Looking to build a large reef tank in Belize...

[hperkins]

Hey guys. I am building a home in Belize and the owner wants a wall sized saltwater reef tank... (The house will be, by the way is on the beach 1/2 mile from the reef)

I've maintained nano-tanks but this is way out of my league. Anyone know of a company that can handle this?

Thanks!

 

[hperkins]

Round 2

Round 2

Alright. So not a lot of info generated from my last post, but that is fine, didn't really expect anything.

Here is my basic idea for the tank for this house and please, give me your comments, suggestions, recommendations.

(a little background)
I am managing a project in Ambergris Caye, Belize and the owner has asked me to put in a large aquarium in the large 9000 sq/ft house. He doesn't care how, or how much, he just wants it done.. Right now, piles are being placed to bedrock to begin the foundation and we expect the house to be completed September 2010.

As far as the tank is concerned I come to you:
Looking at rough dimensions 10'L x 3.5'W x 8'h.

Since the house will be on the beach and a 1/2 mile from the reef, I was thinking it may be possible to plumb the aquarium directly to the ocean...

Now hear me out:
Run pvc under ground out about 200ft from the shore. Split it 3 ways and put filters on the end to prevent blockage (if one is blocked 2 others should work fine)

Put the pump in the pool pump house because I imagine that thing will be loud. Then, pump to the aquarium in main house. Let the water overflow and gravity feed back to the ocean via pvc..

House does have generators in case electricity fails.
House is a vacation home and will be maintained by local workers so the tank needs to be easily maintained as well.

Ok so is this feasable? Has it been done? Potential problems?
I promise this is a real project so any input on this would be great.

Now I know, many probably don't believe me, so if that is the case, go to facebook and search "the Belize house" and become a fan. I post daily updates to the project there, but I would like to start a real thread here about this tank as soon as I get a little more info..

 

[Zoanut]

I'll be tagging along for this.

 

[dipan]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1263901&highlight=plumbing+directly+ocean

I'm sure there are other "idea" threads. Sounds like a great project. Definitely use ocean water. Seriously consider using natural sunlight. Can't even imagine if even 1000w halides will work well at that depth! And forget about the electric needs. Forget about cost (doesn't seem to be a concern for your project), in a place like that it may simply be too difficult getting that kind of power supplied.

 

[EnderG60]

I would consider doing a standard filtration setup for the tank and run small lines to the beach for a continuous slow water change. Other then that have fun finding the glass, and i would as stated look into using natural lighting along with some 1500 or 200w halides and LOTS of VHO's

I can absolutly tell you, you are getting in WAY over your head. There are hundreds of small things you need to have worked out before construction even starts. you need to think of placement, plumbing, power, backup, control and temperuature/humidity control for EVERY peice of equipment and then some for upgrades.

 

[sfsuphysics]

half a mile is still a helluva long way to lay pipe.

The problem in plumbing to the ocean is, and I know Belize might have different rules and what not, but you better make sure there are only local livestock in the tank otherwise you could potentially introduce non-native species that could wreck havoc too.

But IMO, don't try and handle this yourself dealing with a nano tank is nothing compared to something on the order of 2000 gallons.

 

[hperkins]

Zoanut- Should be a fun one.. I hope

dipan- Thanks for the link. Looks like that guy wasn't too serious about the project. I've been looking for similar threads but not success. Made a change to the tanks dimensions to make it a little more plausible.
NEW DIMENSIONS (10'L x 3'W x 3'T)

EnderG60- I'm really trying to stay away from a standard filtration setup because the caretaker that will be there will most likely be a local belizean worker with little to no high school education.
Could I run a pipe from the ocean to a big storage sump (500-900 gallons. Pump water from the sump through some type of cartridge (similar to a pool system) to get rid any type of sediment. Then have an overflow that gravity feeds back to the ocean. Like I said, very open to ideas and trying to soak in as much info a possible.

sfsuphysics- Yeah a 1/2 mile is quite a way. But that is all the way to the reef. I will only run the pvc about 200 ft from the shore. I won't import any type of livestock, anything in the tank will be caught locally so that should solve that issue. Also, not much in the way of environmental / construction codes in this country.