Banned Member...Thread Closed!!

[mbunaman]

Hey Spazz maybe you can answer this, how are the acrylic panes attached to the concrete walls. I am curious how even public aquariums do this. Also can you also tell us how the panes are joined together for a seamless look. I cant wait to see this thing setup. Thanks for doing this!!!!

 

["Umm fish?"]

mbunaman--In general, there is a silicone seal to keep it from leaking of course, but mostly water pressure keeps the pane pressed to the concrete in most of these big ol' tanks.

Of course, this may not apply to this specific project at all.

 

[Smpmkns]

Bill Thought he would answer this one himself .
Iam just relaying the info for you guys .

There is a 3x3 channel fromed into the concret where the acrylic panel will sit . It is made 3/4 of an inche larger on all sided of the panel .
You place strips of rubber to act as bumpers between the front of the acrylic and the concrete . you are now left with a 3/4 inch gap all the way around the panel called a rebate . you then insert two peices of round foam backer rod into the gap leaving about an inch of gap to fill with silicone . I thought this was weird myself , I always thought that the water pressure made a pressure seal with a fromed in place silicon gasket on th efron of th acrylic . But this is how its done on teh big tanks . Sorry I cant say how I came across thsi info I promised not to say . The peopel who build thses big tanks like to keep it a secret for some reason . Glad you all ike the thread , If the weater would behave I could have soem more updates fro you soon . You all must thank Spazz for posting this it was his Idea not mine .

Bill

 

[rppvt]

Yeah, I saw that set-up on some tanks down in San Diego... I just didn't know what I was lookiing at. The rubber gasket looked like black silicone. Thanks for relaying that little trick, Spazz. How great.

 

[LionfishFinatic]

If you think this tank is a monster take a look at this one. yes i know it is freshwater but it is still HUGE. it is 50,000 gallons!!!! take a look. 50,000 gallon FW tank!!!!

Enjoy!!!

 

[jagtech76]

ok i have to know what is the bill for the project thus far and how
much is projected?
i would guess he's going to spend about 400,000.00 by the time
hes all done on tank alone!

 

[spazz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8321363#post8321363 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jagtech76
ok i have to know what is the bill for the project thus far and how
much is projected?
i would guess he's going to spend about 400,000.00 by the time
hes all done on tank alone!

i dont know, but if i did i wouldnt tell anyway. its not something you post on a public thread.

 

[craftytony]

man, i can't wait to see this bad boy complete!

 

[dphins]

How is he going to leak check the tank? Is he going to put regular water in the tank to leak check it, then drain it and add ro/di water?

 

[spazz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8323165#post8323165 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dphinsx2
How is he going to leak check the tank? Is he going to put regular water in the tank to leak check it, then drain it and add ro/di water?

not sure but i will find out soon and get back to you. there is too much i dont know and very little i do know about tech details of this system. but we are slowly compiling the list.

 

[mrchriscarlton]

We all dream of setting up a tanks like this here over in the UK but it's just not gonna happen! This is an awesome setup and I hope this thread continues for a long time!

My geographical knowledge of America is poor at the best of times so I don't know how far Bill is from the coast but I'm curious as why bill opted for purchasing 140+ buckets of salt when an initial tanker of sea water might have been easier/cheaper?

Cheers

Chris

 

[Carman34L]

Chicago is about as close to center of the country as you can get. There are ways of getting NSW there but I think that going the route that Bill did was probably the most economicle

 

[crab0000]

I he alsl has a known starting point. IMO there are too many things that could happen with NSW that could go wrong. JMO If you want an example look on TRT and look for Weatherman's thread. He was having issues with his SPS and NSW. He changed to ASW and all the issues stopped if my memory serves correctly.
Here is the thread http://thereeftank.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70894 . I know it is only one person's experience, but why tempt fate?

