300Gal Cube room divider, heat and humidity issues?

[tang_man_montreal]

What about large tanks (in the 300gallon range) that are built into walls?

What things should be considered when attempting such a project?

Toutouche already know this, but I've been dreaming of a 300gallon cube tank which would have 3 viewable sides, and one side built into the wall. This tank would be a room separator (actually dividing a large room into 2, and even have a door separating the 2 rooms at the other end of the aquarium. Not sure if you all picture this or not. Anyhow, This will be in the house I buy within the next couple of years.
Anyhow, one side of the aquarium would be my living room, and the other my office.

Something along these lines:



But imagine a door at the end separating the 2 rooms, and imagine a taller tank.

Ideally, this would be in a basement.

How would one tackle humidity and heat issues, and yet remain insulated during the winter months?

[ijo]

WOW!! add a little height to that tank and its perfect... not sure about the humidity issues as I'm still trying to figure this out for myself... nice project tang_man can I help set it up? hehe

IJO

[tang_man_montreal]

Well, it's going to be in the planning stages for the next couple of years. Hehehe...

Planning is everything.

Equipment wise, I'm already set up regarding the skimmer (same as Toutouche's, an Aerofoamer 830 copy) etc... I'll only need circulation pumps, and Reef-Rats from Van on closed loops. My current 90 gallon tank will become this one's sump... hehehe

Lighting, I'll probably need 2 more ballasts and MH's... However, it's all still in the thought process for now.

[venkiw]

How is the tank lit?, it is kind of what I had in mind, but with a canopy.

[tang_man_montreal]

These are the specs of the one in the above picture:

k Size - 96" Long x 48" Wide x 24" Tall, 11/4" thick Acrylic
Filtration - Reservoir with Live Rock
Pump(s) - One Iwaki 100RLT, Three 3800 GPH Spa Pumps
Protien Skimmer - 5ft. Top Fathom, venturi driven
Lighting - Two 400 wt 20,000K-HQI MH, Six 110 wt. VHO Flourescents
Additional Equipment - Seaswirl, osc.discharge
Placement - In Wall between Living Room and Office

Mine would most probably be different in terms of lighting.
Probably would consist of 4 x 10k 250w MH's, and 6 to 8 110w WHO's for actinic and other variation lighting.

I'm undecided yet, and being that it's 2 + years down the road, I'm sure some plans will change.

Here's some more pics of the above setup:

[Fishysan]

Sweet tank!

Go for it Vince! Just be ready to be busy.

If you were building something like this, you would definately want to use green drywall (bathroom stuff) and seal it well.

You would also want to vent the top anyway because of heat, and in the process remove humidity. I wouldn't necessarily dump it into the next room because you would be dumping heat (bad in summer) and moisture (bad). For the winter you could trap the heat to bring it back into the house by using the heat reclaimers they make for clothes driers that try to remove the humidity so you don't pump the heat from it outside.

I'm in the middle of setting up things to vent to the outside, etc. for this reason. I have too much humidity (most may not notice or think so) which makes the air conditioner work too hard. It needs to dry the house before cooling it efficiently.

Right now I've put a vent in the back of my hood that goes out to the garage and up staight through the attic out the roof top. There's an inline fan (100cfm) that draws the air out. This removes heat and humidity, but creates negative air pressure in the house. So in the basement, I have a "hole in the wall" that allows pressure balancing (came with house, there for furnace & gas water heater to prevent exaust from coming out of the them in negative pressure situations).

I'm not sure how effective the vent in the hood is yet, as to maximize that, I have to finish my new hood design to remove the hood in the hood arrangement I have now.

I've built a fishroom in the basement that surrounds the sump & equipment since you saw it. This will be sealed with vapour barrier to reduce moisture escape, etc. etc. and will also be vented to outside (both directions to maintain neutral pressure, or maybe +/- depending on situation). I'll also have a freestanding airconditioner/dehumidifier for that "room" for now, and maybe I'll add an HRV if it doesn't work so well.. I'm hoping to seal it off from the rest of the house to protect the rest of the house from humiditiy, and not have to have the AC on as much, etc. just to keep the tank cool.

Enough for now.

[tang_man_montreal]

Thanks for the info Sean!

Could you take pictures of how you've sectioned off your room downstairs?

I've got lots of time to plan this out. It will also be dependant on the floor plan of the eventual house that I get.

All in all though, I know that it will be a massive project. Which is why I'm already collecting all the info I can.

Thanks again!

[Fishysan]

sure, when I get a chance.. still in progress.

of course I'm wingin' it though.. so who knows if it will work. I hope so though!

[reeferboy]

Oh the plans the plans. I won't even begin to post what is in my head for next fall......

[Fishysan]

NEXT fall? a whole year??

Do tell!

You guys makin' the move sooner? The 600gal comin'?