Built In Tanks

[ellena]

I'm researching the possibility of a tank built into my chimney breast after an architect friend suggested it tonight. (after she said standing a tank in front of it was unworkable)
What sort of things would I have to take into consideration when designing this?
Especially thinking about access. The other side of the wall is the alleyway outside, so access will have to be from above, in the room How much height above the tank should I allow? What sort of options are there for 'hiding' this space?
And also, what about lighting? I would be thinking of getting a basic glass tank built to the right size, or maybe trying to accommodate a regular off-the-shelf sized tank. As the lighting wouldn't be seen, what sort of setup would be best?
Any other tips and pics of your projects much appreciated

 

[OldMan47]

Your biggest concern, in my mind, would be providing adequate support for the tank. Maintenance space would be fairly easy since you could just make sure you have at least 18 inches, 45cm, of space above the tank for good access. To hide that space you could build an enclosure in much the same way that kitchen cabinets are built with what looks like a soffit and the needed height concealed behind closed doors.

 

[IAmATeaf]

A friend of mine has something like this. He has deep chimneys, around 1.5 foot deep, what he had to do was brace the top of the chimney to support the weight of the rest of the chimney above. He then built a cabinet surround into the chimney with effectively an extra wide drawer over the top. This drawer can be used to store stuff and can be completely removed to provide access to the top of the tank. He also built a much slimmer drawer below, again used for storage.

 

[Jonny_russell]

i had my 50g built into the chimney.......the tricky stuff to start with (after building work) was power supply to heaters/filters etc - i had to get the builder to put a power outlet in the space for the tank

then you remember the amount of space plugs actually take up ---- i had to get the builder back.

i only had the tank hood flush with the alcove --- DO NOT DO THIS --- it looks ok but everything from cleaning to water changes were a nightmare.

also you cannot get access to the rear/side exterior glass - unless of course your alcove is a lot bigger than the tank -- these tiny gaps just attracted muck despite constant cleaning.


the final straw for me was when i decided to upgrade to an external filter --- i even considered drilling through the side of the chimney to allow access for the pipes.

anyway my tank now has a nice external filter and is sitting on the original stand !!!

the chimney idea looks good and saves floor space.

but the negatives for me were too many --- access to the tank, cleaning, power etc


if you are certain you want to go ahead with it just make sure you have more than enough space to get access to all parts of the tank and any future upgrades you might want

 

[ellena]

Thanks for the insights everyone The friend who suggested it explained about using beams to support the weight of the chimney above. I'm confident I could find a builder who could get all the structural stuff right, it's just the design from the point of view of making it easy to maintain.
I'm thinking of taking out the whole of the front wall of the chimney breast and having cupboads below and the 18" access panel of some sort above. So the tank would be almost like it was in an alcove. Would this solve the problems you had jonny?
Was the external filter problem because you had no space behind the tank for the pipes? What do you mean about the side/rear glass getting dirty? Would that be solved by having backing on all 3 sides?

 

[Jonny_russell]

ok first of all power

(1) it actually takes up a lot of space up especially when you consider multiple sockets, plugs, cable and timers etc ---------- if you are building extra space above and below then you could house them there and only have the power cables running into the 'tank space'

(2) external filter --- i had enough space at the rear of the tank to fit the pipes - just, the problem was getting the pipes from the canister to the tank --- basically the only place i had for the filter was the other side of the chimney breast wall --- which would of meant going through the side of the chimney to get the pipes through !!! ----- are you planning on building enough cabinet space underneath to house the filter?

(3) MUCK - i had about 10mm gaps at each side of my tank, which proved to be a magnate for dust, spiders flies etc and very hard to clean !!! - i guess this could be hidden by fitting a surround, a bit like a picture frame

my concerns would be how much chimney breast you will be taking out? because if you consider

the height of the tank
plus the hood
plus at least 50cm clearance above the tank for access
plus at least another 50cm below the tank for a filter

then your looking at taking out at least 1.5m in height which is quite a lot

my chimney breast is from the 50's and made using industrial bricks --- it was a two man job for two days to make an alcove just over 1m wide about 70cm high - there are a lot of bricks in chimneys !!!!

if you have the time and resources you could make it look stunning but its not something i would repeat without serious thought and some expert planning

 

[ellena]

Right, I see, thanks! If I started off with an external, it would be OK to fit, but if anything went wrong with it, access would be extremely difficult.
I would be getting builders in to do it-DIY I could quite possibly bring the house down!

 

[IAmATeaf]

The sockets have to away from the tank, by that I mean they have to be not anywhere near the back of the tank else as Jonny_russell has pointed out they take up too much depth space which would mean having to pull your tank forward. For the sides you definately need space to get your hands in, too small a space and it'll be a dust/insect magnet. What I would do is leave around 7.5cm space on the sides and then cover that space with some architrave that matches the rest of the cabinet.

From the start you need to make sure that can remove as much of the front as possible so any architrave pieces have to easily come off, my friend uses magnetic catches to hold things in place.