Building my 90 gallon tank into the wall

[polarbear]

So this month is going to be the time that I try to get my tank into the wall like I have always wanted. I moved into my new house about a year ago and have been wanting to place my current 90 gallon RR tank into the wall ever since we moved in. When looking for the house I was picky to find a place where I could insert the tank and have a room behind it to access the tank. Well our house is a 2 story and there is a room under the stairs that can be used for storage. It has a full door on it and is big enough to house everything in. The wall on the other side is in the living room and is where the tank is currently up against right now. My paln is to frame the tank once its in there and add a granite ledge to act as a bar which matches the granite in the kicthen. My refugium is currently in the room under the stairs so that the living room is not noisey from the pumps and skimmer. Me and my brother drilled the holes through the wall to run the drain and return line through.

The problem that I am thinking I will have is with heat and humidity (which might cause mildew). Im not running a chiller and am running T5 HO lights at this time and have no problem with heat. Does anyone here have any experence in having a tank in the wall or know of someone who has one? Ive talked to funcky reefer who has recently installed his tank into the wall and he is worried about the same things with the heat and humidity. Below is a picture of what the room looks like now with just the refugium in it. I was thinking that I might have to add a exhaust fan of some knid but am not sure. Please help if you can. Thanks.

[CoryDude]

My 120g is a in wall setup. Heat will definitely be an issue, unless you can find some way to vent the room. Any kind of heat that is generated by your lights will start to build up. Look into adding an in-wall exhaust fan and a return air grill so you can pump fresh air from the house into the fish room and vent the heated air in the fishroom back into the house.

Here's an example of the fan I'm talking about
http://www.amazon.com/509s-8-inch-through-wall-utility-integral/dp/b0002ytnb6

[polarbear]

Can I see some pictures of your setup? Maybe some behind the tank and the room it's in. Thanks for the advice.

[kkiel02]

I agree with Cory. I would look into fans to exchange the air inside the room.

[Kristy]

RayAllen did an in-wall setup with his under the stairs closet. And there were lots of pics in his build thread if someone can search for the thread.

[CoryDude]

Look at posts 14 and 25 on my build thread. Definitely do not use an outside exhaust vent unless you plan on isolating the fish room from the house. It will pull the air inside your house outside and cause outside air to come inside you home. I originally had mine setup that way and it caused my electric build to go up almost a $100 a month during the summer.

http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?62469-Some-Dude-s-Reef-New-Video-12-26-11-Post-223/page2

[Kristy]

Here are a couple threads from RayAllen's...

http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?41821-39g-Cubish-tank-COMPLETE!!&highlight=build
http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?44142-39g-Updated-Pics&highlight=build

Although it looks like the photos are no longer accessible. He still comes around here from time to time if you wanted to send him a question by PM.