In wall aquarium - What do you think?

[suds1421]

I am going to build a 75 gallon into a wall in my basement behind my bar.

Since it will be behind my bar the bottom of the tank will need to be 48" off the floor to be viewable from the rest of the room.

What do you think? Too high?

Seems just right for standing height?

 

[iceywater101]

Common problems with in wall tanks are they are hard to clean and do maintenance. Also with it being behind your bar it will be in a high traffic area and many fish will become stressed.

So I am not saying don't do it. I just saying take some time and do more research and planning.

 

[tmcgee]

I don't think you'll have an issue with that height as long as you can access it with a ladder or you are really tall for maintenance. I personally don't think it will be any more high traffic than a living room. I do plan on doing something like this with my tanks when I get a new house (in the near future) and I would say wherever is the best viewing for you and as long as the maintenance will not be sacrificed.

 

[mr_X]

just make sure you put a door above the tank for access. i know you can access it from the back, but it's a real P.I.T.A. trying to do things while guessing if it looks good from the front.
here is the tank i maintain at the gym around the corner(proof that i'm speaking from experience)

 

[suds1421]

I understand what you are saying with high traffic but really there won't be much traffic at the bar. We used to have it setup in another house and when we have company it is normally for a game so we are near the TV. Any traffic will be 6 feet from the tank. We also don't entertain that often, it's mostly for our own enjoyment.

I hear you about the access door. I don't have one yet, but once I get around to installing the tank I'll figure out something.

I do have a fear that cleaning will be hard unless I can do it from the front

 

[BigJim]

Suds, I've seen a 55g put in the wall behind a bar in a very similar fashion to your plans. The owner built a large closet behind the bar to hide the sump pump and store some other things. He simply constructed a 2x4 stand to hold the tank at about your 48" mark and it looked pretty good. The closet provided access to the tank for maintenance. Behind the bar is a good spot. In the bar isn't.

 

[suds1421]

Jim,

The wall conceals a "utility" room. It has a standpipe and the electrical box back there and a concrete floor. Since I have access to a drain and the water pipe I'm going to put in a sink back there too so that water changes are easy..

 

[iceywater101]

Sounds like you did a lot of planning.
Be sure to post pictures when you set it up!

 

[Mark Hewitt]

As long as you have access from the other side, then great! I think eye height will be the best thing if you are mostly going to be walking by.