Our 1000 gal in Canada

[mseepman]

I know its been some time but I'm ready to retake this thread wit more pics and ready to answer your questions.

By the end of 2009 I was embarked in this beautiful project which bring me definitely in to the club of the 1000 gal ( Magic number)

A few other fellow aquarist are there as well I am now

I'll send as many pics as I can.

Regards,

Frank A.

Frank, congrats on what looks to be an awesome build. I'm wondering if you could share with us how you did the doors over the tank. I can see that the outer ones are hinged, but the inner ones just seem to be removed...is that the long term plan or will they hinge up?

I'm about to begin a 290G build and I'm trying to figure out how I will build the surround to the tank still.

Thanks.

 

[Frank Aguirre]

The Secret

The Secret

Great progress on the tank! A few questions concerning the glass and tank:

1 - the tank is 56" tall - what is the thickness of the glass?
2 - I might have missed it, but is the front pane starphire?
3 - also, how was the bottom panel made? - double pane or tempered or extra thick?
4 - can you show us a picture of the bracing used ontop of the tank?



5 - can you post the pictures of the glass and share the secret?




6 - also, any reason why you went with glass instead of acrylic for a tank with that height (as Miracles builds both)?

Thanks

Thank you for your questions and here we go

The so called secret is lamination, when it comes to give large panels of glass strength panels laminated together is the solution.

Not only the Height problem is no problem anymore but also I have this sense of safety while I'm sure the tank cannot explode just crack if in the event of such a disaster ever happen, ( Knock on wood it will never).

Here are pics of how the panels of glass are put together, the front panel is Starphire while the rest are just regular Glass just thickened to tolerate the pressure.

 

[Frank Aguirre]

The Secret II

The Secret II

The reason while I prefer glass over acrylic is durability and scratch tolerance.

Glass is stronger when it comes to resistance to scratching.

There is no discoloration overtime and I find easier to remove coralline algae in glass than in acrylic.

 

[Frank Aguirre]

Bracing and stand

Bracing and stand

When it comes to over sized tanks bracing is very important since glass can be pushed to the breaking point due to water column height and the pressure that rises as the aquarium gets taller.

In this case we build a cage to encase the tank braced at the top

The stand which was engineered like a bridge to tolerate the almost 20 K Lbs of weight was made in galvanized iron to prevent corrosion.

Here are pics of the stand and the bracing at the top

 

[coralreeffarm]

L@@KIN Good.Great Build.

 

[Frank Aguirre]

Plumbing

Plumbing

Bad ***!! Do you have floor plans of plumbing you can post up?? Very interested. Best of everything to you & your build.

The plumbing for the system was quite simple keeping in mind 3 main points:

- Silent operation

- Efficient circulation

- Zero visual distractions like power heads or internal overflows

The water is driven from the main floor to the basement by 3 1 1/2 pipes and is returned by a Hammer Head sequence pump ( 5800 gal/hr) in to a loop of lock lines distributed at the top of the tank with flare nozzles.

I love Lock line it is one of the best materials to work with, not only you have the flexibility to choose among different ways to end your outlets but also having the choice to redirect the flow anytime during maintenance.

I designed a external overflow and there is a close loop separate from the main system that drives water from one side to the other kind of west to east

Here are some pics

 

[Frank Aguirre]

Here is the room

Here is the room

wow love the moldings in that room really makes a statement

As I mention before this tank was build as a part of the library studio

Here are some pics of the area surrounding the tank

 

[Frank Aguirre]

Facade and preliminary millwork

Facade and preliminary millwork

Frank, congrats on what looks to be an awesome build. I'm wondering if you could share with us how you did the doors over the tank. I can see that the outer ones are hinged, but the inner ones just seem to be removed...is that the long term plan or will they hinge up?

I'm about to begin a 290G build and I'm trying to figure out how I will build the surround to the tank still.

Thanks.

The idea is to finish everything in white but with certain touches that I will show you later.

Regarding the doors they are all hinged and in previous pics the doors were simply removed to work in the tank.

Here are some pics of the preliminary facade of the tank

 

[Frank Aguirre]

Building the tank

Building the tank

The tank was build on site and the manufacturing process took about 4 hrs.

The main panel made of starphire broke twice at the laminating process and we were really distressed by the third attempt.

