backyard salt pool aquarium 10K GAL
- Thread starter wakebdrkev
- Start date
REEF
REEF
Dont listen to the haters, if you budget is not an issue than dont listen to a bunch of posts labeling the cost issues. A millin ritch guys have 100's of ferrari's why not an outdoor reef?
My thought is, all though the ocean is a few billion times the size how does it deal with rain and other pollutants besides, just through dillution due to it immense size? Perhaps there is a way he could deal with it so the water could handle rain, perhaps a chemical to neutralize harmful components.
REEF
Dont listen to the haters, if you budget is not an issue than dont listen to a bunch of posts labeling the cost issues. A millin ritch guys have 100's of ferrari's why not an outdoor reef?
My thought is, all though the ocean is a few billion times the size how does it deal with rain and other pollutants besides, just through dillution due to it immense size? Perhaps there is a way he could deal with it so the water could handle rain, perhaps a chemical to neutralize harmful components.
Never say never... its just hard to provide decent intensity year round. I am working a big skylight into my tank's design, but in winter I will need to suppliment 6-8 hrs per day.
I have seen some very large blue staghorns growing quite deep, but then, I have also dived Lord Howe island (one of the worlds Southern-most coral reefs) and the coral is mostly brown plus a few pink Pocillipora.
The cost is only an issue if you can't afford it. I don't see anyone saying don't do it... I would make the point though that there is no such thing as limitless budget and theres no budget that an aquarum could not eat up (I'm happy to design Bill Gates a $5B aquaruim if he's willing and able)
I was just tryng to provide the benefit of my experience costing a large tank. I had hoped for myself that things would get cheaper per gallon as I got larger. Unfortunatley it hasn't worked out that way.
Rain should not be a problem from a volume perspective (the average for a 15' x 30' pool in Huntington Beach is about 10 Gallon per day... I would be very suprised if you did not evaporate this volume). Pollution may be an issue.
I think that if you have the cash, it would be way cool to have a pool reef. You could even add some 'food fish' and go spear fishing for dinner.
miwoodar
Likey the bikey
Do it!
I wouldn't expect rain to be an issue at all. I doubt it would even keep up with evaporation unless you live in a monsoon region of the world. Water changes need not be 10% per week either. With that much water volume, the rules are simply different. If I were doing such a project and a coast was nearby I would simply have a company drive a tanker out a few times per year and do a 25% change. Even if the coast wasn't nearby it still wouldn't be too much to have the water trucked in when you consider the alternative is buying and mixing salt.
Supplemental lighting wouldn't be needed either unless it's just for effect unless or you're in the far north (think Alaska).
Regarding flow, a few large Carlson Surge Devices (or any one of the many similar options) would be sufficient.
I wouldn't expect rain to be an issue at all. I doubt it would even keep up with evaporation unless you live in a monsoon region of the world. Water changes need not be 10% per week either. With that much water volume, the rules are simply different. If I were doing such a project and a coast was nearby I would simply have a company drive a tanker out a few times per year and do a 25% change. Even if the coast wasn't nearby it still wouldn't be too much to have the water trucked in when you consider the alternative is buying and mixing salt.
Supplemental lighting wouldn't be needed either unless it's just for effect unless or you're in the far north (think Alaska).
Regarding flow, a few large Carlson Surge Devices (or any one of the many similar options) would be sufficient.
totalfreedom
In Memoriam
It can be done, there are many issues which have been brought up here, that are very valid Wakebdrkev, but the main one is that there will be quite a bit of maint to be done, fish get sick, corals can get sick, you would need to almost have a part time person who has the know how to keep everything up to parr on a daily basis, you need backup systems, heating and possible cooling systems, although you maybe ok in the Huntington area with cooling, huge calcium reactors, and skimmers which can be aquired or custom built, if you need help with this drop me a line and we can chat. Im in the Sylmar area about an hour away.
hawaiian_boi
undercover reefer
yes.... thats sick ...and i live in hb too let me know if you need any help... id be glad to....
StripestheEel
Premium Member
Holding my breath in anticipation.
Good luck mate.
Good luck mate.
wakebdrkev
New member
no joke. I will put pictures up of the backyard. there is no pool yet. this project needs to be figured out before any construction. the pool should be able to sustain itself with the right fish coral and rocks, like a perfect ecosystem. Its going to take a lot of time to add things. I think the water needs to run first and then put some fish and live rock.
This sounds like a massive project and possibly a massive headache. Unless you are able to devote most of your day to it, I wouldn't do it. Unless you hire a business to service each week if not daily. I have seen one saltwater pool that was in a guys basement. Ended up doing a shark tank or a lagoon if you will. It was a little easier to manage then a reef pool.
LOTUS50GOD
Active member
Man... this is going to be crazy... Not to deter you but there are several factors that I dont think you are considering...
Algea...I know in AZ that an unclorinated pool turn green in a matter of days. How are you going to prevent algea with all that California sun while your pool is cycling.
Amount of live rock for filtration. The average pool in AZ is about 12-15k gallons. You would need at least 6-8k pounds of live rock. That is 3-4 TONS of rock. Even on the cheap, you are looking at 25k in just live rock. That is more than its probably going to cost you to build the pool.
Cooling the reef. I cant even imaging what kind of cooling you will have to do to keep the water in the proper range during the summer months.
Just a FYI, people dont even do this in Hawaii, where the average temps are in the 70-80's year round.
If you go the aqaurium in Hawaii, they only have small shallow reefs outside and house mostly clams. All of their displays are inside.
If you are willing to put 50K into a reef tank, build a 5000-8000 inside a green house of in the existing house. Make it 20' long x 10 wide x 5' deep... That is 7470 gallons. More than enough to swim in. Make sure it has its own HVAC system so you can control the temperature. You wont get any rain/ dirt from being exposed, and you can do a removable roof to get sunshine.
Algea...I know in AZ that an unclorinated pool turn green in a matter of days. How are you going to prevent algea with all that California sun while your pool is cycling.
Amount of live rock for filtration. The average pool in AZ is about 12-15k gallons. You would need at least 6-8k pounds of live rock. That is 3-4 TONS of rock. Even on the cheap, you are looking at 25k in just live rock. That is more than its probably going to cost you to build the pool.
Cooling the reef. I cant even imaging what kind of cooling you will have to do to keep the water in the proper range during the summer months.
Just a FYI, people dont even do this in Hawaii, where the average temps are in the 70-80's year round.
If you go the aqaurium in Hawaii, they only have small shallow reefs outside and house mostly clams. All of their displays are inside.
If you are willing to put 50K into a reef tank, build a 5000-8000 inside a green house of in the existing house. Make it 20' long x 10 wide x 5' deep... That is 7470 gallons. More than enough to swim in. Make sure it has its own HVAC system so you can control the temperature. You wont get any rain/ dirt from being exposed, and you can do a removable roof to get sunshine.
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