huge tank planning

[thelizardkin]

i might be moving and the house is perfect for a huge tank it has a daylight bacement with a huge storage room and concrete floors i would love to build a tank 16'x8'x5' that would be 4800 gallons i would love a reef but i have a few ?
how much light would i need i was thinking having islands of rock and focus the light on them would 6-7 1000w mh and 4 20' vhos work
what kind of turnover rate
what kind of skimmer
the body will be 16"x8"x8" cinderblocks with a clear window in the front how thick should it be and would be cheeper glass or acrylic

 

[thelizardkin]

Bump

 

[James404]

I think the first thing you should consider with a tank that size is how you will deal with the moisture from evaporation, especially in a basement.

 

[thelizardkin]

I think the first thing you should consider with a tank that size is how you will deal with the moisture from evaporation, especially in a basement.

i'm going to run alot of dehumidifies and fan it outside

 

[muttley000]

You need a structural engineer, that is familiar to the area the house is located, to look at the house plans and consider your project. Your location is not even listed, and we don't know if your basement floor is 1 inch or one foot thick. Don't trust a decision like this to people you don't know on the internet. JMO of course

You are talking about more money in electricity in a short amount of time, than the difference between glass and acrylic. You should be considering what is least likey to put 5000 gallons of saltwater on your floor, not trying to save a few bucks.

Not trying to be rude but if your serious about the project, and I hope you are because I want to read about it here you probably should be seeking profesional advice. See Peter and Chingchai's threads and consider "Best Practices"

 

[thelizardkin]

You need a structural engineer, that is familiar to the area the house is located, to look at the house plans and consider your project. Your location is not even listed, and we don't know if your basement floor is 1 inch or one foot thick. Don't trust a decision like this to people you don't know on the internet. JMO of course

i'll get someone out to check but i looked up concrete and it says a inch can hold 2500-5000 psi and this tank would be no more than 500 so i'm not to worryed but i still want to be on the safe side


You are talking about more money in electricity in a short amount of time, than the difference between glass and acrylic. You should be considering what is least likey to put 5000 gallons of saltwater on your floor, not trying to save a few bucks.

the power bill wont be that bad i'm running 2400 watts of light over my tank and this would be 4-5 times more so not horrible i could also try solar but i'm not sure how that would work where i live

Not trying to be rude but if your serious about the project, and I hope you are because I want to read about it here you probably should be seeking profesional advice. See Peter and Chingchai's threads and consider "Best Practices"[/QUOTE]

thank you you wornt rude at all i will definitely post updates on rc

 

[thelizardkin]

btw anywhere i can find info/pics of mr 4000s tank

 

[James404]

MR 3000 basically ruined his whole house due to not planning for the evaporation, with this size tank running a few dehumidifiers is probably not going to cut it. I'm pretty sure you can google him and find some more info on his build.

 

[NaClH20NMYVEIN]

I don’t think there are any dehumidifiers that could really keep up with this size tank that don’t cost as much as the tank is going to cost. All dehumidifiers are going to do is pull more water out of the tank. I would think you would need something like a commercial air exchanger for something like this.

I also agree your power bill will be bad. You lighting may be 4-5x more but so will every other aspect of your tank including your pumps. Not sure where you are located so power may be reasonable but this size tank requires a ton of power.

Not trying to talk you out of this project, just trying to limit the surprises!

 

[thelizardkin]

With the humidity I'll tank with some lfs most around my house have more than 5000 gallons

 

[username in use]

With the humidity I'll tank with some lfs most around my house have more than 5000 gallons

Most commercial buildings arent built the way a house is. If their building is all block construction, then humidity isnt really an issue. You are putting all that water under 2 or 3 levels of wood studs, Plywood, sheet rock, carpet, furniture etc. and that is where you really run into issues. You need to consider how you will vent all that moisture out of your house before it gets to anything.

 

[thelizardkin]

Also the open part of the tank will be in a small storage room I could try some paint or something to make it water resitant and try and seal it off from the rest of the house

 

[the_rider]

Hi,

I would definetely consult with a structural Engineer and a mechanical engineer so that he can design the dehumidifier system that you will use. For that amount of water, you will need a dry-o-tron for sure. It will be basically be a small indoor pool so you can contact pool builder to have an estimate on the dehumidifier system that you would need.

Other than that, I would definetely plan a good quarantine system for fish and coral, backup generator, backup pump and etc.

This is really a great project

 

[gveng]

You do realize a tank this big could easily cost upwards of $100,000?

i'm not trying to be a downer, but just judging by your responses it seems you are focusing on the wrong aspects of a build this big. i mean come on man, your worried about the lighting? seriously?!?

please reconsider this until you seek professional help.

 

[bullitr]

Regarding lighting if you really considering this put a lot of solar tubes problem solved!
Humidity issues is the biggest Challenge you will have,
Next to how to pay your electric bill every month.

About master Ching Chai tank he spend a lot of time planning,patiences and lots of money maybe close to a million on that amazing project!

 

[thelizardkin]

You do realize a tank this big could easily cost upwards of $100,000?

i'm not trying to be a downer, but just judging by your responses it seems you are focusing on the wrong aspects of a build this big. i mean come on man, your worried about the lighting? seriously?!?

please reconsider this until you seek professional help.

I've done the math it should be around 10k
500 for the bricks
1000 for the glass
500 for the epoxy
1000 for the lights
500 for the pumps
1000 for the sand/rock
1000 for everything else

 

[five O]

I bet your Landlord is going to p!ssed when he finds out that your planning on putting a fish tank of that size in the house. I bet your going to lose your security deposit.

 

[thelizardkin]

Hi,

I would definetely consult with a structural Engineer and a mechanical engineer so that he can design the dehumidifier system that you will use. For that amount of water, you will need a dry-o-tron for sure. It will be basically be a small indoor pool so you can contact pool builder to have an estimate on the dehumidifier system that you would need.

Other than that, I would definetely plan a good quarantine system for fish and coral, backup generator, backup pump and etc.

This is really a great project

I know a structural engineer That would help and I found this site http://www.dehumidifiercorp.com/indoorpool.html
For the humidity also I'm going to have a few other tanks attached to the main tank probably a 800 gallon aggressive and a 400 gallon quarantine with a uv sterilizer filtering the water leaving the quarantine

 

[joncd]

You are looking at 700-800 gallons per minute of water movement needed. In all honesty, you could spend your entire 10k budget on pumps. A four foot by four foot pane of glass, one inch thick, is going to cost you around $550. You'll need four of those. $1000 for sand/rock gets you 500lbs of dry rock. Also add a couple thousand (this, too, could go up substantially) to have an electrician come in and rewire your house. Oh yeah, you'll need a skimmer. That will be 8-10k minimum. The 1k you've allocated for other could be tied up in plumping parts a lone.

You've woefully under estimated your budget for this project.

 

[HASBRO]

I would think 50k would get you a bare bones up and running system. If you a have a wife a family you might be pushing your work load.