Custom 845 Gallon / 3200 Litre Tank Plans...

[kamber]

Here is the outline plan, i'm converting one of my garages into a room in a few months (just waiting on another house to sell so i have the cash!) it may as well have a huge tank in it

I'd like one huge one which would be 8ftx3ftx2.5ft one dimention and then 7ftx3ftx2.5ft (It can be smaller or bigger as there is additional space i've left some gap around the edges.)
Is this tank shape feasible? or would i have to have the 2 tanks separate?

Comments, ideas thoughts suggestions very welcome!.. and i want to hear from cfc, andywg and mark on this 1!

 

[adamgreen240]

well this just looks amazing!!

 

[andywg]

As to whether the tank is viable or not, you are better off speaking to Windsor Aquatics (one of the board sponsors). I have certainly seen pics of L shaped tanks, but not sure if any have been quite that size. I would expect the glass to be pretty thick to handle the pressure on the inside corner of the "L", but I would expect to see it possible to build. As I stated before, you would be best off speaking to our board's resident tank manufacturer. you may even get a discount on building costs for being a member

I wouldn't do a tank that size with cannisters, and certainly wouldn't spend that sort of money on a tank and then rely on fluval filters (even if the FX5 doesn't suffer from the failures that plague the x04 and x05 series). You would almost certainly be better off having a sump and trickle tower. This would provide a large and easily serviceable filtration system that can cope with large fish that tend to end up in such large tanks.

One problem with trickle tower sumps is it makes planted somewhat harder as the trickle tower tends to gas off any CO2 added.

I am not sure if you want to hear from Mark, CFC and me (truth be told I am amazed I am included anyway ), as I will petition for a different styl for the tank. Such a system is crying out to be a large SW tank. You could get a couple of sharks and a couple of rays in a tank that size and still have room for a few nice preds in the middle such as volitans lions, leopard groupers and all sorts. It would cost a little more to start out with, but would be amazing.

As a different idea, how about separating the tanks and simulating the reef drop off. You could have the smaller tank as a reef tank which has the rock thin out to the side where it joins the larger tank. Have the larger tank dimly lit and have some larger deeper water predators to try and get the effect of the reef drifting into the more open seas. That could look absolutely stunning.

 

[Gill]

Very cool Idea.
I am doing something similiar with one of our garages in the new year

 

[mark7616]

Lol yeah think of the costs of running that as a SW setup lol. As for the Fx5`s 2 would be no where near enough thats filtration setup is what i use and my tank is 1560ltrs so double that would need alot more filtration. Andy is right a sump is a better option with a tank that size the reason I dont use a sump is 1 I dont trust them and 2 my tank is in my house and sumps are noisy if it was in a garage I would sump like CFC. As for the design of the tank I would split it into 2 seperate tanks then you can keep different things.

 

[andywg]

Lol yeah think of the costs of running that as a SW setup lol.

Once set up it wouldn't be too much at all as a pred tank. No need for expensive lights or huge flow rates. Main cost would be salt from water changes, but I would counter that with an algae turf scrubber filtration system to aid nutrient export. Also, going for Tunze pumps and LED lights would cost at the outset but save a small fortune in electricity.

the reason I dont use a sump is 1 I dont trust them

So long as you make them well, there is as much chance of them failing as the seams on the tank failing.

and 2 my tank is in my house and sumps are noisy

Again, if you set it up properly, sumps don't have to be noisy. I have two sumped systems in my bedroom with barely a noise.

 

[slakey]

Looks good to me.
I'd go for 2 seperate tanks, but also try out the L-shape on a smaller scale, just to see how it'd work out and also so you can look out for possible problems etc...

 

[paul_219]

Thats a very nice idea.

 

[kamber]

As to whether the tank is viable or not, you are better off speaking to Windsor Aquatics (one of the board sponsors). I have certainly seen pics of L shaped tanks, but not sure if any have been quite that size. I would expect the glass to be pretty thick to handle the pressure on the inside corner of the "L", but I would expect to see it possible to build. As I stated before, you would be best off speaking to our board's resident tank manufacturer. you may even get a discount on building costs for being a member

I wouldn't do a tank that size with cannisters, and certainly wouldn't spend that sort of money on a tank and then rely on fluval filters (even if the FX5 doesn't suffer from the failures that plague the x04 and x05 series). You would almost certainly be better off having a sump and trickle tower. This would provide a large and easily serviceable filtration system that can cope with large fish that tend to end up in such large tanks.

One problem with trickle tower sumps is it makes planted somewhat harder as the trickle tower tends to gas off any CO2 added.

I am not sure if you want to hear from Mark, CFC and me (truth be told I am amazed I am included anyway ), as I will petition for a different styl for the tank. Such a system is crying out to be a large SW tank. You could get a couple of sharks and a couple of rays in a tank that size and still have room for a few nice preds in the middle such as volitans lions, leopard groupers and all sorts. It would cost a little more to start out with, but would be amazing.

As a different idea, how about separating the tanks and simulating the reef drop off. You could have the smaller tank as a reef tank which has the rock thin out to the side where it joins the larger tank. Have the larger tank dimly lit and have some larger deeper water predators to try and get the effect of the reef drifting into the more open seas. That could look absolutely stunning.

