A ~19,000 Gallon Aquarium

[nahham]

this is really massive nahham, thumbs up for you

Thanks, I always think that when it takes too long to do something: "This is a big project, don't expect it to finish in one day"

Thats gonna be cloudy i cant imagine "Rinsing" all that sand

mmm.. What if the sand is actually beach sand? It would be cloudy for a while but it won't take that long to clear up, would it?

yahoo.

what kind of sand is it? what size particles?

Carl

I have no idea. Sticking with the "all local" approach of the tank design, the sand is from a local beach. It even has shells and stuff. It is a bit grainy/course.

only, see that much sand when building a house, not for a tank.

It would be funny if I take a picture of the whole "backyard" right now, you will see how small the tank looks with all the other building materials around it. We are making the 335 x 4 meter road I've showed in previous illustrations. Add to that some construction going in my house and you have piles and piles of construction material lying around.

Although silica sand or any other non-metallic sand will work, you are better off with a calcareous (calcium-based) sand such as aragonite. You can test the sand by pouring acid (even vinegar works) on it and seeing if it fizzes (turns white and bubbles). If it doesn't fizz, it's silica, quartz or granite.

It fizzes, is that a good thing?

The sand looks brown so I assume it is building sand which has a lot of loose dust and debris that will take a long time to settle and will create turbid (cloudy water). You should test some of the sand in a bucket of water to make sure it settles.

It is actually beach sand. I played around with the picture a bit to make it look more dynamic, it isn't as brown as it looks in the picture. We have some debris in it but we are trying to clean it up as much as we can before I open the flood gates . I tried the bucket thing and it settles quite nicely.

Course sand is less likely to float around, especially with the two prop pumps you have selected as prop pumps suck and blow in a wide stream. If there is a limestone quarry nearby you could acquire calcium carbonate gravel which will give you the natural white reef substrate with PH, calcium, magnesium, & carbonate buffering as well as light reflection. Dolomite also works well.

It is course, not as course as coral sand but it is heavy sand; you know the one that doesn't fly around in high winds.

Cant wait for the next pic!!!!

I'm hoping this is going to be soon. I noticed a positive relationship between posting of pictures and comments and views going up .

 

[nahham]

Whew! 23 pages and now i finally get to post! :lolspin: What an amazing build!

Thank you and thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read and interact with us here.

I have some personal questions to ask now! Do you own all 4 houses behind the tank?

We do own the 4 houses, my siblings and I.

Are people living in them now or are they newly built?

They are newly built (a couple of years) and are all occupied.

Who will be visiting your aquarium?

Anyone who wants to.

Will it be open to the public? Or is this your personal baby?

It won't be open for public per se, but anyone is welcome to come by and visit. It is a personal tank after all. We'll probably be arranging for an opening party of sorts through the Marine Aquarium Society of the UAE. You are welcome to join the party if it happens. It will be more of an English Tea party than a Hard Rock/Punk party though .

Sorry for all the nosy questions! Curious! Subscribed for the long run! Sue

No worries. Glad you found it interesting..

 

[raw88gt]

I know i will get alot of flack for this but i used beach sand in my tank once from the ocean i didnt know better and filled up a tupperware i put it right in my salinity was a bit high n ther issues had a bunch of "sand fleas" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerita_(genus) which my puffer at the time loved to crunch but i had no sand storm at all but it was what came in with everytide

 

[Ninong]

It fizzes, is that a good thing?

Yes, that's a good thing. If it fizzes when it comes in contact with an acid (e.g. vinegar, hydrochloric acid, etc.), then it's the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) reacting with the acid to release carbon dioxide (CO2). Silica sand doesn't release CO2 because it's SiO2.

 

[nahham]

I got the holes fixed in the tank and now the water is lower than I wanted it to be , I can't seem to get it right . At least is now easier to play with the water level (restricting the waterflow out of the overflow holes will raise the water level). The sand settled and the water is less green now, but green nonetheless. The guys from the water processing facility haven't had the time to pass by yet. Water samples are in the lab though and I should hear the results in 3 - 5 days. I've asked for my list plus the ph, salinity, and harmful bacteria.

My circulation pumps should be here in 2 - 3 weeks and the controller should be here a week or two later. I can't wait to see how the pumps will move the water. I saw some pictures and they seem to be really really powerful. I'll shoot a video when both of them on and post here.

I have a cold so diving is out of the question at the moment. Maybe within the next 10 days. I'll start collecting stuff for the tank. The grouper is becoming really really lonely .