But the guys made it clean this time.

It took 6 people and the Arm to move all the panels in place

 

[dave.m]

That's a very handsome room, Frank, and I cannot imagine anything other than a reef tank going into a setting like that. I wish you much success with the remainder of this build.

Dave.M

 

[Hookup]

Why is only one panel starfire? Wouldn't you lose the quality after laminating with non-starfire?

Is this your tank or a clients? NOt that it decreases the wow factor, just trying to get bearings.

-Tim

 

[Frank Aguirre]

Thank you.

Thank you.

L@@KIN Good.Great Build.

Thank you and I hope you like the final product hehe

 

[Frank Aguirre]

Thank you Dave very Kind

Thank you Dave very Kind

That's a very handsome room, Frank, and I cannot imagine anything other than a reef tank going into a setting like that. I wish you much success with the remainder of this build.

Dave.M

Well at this stage we have to do it right eh?

Thank you.

 

[Frank Aguirre]

Good question

Good question

Why is only one panel starfire? Wouldn't you lose the quality after laminating with non-starfire?

Is this your tank or a clients? NOt that it decreases the wow factor, just trying to get bearings.

-Tim

I'll ask Derek Smith on your behalf.

It is a join venture with a very good friend. But I hope your curiosity may be driven towards the system an not me.

Regards

 

[Frank Aguirre]

Question for you

Question for you

Tim Horton's donut and coffee time ... to view another Canadian 1000 gallon thread!!

Can we stop this ... aarrgghhh:fun4:!!

Paul

Hey Paul are you friends with Richard Tso?

 

[Hookup]

I'll ask Derek Smith on your behalf.

It is a join venture with a very good friend. But I hope your curiosity may be driven towards the system an not me.

Regards

Not in the slightest.... (and tell Derek the missing hole is working just fine! I'll send him photos of the tank when its done - he did my 180g starfire..)

I like it when the good guys, the guys who are out there doing other peoples tanks day-in-day-out get to take some time and get one done for themselves... I'm sure its all fun no matter who the tank is for, but maybe just a slight bit more selfishly-funner when you're doing things 100% your way....


Looking good, as always.

-Tim

 

[PauChi]

Hey Paul are you friends with Richard Tso?

hey Frank ... how'd you know ... unfortunately I got Richard "hooked" into this hobby :lol2: !! The downside of this is ... he's got a way bigger tank than mine ... sob.

You got me ... "in the open" now!!!

Paul

 

[ReefTECK]

Wow that is incredible! Super nice work, huge tank, nice display, excellent aquascaping. Can't wait to see the next set of pix! Regards, Andy

 

[HOB]

Thank you for your questions and here we go

The so called secret is lamination, when it comes to give large panels of glass strength panels laminated together is the solution.

Not only the Height problem is no problem anymore but also I have this sense of safety while I'm sure the tank cannot explode just crack if in the event of such a disaster ever happen, ( Knock on wood it will never).

Here are pics of how the panels of glass are put together, the front panel is Starphire while the rest are just regular Glass just thickened to tolerate the pressure.

Thanks Frank for the responses.

A couple of questions about the glass in the pictures:

1 - from pic # 2,3,4, are those two glass sheets laminated together or three glass sheets with a thinner one in the middle or is the middle area the adhesive? How think are all these laminated sheets?

2 - from pic #5, are those 5 glass sheets laminated together? Again, how think is this laminated sheets and I presume this is the bottom piece?

Thanks and gorgeous looking room by the way......

 

[Frank Aguirre]

Hello

Hello

Thanks Frank for the responses.

A couple of questions about the glass in the pictures:

1 - from pic # 2,3,4, are those two glass sheets laminated together or three glass sheets with a thinner one in the middle or is the middle area the adhesive? How think are all these laminated sheets?

2 - from pic #5, are those 5 glass sheets laminated together? Again, how think is this laminated sheets and I presume this is the bottom piece?

Thanks and gorgeous looking room by the way......

The lamination process is done with very thin layers and the reason why it looks like that is because Miracles has to calculate the tolerance and decide how much thickness the wall may be at the end.

I remember last year when I post for the first time how many express concern for the height of the tank but so far so good. ( knock on wood please!)

Thank you for your compliments