A ~19,000 Gallon Aquarium
- Thread starter nahham
- Start date
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
It looks like your project is a sure thing for thread & tank of the month once you get there. As I mentioned in my last post, the thickness of the glass or acrylic is governed by the height of the water above the bottom of the panel. If your panel is 4m high with 1m of water above the top of the panel, then you must calculate for 5m height. If you have 1m deep water below the bottom of the panel and a finished water level at the top of the panel, then you are still working with 4m height for the calculation.
The thickness calculation is to minimize deflection. A 3m panel length will put you in a class of acrylic panels rather than glass due to the room for deflection over the great length. In North America public aquariums and zoos use mostly acrylic viewing panels, while in Europe I found glass to be more common. Some of the glass panels I have seen in Europe were 4m high, but they were only 1m wide in order to minimize deflection. I find these narrow panels distracting with too many vertical lines blocking the view.
When we describe viewing panels we list length/width x height, so I assume your panels are 3m wide x 4m high. I use a firm in Germany to do my panel calculations. You can purchase viewing panels from China at less than half of the cost, but large panels such as these have a high flaw rate even from the most technologically advanced manufacturers. If you choose to go with Chinese viewing panels, I would recommend going there in person and approving each one before they ship them.
Cast acrylic panels will not yellow in the sun's UV light like extruded acrylic panels would. My only concern with using acrylic with your project would be sand blasting from mother nature
I assume that there would be some manner of sun shade above the viewing area, so overheating the acrylic would not be an issue. The large thermal mass of water on the wet side of the tank will help regulate the temperature of the viewing panels. Some installers use silicone for affixing acrylic panels, but I prefer to use sealing gaskets. The force of the water is pushing the panel against the body of the tank, so the objective is to create a water-tight seal and not to bond the panel to the wall. Silicone cement does act as a good gasket if you apply a seam that is at least 2" thick in the case of your large panels, but a seal gasket gives you the luxury of tightening and loosening the seal later on to seal leaks and relieve stress. A series of #316 stainless steel brackets and through bolts are used to gently and evenly fasten the viewing panel to the concrete aquarium wall.
You can use epoxy to finish the cement where the panel is to be set, but you don't need it for the interior walls. Instead, you should use a sulphide and calcium resistant marine cement such as BASF Emaco s88c T cement with an admix and top coat like Xypex. Xypex is a chemical that crystalizes within the cement's pore matrix. When you apply it, it migrates into the holes in the cement through a capillary action, then it turns super hard as it crystalizes. This yields a very strong water-proof cement that is impervious to seawater (no spalling). It leaves a smooth finish that works well with sealing gaskets. http://www.xypex.com/
Acrylic is much more clear than even low iron glass. You can use a single sheet where as with glass it requires many laminated layers. Acrylic can be laminated permanently, while glass lamination can become cloudy if the panel is under stress or if water infiltrates between the panels. A 3m wide x 4m high panel is likely to be 30cm thick and will weigh just over a tonne. The panels can be moved into place with a sling and a forklift. It is becoming popular to angle the panels so that the top is closer to the viewer and the bottom is farther away, as if the panel is falling towards you. This orientation minimizes glare and makes photography a lot easier. It also draws the viewer into the exhibit and gives the illusion of greater depth. As I mentioned earlier, leaving an area at the ends with no panels and creating a deeper pool below the panels adds to the illusion of a deep abyss. Another optical illusion is to curve the back of the aquarium so it is wider in the middle, and to angle the two side walls so they fan out towards the back. From a top view, this will look like a baseball diamond.
You can use steel or cement to frame the viewing panels. I prefer steel frames if the cement pillars are narrow and not joined at the top. Nahham has a nice effect with an open concept panel, that is to say no frame on top. This open top configuration requires more bracing along the top panel or thicker material if you want a polished edge. A structural engineer will be able to give you definitive concrete wall thickness, but I would guess 60cm with lots of rebar would be in order, unless the tank is built into the ground.
Good luck with your project.
dainiusiva
New member
congrats on totm nahham
Daniel Reef
New member
Congratulations nahham.
Congrats on being TOTM, it is really coming together now.
Mr. Wilson, your extensive knowledge on all aspects of the hobby really amazes me when I see the advice you give in this thread and over at Peter's build as well. Your contribution to this forum is without equal. May I ask what you do? I am assuming you work in the field somehow?
Mr. Wilson, your extensive knowledge on all aspects of the hobby really amazes me when I see the advice you give in this thread and over at Peter's build as well. Your contribution to this forum is without equal. May I ask what you do? I am assuming you work in the field somehow?
nahham
New member
Thanks everyone. I couldn't have done it without your vote and help.
