Building Large 785 g 14 ft wide tank - need advice.

T

timhargisaz

New member
I know this might sound crazy but I've never had a tank before. I saw a fish tank at one of my employee's house and I got hooked so now I'm going to put a 14 ft wide 36" tall and 30" deep wall/flush mount tank in my house. I'm not a huge coral/reef tank guy so I will probably go with a more agressive tank with less decorations, plants, etc. and more room for larger fish to swim. Is this ok to do or do I have to load it up with rock, plants etc?

I'm obviously not attempting to do this myself. I'm going to have a company set it up and maintain it. I'm getting ready to order the tank.

Some questions:

Is glass the best way to go with a starphire front? I realize it will be heavy but I can have a company move it into my house. I am going to have a contractor build the stand inside the wall for it so it will be professionally framed extremely strong.

If I get acrylic is going to scratch really bad or I am overestimating how bad the scratches really are if it's taken care of properly?

I've heard acrylic scratches and starphire has the best view from the front?

Are my dimensions about right and in proportion? I've been told I could go deeper but since it's a flush mount you can't see from the side so I don't want to waste a ton of money building a deep tank that most people can't see anyways.

Is their extra bracing you can put around the tank - like a steel angle iron frame that encompasses the top and bottom frame of the tank or is it just glass that is glued together? What is the best way to make it ultra strong?

How many overflows should I put in? 3? Can they be mounted on the side instead of the back - what is recommended?

Is their common problems large tanks have, or if built correctly operate fairly smooth like a smaller tank?

I have attached the equipment the company advised I would need - this was when I was only getting a 10 ft tank so I might need more stuff now (I'm not sure). As mentioned, this is my first time and I want to make sure the company is giving me the right advice and telling me the correct equipment to make this tank function properly. Tell me of any recommendations/ changes you would make. Any and all advice is appreciated and I'll be posting pics along the process. Thanks.


40 watt UV Sterilizer (rainbow LifeGard)
Coralife 24 gpd RO unit
Float Valve kit w/ ASO valve
27 gallon Sump Box (will need 2)
48" Aqua light 4x65watt
1 HP 12000 btu Chiller (sea line chiller)
Carib Sea 30 lbs Reef sand (6 bags needed)
Instant Ocean Sea Salt 350 gall mix
Digital Timer and power strip
Glass Mag float
1000gph Circulation pump (1 for each sump)
875 gph Pressure pump (closed loop pump)
Mag 3 Pump ( Pump for UV Sterilizer)
Large Protein Skimmer
Fiji Live Rock
RODI water (initial Fill)
PVC overflow Risers
Mag Drive 950 GPH pump ( chiller Pump)
Bulk Heads for Tank
Black Bulk heads for Overflow Returns
Suction Screen 6"
Ball Valves for pumps and plumbing
1 inch and ¾ inch Clear plumbing hose
Stainless steel Clamps
Hose barbs (threaded)
Loc Line Flex tubing (6" sticks )
Misc Loc Line fittings
PVC Check Valves

Thanks for the help.
 
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I agree with you on one thing... it sounds crazy.

Unless you are a darned lucky person, you are probably heading for an expensive train wreck in your house with the little knowledge you have at this stage.

I could go down your list of items, but there are so many mis-matched components in there that wouldn't begin to work in a 785G tank...

To start with, a 36" tall tank will be a maintenance nightmare, even for a professional maintenance company. If it was me, I would reverse your height and depth measurements, but that's just me.

The first thing that jumped off the page is that you've been told that (2) 27 gallon sumps will be sufficient for a 785G display tank. If some company told you this is the necessary equipment for this sized tank, you might consider running away from them as quickly as you can.

The pumps you list won't even start a good ripple in a 785G tank.

Do you know what a coast to coast overflow is?

And a 24gpd RO unit? That's a good one... That would barely keep up with evaporation on a tank this large...let alone water for weekly 10% water changes.

You're asking for opinions and advice. Here's mine: I would put the brakes on ordering a tank until you've had a chance to STUDY the threads on the Reef Central large tank forum for several months.

Look at specific plumbing plans, support systems, controllers, skimmers and the multitude of other choices. Take notes. Decide what looks good to you and ask questions of the tank builders on their threads.

You will find that most of the thread posters will be glad to offer suggestions based on their successes and failures. And you will find that 99% started with smaller tanks; learned the inner working of a marine aquarium system and then graduated to a larger tank.

If you forge ahead with this project, I hope you'll start a thread, because I would certainly follow along...with fingers crossed for you.
:rolleyes:

Good luck.