Thanks andy, well i'm still open to suggestions, i didn't consider SW as like mark said i thought it would be mega costly, i do like a lot of SW fish though and i love the idea of the smaller L part being a reef as well. I'll drop windsor a line and ask them to let me know if its doable with sensible glass thickness and how much it would be as an L. I suppose worst case is i will end up with 2 big tanks next to each other, i have 4 other tanks i can use to put different fish in though so i would prefer one big one. If its going to be silly money with 20mm glass or something for an L then perhaps a 9ftx4ftx2.5ft which should give around the 2550 litre volume would be the route...

Sump it is then! 3ftx2ftx1ft sump, couple of pond pumps and some pond bio media?

 

[mark7616]

I dont think that you will get much change from £4000 to have either of those tanks built.

 

[andywg]

Thanks andy, well i'm still open to suggestions, i didn't consider SW as like mark said i thought it would be mega costly, i do like a lot of SW fish though and i love the idea of the smaller L part being a reef as well.

The main woes with SW are in setting up. Metal Halide units, skimmers and Live Rock are costly (you are often looking at 1kg of rock per 2 gallons of water at around £8 per kilo). However, you can make your own live rock that just takes longer to seed for about 50p per kilo with crushed oyster shell and cement. I have done this and use it to supplement tanks by placing it out of sight.

As Mark has noted, this is not going to be cheap regardless of what you do

I'll drop windsor a line and ask them to let me know if its doable with sensible glass thickness and how much it would be as an L. I suppose worst case is i will end up with 2 big tanks next to each other, i have 4 other tanks i can use to put different fish in though so i would prefer one big one. If its going to be silly money with 20mm glass or something for an L then perhaps a 9ftx4ftx2.5ft which should give around the 2550 litre volume would be the route...

I don't think it would be 20mm, but you may find yourself having to step up from 12mm to 15mm.

Sump it is then! 3ftx2ftx1ft sump, couple of pond pumps and some pond bio media?

It depends on what you are doing. Your sump will almost certainly need to be larger to prevent it being drained dry. Plan for it to be nearly as long and nearly as wide as one of the tanks (one sump tank can handle both tanks whether they are one or two) and preferably about 18" or more high. The main filtration should take place above the sump as part of a wet/dry trickle tower.

The media would depend on the style of tank. In freshswater I would use something like bioballs, or velcro hair rollers in the trickle tower, anything that has a high surface area:volume ratio. Then fill up the sump with something ceramic and cheap like alfa grog, or try and light the sump to grow algae to help with nutrient removal.

 

[kamber]

I dont think that you will get much change from £4000 to have either of those tanks built.

Thats not so bad, some of the premade tanks are £3000+ and thats for around 750 litre volume 6.5ft long, like the Ferplast Star 200.
If they come back with £5-6k just for the tank though then i might consider making it smaller

I'd be happy spending 5-6k, bearing in mind i want to get a door put in though to the house (the only door is off the utility atm), a floor, insulate 2 walls and plaster it up. Good news is, 2 walls are fully insulated and i don't have to built a new structure.

 

[kamber]

The main woes with SW are in setting up. Metal Halide units, skimmers and Live Rock are costly (you are often looking at 1kg of rock per 2 gallons of water at around £8 per kilo). However, you can make your own live rock that just takes longer to seed for about 50p per kilo with crushed oyster shell and cement. I have done this and use it to supplement tanks by placing it out of sight.

It depends on what you are doing. Your sump will almost certainly need to be larger to prevent it being drained dry. Plan for it to be nearly as long and nearly as wide as one of the tanks (one sump tank can handle both tanks whether they are one or two) and preferably about 18" or more high. The main filtration should take place above the sump as part of a wet/dry trickle tower.

The media would depend on the style of tank. In freshswater I would use something like bioballs, or velcro hair rollers in the trickle tower, anything that has a high surface area:volume ratio. Then fill up the sump with something ceramic and cheap like alfa grog, or try and light the sump to grow algae to help with nutrient removal.

Thats gonna be well over a grand for the rock and the salt is gonna be a lot as well... Never done SW before, would probably be best turning the 450 into a marine setup instead if theres anything left after this one!

Sounds like a huge sump the actual water volume of the tank + sump would be mega!

Oh yeah, happy new year guys!

 

[mark7616]

Its not cheap by any means mate. If you got your tank smaller it would be cheaper once you start going abover 3ft wide and high its gets stupid. My tank is 96x32x31 and cost £1050 built on site with cabnet and hood. But if you go with thicker glass the price gets crazy.

 

[kamber]

Its not cheap by any means mate. If you got your tank smaller it would be cheaper once you start going abover 3ft wide and high its gets stupid. My tank is 96x32x31 and cost £1050 built on site with cabnet and hood. But if you go with thicker glass the price gets crazy.

I could block the door to the other garage off so theres a continuous wall the whole of the length then... too many options... if i did that i could have something like 14ftx 3ft x 2.5ft which would be circa 3000 litres and presumably better for very large fish due to the extra 6ft in length and wouldn't require as thick glass? I seen a pic of someone who had a 14ft tank along one wall looked pretty good, he had it setup as a fast flowing river type system.

Thats pretty good, your tank looks great, who did you get to build yours?