View Full Version : My wall tank...to be
Hi all
I'm going to embark on a huge project hopefully within the next year. I'm going to start renovations at my house, and have asked the architect very nicely to find or make space for a huge tank.:bigsmile:
He recommended that I place it in the wall between our dining and TV/family room, so you can see it from both rooms. Since we spoke about it, I've had the vision in my mind, and I think that it's going to look awesome.
I'm not yet sure how big it will be but I'm thinking around 2 - 2.5 meters long, and 0.8 - 1m wide. Also not sure about height, maybe 80cm? It will probably stand +-1.2m off the ground.
One thing we're not sure about yet, is if we'll take down the entire wall and make a counter for the tank or to make a space in the wall to accomodate the tank. If we make a "space", how much space above (lighting/hood/maintenance) the tank and on the sides (pipes) should we make?
Also, as far as big tanks are concerned, does one typically make the tank themselves or are there people out there who custom fit for you? I've made a small tank before, but nothing close to this size. Are there any recommended or standard dimensions with this size of tank?
Some advise would be appreciated. The architect is coming to see me tomorrow, so would like to give him a bit of understanding.
Dam this is insane and will look dam awesome.... I would Personally leave about 30 cm on each side of the tank for pipes etc.... the base I would need to be either a metal stand with lots of supports therefore giving you room for a sump tank ... above the tank I would have a clear opening to the ceiling which you could close with a false cabinet... if you search the net you will find other tanks this big which will give you a clear indication what you will need with regards to filtration and lighting.
Ferryman
21-08-2009, 13:49
i think a counter would actually be a good idea, not sure what my reasoning is though, as for space at the top, if its 1.2m off the ground, and 0.8 high, that leaves 1 m on normal 3m high roofing, why not have a er... Balk? ummmm, wooden plank thing... whatever, placed at the top, (ceiling height) and have a light structure hanging from the top, sortof like what you find over some pool tables, then you dont have a closed top canopy, but only the side facades in the same wood as the --balk-- on top
Lol, a quick n00bly vert mockup
Found 1 link you can look at for some ideas: http://www.muzzys-reef.co.uk/tank-setup.htm
Ferryman
21-08-2009, 13:59
come to think of it,,, there could be a cabinet below to hide a sump for filtration of the monster tank......
Since the house is still in Design i would have a drain next to the Sump tank for water changes and a tap there as well for refilling tank.As well as about 5 to 6 plugs running off there own circuit breaker on the main board.
Look on reefcentral, plenty of big tanks on there.
Or on SARK, one of the guys in the Cape is building a monster in his house. Biggest problem for him has been acrylic or glass
Lance... send me a PM with your email... I'll send you some tips. I built a house in Saddlbreook (Midrand) with exactly the same set up you want. I'll send you an email back with regards to ideas. I might even have some photos
Zoom pls post the pics if you can ...
Thanks for the great response guys...really appreciate it. I plan on using my current 3foot tank as a sump(if it's big enough, might have a canister if not) , so there will be some space under the "counter".
@FerryM nice pic and good idea.
I like the idea of an open top, but there would be much evaporation, no?
@Donny, good idea about the drain and tap, but I think that might be hectic since the tank will be in the middle of the house. We'd have to excavate the floor to accomodate the pipes etc. But I'll chat to the architect about that, maybe it's not as bad as I think.
The power point is a great idea. I can have it built inside the sump cabinet. I'll ask if the cabinet can be insulated as well, so that heat is retained, so less power usage. Will have to build in some control measure so the moisture doesn't get into the power socket though.
@Zoom, will send you a pm soon!
Getting really excited now:bigsmile:...but it's gonna be a long road ahead! :mad:
Hi Lance.. the reason for suggesting taps and drainage is just thinking of the hassle of hose pipes everytime you want to do a water change ... :) ... but best of luck ... this will be awesome tank ..
Ferryman
21-08-2009, 15:29
for evaporation, you get glass sliders built on top of the tank
the reason for suggesting taps and drainage is just thinking of the hassle of hose pipes everytime you want to do a water change
Totally agree Donny, makes total sense. Just need to see how much that'll cost :p
Another thing could be if the canopy was gonna go up to the roof you could put extractor fans in like in baths rooms ...
Ferryman
21-08-2009, 15:58
wont that make it noisy?
Lance make sure that the architect knows what he is doing and that the structure can carry your dream tank.
2.5x1x.8m > 2.4 T (2000 liters + 400 kg glass) + sump. so lets say it is just short of 3T. Meaning you are going to need to be able to support > 1T/m2 on the floor / structure.
