No, the tank is walled in. This week we started framing the tank in. Wainscoting for under the frame, and 9" crown molding on the top of the frame should be here next week.Are you going to be able to feed from the front? I had a built in tank at my last house, the only thing I will do different next time is put a small access hole in the front for feeding. Love this build! Can't wait for water
Going with 1.5" black PVC in the tank. Not anticipating any problems. For 6 1/2 years we've been running a Hammerhead with PVC necked down to 1" on our 300 gallon tank. The Hammerhead has performed flawlessly. I wanted to go with three Hammerheads, but my husband thinks with 1 1/2" PVC we will have great output with the two Hammerheads. I think we will have a swift current in the tank (the pacu love the strong current). There will also be two Barracuda Golds running the two Ultima 4000s. We will have three returns strategically placed at different levels in the tank to maximize water circulation. One Barracuda Gold will have to handle the 8 dinky 1/2" returns that have 1" holes drilled in the overflow boxes and tank (I didn't know the tank builder was going to do that additional favor for me.) We either have to plumb those 16 holes or cap them off...at least cap off the 8 in the bottom of the overflow boxes. An additional eight small returns won't hurt anything.Stunning! Can't wait to see it filled. You are getting close!
What size plumbing were you planning to use? I ask because I spoke with the owner of Reeflo and he recommended using a minimum of 2" pipe for Hammerhead pumps (3" would be even better). He said that 1.5" plumbing will add head pressure (reduce flow). What I don't understand is why the inlet and outlet on the Hammerhead's is only 1.5" if they recommend using 2"+ pipe for the returns.
In any case, your setup looking amazing!