 

[salty joe]

On page 8 is a picture of the huge Ca. reactor. Is it an upflow with a manifold at the bottom? Are one of the pipes connected to the top a CO2 scavenger? I never saw a Ca. reactor with anything but a flat top. Can you explain the workings of that fine looking unit?

Thanks for this jaw dropping thread.

Joe

 

[Joao Monteiro]

Crab,

I accept that using NSW may be a bit risky. But, depending on where it is collected, I think it has more pros than cons. I´ve been using it for 15 years (colected in the Atlantic - Portuguese shore), and have had no problems so far.
And when I make a water change, with freshly collected water, the corals go crazy with all the live plancton available.

Plus, I think the problem with the reefer of that link may not be attributed to the NSW.

 

[Mahlhavoc]

Thank you Bill!

Thank you Bill!

There is a 3x3 channel fromed into the concret where the acrylic panel will sit . It is made 3/4 of an inche larger on all sided of the panel .
You place strips of rubber to act as bumpers between the front of the acrylic and the concrete . you are now left with a 3/4 inch gap all the way around the panel called a rebate . you then insert two peices of round foam backer rod into the gap leaving about an inch of gap to fill with silicone . I thought this was weird myself , I always thought that the water pressure made a pressure seal with a fromed in place silicon gasket on th efron of th acrylic . But this is how its done on teh big tanks . Sorry I cant say how I came across thsi info I promised not to say . The peopel who build thses big tanks like to keep it a secret for some reason . Glad you all ike the thread , If the weater would behave I could have soem more updates fro you soon . You all must thank Spazz for posting this it was his Idea not mine .

Bill

Thank you very much Bill, thanks for sharing something that most of us can only dream about. While I am currently working my butt off to get my 600g started, you are living a dream I could not imagine, and with you sharing it and allowing us to experience it with you, I have to say thank you!!

I don't regularly post, but I do read alot, so please, if you read this, know there are ALOT of people who are very interested in this thread that do not post, much more than those who do post. So whatever this forum and you have in between each other or w/e, know that this is a something that SHOULD be shared with fellow enthusiasts and not kept in the dark and I applaud you for sharing this.

Again, thank you very much for sharing this, it means alot to us little reefers and the knowledge gained through this project will save many a coral / fish and hopefully show someone the right way, or sprout ideas for other ways, to provide better husbandry for reef tanks and their inhabitants.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Joao Monteiro]

I second that

 

[AcroSteve]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8325521#post8325521 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by salty joe
On page 8 is a picture of the huge Ca. reactor. Is it an upflow with a manifold at the bottom? Are one of the pipes connected to the top a CO2 scavenger? I never saw a Ca. reactor with anything but a flat top. Can you explain the workings of that fine looking unit?

Thanks for this jaw dropping thread.

Joe

If I am not mistaken, it is modled after a schuran. And yes, it is an upflow and does re-circulate the CO2

 

[Stoney Mahony]

Awesome thread! I wonder......since the tank is so huge.........Once conditions are stable and he has some corals and fish in it, could he release a few thousand Tridacna clam veliger larvae and get them to naturally settle in his reef? Ill bet YES! When everything gets covered in coraline, you could release the larvae and they would "hypothetically" swim down and attach to the coraline. Then you would have natural placement of a few hundred/thousand clams in your reef. It's such a big system it just might be possible. That would be soooooooo cool. I can't wait to see the finished tank and some fish/corals!!!

 

[Alphabet]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8309315#post8309315 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JazzMan
Maybe I missed this somewhere.........

Is the tank going to be in the basement, or on the main floor of the home? I am building a home now and looking to put in a 3000 gallon system. I would love for it to be on the main floor, but my engineer said no way.

Get a new engineer, lol.

I once put a wine room UNDER a 3 car garage. They poured the thick foundation walls and set pre-fab concrete beams for the garage floor, then the 4 inch concrete was poured for the finish floor. Just something I have seen done. I would not imagine it to be that feasable for a tank. Just my .02. Love the thread and cannot wait for more pics.