Envirobro's Ambitious Tank Idea- 1700 liters + Sump

Hi Guys,

So I have finally begun thinking about building another large tank. The last tank I built was 600l and I love it but I would really like something a lot wider. This is a long term project so don't expect to see anything for at least a year, maybe two but eventually I will get there. As I am a student I will need to purchase the materials as I can afford them.

Anyway here is my idea:











I am no expert at using Sketchup so please excuse any mistakes. I have left out the sump on these drawings because it will be a standard 3 compartment design with return pump. I want the sump to be around 300 liters so that it can also be used as a quarantine area.

The recommended thickness of glass is 15mm! so it will be extremely heavy and difficult to move around, not sure how I am going to deal with this but I am hoping that once it is in place, it will stay that way.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome but I am not even worried about the finer details such as equipment at this stage, first I need to find out where I can get this much glass for a decent price.

 

What fish you planning to keep in there?

 

you could go down to 600mm high and do this with 10mm glass.
will cut the cost dramatically.

 

Too early to tell @pHish_man I do miss my Malawis so that might happen... Maybe even Tangs... Who knows I might even go for some big New World Cichlids but I doubt it

 

Thanks @spider I have considered that but would really like to have the 800mm height if I can afford it. I will need to get prices before I make that decision. Does anyone know where I can get good prices for glass in Gauteng?

 

yes man
sell a kidney get it done
chat to @Michael11
he is building something very similar rite now

 

Haha @top dog I don't know if I would go that far Thanks I'll do that.

 

I love big tanks. Couple of things you may want to keep in mind:
You won't get a tank this size through a normal doorway, and depending on design, this may apply to your stand as well. You will probably have to build it on site. If you were to move you may have to leave your tank behind, or disassemble it again.
you need a pretty solid floor to house this, the weight with sump and stand will probably be around 2500kg.

When (not if) you get it going, post lots of pictures!

EDIT: you'll need to increase the thickness of your bottom glass - probably to 24mm - sorry about the cost implication!

 

Thanks @Jwh I measured the doorway first The place I want to put it is on the ground floor of my house and has double doors so 1.2m fits through perfectly. I will be building it on site anyway. 24mm! Why does it need to be so thick? For my 600l tank I used 10mm glass for every panel and the base.

 

Dude, go for it!

TWO TONS of FUN!

 

You will want something substantial under that tank, you can laminate 2x12mm sheets to give you that thickness. A safety factor of 2.5 is merely safe, most calculators work on a minimum safety factor of 3.8, by using a thicker bottom as well as bracing it you will increase the safety factor without having to go to thicker glass, there is a site that explains this all very nicely, can't remember where though. If it comes to mind, I'll send you the link.

 

Great thanks. Do you know where I can get glass at a good price?

 

Do you mean use the sump to house fish in quarantine? Won't this defeat the point of a quarantine, as any disease they carry would just enter the main tank through the return?

 

lol @Mattlam i wanted to post that aswell now, cool idea none the less i use my sumps as growouts

 

try them Rene Turck | Specialised Glass Manufacturing

 

Hi I think the site could be GARF.ORG - The reef aquarium place if money was not an option then this would have been a perfect acrylic tank.

 

@top dog was correct I am busy with a project not to far off this one. I went with the dimensions of 1.85l x0.9w x0.75h puts me at 1250 liters. reason for this is that I might need to one day fit it through a door. I got plenty quotes on 12mm glass and ranged from between R5000 to R8000 and I tried everyone. I got many quotes to build this tank and they all were around R10 000, this was just for the tank with no sump or stand. Eventually got a friend to do a once off special for me and my tank is now complete and I'll be collecting on the weekend. Will post some pics for you. I'm also using 50mm squar tubing for the stand with a 2mm thickness and thinking of going 0.8m high.

 

No the type of quarantine I am referring to @MattLamm is the not for diseased or new fish but rather for fish that may need recovery time out of the main tank. Malawi's can be very aggressive often leading to death if the individual being picked on is not removed.

 

@michaell11 That sounds great, I already have a spot for mine with the dimensions that I decided on. I have not phoned to get glass quotes yet but I am sure it will be in the region of R6000-R8000 as you already mentioned. I am curious to see if reducing it's height to 600mm will reduce costs significantly or not. Does this friend of yours build tanks for a living?

 

Ah ok cool. that makes perfect sense!