Multiple questions

[WLF5023]

First and foremost a little about me. I am 34 years old and have had several different tanks most of my life. The last tank I had was a 72 gallon bow front saltwater tank. Due to a separation and ultimately a divorce i lost that tank about 7 years ago. Since then the only tank I had was a 55 gallon freshwater, which when I moved again I had to give up. That sums up my experience. Now several years later I have a new wife and we just bought a house, while renovating and deciding what to do where I found the perfect place to build in a 200 plus gallon tank. When someone built in a pantry they went into the den, which now leaves me a space between the walls that is 7 feet from wall to wall and about 3 feet deep.

My current plan is to build a plywood tank out of 3/4 inch plywood 7 feet wide, 2 and 1/2 feet high and 3 feet deep, which will fill and completely build the tank into the house. I plan to use 72"x24"x1/2" glass for the front with an additional brace in the middle of the glass so that it will be stronger. I assume with some rough math the total weight will be around a ton, which means I will be adding a minimum of two possibly three floor jacks in the basement in order to reinforce the floor to hold the weight.

I have never had a tank the size of this one, which is why I am now at a loss and need some advice, tips, and suggestions. My wife and I are very big on the Titanic, the central point of the tank will be a 3' long replica of the titanic on the ocean floor. I am currently unsure of the types of fish and invertebrates we plan to purchase, that being said, we do tend to like predatory animals so I could see lion fish, eels, or other aggressive types of fish. That however is not set in stone and very easily could change.

Now for the questions, I do apologize for forgetting what I once knew, but I want to make sure I build this right.

How much live sand should be put down first?
How much live rock would be ideal? Is it possible to buy half the live rock and then make the other half so that I could form and design the exact overall look I'm after?
How much lighting would be ideal?
I tend to keep my house around 75 in the winter and 68 in the summer. I live in PA. What is the recommended means of heating the tank and in your opinion would I need a chiller in the summer?
Where can I find good plans for a filtration system that I can build rather than buying one?
Lastly how much water circulation is needed and what is the best means? Last saltwater tank I had I used four powerbeads if I remember correctly.

A big thank you to everyone, i truly appreciate any and all thoughts, tips, suggestions, and advice. If I missed anything or have the wrong overall plans please let me know. I want to make everything as close to perfect as I can get.

 

[BlackTip]

Your tank will weight much more than a ton. 7'X2.5'X3' is about 392g and 3141lbs of water. Add the weight of rocks, sands, the tank itself, and all other stuff, and you will be well over 4000lbs. Make sure you support the floor properly. I used 3 hours jack, 2 extra joists, and concrete footings to support mine.

 

[WLF5023]

My basement floor is concrete. I didn't think of adding extra joists, that is a good idea. Let me ask you this, would the rock, substrate, and tank decor displace the water ultimately lowering the overall number of gallons of water and reducing weight from just the water? Everyone in my family is a contractor, I have no doubt the support will end up being over engineered, I just clearly screwed up the math on how much it would weigh. Thank you for clarifying.

 

[thegrun]

1. Rock goes in first then sand, but for a standard 1" sand bed you will need about 150 pounds of sand.
2. I would go with about 250 pounds of rock. This can be all in the tank or split between the tank and the sump/refugium. There are pros and cons to live rock, you can go 100% dry rock, 100% live rock or a mix of both. Dry rock will not have any pests, but will also lack any beneficial life forms and cost you half as much as live rock. Live rock can come with all sorts of cool living creatures, but can also host pests.
3. If this is going to be a full reef tank capable of keeping even the most light demanding corals you will need 8 high end LED light fixtures (most LSD's are designed around a 24" x 24" footprint, so your dimensions are not ideal for minimizing the lighting expense which will be by far your most expensive cost for setting up the tank.
4. I would recommend about 1600 watts of total heating split between several heaters. If you decide on LED lighting and have fans that blow across the tank for cooling you should not need a chiller.
For a full blown reef tank you want a minimum of 16,000 GPH of water movement, a little more would be better. I would use two or three MP-60 powerheads in addition to your return pump which would want to move around 2000-3000 GPH after head pressure loss.

