Using old chimney to vent an in-wall tank

[RobertK]

Hi,

I am in the early planning stages for an in-wall 180. The lights, sump and other equipment will all be enclosed in built-in cabinets above and below the tank. Unfortunately there is nowhere to put a fish room and there is not an adjacent exterior wall. The house is a single story on a slab foundation so there is no basement (there is an attic). There is currently a fireplace in the wall, which will be torn out to make room for the tank. I was planning to tear out the chimney and patch the roof, but now I'm wondering if I should keep the chimney and use it for a vent. I could probably run two pipes up the chimney, one for air in and one for air out. It would be a straight shot to the canopy but I'd have to route the vent pipes around the tank to get them to the sump area. I'm not sure if I'll be needing a chiller on this setup. In any case I'd have to get it right the first time, since it would be very difficult to access the vent pipes in the wall once the tank was built in.

What do you guys think? Is this a good idea? If so, should I run the vents to the canopy, the sump, or both?

Thanks,
Robert

[kcress]

I tore out my fireplace and am entirely building my tank into the space. I will be using the sun directly and also venting out thru the space. The tank will be "outside" while actually being inside too.

Of course... I'm on, "The sunny side of the bay"..{smugness fumes rising}

Got pictures of your situation?

[RobertK]

Here is the wall where the tank will go. The fireplace will be removed. There will be a built-in entertainment center where the TV is. Cabinetry for tank will match the entertainment center. The fireplace wall is 24" deep, same depthe as the TV nook.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1884&pictureid=16170

And don't be so smug - I live on the sunny side of the bay too! :)

[kcress]

Not if you live in Monterey! Do you realize that when Fort Ord was there it was the only US military base IN-THE-WORLD that allowed soldiers to wear winter garb year round?

If you're in Santa Cruz.. I agree most heartily! :)

Anywho.. Back to the regularly scheduled thread:
Thanks for the pic. Wow! You have a very similar set up to mine.

We had a monster brick fireplace that worked very well. Then came the Loma Prieta Quake and the chimney failed. Very, VERY, luckily it only sheared but did not fall. Two stories of brick sheared two feet from the ground and shifted 3 inches. Well, we couldn't risk it with the hourly after shocks so I used a truck to pull it over on the lawn - which caused a minor local quake. :)

All the exterior brick was removed and a sheetmetal POS fireplace was installed and a 6'x2' wooden chase that matched the old brick stack was built. A pipe stack ran up inside the wood chase.

After being smoked out by the sheetmetal Wonder and $350/cord wood for years, I decided I would build a new tank to replace the old three.

So, I pulled the Wonder, removed all vestiges of the hearth, and finished the inside of the fireplace wood stack. It's now a fully insulated and painted two story room that's 2' x 6'. Also, the floor is the concrete footing for that two stories of brick that used to be there, so it will have no problems holding up a large tank. Since it is below the house floor by a foot any 'mild' leaks are never going to make the grade up to the living-room floor, a nice benefit.

The down sides? Virtually NO access to the sides or back of the tank - EVER. And you may have height issues if your tank is too tall, because, you have to have a header across the top of the opening to hold up the roof/etc. In my case this was a huge issue. That's because I wanted my tank at eye level and it's thirty six inches tall.

If you can work around those two issues through either solid planning or a reasonable tank height you should have a nice result!

I will be having cupboard doors that close around the entire tank area to make a moderate seal. I don't want another drop of tank vapor to ever make it into the living space again! I have a low vent installed on the left and will install another at the top chase cap once water goes into the tank. You might want to do the same sort of thing.

[RobertK]

Actually I live in Capitola, which IMHO is WAY better than Santa Cruz! (and I can say that since I lived in Santa Cruz for 15 years!) :D

How far along with your project are you? How did you make your low vent?

[kcress]

Crapatola! Neighbor! Yes SC has its issues - fore shore. We don't have feral police like you do, but that also means you don't have a lot of low-lifes around like we do.

My project is at:
The tank sitting there.
I have three hundred dollars of fittings staring at me from a giant box.
I'm trying to figure out where to acquire a sump that will fit.
I need bearings for my pump.
Then a water test before I bother to cook up a ton of man made live rock, (MMLR), to fit the tank.

That's where I'm at. :)

I have a pressing job at the moment so things have stalled for a week.

For the vent I just bought a nice redwood one at San Lorenzo Lumber (or whatever it's called this week). It's a rain proof one that looks like nice louvers from the outside, coarse screen from the inside. You could always paint it too.

You'll have to come by when I get my head outta the sand and check it out.

[RobertK]

Low-lifes is putting it mildly. I moved down here because people were sleeping in the bushes across the street from my house and doing drugs on the sidewalk.

Back to the subject at hand -

Sounds like the main difference is that your fireplace backed up against an exterior wall so you can vent it through the wall. My fireplace is on an interior wall, so I'd have to vent it to the roof. Not quite sure how I'd accomplish that. Do you have one vent pipe or two? I was thinking of putting one to let in fresh air and another for hot humid air to go out.

Is your tank in the wall yet? Got any pics?

I'd love to check your project out some time. Let me know when you're not so busy.

[kcress]

Here's an inside view of the vent. Notice on the outside rain will not get in.

http://www.box.net/shared/static/b1g9mrqi7d.jpg


Here's a picture of the "stack", hence my hesitation to comment on a "pipe". I will have a vent in the chase cap. Stack-effect should keep it all vented silently.

http://www.box.net/shared/static/pj2j9ka5ue.jpg


Here is a shot close to present. Lots to do - a work in process. :lmao:

http://www.box.net/shared/static/v6nyibovli.jpg