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
Thanks for the kind words. I've worked in the aquarium industry for the past 23 years (since I was 18). I've owned retail aquarium shops, wholesale fish warehouses and a custom installation company, with the latter being my current post. I don't mind sharing the trade secrets that others consider proprietary. I learn just as much as novice aquarists learn on here. Often great ideas are sprouted from simple questions. A completely unrelated topic can spark an idea or concept that I can apply in my own projects. Lately RC has had some very interesting build threads which are a nice break from skimmer of the month discussions
Hopefully we can keep the ball rolling. :spin1:
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
Thanks for the kind words. I've worked in the aquarium industry for the past 23 years (since I was 18). I've owned retail aquarium shops, wholesale fish warehouses and a custom installation company, with the latter being my current post. I don't mind sharing the trade secrets that others consider proprietary. I learn just as much as novice aquarists learn on here. Often great ideas are sprouted from simple questions. A completely unrelated topic can spark an idea or concept that I can apply in my own projects. Lately RC has had some very interesting build threads which are a nice break from skimmer of the month discussions
Very interesting. I suspect it must be great to work in the hobby that you love. I agree, the amount of knowledge about the hobby held on these servers is truly mind-boggling. I imagine personally I would have run into many more headaches along the way if I didn't find this place when I first got started.
super stooge
New member
*stops to catch breath while rubbing ointment in my strained eyes*
26 pages of posts and i can finally get to add a comment of my own
.
nahham, as throngs of others have previously pointed out you have an amazing project underway. i would like to commend you on your bravery and drive to actually undertake a mind boggling project like this.
i would also like to thank you for making the rest of our reefing addictions seem minuscule by comparison the next time a family member comments that my future 180 tank build is insane i will point them in the direction of this thread :lol2: . you have set a dangerous precedence my friend :dance:.
one final thing, id like to thank you for taking steps to combat rising sea levels. its about time somebody stood up to the ocean and said "NO" . there is now 19 000 gallons less to wash up on my front door :celeb1: (although then it would be easier for me to access Natural sea water and copy your design.....) :idea: right then, im off to melt the ice caps
congratulations on thread of the month and dont forget, you have reefers from all over the world cheering for you :beer:
26 pages of posts and i can finally get to add a comment of my own
.nahham, as throngs of others have previously pointed out you have an amazing project underway. i would like to commend you on your bravery and drive to actually undertake a mind boggling project like this.
i would also like to thank you for making the rest of our reefing addictions seem minuscule by comparison
the next time a family member comments that my future 180 tank build is insane i will point them in the direction of this thread :lol2: . you have set a dangerous precedence my friend :dance:.one final thing, id like to thank you for taking steps to combat rising sea levels. its about time somebody stood up to the ocean and said "NO" . there is now 19 000 gallons less to wash up on my front door :celeb1: (although then it would be easier for me to access Natural sea water and copy your design.....) :idea: right then, im off to melt the ice caps
congratulations on thread of the month and dont forget, you have reefers from all over the world cheering for you :beer:
Thanks for the kind words. I've worked in the aquarium industry for the past 23 years (since I was 18). I've owned retail aquarium shops, wholesale fish warehouses and a custom installation company, with the latter being my current post. I don't mind sharing the trade secrets that others consider proprietary. I learn just as much as novice aquarists learn on here. Often great ideas are sprouted from simple questions. A completely unrelated topic can spark an idea or concept that I can apply in my own projects. Lately RC has had some very interesting build threads which are a nice break from skimmer of the month discussions
WOW!!! Excellent Thread here.
Mr. Wilson - I have to say that I am quickly becoming a fan... I've come across your name a couple of times as we are employed by the same industry in the same city actually... I'm also in Toronto.... Very very insightful comments; and congrats on all that you've accomplished so far. Keep up the good work.
I particularly enjoy all of the technical aspects of this hobby - and it is becoming strikingly apparent that you are contributing greatly along these lines as well, so once again... many, many thanks! :thumbsup:
Regards,
Sheldon
nahham
New member
I actually get water from around 6 meters under the water surface. So that should help in that aspect. Also, if need be, I am able to close the system up and keep it running for a while.
We had a plan to get water from a saltwater well and then went back to getting the water the sea. Now I'm thinking we should go back to the saltwater well, fill the tank up, and have a mostly closed system. I am still considering all the requirements and will post the plans when they are ready. Water clarity is my major concern..
It is deceptive to call it a 'fish farm'. As mentioned earlier, it is more of a 'fish spa'; I have far more less fish in there than what is the norm for fish farms. Also, we can always fish for the fish; this will make it more interesting
.Thanks..
