This tank has been a 4yr on going project that was originally purchased to be a replacement for my 220gal full blown reeftank. The tank is a 245 gal three sides starfire glass tank, drilled with a single center overflow. My original plan was for the tank to sit on a custom made steel stand in our living room, with an oak wrap on the stand. After setting the tank in place my wife decided it was "taking up the entire living room". So i switched it to a 4 side viewable in-wall with a basement sump. The change to in-wall required some big modifications to both floor and wall, since the tank sits in the center of a 14' span. I added 8 jack posts and two 8x8s to support the tank and an oversize header to allow for a wide open space to slide the tank in and allow for a view of the end wall of the tank as you walk in the front door. Here are a few early on pics.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attach...1&d=1536626564
Here is the tank that ate the living room.http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attach...1&d=1536626658
After having a reef for over 15 yrs i decided to return to where i started out as a child (still a Kid) with fresh water.
I wanted a challenge and having kept pretty much everything else in the past i chose Discus. I did my research, and added a little saltwater style to my setup.
One thing i learned is if maintenance is not easy you won't do it as often as you should. So i made a list of what i wanted.
1.) A No bucket water change system
2.) Basement Sump with large mechanical and biological filtration ( rotation of socks and Poret Foam)
3.) A large capacity aged and aerated water storage
4.) No constantly heated stored water
Here are some early sump construction pics
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attach...1&d=1536627778
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attach...1&d=1536627778
After doing a lot of reading i made choices for my display. I liked the ease of cleaning of bare bottom tanks but since the tank was a focal point in my house i went with substrate instead. Pool filter sand. My original thought was planted with driftwood, but for now i will hold off on the plants. I purchased 3 really nice pieces of Malaysian driftwood from a local shop. These sat in a dry tank in the living room for a year due to other more pressing issues. Here is a pic after the house surgery required to make it an in-wall
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attach...1&d=1536628459
After the dry year my wife told me to either get the wall closed up and the tank running or get rid of it, so full steam ahead!!
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attach...1&d=1536628773
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attach...1&d=1536628773
Another requirement was a quiet system, so i opted for Spa flex for nearly all of the plumbing to and from the basement.
Also to speed the removal of detritus the the sand i went with two Gyre pumps in the display which moves it up off the sand and into the overflow nearly eliminating the chore of siphoning the gravel.
For lighting i searched and found LED lighting that spans my 72" tank and gives me a nice sunrise\sunset transition.
As a leftover from the reef i am using my Apex controller for temperature control and PH monitoring.
Here are some pics of the basement sump system, it's a little mad scientist looking but i can heat and change out 55 gallons of water in 30 mins with out a bucket or a hose and never get my hands wet!
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attach...1&d=1536629976
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attach...1&d=1536629976