.8m high is going to be very hard to work in - might need to add a way to climb into the tank to do maintenance :bigsmile:
.8m high is going to be very hard to work in - might need to add a way to climb into the tank to do maintenance :bigsmile:
Agreed ,mine is 0.8 high and i need to stand on a chair and still cannot reach the far side.
ladder guys... use a ladder.
Ferryman
23-08-2009, 14:20
no, zoom, you misunderstand, if the sides are that high, you stick your arm in and you can reach the gravel halfway, glas under the pit of the arm, you cant reach further
But, in slojo's case, its a problem, as he cant stand at the back of the tank to reach the other side, whereas lance will have the tank as a divider between two rooms, so he'll be able to reach both sides "with the right equipment" (ladder, long pinchers, long scissors etc) just by going to the other room... just make the canopy accessible from both sides
no, zoom, you misunderstand, if the sides are that high, you stick your arm in and you can reach the gravel halfway, glas under the pit of the arm, you cant reach further
This is where planting pincers are your friend - I'm short so I have this problem in quite a few of our tanks.
Ferryman
23-08-2009, 14:56
This is where planting pincers are your friend - I'm short so I have this problem in quite a few of our tanks. i said that ;)
"with the right equipment" (ladder, long pinchers, long scissors etc)
yep, it seems they are handy. if you dont want to bother with extended equipment though, being able to reach on both sides of the tank can be usefull
i said that ;)
LoL - in that case - I agree with Ferryman! :D:D
BTW i took ferryman's advise,Used my braaitongs and Cabletied a pair of scissors to it.One side must be left a little bit loose.Could trim all the old leaves.
Ferryman
23-08-2009, 16:13
hehe! awesome, glad it worked.
i thought both handles would need to be a bit loose, good to know it's only one side
(the idea was, instead of getting expensive long scissors, or slojo welding scissors to longer handles, you just attach scrssors to the end of braai-tongs and presto, managable plants:) )
I've actually been thinking about a lot of these sorts of problems for the last few months and I figure I'd go with 60cm to 80cm width and 60cm height, but I'm looking for something that will be free standing that will basically make itself into a wall...
I'd put it on a big galvanised steel structure and build cabinetry all round the bottom and hang a fascia from the ceiling down. With some sort of mechanism to move it away. Alternatively I'd bring the fascia down to 60cm or so above the tank so it can contain the lighting and still give me access to the tank, and put glass sliders on top. I'm also thinking of using plastic or perspex instead of wood because it's obviously completely water resistant.
For lighting I'd recommend natural light via those skylight tubes, then you can add whatever display lighthing you want for when you want to show it off. This will work out much cheaper in the long run than using artificial light and it's in my opinion the best for the fish (and plants), because it doesn't mimic nature, it's actual nature. If done with a hang down section from the roof you can actually light your entire lounge and dining room for free too. As a side note, I've been thinking that maybe you would need some way to close off the light coming in, because you might want to watch a movie in the middle of the day or something and need some darkness...
As for the sump, you could build in extra boxes on either end of the tank, one for inlet and one for outlet, so you can have flow from one end to the other and make a little river habitat. I know for a fact that Loaches and most Asian biotope fish would thrive in that sort of environment. You could quite easily incorporate a system using powerheads like this (http://www.loaches.com/articles/river-tank-manifold-design), for when you need to do sump maintenance or you do a water change.
If you have boxes on either end of the tank for inlet and outlet you could use them for easy water changes too. It would be a matter of putting in some extra pipes with valves on and maybe even a tank next to your sump that can hold the amount of water that you would routinely drain or add to the system. You'd be more likely to use it for filling than draining, but it would be a nice thing to have, allowing you to treat the water and heat it up before putting it in the tank.
I've put together a basic drawing of what I'm talking about, hope it makes sense. The overflow pipes to the sump would be best as Durso style overflows to make them quieter. Unfortunately I can't get the site to take the pics, and tinypic isn't working right now. Will upload it tomorrow.
Have a look at this thread (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1640915&perpage=25&pagenumber=1) for some inspiration in the mean-time...
So my architect came over yesterday afternoon. We discussed the location of the tank, and one of the suggestions was not to put it in the wall but make it a free standing tank with bulkhead, so the tank would pretty much make up a big freestanding column in the room. Reasoning for this was to ensure that the "flow" through the house is maintained. Not sure about that, but he'll put a few options in the plans, so I'll wait to see what that looks like.
Yup, the height of the tank vs maintenance may be a problem since I'm only about 5'9/10 :bigsmile:
Quote by F-Fish:
Lance make sure that the architect knows what he is doing and that the structure can carry your dream tank.
