15' Tank??????

[sagwala]

Hi everyone, my first post in this forum and i have also put it in the DIY section too. I'm pretty much a newbie to saltwater tanks but am totally hooked. I will be moving house shortly and have the opportunity for something big. I am thinking 15' x 2' x 2'. I am trying to find out if there are any calculations so i can work out Glass/Acrylic thickness that i will need. Also wight calculations as i am thinking of a rolling Stand so that i can access the front when needed without leaning over the back.

Any help or pointing in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[Mahlhavoc]

450 gallons would be much much prettier with more depth and higher. 24" wide and deep may leave you wanting more and not seem as large as a 36" tall or 36" deep. Acrylic wont make much difference either except finding 15 feet of acrylic is going to be tougher and more expensive AFAIK.

And a rolling stand would be pretty impressive as the lbs would be HUGE. Moving it out does not seem like an option anymore than lifting a VW bug and changing the tire with the other hand.

JMO

 

[bbrantley]

Re: 15' Tank??????

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9576242#post9576242 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sagwala
Hi everyone, my first post in this forum and i have also put it in the DIY section too. I'm pretty much a newbie to saltwater tanks but am totally hooked. I will be moving house shortly and have the opportunity for something big. I am thinking 15' x 2' x 2'. I am trying to find out if there are any calculations so i can work out Glass/Acrylic thickness that i will need. Also wight calculations as i am thinking of a rolling Stand so that i can access the front when needed without leaning over the back.

Any help or pointing in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

I can tell you this: forget acrylic. At that length it has to be custom-made in Europe or somewhere and shipped in just for you. The cost is absolutely outrageous. Now, you could do two separate 8 foot panels with some kind of divider.

I don't know anything about glass, but I'd suspect you're likely in the same kind of esoteric boat there, too.

Good luck!

Ben

 

[Zoos]

Around here I can get glass up to 130" anything else has to be custom also and that it big bucks. i think 130x36x24" about 486g would be a pretty amazing tank. also you could always do something like bbrantley said, maybe an "L" shaped tank with 2 8' or even 10' foot panels. If you've got the time and money I'm sure someone will build it

 

[sagwala]

Ok cheers for that everyone. I think it will be acrylic. At leat i know it can be done with it, plus it will be slightly lighter, not that it make much difference at 450 gallons!!! I think i'm still gonna try for 180" but might take your advice and go for somerthing a little wider and deeper. Maybe 36" wide and 30" deep. That would up it to about 840g. And i would only lose 1' from my Maintenance/store room which would probably be ok.

The movable shelving system should work, we use it our stores and it has so much weight on there its amazing that you can move it, I've sent off a few emails to see what the max weight their industrial products can support. Obviously i'm gonna want a safety factor of a million so that i will be able to sleep at night.

I will keep going and let you all know what i decide.

Cheers

 

[serpentman]

I am very curious to see how the movable shelving concept works out. Because you are moving water and not a static load, wouldn't weight shift/sloshing and rockslides be an issue?

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

we have floor jacks at work that lift 25000lbs so a rolling stand is not out of the question..put it on a pneumatic or hydrualic push pull cyclinder and you have got it made...

there again the floor jacks also cost $5000.oo each so this is by no means a cheap solution..not to mention heat, salt and humidity will wreak havoc on the components of such a system, other then the wheels as they are all some sort of polycarbonate resin, that is unbelieveably strong, but i am pretty sure they have bearing which will defiantely not like "wet feet" especailly salty wet feet..

the floor would also have to be perfectly smooth (no grit or texture), flat (no waves or luls) and level...not to mention thick and strong, not your typical basement floor by any means..

personally i have always found depth of a tank more appealing then the length, height is also very nice to leave a little bit of clear sailing and turning room for the fish..

i think you would be much happier with a tank AT LEAST 36 inches wide rather then 24...there is just so much more room for creative aquascaping, and optical illusion..the deeper the tank th eharder it is to tell ow far into the ocean you really go..LOL

 

[bstone]

I have a tank that is out of glass, 120" long, 48" deep, and 30" tall. I absolutely love the depth of the tank, it is what makes the tank so incredible. I pondered the glass vs. acrylic argument for weeks, and I decided on glass and I am very happy that I did! Anyway, here is a link to my build thread. Hope it helps answer some of your questions!

LINK

 

[bbrantley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9579888#post9579888 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by serpentman
I am very curious to see how the movable shelving concept works out. Because you are moving water and not a static load, wouldn't weight shift/sloshing and rockslides be an issue?

I'm curious, too. The other challenge I see is your plumbing. Are you going to have any support equipment that's not on the stand? I think it's going to be tricky to get that plumbed in in a way that lets it move easily.

Ben

 

[sfsuphysics]

While moving a tank this hard is not that much of a challenge, heck they can move whole buildings, moving few tons is not a smooth task unless you have very very nicely lubricated ball bearings.

I'm trying to grasp a concept as to why again you want to move it? So you can have access to the other side? Personally I would have an access room from the back. Or if that isn't possible (ie it's the side of the house) you might want to leave it away from the wall enough so you can walk behind it (15" should be fine for anyone who's not overweight), then if you're concerned by looks of a gap you can make a decorative access panel on the side(s) to cover up the mess when you're viewing.