LL
 
I agree 100% with lightsluvr. Even for a 10' tank the list you have above is very incorrect. The dollar figure I was given when looking at a large tank build was 30-50 dollars per gallon of water and I was darn close to the 50.00 on mine. I also agree with the 36" tall, thats pretty deep. Take your time on this if its what you want to do. Do some research on the company you want to use, look at some of their work, talk to some of their customers, use this site to get an idea of what everyone is using for equipment and start making your own list. Good luck
 
to be honest...I would seriously start off with a smaller tank. This way you will understand more of how everything will work. A lot of learning will be done by actually having a tank, and you will figure out exactly it would take to handle such a big tank
 
I posted this on your other thread:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I would go look at examples of their work to see it in person.

Also go the the large tank forum and spend some time looking at tanks build threads to get an idea of what a yours should look like.

I personally bought a complete system used that was small, 125 gallons. After having it six months I know exactly what I want and don't want and can now tell my builder/maintainance guy.

Also from spending hours on here looking at other people's tanks, I can see the problems I would have had if I didn't do this.
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After seeing your equipment list I would say without a doubt the company you plan to use have no clue as to what they are doing with a tank this large.

Get a smaller tank and start there. Otherwise I'll bet that you either:

A - have to redo your whole huge setup at 2x the cost

B - get so sick of the problems that are going to happen that you give up the hobby completely
 
I can only agree with what the people above me have already said. That equipment list is no where even close to what you'll need with that size of tank. I started in this hobby just over 3 years ago after keeping fresh water for 15+ years. My first tank was a mere 30 gallons which quickly was changed out for a 55 that soon be came 2 55s, then on to a 150 and now a 300g display with another 250g worth of sumps. You can learn alot in a very short period of time in this hobby if you are serious about it and take the time to listen to the people that have already made mistakes.

I would hate to see you invest big money just to get burned out on the hobby because things arent working right.

Slow down a little and consider starting smaller to get the learning curve down.
 
x5 just read all the threads on large tanks like they said. Your list doesn't add up for this size tank, you will have issues for sure.
Good luck though.
 
+6
TIme to study and research. The good news is, you've already found the best forum for saltwater aquarium information in the world.
 
If you allow this tank with that equipment list to be built you are heading for disaster. Take your money and visit a big aquarium:D Or, find a very knowledgeable person here on Reef Central that lives in your area to help you with this build. From your apparent lack of knowledge, it sounds like you are going to need a caretaker or two for this aquarium that really know what they are doing. Finding the right company to plan, install and maintain this system should be your number one priority.
 
My advice might differ a bit from others so far. To me it sounds like you saw something you like and want and have the funds to afford it, so do it. HOWEVER, due to your lack of knowledge, I commend you for coming on RC and posting what you were told by a company. If I would have done that when I first set up my big tank, I would have saved a lot of money and time replacing faulty equipment later on (I didn't know about RC at that time). Having said that, since it doesn't seem like you'll be doing anything to the tank other than enjoying it (must be nice and I envy you), then just ask here which reputable companies/local fish stores in your area can setup and maintain such a large tank appropriately. Good luck and can't wait to see this massive tank come to fruition.
 
I agree with Blinding Reef. Money is likely not the biggest concern here and it seems you won't be maintaining this tank so I'd go ahead after you do your research. Please choose a different company though. I was terrified that I'd scroll down and see that you'd placed your order already. That equipment isn't suitable for a tank MANY times smaller than the one you've planned. Heck the light they recommended is less than one third the length of your tank =)

Find a good builder and please let us along for the ride!
 
I didn't think Starphire came in 14' lengths. I thought 10' 6" was the limit (coincidentally, that's the length of my front glass).

You're talking about a fish-only tank with lots of room for swimming, so I wouldn't be too terribly worried about the depth. One of the local guys runs an install and maintenance service and works on some pretty deep tanks: http://www.aquaticartinc.com/portfolio.html

What I would be worried about (as stated above) is water volume. Well, and a host of other things.

Do try to get in touch with some local club members (I know there are some good reefers in your area), and ask them who the reputable local install/maintenance guys are.

If you haven't found it yet: http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=537
 
Well, let me clarify. The 10 ft tank I was building was only about 375 gallon tank so it's not the same as what I will build now.
That's why I mentioned I will probably need more stuff - I have researched his company and talked to people that he does work for. All have given great reviews. I will say that this is the largest tank he has out of the 15+ clients he does work for.

I don't know if this is cause for concern.

I am not going to do ANY of the maintenance or upkeep on the tank. I want to enjoy the tank but I think where I probably differ from most people on here is that while I'll like to learn about how tanks work I'm not interested in trying to do this on my own. So, I'm not sure if my knowledge is really crucial. I could be wrong and maybe there is alot to maintain on the tank even if you have a professional company maintain the tank for you.

