Question on plywood tank construction

[TIMMYE]

I am looking at building a new house and the boss (the fiance) said I could get a bigger tank if we biuld Wow am I lucky. But I am looking to do something that will be viewable from at least 2 sides but I am thinking it will be from all 4 sides and will be in island stand. Is there a good site or some good information on the construction of plywood or other large tanks? I am looking in 350-500 range depending on location in the new house. I have also not seen much as far as the actual construction of the larger plywood tanks, anyone have some good info or threades on that? TIA

 

[sfsuphysics]

oooh what a nice boss you have

If you're building a new house, making the tank a central feature should be incorporated into the house plans. I don't know if I'd go full bore and have it viewable from 4 sides though, that would require an overflow in the center, which is not something I'm fond of, of course that's just personal preference.

But large tanks need ventilation, you need to pull the moisture out of the air and have a plan already in place to do so, I see from your occupation, it says HVAC Contractor, so hopefully that plan you already know about But having a dedicated equipment room for large tanks really is a huge benefit. Perhaps building this room off/in the garage area (assuming that's part of the house plans), you could get 3 viewable sides that way. Although there's something to be said about only one viewable side... look at Steve Weast's old tank (RIP), www.oregonreef.com

As to the plywood part, can't help you much there, other than it's not that big of a jump to go larger. Here's an article of a guy who built an 800G tank.. even if it was freshwater *bleh* should be of some use http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/panis/plywoodtank.htm

 

[TIMMYE]

Yes I do have a nice Boss...LOL As far a moisture goes I will have a Air to Air exchanger and whole house dehumidifer ducted into the HVAC system. It will also have a fish room with a floor drian and sink. This will be in the basement sealed off fromt he rest of the house with drywall. There will also be a fan that will run on a time to vent that room and the heat from the hood of the tank. We are just getting into the planning stages of the house and tank. So I want to make sure that house and tank are on the same page and have them both planned out before building.

I am planning on running a closed loop and running a center overflow or two would not be a big problem for me since it would give me two spots to make islands for the rock work. Any advice on companys for making larger glass tanks would also be helpfull. Thanks