 

[sagwala]

Cheers for all your suggestions and idea's everyone. Bstone i will have a look at that link, thankyou. The reason i want it movable is just to make it easy for maintenance (dont have to lean over 3ft (if you guys get your way, LOL) of water to clean the front glass or move something about). Plus its a project and i like the engineering difficulties with the task.

I know moving that sort of weight can be done (Aircraft cargo pallets weight 5 ton max and thats about 10ft x 6ft and thats on roller balls and rollers, and its not gonna be fast at all so i dont see it splashing everywhere (hopefully). I dont think i'll even need it powered, these storage racks i'm thinking of just use a wheel/crank that you turn yourself I'm sure they are heavilly geared to make it easier but hey.

On the plumbing side...... ok thats a bit more difficult to work out. I did start with the idea that i would have everything on the one stand/rack and everything would move together, which would be nice and a hell of a lot easier, but i think i would definately start to have problems with weight. I know its possible to have moving joints that hopefully dont leak but i will need to think that idea through a bit more (Any ideas Ben????)

I'll try and find a link of the movable stand/storage solution so you can see what i'm thinking of, or i'll try my hand at "paint" and get a diagram done.

Cheers

Si

 

[bbrantley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9583938#post9583938 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sagwala
On the plumbing side...... ok thats a bit more difficult to work out. I did start with the idea that i would have everything on the one stand/rack and everything would move together, which would be nice and a hell of a lot easier, but i think i would definately start to have problems with weight. I know its possible to have moving joints that hopefully dont leak but i will need to think that idea through a bit more (Any ideas Ben????)

I think anything that works will probably be a real compromise in convenience or performance. Big tanks need big support infrastructure. To maintain that infrastructure, the humans need easy access to it. Squeezing it all underneath the stand is certainly possible, but it would definitely make it painful to work on.

The only "normal" connection I can think of that would be flexible enough would be vinyl tubing. At the flow rates you're looking at, I'm not sure vinyl is a good idea, though. I understand it doesn't work very well at larger diameters, not that I've ever tried.

What's your budget?

Ben

 

[sagwala]

Have not really got one to be honest. Obviously i dont want to have to sell the new house to pay for it but i should be cool. I basically want to do it as cheap as possible, which i know is a stupid statement considering everything i want to do and how big the tank is "Going" to be, but if i can save £2000 by doing something myself then i will, even if it takes 10 times as long.

One thing i am finding a problem is to price up is the tank itself which is why i asked about the thickness in the first post, I could at least then price up the materials, I am just about to email a couple of custom tank builders over here i the UK to get some quotes. If anyone could give me any ideas on what they paid, i know its probably going to be in dollars but i just substitute a £ sign for the $ and it normally works out right.

Cheers

Si

 

[nyvp]

I think on 15' go min 3' wide better 4' and 30" high

 

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9587322#post9587322 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nyvp
I think on 15' go min 3' wide better 4' and 30" high

I agree... 15' would be kind of a waste if you only go 24x24... I would do atleast 36" front to back and 30" high... But I would do 48" front to back (if not even 60") and 30" high for a reef and like 36" high if your looking at a FOWLR...

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9587443#post9587443 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by asnatlas
I agree... 15' would be kind of a waste if you only go 24x24... I would do atleast 36" front to back and 30" high... But I would do 48" front to back (if not even 60") and 30" high for a reef and like 36" high if your looking at a FOWLR...

as much as i agree with that...it would almost triple his initial plans......BIG tanks rock...i will just sit back and enjoy my 20 gallon nano..

total bummer on the substitution of #'s ( i dont have your fancy dancy little thing on my keyboard...LOL) {or if i do i dont know where to find it} for $ dollars too..considering the pound is worth almost double the us dollar...

but again glass thickness is going to be totally dependent on the height of the tank...and something this long you will want eurobraced top and bottom too...extra expense you dont even see, burried under the sand...

at two feet tall i bet your looking bare minimum of 1" glass though, 30" and i would think you are going to have to laminate two 3/4" pieces together...but i am no glass engineer or tank builder either..

 

[bbrantley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9584666#post9584666 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sagwala
One thing i am finding a problem is to price up is the tank itself which is why i asked about the thickness in the first post, I could at least then price up the materials, I am just about to email a couple of custom tank builders over here i the UK to get some quotes. If anyone could give me any ideas on what they paid, i know its probably going to be in dollars but i just substitute a £ sign for the $ and it normally works out right.

Cheers

Si

Yeah, you should definitely go ahead and reach out to professionals and start getting both estimates and opinions. The good ones will share the latter along with the former.

I think until you get numbers from the suppliers and a sense of how the pricing will scale, you probably won't find it very productive to sit around here on RC and theorize about something so large and unusual. Once you've found a basic size and plan that you can afford, then we can start chiming in with other details.

Good luck either way,

Ben

 

[sagwala]

Yeah cheers Ben, actually agree with you there. Just difficult cos i'm already excited and i dont even know what i'm getting. Arrggg!

I think 36" would be the max i would go Shawn, if i dont set some sort of limit its gonna end up being 2000g, plus i have to think about the weight and my unusual idea of being able to move it....

Cheers for all your input.

Si

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

if it is going to be inwall set up you can just put empty cupboards above the tank so you have access to the front of it..kinda give it that built in cabinetry look...that would sure beat the outrageous cost of a moving tank...

as for plumbing on it though you would definately want flexible lines and maybe aconsider a product like nylatrac (sp) as well to cover control and protect the pipes..