Built In Tank Ideas

[confusion]

So, I am embarking on a project to finish my basement starting tonight. It's my 3rd time doing this, so it's getting routine. It's different this time, though - I wasn't into aquariums in the previous houses.

I have a 55G and a 37G cube community tank on the main floor of my house, but I see an opportunity to really feed my MTS in a big way with a built-in in the basement.

So, where I'm at is trying to decide what to do with it. I certainly don't have the time in my life to handle a reef, so I know it's going to be fresh water, but I'd like it to be something pretty impressive. I'm thinking 300+ gallons, probably longer than tall. What I've been trying to conceptualize is something like a river flowing into a lake. So, part of the tank is a moving river biotope flowing into the other part of the tank, which is a lake biotope with calmer water.

I'm not a purist when it comes to biotopes, so it's not necessarily the fish or plants that I'm concerned about - I'm going to pick the ones I like because I like them, not because they're part of a strict biotope, with the exception of making sure they're compatible and like the moving water (danios, etc) or the lake (gouramis, angles, etc).

Another really crazy idea that hopefully someone has either done or can steal for their own is to have a 3 part tank, divided roughly into thirds. One end of the tank would be salt water. The other end would be fresh water. The middle would be brackish, created by a slow flow from both the freshwater and salt water tanks, over a waterfall or something like that. The brackish water would have to either be dumped or cycled back to the salt water tank somehow (after adding salt back). Anyhow, I'm not up for that, but it's something I've been thinking about.

Any comments on what I should do?

Thanks!

 

[Ferris]

I love the river flowing into a lake idea, wouldn't know where to start when it comes to building it but i'd love to see some pics if you decide to proceed.

 

[Egmel]

I love the river flowing into a lake idea, wouldn't know where to start when it comes to building it but i'd love to see some pics if you decide to proceed.

Oooh that could be lovely, you could have it thin on one end then fat on the other, maybe even running along the stairs to your basement....

*gets pen out and starts doodling*

The possibilities are endless with a build it yourself job... and pots of cash

 

[confusion]

The company I work for is in the process of being bought and I did ok on the stock options bit, so I do have some money to spend on it, though I'm not looking to go crazy. I do have to eat and feed some other habits too...

 

[Egmel]

The company I work for is in the process of being bought and I did ok on the stock options bit, so I do have some money to spend on it, though I'm not looking to go crazy. I do have to eat and feed some other habits too...

Well then here are my doodles! (please excuse my awful handwriting)

 

[Jules H-T]

The way I see it, you have two options- joining two tanks, or displacing parts on one.

Joining: You could get a 2'*2'*2' cube and a 4'*1'*1' tank. Cut the end off the 4 footer, and cut a 1'*1' square out of the cube. Silicone the 1'*1' glassless end of the 4' tank to the 1'*1' hole in the cube, et voila. You might want an empty 4'*1'*1' under the endless one to support the weight, or a custom stand. Stick 4 big powerheads at the far end of the 4'er with their intakes at the other end of the cube (you could probably even do that with 1/2"pipe under the subsrtate to keep it all internal). Real shallow at the end of the 4' graduating to 1' deep at the join, with relevant sized rocks siliconed in place. The more I think about this the more I like the idea!

Displacing: The second is to get a 6'2'2 and fill in parts of the middle by siliconing glass to the inside or siliconing a few smaller tanks inside to create a level effect.

I like the idea of the first one, but it'd take a fair bit of time and effort!

 

[confusion]

That's about what I was thinking, though it can't go by the stairs. There isn't a place for it there. I have 2 very large rooms that I'm thinking about for this. It would have to go in the wall, which is a challenge to fit the odd shape into the function of the room.

Jules,

More than likely this would be a tank built out of plywood back, bottom and sides, with a glass front.

 

[Jules H-T]

Ah, you're getting out of the leagues of my experience. How do you join, seal, and protect a plywood tank?

 

[confusion]

It's actually not that hard. You build a well supported box out of plywood and 2x4's, paint the inside with marine expoxy paint, seal the seams with silicone caulk, create a mounting face for the glass, and caulk it in place. Then, hide the area where the glass meets the wood (the messy caulked part) with nice wood trim. I'm planning on having my basement look quite nice to fit in with the rest of the house, so it's going to have to look really really good and fit the room, or I won't get the OK from my wife

 

[windsor-aquatic]

If access is difficult, it's quite possible to have the tank built on site. This is becoming more common nowadays as fishkeepers realise that they are not governed by the size tank they can negotiate through doorways or round corners.

 

[BiffMalawi]

I the stair idea is very cool but I understand the space issue and plus I think I would want it to be more prominant in the room. What if you mirror the above suggestion so you have the river in between two lakes. Then you could put it on a main wall and stick a TV in between.

Keep us up todate. Most of us can only dream of this kind of set-up.

 

[Egmel]

and stick a TV in between.

Nooo fish are much nicer to watch than telly!

Plus if anything goes wrong the telly's in the way

 

[confusion]

figuring out what room to put it in will be another challenge. The two that make the most sense are what will be the theater room and a general purpose (read: wife's crafts & misc junk) room. I'm planning on a kitchen that will most likely be in the theater room - and I'm thinking that maybe I can work it into that area somehow. Most of the other rooms don't have a good place to put it, or I wouldn't want to put it there because the room wouldn't be used much.
I do like the idea of the two lakes connected by a river. If I build the TV into the wall, it mght look good too.

 

[Egmel]

figuring out what room to put it in will be another challenge. The two that make the most sense are what will be the theater room and a general purpose (read: wife's crafts & misc junk) room. I'm planning on a kitchen that will most likely be in the theater room - and I'm thinking that maybe I can work it into that area somehow. Most of the other rooms don't have a good place to put it, or I wouldn't want to put it there because the room wouldn't be used much.
I do like the idea of the two lakes connected by a river. If I build the TV into the wall, it mght look good too.

I thought it was going in the basement

 

[confusion]

it is. it's just a big basement.