Thanks. I like the photo you picked.
*stops to catch breath while rubbing ointment in my strained eyes*
26 pages of posts and i can finally get to add a comment of my own.
nahham, as throngs of others have previously pointed out you have an amazing project underway. i would like to commend you on your bravery and drive to actually undertake a mind boggling project like this.
i would also like to thank you for making the rest of our reefing addictions seem minuscule by comparison the next time a family member comments that my future 180 tank build is insane i will point them in the direction of this thread. you have set a dangerous precedence my friend :dance:.
one final thing, id like to thank you for taking steps to combat rising sea levels. its about time somebody stood up to the ocean and said "NO" . there is now 19 000 gallons less to wash up on my front door :celeb1: (although then it would be easier for me to access Natural sea water and copy your design.....) :idea: right then, im off to melt the ice caps
congratulations on thread of the month and dont forget, you have reefers from all over the world cheering for you :beer:
that is one long comment: is it to make up for reading through 26 pages?? Thank you for your very kind words. I couldn't of done it without the help of the people here at RC. Everyone contributed to the success thus far and I hope that they keep on contributing. I treat this project as a community project and any input/comment/critique/suggestion anyone has I take seriously.. Mr.Wilson is our resident expert. He (like other very knowledgeable people that contribute to the thread) is very articulate in his answers and comments. Add to that his willingness to share ideas and solutions without any problems. I actually take notes and come back to his comments once I am at the stage he is talking about which is usually way ahead of my thinking regarding the project.
mr.wilson
.Registered Member
As I stated before, the water in your display is limited by the quality of water that you are feeding it. You need to adjust salinity, calcium, carbonate hardness (kh), and magnesium which seem to all be in the right proportion, but at elevated levels due to evaporative concentration (only pure water evaporates, leaving salts behind). Once again the quick fix is to add freshwater. You can easily monitor these key chemical parameters with hobby grade test kits from SeaChem or Salifert and salinity with an optical refractometer.
If the incoming seawater is turbid (cloudy) you need to establish if it is a bacterial bloom (white), algal bloom (green), or simply sediment (light brown). If it's bacteria or algal you need ozone, UV, or chlorination. If it's just sediment you can pump the water through a pool-style 25 micron pool filter. Alternatively, you could pump the seawater into a settling vessel and allow the floating matter to sink to the bottom over the coarse of several hours. Once the detritus is separated from the water, you can draw the clean water from the top.
For now you should work on clarifying what you have so you can start on a level playing field. You can use a coagulant clarifier like Kent Marine Pro.Clear (saltwater version). It will cause the particles to stick together, become heavy and sink to the bottom where it can be removed manually. It also aids in collection with a sediment canister filter. Don't exceed the recommended dose as it will deplete the dissolved oxygen rate. You could add peroxide at the same time to counter this effect. A redox meter can be used to establish a safe dose (400 mv orp).
You should be able to clear up the water in a day or two. Getting the prop pumps installed will keep the water clear. If they don't, then you need to rethink your system. Try to stick with your plan as it will take awhile for things to settle.
If you can be 110% sure that the tank water won't leak into the fish farm you could use chlorine bleach to sterile & clarify your tank
If the incoming seawater is turbid (cloudy) you need to establish if it is a bacterial bloom (white), algal bloom (green), or simply sediment (light brown). If it's bacteria or algal you need ozone, UV, or chlorination. If it's just sediment you can pump the water through a pool-style 25 micron pool filter. Alternatively, you could pump the seawater into a settling vessel and allow the floating matter to sink to the bottom over the coarse of several hours. Once the detritus is separated from the water, you can draw the clean water from the top.
For now you should work on clarifying what you have so you can start on a level playing field. You can use a coagulant clarifier like Kent Marine Pro.Clear (saltwater version). It will cause the particles to stick together, become heavy and sink to the bottom where it can be removed manually. It also aids in collection with a sediment canister filter. Don't exceed the recommended dose as it will deplete the dissolved oxygen rate. You could add peroxide at the same time to counter this effect. A redox meter can be used to establish a safe dose (400 mv orp).
You should be able to clear up the water in a day or two. Getting the prop pumps installed will keep the water clear. If they don't, then you need to rethink your system. Try to stick with your plan as it will take awhile for things to settle.
If you can be 110% sure that the tank water won't leak into the fish farm you could use chlorine bleach to sterile & clarify your tank
Here is a picture I took of sand cleaning being conducted at an aquarium in Hawaii. I would think using building sand would be full of phosphates as well.
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