Through-Wall Recessed Aquarium Viewing Niche Build

We want to commission the construction of a large aquarium tank recessed directly into an interior partition wall, so the same tank is visible from the living room on one side and the home office on the other. The wall in question is load-bearing on the upper floor, so the first stage is a structural assessment: an engineer needs to confirm what header and jack-stud arrangement will safely redirect the load around the new opening, and the framing itself has to be sized not just for the wall opening but for the static weight of a filled tank of this size — several hundred kilograms of water and glass concentrated on a stand and sub-floor that were never engineered for that point load.

Once the opening is framed, we need a moisture-sealed niche built into the cavity: pressure-treated framing, a vapor barrier, and a fully sealed liner behind both viewing panels so that any seep or condensation cannot travel into the stud bay or the adjoining drywall. Both faces of the niche need finished trim and a viewing panel mounted flush with the wall surface on each side, so it reads as a built-in feature from both rooms rather than a hole cut through a wall.

Plumbing has to be routed to the niche for the filtration loop and for periodic water changes — ideally a fill line and a gravity drain stubbed to an accessible shutoff, run inside the wall cavity rather than exposed. Electrical work includes a dedicated, GFCI-protected circuit for the pump, filter, and canopy lighting, with a low-voltage run for lighting controls kept separate from the pump circuit.

We need a written leak-prevention and sealing plan, a materials list, a realistic construction timeline from demolition through final trim, and photos of at least two prior recessed-tank or similar built-in installations. Please quote based on the scope above and note whether you handle the structural engineering sign-off yourself or work with a subcontractor for that part.