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Right, well this is kind of fish related. I'm wanting to put my small Freshwater tropical tank in to one of my walls.

It is a load bearing wall (it actually supports the stairs), so i'm planning on putting the tank in the cupboard under the stairs, facing out through the hole (yet to be made).

So was just wondering what sort of precautions extra support i will need to add in to stop the wall falling down. any builders out there? The hole will be about 2' x 1.5' so not very big.

Thanks for the help

Rob

i reckon it would be cheaper to get a small tank made to fit between wall studs.

I'm not sure if I understand the layout perfectly, but here goes........

You want to cut a hole in the wall to install the tank (approx. 15 gallon?). Here's what you will need to do. First remove the drywall/plaster from the wall to a point about 8-10 inches above the tank. This will let you determine whether the tank will fit between the studs (vertical 2 X 4's) in the wall. If it won't (and it probably won't since they are usually 16" on center) then you'll have to remove one of the studs to allow the tank to fit. You want to make sure that nobody goes up or down the stairs while you do this. Next, you will want to measure the distance between the outer studs you have left (approx. 30" and cut and install a "header" of 2 X 8" material. You can screw or nail this in from the outer studs. You will also want to put in "cripple or jack" studs alongside the outer studs that will support the bottom of the header. Next you will want to frame in for the tank with 2 X 4's and a 1 X 12 (or piece of plywood) for the tank "stand" inside the wall. You will want to allow an extra 1/2" or so on each side of the tank so that you can get it in and out more easily. Then you finish off the surround with drywall and possibly add some trim.

To summarize: Open the wall, cut out the center stud, frame in the header, frame in the stand and tank opening, finish with drywall/trim. Viola! Tank in a wall! Good luck, if you don't understand the above, feel free to pm me and I'll try to walk you through.