This is what I want, now how do I make it happen?

[nvrEnuf]

The sump is the major variable in the equation.

As Just a guy points out, even a simple 16" OC 2x4 stud wall will support a lot of weight.

As to the resale: the repair to make it look original without the tank is a nominal expense when getting ready to put the house on the market, or, you could include a "rider" to the contract stating either a cash value, or repair will be done to the space after move out and prior to closing.

Victoly is also right, the point is a clean look and HOB anything is NOT the way to go; but, that does not mean the sump has to be under the tank. IMHO you're actually better running a sump in another room entirely. This way you can make it extra large for stability, and add an external pump to get crazy good flow and reduce detritus build up.

For example: The build I have in mind for myself is a ~100 gallon DT with 100-150 gal sump in the "fish room" This allows for the fish I would like to keep (such as tangs) but keeps real estate somewhat small so frags are constantly comming out of the DT and in the fish room is plenty of room for frag tank in the sump. Add dual external returns for something like 20X or more flow... plus a wave maker and end up with a super clean system in wall with nothing underneath. Not to mention I will have enough surface water to cool with evaporation only, and a small room dedicated to where all the real work happens. (in other words I don't disturb the living room if I want into the tank).

The way I figure it, this should work out about the same cost as doing something in wall with under tank filtration. Why? Because almost nothing has to be custom other than the plumbing. Sump can be a plastic tub, fish room can be located anywhere (like adjacent to the laundry room for plumbing and solid electrical hook ups), and minimal construction to the wall since support for the tank can be on the back side, not on both sides of the wall.

Think about it, why do giant 300+ gallon systems always have a fish room? Because it's more economical to run plumbing across a house than it is to tear down and rebuild a portion of a house! Especially when you start looking at cabinet faces. This holds true on a scale: in most cases I have seen it easier to run plumbing than build custom stands or cabs. Now, if we are talking a 55 gal with 10 gal sump, this is not so much the case, but I would venture to say the size of sump is more a factor than tank, anything bigger than a 40 gal sump is going to need something built custom for it and would therefor be cheaper stationed in an adjacent area.

Another major thing to think about in this discussion is access to working in the tank. Personally I am in my tank at least every other day for one reason or another. So my design is to have the display wall only showing through the wall. Think of a single piece of glass framed. Why? Because I want open access to the tank at all times. I don't want to mess with moving lights, opening a top, etc. Do you want to have to be in one room to get to the front bottom, and another room to get to the back bottom? This is probably the biggest thing to decide when laying out a plan for design.

[subsea]

While it is true that a sump will allow the tank to be used in all types of reef applications, only you know your budget. The construction cost would not be more if you installed a simple minimalist eco system in the time being.

Enjoy your delima.

Patrick

[nvrEnuf]

Sascha has the right idea, I am a general contractor (one of my hats anyway) and I am in the planning stages of a very similar build with a friend.

i'm curious, i would expect a 13" wide wall to have at least 3 2X4s in the span on each side for a total of 6. and then one in each corner that goes up to the ceiling. perhaps that would be a 2X12 per end instead of 2X4s in the corner.

13" walls are generally "accent" construction. in our case, the office side of the wall is a single plane wall as normal. On the other side is the dining room. When in the dinning room the wall in question has a pillar on either side with a recess arch from floor to ceiling in the middle of the wall. It is in this recess we plan to install the tank. And yes, you are correct, mostly stacked 2X4's (2X12 is far more expensive and usually reserved for headers or horizontal support) heck, a lot of times they are built "hollow" with just on 2X4 double stack on each exterior corner.

Since this wall is on the opposite side of the two story house from any "wet" walls, it makes more "cents" to build OUT the lower portion of the recess for under tank filtration. To run plumbing to a wet room would require installing plumbing through the ceiling of at least three rooms. I have looked at the cost, it works out about even, but the owner does not want the fish room so far from such a small tank and I have to agree...that's more variables than either of us want to deal with (leaks, temperature loss, salt creep, need for later access, etc)

I did do a layout for a pony wall not long ago, but the wife nixed the plan. 4 feet long and the plan was to put the sump behind the wall from the living in the kitchen cabs, with plumbing going to the bottom of the tank. we tested the wall with a 4'X14x14 acrylic tank full of water and it seemed just fine, not even creeking. However, we did think it needed some shoring as it wobbled a bit when simulating cleaning or front to back wave.

[Neon Reefer]

Extending the thickness of an interior sub wall like one would have dividing a LR / DR is no problem if you have the space on one side or the other to give up. A standard wall is ~8" and one could easily bulid that up to say 18" and or wider if needed. I know the perfect guy to do the carpentry, but he's not free. LOL