Making A 7Ft Tank

[damienford]

Hello so last night after a grilling about the poorly planned tank set up. i was talking with the girlfriend ive decided to upgrade again after 2-3 months of the 6ft so rather than buying a glass tank im atempting to make the bigest acrylic tank ive made so far.

So this morning i done a 3d plan and ordered all the acrylic steel and wood

The new tank dimenchions should be 84" long 18" deep and 30" high all a 1/3 inch thick
This will be the largest tank ive made

So im looking for ideas my pleco and 2 clown loach as thats who im building this tank for

So lighting im thinking about ditchin off the tube system and goin bold with a timed led lighting system flicking between dawn day dusk and night lighting


Next is filter im going to run an external 1200lph with uv (ive looked into a sumptank but looks complex and not as good

So i would like to ask for ideas on large fish to fill this new beast and also what should i use im thinking about a sand and rock theam with a few stem plants rather than the heavly planted tank im used to but im not sure tbh

Any ideas on filling this tank ideas for the decor and good tankmates to keep like shrimp and snalls

Im hoping to get this tank built in the next 2weeks then ill cycle for a few days so hopefuly for my bday i can start adding new aditions to the family

 

[Mikey1]

a tank that big i would build out of wood,
 
go to youtube and search "plywood aquarium" lots of good videos

 

[damienford]

Yea thort of doin plywood but need at least 3 viewing sides and im used to working with acrylic so i know what to expect and how to reinforce to hold the water itz having steet reinforcement frame put across top and bottem and then have the stand and lid built around it the steel isent goin to be exposed to the water there both on the outside to be covered with wood trim on the small tanks i use just wood but im beefing everything up on this even the stand has a 4 A frame steel reinforcement just to strengthen it worked it out its gona be 750l so with sand and ornaments its gona be close to a tonne so more than big enuff to flood my ground floor flat so its gona be made to last
 
 
this is the design im doing just gona modify it as it needs

 

[DrRob]

You're going to want a whole load more flow than that, unless you're deliberately running a low energy system. After media in the filter you're probably only looking at 1x turnover per hour, I start most of my plans with a minimum of 3x, this is where sumps tend to come in, as they end up far cheaper on large systems. Otherwise you're into FX5 territory, and probably more than 1, depending on what you want to stock.

 

[Sophie]

You're going to want a whole load more flow than that, unless you're deliberately running a low energy system. After media in the filter you're probably only looking at 1x turnover per hour, I start most of my plans with a minimum of 3x, this is where sumps tend to come in, as they end up far cheaper on large systems. Otherwise you're into FX5 territory, and probably more than 1, depending on what you want to stock.

FX6 is soooo yummy :3

 

[fluttermoth]

You're going to want a whole load more flow than that, unless you're deliberately running a low energy system. After media in the filter you're probably only looking at 1x turnover per hour, I start most of my plans with a minimum of 3x, this is where sumps tend to come in, as they end up far cheaper on large systems. Otherwise you're into FX5 territory, and probably more than 1, depending on what you want to stock.

FX6 is soooo yummy :3

 

[damienford]

Just brought a fx5 for 190 off amazon made up with that should be a few days b4 i have enuff to start construction the tank walls and base have been ordered goin to put a condencition lid on it to stop a bit of evap got the leds for the custom lighting unit and ive made up the circit in a waterprof box and got the programming done for the light changing and a nabour has got the steel ordered for the base got the plumbing tubes in and mapped out already got the wood in should be a good project like

 

[Sophie]

Oo http/www.amazon.co.uk/Fluval-FX6-Aquarium-Filter/dp/B00BJQ50HC
 
For an extra £20 could've got the 6

 

[damienford]

Lol wish ild seen that ive emailed the seller to cancle my order but ill w8 and c just need to find a hefty heater now worked it out gona need at least 500w of power to heat the tank ive still not decided on whats goin in there yet like

 

[DrRob]

You'd be amazed what you can get away with on the big tanks. 1W per litre goes out of the window as the thermal mass increases. It's getting it warm that's the problem, keeping it warm is much easier.

 

[damienford]

in witch case i have an idea then,
 
a littel tip i lurnt a wile back, most ppl have a shower and most ppl have a hose now is u unscrew the shower line from the tap/ shower u can atach the screw on part of a hose pipe, so i can fill it hot, let it cycle a few times and if i use a 300w external that should keep it running nice, and ill add a cooler to it aswell becouse of the thermal dinamics it should then run at the desired temp. yes ?

 

[Sophie]

Lol wish ild seen that ive emailed the seller to cancle my order but ill w8 and c just need to find a hefty heater now worked it out gona need at least 500w of power to heat the tank ive still not decided on whats goin in there yet like

 
Use two 300w heaters? Always good just in case one breaks. I have 2 300w in my 260L just for good measure :3 Could save the loss of fish with at least one helping to heat it.

 

[smiles669]

If only it was more than 18 inches deep, you could throw in a silver arowana to have something at the surface level. 

 

[damienford]

well im open to sudjestiong like, i was thinkin about maybe taking it to like 24 or even 30 tbh

 

[CezzaXV]

Sumps aren't terribly complex. Your tank is acrylic rather than glass, so even easier to drill for.