Large aquarium- What size acrylic/glass?

[da1jewfish]

This is a continuation from another thread (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1461835) regarding the sealer for concrete. Anyways, its about 1000 gallons, its about 11 1/2 feet by 87" hight by 53" width. Well, with the tank volume calculator it is 2775 gallons! Big difference from what we thought. Anyways, all sides are concrete except for the front viewing panel and here's the question: what size thickness acrylic should we use? Or what size glass should we use?

Thanks all!

 

[Fishguru]

I havent read the other thread YET, but one thing i will advise is to make sure you have EXCELLENT humidity control.... a few years ago mr 4000 put one in his basement of his brand new house and the humidity caused so many problems.....great project.....hope it goes well....but make sure you take that into consideration...

how big is the actual viewing area going to be? I dont think glass is realistic as it would probably end up well over 1". you can laminate acrylic and still have clarity....let me know the viewing area and how far from the bottom of the tank...and i will figure it out....

 

[da1jewfish]

Ok, what problems did the humidity cause?

The viewing area is 124 1/2" by 52 1/2". We were going to use 2 pieces each being 62 1/4" by 52 1/2". I believe its about 1.5 feet from the bottom to where the viewing panel starts. The tank is at his "project house" so I don't have the exact measurements of the bottom to the viewing panel by me.
I appreciate it

 

[Fishguru]

how were you going to use 2 pieces? is there a piece of concrete between them being 2 seperate viewing areas??

He was getting mold like there was no tommorrow and the floor above his tank was warping including the laminated beams....It was a mess....This was a few years ago and im working from memory from reading posts, never did make it up to see the damage. you might find the posts by doing a search for Mr4000.

 

[da1jewfish]

yes, there is a concrete beam in the middle

 

[hebygb]

with that kind of height I would guess you could be looking at 2" acrylic... 87" height will be a lot of pressure pushing on those panels.

 

[kcress]

You would NOT want that much water exposed to the house interior. It would be a mold disaster as mentioned by Fishguru. Whatever space that tank's top is exposed to you would want it to be outside the living air space with natural or forced ventilation.

 

[Fishguru]

What you could do is make the aquarium ceiling a sealed room with exterior vents to the outside. If you've ever read any information on the plywood aquariums....you could use a similar system to reduce moisture.....the whole area above the tank would be covered with some sort of plywood and then covered in marine epoxy, so the moisutre could build and then drip back into the tank.could put one board on hinges covered with epoxy for entrance into the aquarium, or the door covered. it would be easier to give a suggestion if we had some idea of what the room setup looked like. '

If it were me....I would have an Aquarium room that I COMPLETEY covered in marine epoxy with a dehumidifier that went into a drain in the floor. you would need some sort of air exhanger most likely. or something that would put in some fresh air occasionally. I would also only have an entrance from the outside of the house so when the door is open the humidity is escaped outside not into the house. The room would be completely sealed to the inside of the house....it would have no chance to harm the structure.

 

[reef_only]

Good ventilation should resolve the humidity concern. Humidity is something you need to consider not something difficult compared to other tasks in your build. You would laught at it if you have ever lived near shoreline.