan to get another now that there is more room. I just have a few more pressing things to work on since moving an entire business.

[+ACampbell]

Wow Sundra! Very nice!