A fishtank in the wall? Oh my!

[spikerS]

So took on another project. client had this great idea to create a feature wall on a little paid attention to wall. The wall along the stairs. Client purchased a 20 gallon fish tank that mounts on the wall and then wanted to surround the tank with quartz ledgestone, floor to ceiling.

After a little bit of education that the wall probably would not support the weight of the fish tank and the stone tiles, and that calamity would be a sure bet, the client saw wisdom and agreed to do it right.

This was how it started, pretty boring.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/Snorakk/Work%20projects/20140722_090016_zpstdswqhrt.jpg

Demo'd all the drywall out
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/Snorakk/Work%20projects/20140722_102642_zpskbikc5zv.jpg

Reinforced the 2x6 studs by sistering another one to it, and into the floor sill and ceiling, and then re-sealing the vapor barrier.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/Snorakk/Work%20projects/20140722_121912_zpstc0s4cwx.jpg

Cut and install some cement board. This was a necessity due to the humidity present from the fish tank, and still able to support the weight of the ledgestone. Each tile weighed about 10-12 lbs.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/Snorakk/Work%20projects/20140722_134148_zpsryeorec4.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/Snorakk/Work%20projects/20140722_134209_zpsr32mjwd0.jpg

Installing the mounting brackets for the fish tank.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/Snorakk/Work%20projects/20140723_093830_zpsjy21yxiy.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/Snorakk/Work%20projects/20140723_093839_zpsrd4jzy5r.jpg

fish tank installed
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/Snorakk/Work%20projects/20140723_095327_zpsmojboyyt.jpg

starting to install the ledgestone using a modified polymer mortar
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/Snorakk/Work%20projects/20140723_120330_zpsjbpj6bs7.jpg

Half way up the wall...
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/Snorakk/Work%20projects/20140724_161158_zps0um5ndmq.jpg

and FINISHED!
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/Snorakk/Work%20projects/20140728_135931_zpszplbb78c.jpg

Sorry, I don't have any pictures of the tank in action, I will leave that to the owner to post should they want to.

Hope you enjoyed this, and inspired you to try your own project!

[C_Dave45]

Very nice looking project. I love the split-faced stone. I thought I'd give a few pointers though, as this is right up my alley.
Adding a CBU to the wall does nothing towards strengthening it. It is only as strong as the screws holding it. And if you've ever had to rip out CBU, the screws will go right through a CBU as quick as a sheet of drywall.
We regularly install split-faced stone and ledgestone onto drywall. In order to actually strengthen the hold, you need to attach metal lathe with screws or nails, into the studs. You can leave the drywall on. You don't have a whole lot of "pulling away" weight. Sure you've got about 10 lbs/sq ft, but it's in a vertical position. If that was a ceiling it would be different.

Having a 200 lb fishtank in your project, you would've needed to strengthen the studs anyways, so pulling out the drywall was necessary. But for future reference, you can set that stone onto the drywall.

[spikerS]

LOL, I bow to your knowledge Dave! In checking things out, i went with the cement board for the humidity that the fish tank would give off, and the "pulling away" weight, figuring that would have a better chance of holding up rather than the drywall paper.

But good to know for the future! Thanks for the tips!

[C_Dave45]

It's never a bad thing to "over" build something. Just look at that patio I'm currently working on. The builder probably poured 15 cubic meters of concrete just for a 400 sq ft deck, lol.

I love that stone though. Gorgeous.

[Mibz]

That's fucking cool

[eglove]

That's pretty awesome reminds me of a much smaller scale version of the one some other beyonder has in his house I think it's in the fish tank thread

[Mar]

Yikes, I'd catch my shoulder on that thing every day, I was assuming it would be flush mounted.

[Kijho]

That's EPIC!! I have a small 5G saltwater reef right now - when I own a house someday, putting a tank in the wall is something I'd love to do.

You did this perfectly!!

[GQBalla]

How do you clean it? Looks like a bitch but it's beautiful