 

[mr.wilson]

You could collect Rotifers and other plankton to consume the green water. Uv sterilization and to a lesser extent ozone, will eliminate phytoplankton. A sun shield/cover will also help. There are coagulant polymers you can add to clarify the water but they lower dissolved oxygen if you overdose. Peroxide will increase redox potential and oxidize organics and of course free-floating algae. A pleated cartridge filter with diatom powder (diatomaceous earth) will also clear the water up. Strong water flow and aeration will help. A more radical yet 100% effective method would be to add sodium hypochlorite or calcium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) then dechlorinate with sodium thiosulphate. This will also sterilize your sand. You can monitor. Chlorine test kits from a pool shop will allow you to raise it to 50ppm and track it back down to zero. Algicdes like symazine should be avoided as they adversely affect any organisms as well as being a carcinogen. The algae may die off if you PH shock the water with acid. The carbonates in the saltwater will cause the PH to bounce back up in a day... And then there is prayer

 

[Atlantico]

Wow, que tanque amigo!!!! Me da mucho empuje para yo poner (claro mucho mas chico) en mi casa. Suerte y voy a seguir este proyecto muy de cerca

 

[Daniel Reef]

Wow, que tanque amigo!!!! Me da mucho empuje para yo poner (claro mucho mas chico) en mi casa. Suerte y voy a seguir este proyecto muy de cerca

Courtesy of Google Translate:

Spanish to English
"Wow, that tank friend!! It gives me great boost for me to (of course much smaller) in my house. Good luck and I will follow this project closely."

 

[Dejavu]

Vote for May's Thread of the Month!

Vote for May's Thread of the Month!

This thread has been nominated for May's thread of the Month. You can vote here:thumbsup:.

 

[masterswimmer]

This thread has been nominated for May's thread of the Month. You can vote here:thumbsup:.

I cast my vote

Keep up the great work.

Russ

 

[CycleDeez]

Oh man, here we go!

 

[Oldude]

This thread has been nominated for May's thread of the Month. You can vote here:thumbsup:.

Congrats on a cool thread.

 

[j-dizzle]

Talk about an all time one up!!! ha ha great build this is awsome!!!! subscribed!!

 

[nahham]

Wow, que tanque amigo!!!! Me da mucho empuje para yo poner (claro mucho mas chico) en mi casa. Suerte y voy a seguir este proyecto muy de cerca

Gracias por visitarnos y comentar en mi proyecto. Me alegro que te guste. Por favor, perdona a los malos españoles, he usado Google Translate a escribir esto.

Courtesy of Google Translate:

Spanish to English
"Wow, that tank friend!! It gives me great boost for me to (of course much smaller) in my house. Good luck and I will follow this project closely."

Isn't Google just great .

This thread has been nominated for May's thread of the Month. You can vote here:thumbsup:.

I'm humbled by the nomination. I do not think the project is at a stage where is should be nominated. However, since it did, I would like to ask everyone to cast their vote, especially the frequent visitors to my thread .

I cast my vote

Keep up the great work.

Russ

Thanks for stopping by and casting your vote. I hope you voted for the right thread/tank *wink wink* .

Oh man, here we go!

You said it. I feel I just got nominated for an Oscar. Now I should update the thread more frequently .

 

[nahham]

Congrats on a cool thread.

Coming from you that means a lot. I subscribed to your thread a long time ago and am dazzled by your tank and the photos you take. I'm really there just for the cool pics, everything else is way over my head.

Talk about an all time one up!!! ha ha great build this is awsome!!!! subscribed!!

I dunno about the one up but I'm glad you think my project is worthwhile. Please stop by often; it is just starting to get interesting now that the water is actually in the tank .

 

[sammy113]

Wow this is epic. Subscribed

 

[OwNeD162]

This tank is crazy!
So amazing!
Keep up the great work!

 

[Boegie]

I have voted this thread as thread of the month. Words cant describe the envy I feel when someone else is living my dream. To be able to build a 19,000 gallon aquarium is all reefers dream. Nahham, thank you for sharing.

 

[footbagger311]

I love it. I cannot wait.

 

[nahham]

Wow this is epic. Subscribed

Thanks for stopping by. I don't know about epic but I'm glad you think so .

This tank is crazy!
So amazing!
Keep up the great work!

Thanks. I am trying to. Whenever I'm faced with a problem I always think "I can't disappoint everyone on the RC forums" .

I have voted this thread as thread of the month. Words cant describe the envy I feel when someone else is living my dream. To be able to build a 19,000 gallon aquarium is all reefers dream. Nahham, thank you for sharing.

Thank you for stopping by. I've always considered this a community build so we are sharing the dream. If you are ever at this side of the world let me know, I will be glad to show you the tank in person .

I love it. I cannot wait.

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I can't wait either. I always feel everything is taking way too long in this build. However, in perspective it only took around 6 months to get here. This was supposed to finish at the beginning of April, but sudden travel arrangements and other things made it harder to stick with the master plan. We are getting there though.