Thoughts on installing in wall tank

As is typical in winter for me I'm coming up with all kinds of ideas.

I think at some point I want to install an in wall tank between these two outlets below the fish mounts. (I'm a fish taxidermist). The outlets would be turned around to the other side of the wall of course and drywall repaired. Space between the outlets is about 60 inches.



This is the other side of the wall that is under a stairwell. Excuse the junk in there that will be removed.



This is the bottom of the stairs looking up. The inside wall in the above picture is on the left.



I'm assuming I can cut some of the stud framing boards to fit in the tank as long as I tie in a heavy enough horizontal board or steel beam above the proposed insert of the tank? Maybe also reinforce the two studs on each side of the proposed tank? Will that work? There is a stairway as you can see above this with a main floor, and another one above that.

I like the idea of not only installing an aquarium with native fish here but the space under the stairwell seems ideal to hide all the unattractive equipment that goes with a tank.

Thoughts?

Edited by az9, 10 January 2010 - 08:21 PM.

I don't have any knowledge about the carpentry, but I think it would look good in the wall. I think it would be a good addition to all the fish on the wall.

I can’t help you out with the carpentry either. But if your going to go to all the trouble of ripping into your wall to install a tank, why restrict your tank size to fit between the two power outlets?

I'm assuming I can cut some of the stud framing boards to fit in the tank as long as I tie in a heavy enough horizontal board or steel beam above the proposed insert of the tank? Maybe also reinforce the two studs on each side of the proposed tank? Will that work? There is a stairway as you can see above this with a main floor, and another one above that.

No question that you *can* make room to install a tank there, but there are a lot of variables that will determine exactly what you need to do in order to safely remove some studs. From what I can see there it doesn't look to me like the studs you're talking about are actually carrying the weight of the stairs -- but they certainly may be carrying some of the weight of the floor, walls, and roof above. I'd definitely recommend getting the advice of a competent framing carpenter to tell you what you're dealing with and what type of header/lintel you'll need to transfer the load of the studs you want to remove to the studs you'll be leaving on either side. Good luck!

http://www.hometips....ll-framing.html
this is a cake walk job and i need some fish mounted.
here is a link to some basic wood frames as in a header there is no need for a steel beam
we are on the net so this is just for role play and not a permit to progress with job.
pm later its dinner time

a doubled 2x12 header with 1/2" cdx plywood, should be more than adequate for a 6'-7'opening. I would recommend lining the in-closed space around the tank with James Hardie siding, they sell it in 4x8 sheets, it is a cement product that is unaffected by moisture. Caulk the seams well and paint it with a latex wall paint with a mildicide(sp?) added. This will keep crap from falling in the tank and prevent mold from growing.

The biggest draw back for a in-wall tank is getting access to pipes, filters, ect. You may have room to set up sump,or canister filters next to the tank where they can be easily gotten to.

If you're doing it yourself, the biggest thing you need to be sure of is that load is carried directly by wood on wood and not by fasteners. Nails, screws, etc. are generally used only to keep framing members in position -- the actual load has to be carried by wood sitting directly on wood. The same applies when building custom aquarium stands or anything else meant to support a lot of weight.

The framing method I've used for window openings is as shown below. It's very slightly different than what CATfishTONY posted in that the trimmer studs run all the way down to the floor (really sole plate) rather than being interrupted by the sill. I'm not sure there's much practical difference -- in either case the load is being transferred down by solid wood (the trimmer studs), not by fasteners.

I'd agree with htm321 that a double 2x12 header is almost certainly sufficient. It's probably actually quite a bit of overkill, but better to be safe if you aren't certain. If 2x12s would limit the available vertical space too much, then it may be worth figuring out how much load that wall is actually bearing and whether smaller dimensional lumber is sufficient (you can find header span tables online). The 1/2" plywood he mentions is placed between the two 2x12s on edge so that 1-1/2" + 1/2" + 1-1/2" equals the 3-1/2" thickness of the studs in the wall (2x4s are actually 3-1/2" wide by 1-1/2" thick).

One tip I can offer is to provide yourself a lid or hatch so you can access the tank from the front, display side.

One tip I can offer is to provide yourself a lid or hatch so you can access the tank from the front, display side.

Why? The entire tank would be completely accessible from the back side.

you will want to feed the fish when company is over, also it will allow more access.

you will want to feed the fish when company is over, also it will allow more access.

Makes sense.