This is why I'm on here - I haven't ordered the tank or the equipment. I'm trying to get advice on what types of setups are best. If you look at the list and think "wow, that's too small, this is what I would do" that's what I would like to hear.

Funds are not the major concern. I will pay what I need to, to get the right tank with the right equipment so it works properly. I'm not mega-rich but I know alot of people that have more money than aquarium knowledge and if they can make it work I should be able to as well. This isn't going to be my hobby outside of picking out different fish I want. I just strictly want to enjoy the aquarium.

I'm looking at getting a tank from acrylicaquariums.com - I can go 30" tall if most of you think that is a better choice. I just personally liked the 36" look but if for maintenance it makes it tough then I can switch and go 36" deep even though it's a flush mounted tank in the wall. Anybody have experience with Acrylic Aquariums? They are quoting a 168" x 36" tall x 30" deep for $9,000. This seems reasonable to me....thoughts?

If you guys can help me, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
 
I would get a few different quotes from acrylic tank manufacturers. I would call James at Envision Acrylics www.envisionacrylics.com as he is one of the best manufacturers of acrylic aquariums in the US and his customer service is excellent. He is going to give you the skinny on what the tank needs to be built to be safe, so it won't bow and so it can last for years. I trust him more than anyone else in the business as do many here on Reef Central.

That said, I would look for a hookup here on Reef Central for a consulting gig on this, perhaps a few locals on here can steer you to the right company, or person for this humongous and very, very, very expensive task. Figure about $50-100/gallon for the average saltwater tank and you are looking at $40,000-80,000 easily and that doesn't include modifications to your home, heating, cooling and dehumidfying the system and room the tank will be located inside.

Your equipent list is pathetic. Most of those choices are just bogus, period. No matter what anyone says about that company, if those are the items they have recommended for this project you need to seriously walk away. If you are serious about this project, want to do it right and want to have it maintained appropriately, I would recommend finding a local club forum here on RC to get you hooked up with folks that know what they are doing.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15757615#post15757615 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nanook
I would get a few different quotes from acrylic tank manufacturers. I would call James at Envision Acrylics www.envisionacrylics.com as he is one of the best manufacturers of acrylic aquariums in the US and his customer service is excellent. He is going to give you the skinny on what the tank needs to be built to be safe, so it won't bow and so it can last for years. I trust him more than anyone else in the business as do many here on Reef Central.

That said, I would look for a hookup here on Reef Central for a consulting gig on this, perhaps a few locals on here can steer you to the right company, or person for this humongous and very, very, very expensive task. Figure about $50-100/gallon for the average saltwater tank and you are looking at $40,000-80,000 easily and that doesn't include modifications to your home, heating, cooling and dehumidfying the system and room the tank will be located inside.

Your equipent list is pathetic. Most of those choices are just bogus, period. No matter what anyone says about that company, if those are the items they have recommended for this project you need to seriously walk away. If you are serious about this project, want to do it right and want to have it maintained appropriately, I would recommend finding a local club forum here on RC to get you hooked up with folks that know what they are doing.
Click to expand...


Nanook - thanks for the advice. I posted on the AZ thread to try and get some info and some consultation on this with recommendations from good companies. I don't want to get over my head but the logic that I should practice with smaller tanks before I get a large one seems that it would only apply if I was going to try and learn how to do this on my own. I'm not Bill Gates but I'm sure he could handle having a large tank without studying tanks and equipment for years.

I just want to enjoy the tank and will pay the necessary fees to have it properly maintained. To me this seems like hiring a pool company to service your pool and do all the repairs although it may be more complicated. There are things you don't need to learn to do when you can pay someone that is a professional to handle them for you.
 
I hear ya....there has to be someone in your area that is worthy of this project. I would just screen those guys here, or better yet, have someone on here that is knowledgeable around when they try to sell you stuff:D

If you get a chance, I would also contact James at Envision.
 
No doubt. I sent him an email asking for some advice and on getting a price on the acrylic tank I want built. Do I need a forklift to pick this thing up and put it on the stand or should 7-8 guys be able to lift an acrylic aquarium that is this size?
 
I can't agree more with Nanook. Please give James at Envision Acrylics a call before you take any steps. If you're curious, click my little red house for information regarding the 8 foot reef he built me.

For a tank of the length, size and width you're discussing, $9000. is a quote you will seriously need to take a second look at. Acrylic tanks need to be made out of cell cast acrylic- preferably Spartech Polycast. Acrylic goes up in cost exponentially once you get into the heavier thicknesses needed to support the pressure of a high, wide tank. Added to that is the fact that once you go past a 96" length acrylic sheet, the price easily triples, or even quadruples. You sir are talking about sheets past the standard 120" size. Once you get into custom sheeting you are talking big money.

In my estimation you're easily looking at $30,000-40,000 just for the tank.
 
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