Yup I told him that it's gonna be heavy! He's bringing in an engineer in for something else, but I'll run it by him too.
Why not put the tank on the floor?
Or as close to the floor as possible, say three bricks tall off the ground?
Basically so that you will be looking over the water surface when standing next to it.
Why not put the tank on the floor?
Or as close to the floor as possible, say three bricks tall off the ground?
Try and avoid putting your fish close to the floor as it would make it unnecessarily stressful for most fish - most fish do much better if placed as close to waist level as possible or higher.
I would also rather keep the tank at waist level having it to low just sound like trouble.
What's the reasoning for placing a tank "low"? My ideal height is such that when I stand, my eye level is looking at the middle to top of the tank. I don't want to bend over to see everything.
Besides, if it were at floor level, where would I put the sump?
I didn't mean floor level exactly.
Sounded like you didn't want to get on a ladder to get inside the tank, which is why I wondered.
I've managed to upload the pics, see what you think...
http://i29.tinypic.com/atup9j.jpg
And from the end of the tank:
http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/29.tinypic.com/iw3vba.jpg
If it's going to be free-standing you could easily extend the cabinet on the right hand side so it goes all the way to the ceiling and carries the power up to the lighting level.
Quote by SauRoN:
Sounded like you didn't want to get on a ladder to get inside the tank, which is why I wondered.
No, not at all. The ladder's not a problem. I'm not a tall guy, so my arms are relatively shorter than many, so reaching all parts of the tank will probably be challenging...but it's a problem I'm willing to tackle :bigsmile:
@Whipme, cool man, but stupid question...what's the mixing tank for?
Mixing in dechlorinator and auto top up for water changes
Lance, you do know that your sump doesn't have to be directly underneath the tank? You could plumb it in an adjacent room, just as long as its lower than the display tank
What Neilh said :)
I basically just put together some of the ideas I've been mulling around in my head for months. I've got big ideas of making a 4m tank someday when I buy a house. Or something like what Takashi Amano has, with the raised platform and the skylights. I think the natural lighting is the really important part for cost-cutting though. Because if you look at your total cost of ownership on a big tank, the electricity and cost of globes will add up to a big scary number over a number of years...
Prepare to lose the rest of your day. 375G in wall with separate engine room. Something like this would be my dream tank....
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1403507&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
So what they've got is:
375 Gallons = 1400 liters
96" x 36" x 24" = 2.4m x 90cm x 60cm
That doesn't really sound like a big tank, but it turns out to be quite a big system
Trust me 1400 is rather large. Especially when it ends up all over your floor :p:bigsmile:
Planning is the most important thing ... and getting others imputs as well ... bracing of this size tank will be very important as well .
It sounds very interesting! Water changes are gonna be fun though! :bigsmile:
Built in drain and tap was suggested :) .
You're looking at what? 200+liters for a 20% change? That's only 10 buckets :)
Good bicep exercise lol
:rofl:
Mixing in dechlorinator and auto top up for water changes
Lance, you do know that your sump doesn't have to be directly underneath the tank? You could plumb it in an adjacent room, just as long as its lower than the display tank
Okay, i assumed that I would top-up directly into the tank, but a mixer makes sense since there won't be any "wash" in the main tank and thus the fish and plants won't be disturbed.
Yeah, I know it doesn't have to be below, but it's the only option for me.
Built in drain and tap was suggested :) .
Yes it was, and the same was communicated to my architect...good tip. The tap won't be a problem, but the drain might, since we'll have to break the floor whereas the tap can come down from the ceiling..
I was thinking about the drain story, and there's a really simple way out...
You could get the pipes to end in a tap and hosepipe connector, and just attach your hosepipe when you need to. It's a quick and dirty solution but it might work better than trying to dig out a channel for pipes that will be covered in concrete again, thereby leaving you with potential leaks in the long term.
You could then also add it to your house's green credentials because you could run that nutrient-rich water into the garden :)
A drain is not that important you can always run a hose onto your lawn :) ... :)
I was thinking about the drain story, and there's a really simple way out...
You could get the pipes to end in a tap and hosepipe connector, and just attach your hosepipe when you need to. It's a quick and dirty solution but it might work better than trying to dig out a channel for pipes that will be covered in concrete again, thereby leaving you with potential leaks in the long term.
Okay, I'm with you now...great idea!
You should have a look at this awesome tank (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1206908&perpage=25&pagenumber=1) for some inspiration.
Rochfordgun posted this link http://www.marineaquariumsa.com/showthread.php?t=1815 (http://www.marineaquariumsa.com/showthread.php?t=1815)
on page 3 is some drawing that you might want to look at
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