Pool into a fish tank?

[lonbrat]

Anyone ever see this done? I thought this would be so cool if anyone ever made a mini reef in a pool. How hard do you think this would be/ how expensive for something like this?

A ton of sand, Id personally get it at the beach in trash cans lol

Live rock, that sounds quite expensive, 3000$ Id guess, using base rock, live rock and "DIY live rock"

Keeping the temp good would be crazy, probably something like a jacuzzi heater- and idk about cooling, but I can't see that being a problem if you lived somewhere cool enough// 1000-2000$ guesstimate

Lights? Metal halides. A ton of them- probably get the cops looking at you suspiciously lol 5000$~? (Throw in some nice LEDS// in pool lights)

Filters and protein skimmers- Jesus that would be expensive, but I think such a big system would almost clean itself- Id probably say forget the filter and put money to a huge protein skimmer, maybe multiple ones if no good size 7000$~

Water changes, I would honestly give this a sugar dose lol the salt expense would be insane, Id try natural sea water maybe 500gal. Water changes...monthly lol and sugar dose ( helps at least a little) 500~7000$

And id keep a really low bioload OR turn half of the pool into a huge refugium- also minimizing water changes with fewer nitrates ^^

And electric bills ~

Id say you would need about 150,000$ + to get it set up and running nicely~
Then comes the expensive water changes-

Then buy 2 clownfish,a starfish, and blue tang to attract guests and make them pay 50$ to see the finding nemo cast in action ;3

 

[stingeragent]

I've seen a shark tank in someones garage that was made out of an above ground pool. Doing this outside however, I can't see it feasible. With enough money sure you could do it, but if you have the money required to do so, it would be cheaper to add a new room to your house and drop in a giant custom tank.

 

[disc1]

Whatcha gonna do when it rains and your salinity starts to drop?

 

[lonbrat]

I've seen a shark tank in someones garage that was made out of an above ground pool. Doing this outside however, I can't see it feasible. With enough money sure you could do it, but if you have the money required to do so, it would be cheaper to add a new room to your house and drop in a giant custom tank.

Lol yes I forgot to add, if I ever did this// highly doubtful// I would probably use an inground pool and build a greenhouse type of thing around it for natural light as well as artificial, to keep rain and unwanted "out door things"
have it connected to my house for ease of access lol

But I'm poor xD just think it would be a cool idea for someone who loves the hobby and has the money

 

[Reefstarter2]

you can use concrete and a big glass panel under a greenhouse would be really cool couple nurse sharks a small ray a bunch of chromis to school ( which I might do in my next 180 build ) a school of tangs talking 15-20 K water volume there is a guy that built his own in his house must be nice . if I ever hit the lottery I'll do it lol

 

[Lucky Lefty]

I googled this a while ago and found a thread on here from a guy who has some serious expendable cash who wanted to do this. I think once all of the particulars were figured out it was an insane cost ($200k+) and still couldn't really be achieved outdoors with all of the natural elements involved. Was a very interesting read, I'm sure you could find it on here somewhere.

 

[Drewl117]

There is a video on YouTube that someone did a pool in there basement and made it a shark tank. He had put panels in the pool walls for viewing...Very cool!

 

[Reef Frog]

So you'd have a $250,000 greenhouse with a chiller the size of a box truck. How ya goona view it? From inside the pool with a snorkel or scuba rig? Good luck showing your mother in law your cute mandarin goby. Set aside a six figure sum to stock it. You won't get that done at the local drag swap! Also get an estimate on complete demolition for when you sell the house and put that sum aside too.

It's a fun thought experiment, but a person with that amount of disposable cash & time would definitely be better off with a mega above ground tank. It would be much nicer, more practical and less money. I did once read an account of a swimming pool used in a hydroponic & Tilapia project. But there are easier ways to have a salad along with your fish dinner too...

 

[stingeragent]

There is a video on YouTube that someone did a pool in there basement and made it a shark tank. He had put panels in the pool walls for viewing...Very cool!

This is the one I was referring to. I said garage but it was prolly a basement.

 

[eddiereefs]

Its been done, i think mr.saltwater did an episode on it, and the guy said that freshwater floats on top of salt so he had some plan to expell it, dont remember what

 

[shifty51008]

Its been done, i think mr.saltwater did an episode on it, and the guy said that freshwater floats on top of salt so he had some plan to expell it, dont remember what

Freshwater floats on sw? That guy hasnt the slightest clue what he is talking about, the only freshwater that floats on sw is ice.

 

[OllieNZ]

Freshwater floats on sw? That guy hasnt the slightest clue what he is talking about, the only freshwater that floats on sw is ice.

Not true
http://www.milfordlodge.com/milford-sound-information/marine-life

 

[kmbyrnes]

On a slightly less insane note -
What about a hot tub?? I am sure the current 350 build will lead to the desire for something larger and that seems the next logical step.

 

[CuzzA]

While freshwater will float on top of seawater as seawater is much denser the problem is surface skimming and the jets used in a pool, especially setup for aquatic marine life. The freshwater would quickly mix resulting in a reduced salinity.

The only way I would consider doing something like this is A) I still had a regular pool to enjoy and B) There was an acrylic sea wall on the side of the pool to view everything. Otherwise, if you can't see anything without getting wet what's the point? Just go snorkeling or scuba diving. Also a pool enclosure would be a must to eliminate predation from birds and you would also have to consider a way to remedy paints, insecticides and other contaminates from doing detrimental harm to the life. Maintaining temperature wouldn't be as difficult and really could be done on the cheap by using geothermal cooling and an attic heat exchanger. Of course, that also depends on where you live. Much easier in Florida compared to somewhere like Wisconsin.

 

[shifty51008]

Not true
http://www.milfordlodge.com/milford-sound-information/marine-life

very interesting read, ty

i thought we were talking about open water reefs and such where the freshwater would be mixed into the SW to fast to really take it out of the system before being mixed