 

[Sounds Fishy]

Your tank will weight much more than a ton. 7'X2.5'X3' is about 392g and 3141lbs of water. Add the weight of rocks, sands, the tank itself, and all other stuff, and you will be well over 4000lbs. Make sure you support the floor properly. I used 3 hours jack, 2 extra joists, and concrete footings to support mine.

I agree with Black Tip.....No matter what,it will be around 4000 pounds,even when you displace water with all the stuff included.Probably more .

 

[BlackTip]

Yes, rock and sand will displace water, but not much. Rock and sand are heavier than water. My 325lbs of rock and 180lbs of sand displaced about 60g of water. It is a good thing that you have contractors in your family. I am sure the exact number of lbs won't matter. They will probably enforce it to withstand tons.

 

[WLF5023]

Oh, ok. I was thinking I had put sand in first last time, but I could be wrong and if rock goes first then that is what I will do. 250 sounds good and easily doable.

Please explain full reef tank, I am not 100% certain what the finished goal is. I do know that I wan't really thinking about any coral other than what came on the rock itself. I wasn't planning on buying any, but yet again that could change.

Adding support to the floor is cake and will certainly happen. Thank you again for clarifying the overall weight for me. Is 1/2 inch thick glass thick enough with the support put in the middle to prevent bowing?

 

[heathlindner25]

Are you sure you want to build a plywood tank instead of just buying a nice pretty one and sliding it in the wall?...
maybe one with a warranty... Hate to anger the new wife with 200 gallons on the floor...lol

 

[ReefMagician]

If the floor you are putting this aquarium on is concrete, weight doesn't matter. If its not, then you will need to reinforce the floor.

 

[BlackTip]

Oh, ok. I was thinking I had put sand in first last time, but I could be wrong and if rock goes first then that is what I will do. 250 sounds good and easily doable.

Please explain full reef tank, I am not 100% certain what the finished goal is. I do know that I wan't really thinking about any coral other than what came on the rock itself. I wasn't planning on buying any, but yet again that could change.

Adding support to the floor is cake and will certainly happen. Thank you again for clarifying the overall weight for me. Is 1/2 inch thick glass thick enough with the support put in the middle to prevent bowing?

For 30" high, 3/4" would be minimum.

 

[tazdvl]

I have never had a large in wall tank, but I have seen the problems caused by lack of planning for evaporated water above the tank with an in wall setup. Not a contractor so don't really know how you would setup ventilation to the outside above the tank, but I think you want to!

 

[ericarenee]

The Amount of sand would Depend on how you are setting up the tank . Rather you want a Deep sand bed or not..There is also a min amount of live rock but again that is kinda based on Rather you use min amount of sand or a Deep sand bed....

Yea kinda Confusing...

As far as the build between the walls.. I absolutely SEE NO Way of telling what you might or might not need to do.. I do not understand how anyone could even consider giving advice on Building it without Some Images of your home and the structure of the floor as it is..

Since you do have a basement i would suggest putting the sump down there if you have room...

Post some images of the opening where you want to put the tank and the area below it. Showing how the tank would sit above. If your house is older and Built like ours Depending on how the Joist are ran you may need nothing to hold it up. If its a new house built with LAM BEAM Floor/ Floor Truss Assembly You WILL Most Certainly have to build walls Below it . Likely Just one Right under center of the tank.

Also if the Space in the wall was cut out before to allow for the pantry. You need to know if that is a load bearing wall. How they put the beam in and how the Cripple studs under the beam is set in relation to the length of the wall.

I have been Framing Since The Day i got out of school.

Good Luck..... and Listen to nobody going on BLIND FAITH..

 

[WLF5023]

Very valid points, I will take some pictures tomorrow. The house was originally built around 1915. The back of the tank will be against an outside wall as will the left side of the tank. The tank will set perpendicular across five floor joists. After a relatively long discussion with the wife I may just be on the wrong forum, I'm still pulling for saltwater; however, for some reason she seems to want a and I quote, "A big, kick ***, planted freshwater tank with predators."

Considering there is a 50% chance this may end up being freshwater now if its ok, I'm going to focus on the construction and advice about building more so than the saltwater requirements. I am going to reinforce the floor because it will give my wife a greater piece of mind, the floor is her biggest concern. I talked to a friend of mine this afternoon, he works at a glass shop and can get me a piece of glass 72"x24"x1/2" for 130 bucks. With the framing around the glass what is the maximum height I can safely go?