30' x 15' x 4'

More frame greenhouse/reefhouse done.



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Base.. Concrete slab, would have to see what characteristics needed for load bearing. The aquarium base would also be concrete but aquarium/reef friendly mix, the concrete might need to be coated with epoxy. To provide a barrier against contamination. The support beams would also have to be reef friendly and corrosion resistance. The glass thickness would need to be determined for such a volume.
 
On something like this I would just skip the solar tubes. Do a clear roof. I would look a lot less cluttered and there is a build that used the clear roof and the corals look amazing!
 
C Dog said:
On something like this I would just skip the solar tubes. Do a clear roof. I would look a lot less cluttered and there is a build that used the clear roof and the corals look amazing!
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A clear roof/greenhouse type.. I was thinking the radions would be needed at night. The framing above the tank would be there to keep the Radions close enough yet have some clearance to aquascape dry rock. And coral colony placement. Since frame would hang down from ceiling .. Solatubes might be needed to provide tropical light levels. Virginia .. The light levels might not be adequate. For 4 foot deep tank?..
 
The bottom would be barebottom dry rock rubble would be sitting on epoxy coated concrete... Piping would be hidden by dry rock rubble.
 
Spectre2006 said:
Its only 4 feet deep, I want to be able to keep SPS and clean the tank just by kneeling. Dry rock would only be in the center formations. Huge band of open space around dry rock.
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If by kneeling you mean wading, maybe. Otherwise you have a really big wing span and can reach across a 30'X15' footprint. :spin2:
 
As for lighting I think a sun room/ green house designed room with a clear roof is the way to go. Add in some blue cannons on the roof joists for better colors and you should have an economic/ easy to maintain light system that's out of your way for maintenance. You could probably custom build a cannon with a better spectrum as well for much less than radions and get better coverage. For something this big less is more. Modified pool pumps, ideally the variable speed 3hp ones so you can adjust them. Wouldn't go any bigger because you really don't want to deal with a plumbing maze in anything over 2". Look into diatom or sand filters to remove detritus and it will help semi automate water changes. A diatom opens the possibility of lanthum chloride for phosphate removal, gfo would probably run $1k a month. For flow I believe tunze can custom build larger size power heads, or there is closed loops and the hydro wizard. The glass is really simple, probably would want to go with 1" laminated star fire. 3/4" might work but you don't want a failure. Your thickness calc is based on height and width of each individual pane not the whole project. Get familiar with pentairs website as your building a pool more so than an aquarium as far as the filtration goes. Looks like a great project even just to dream about. If you haven't already read the setup of bills 20k tank, lots of good info on there.
 
thanx, for the info, the actual greenhouse construction cost would be easy to calculate. The cement slab, and cement base structure, I would have to research which is the most reef friendly. The glass costs would be easy to figure out too.

the building would have glass ceiling, similar to greenhouse, with a drop down metal frame to affix lighting to. Might steer away from solatubes, and just use light supplementation with Radions. The interlink function would look amazing simulating the various modes available (thunderstorm)..

Its basically a above ground pool inside a greenhouse with better pumps and filters to keep coral in. The actual costs would think be under 500K.
 
any way to calculate evaporative losses given a surface area of water? Trying to figure out what daily top off would be.. Could set it up to top off from the ceiling similar to rain.
 
looks like pure greenhouse ceiling will lead to the best PAR readings, then Solatubes. Three sides plus ceiling would be glass, the north wall would be the wall with adjacent filter room.
 
in the future, i'm sure LED units will be different, but for a job this size custom will always be the best option. just keep that in mind. you are not restricted by any size/shape of premade units.

evaporation depends on water temp, air temp, humidity, air flow, water flow, etc... just know that it will be a lot. if any attempt is made to reduce humidity in the fish room (greenhouse), evaporation (and probably power bills) will rise tremendously.
 
rwb500 said:
in the future, i'm sure LED units will be different, but for a job this size custom will always be the best option. just keep that in mind. you are not restricted by any size/shape of premade units.

evaporation depends on water temp, air temp, humidity, air flow, water flow, etc... just know that it will be a lot. if any attempt is made to reduce humidity in the fish room (greenhouse), evaporation (and probably power bills) will rise tremendously.
Click to expand...

Agreed, Radions would be my last choice on a build like this. Some pendants that are meant to go to depths like this would be a much better option.

Something like this from Orphek:
http://orphek.com/orphek-products/dif-pendants/
 
Looking at the whole build, the two major issues will be the concrete base of building and concrete floor/base of aquarium. It would be futile to build something like this if you cant maintain purity of the saltwater, without chemicals leaching into water from the epoxy coated concrete.

Also getting flow to various points/parts of aquarium will be plumbing intensive, since most of the piping will be hidden under dry rock rubble. Water displacement to the farthest point would displace water towards the overflow on the north side.

The ability to aquascape by wading and snorkeling would lead to some nice structures. Trying to avoid just a pile of dry rock look.
 
Nice dream....there are a lot of worse ways to spend money!

I would check out the Atlantis, Long Island aquarium and expo center. (they have a web site)

When I read you initial post I immediately thought of the 20k gallon living reef they have. It was 30' long or so. Amazing tank.

I think if you visit it you may agree with me that the natural behavior, and layering, of the fish among a deeper reef really adds to the overall Immersion of having a slice of reef.

When I think about going that big, I think much of the space will be under appreciated just from falling out of view. As I recall there was probably a minimum of 4' above the highest reef section, and it was teaming with activity.

For the SPS concerns, and ease of access, I would suggest a couple of long raceways in your green house (perhaps behind the big tank) that way you could service, frag and enjoy them while keeping your feet on dry land.

The corals that were thriving in the raceway could then be moved into the big tank, and if you had some fish that "nibbled" here and there, you would have a supply of replacement coral, grown in house!.

"Personally, I would love to be able to dive in a home aquarium...but that is just me. Your retirement plans may not include diving."

A thought that came into my head with the concrete base...it seems that the construction cost of the tank will be small potatoes in the big picture...I would use a concrete slab, with an acrylic or glass floor. (or sandwich of glass (with overlapping seams)) No leaching, and the slab underneath would provide all the support.
 
On my gawd. This is going to be amazing.

(Just don't try to put a blue tang in there. They need a lot more swimming space than that.)
 
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