Starting to Build another Big tank 1000g+ have a few questions

[Atomic081]

Moving the tank in the office is a great idea!! would give me that Peninsula tank if i wanna go that way. Only problem would be that it would be hard to reach the tank (cleaning would suck from a ladder) cause its on the stair wall going downstairs. It might work though!

In that case- why not move the office where the fish room is and put the fish room where the office is? That way you get the tank in the middle of the room and you don't have to worry about stairs.

Where do the stairs go? Ideally- put the fish room downstairs. Let gravity do its thing and have the staircase near the garage, out of the way. Right now I see a lot of stairs in that room which might be visually distracting.


3rd. I dont want my guests to see the wife and i ......"getting busy" while sitting on the couch. Also gonna be a BIG fireplace there.

Makes sense but I was thinking you would have rock work that would act as a wall. Fireplace is a good idea however.

The Fishroom office swap would kinda work. Only problem is the Big Window in the office that is a focal point from the front of the house. it would be in the fish room leaving the "blue glow" from frag tanks. Not the end of the world, but not really something i want. Maybe i can leave the office and put the tank where the stairway is. then put the stairway downstairs under the upstairs stairway.

Kinda like this. only problem is the masterbedroom door. not a huge fan of that....or the master closet is in the front of the house, but lets concentrate on what matters, the tank!!! lol



Thanks for all the input. really gets my gears turning to hear other peoples input.

 

[Socaltoaz]

Could you swap the master closet and the bedroom? Would give you a bit more privacy by moving the master bedroom away from the rest of the house. Also I don't know the scale but to make the entry into the master more dramatic, consider putting some sort of an approach before you get to the actual bedroom. Maybe a small hallway between the bath and the bedroom? You walk in, you go down the hall - there is a focal point at the end of the hallway ( a picture or something) then you go right into the master bedroom or go left into the bathroom. Makes the rooms much more interesting that way.


I like the idea a lot of stacking the stairs in one area. Much cleaner that way and a better use of the stairs. Also, if the stairs are going downstairs into a basement for the kids, it might make sense to put those stairs near the kitchen. That way your wife can yell down at them to call the up for dinner. Just a thought.

Also in looking at your plans- change the location or the entry to the powder bathroom that you have right off the fish room. You don't want to drop a deuce and open the door and have the smell waft right into a full room of guests. Give that area some privacy.

The whole area of the fish room, mud room and laundry room doesnt look efficient. I know its just a mock up but that area could be reconfigured more ideally I think. Not sure how, need to study it further.

I like the peninsula look of the new fish tank. I just did what you are doing for a good 6 months before we settled on our plans. My first floor plan is posted on the first page of my build thread. Feel free to check it out and see if you can pick up any ideas.

 

[Socaltoaz]

Here is a quickie mock up of how I would rearrange the master bedroom area.

Make the actual bedroom smaller. You have almost a 20 foot master- it will be too big. Add a hallway and reconfigure the bathroom. Make the closet a bit bigger- and have a his and her side to it. Put the shower right next to the closet so as soon as you shower, you can hop into your shower.

Get a beautiful soaker tub and put it in the center of the bathroom. If that is in the way, put it adjacent to the wall where the stairs are.

You have to expand your closet area but I think that is space that is well used. Now your living room is also bigger giving you more space there.

You don't need a massive master. You need a good sized room to fit your bed and make it cozy the same time.

 

[Socaltoaz]

 

[Opcn]

Your changes to his plan make no sense to me. I skimmed to the bottom and saw your plan and didn't read much and started to imagine changes. I figured I'd go back up and read before I shared my thoughts on what was wrong with the master, and discovered that the OP had done pretty much exactly what I was going to suggest get changed about your picture. The only difference is that I wasn't going to embiggen the master, but the OP knows his furniture, so maybe there is something that doesn't occur to us.

I do agree on stairs down from the kitchen as well.

 

[Socaltoaz]

just trying to offer some suggestions to the op. At the end of the day, it's his dream house so I'm sure he will do what suits him and his family best.

 

[Atomic081]

I appreciate any and all input!! The rest of the house is kinda up in the air now. Especially the master suite. Im taking my own advice that i tell my customers. "Take your time and dont rush into planning a house, even if it takes years." It might take me a few years, but ill get it right. Right now im more concerned with the options I have with the Tank so i can build around it.



If anyone is reading this and has a Tall tank. Can you post pictures of how you get into the tank? Have you reinforced the area on top of the tank so you can lay on it?

 

[Opcn]

In terms of your window problem, have you considered a blackout curtain? If you build up the window casing a little (or make your wall a bit thicker, and fit in a bit more insulation) you can fit in an electronic blackout curtain to drop in between whatever decorative drapes you have and the room, so it looks like it's a window leading to a dark room rather than a glowing blue alien abduction.

 

[Atomic081]

Been doing some thinking. What width looks best if you have a inwall? Im thinking 36" or 48". Is 48" just to far away to see frags?

 

[SERVO]

Sorry if there is any redundancy to my response, as I haven't taken the time to read through others reply, however, I have installed a 1000 gallon into my new home. With a tank THAT size, you have to have a dedicated area. I would recommend constructing a room to fit the tank that can have independently temperature control and air exchange. If you move, you could always convert it to a wine room. I'm not sure if that type of "high end" home feature will meet the needs of you neighbor hood, or become a wasted investment, but the only way you can really "hide" something of this magnitude when you move is to have a plan B. A tank that big will take up a ton of room and otherwise only makes since in a garage where you never see it or a basement. You want it to be the center piece of you homestead. Right? Good luck. Here's mine in progress

 

[druzzelle]

I think theres been a lot of great ideas posted.. which is what the OP was looking for... he has a base idea of what he wants to do but wanted opinions, experiences that offer options he may not have considered yet... this helps us all... I'd rather find out what everyone else thinks or has done and obstacles they may have encountered before doing a build.. it helps cut down on the number of mistakes.. just adds to comfort and happiness I think!

 

[SERVO]

Perspective of dimension on this size tank is always skewed. My tank is 10 by 5. There is no easy access with 1000 gallons.

 

[Atomic081]

Perspective of dimension on this size tank is always skewed. My tank is 10 by 5. There is no easy access with 1000 gallons.

I appriciate the Picture!!! Im leaning toward this type of a corner tank. 2 viewing sides are better than 1. Also will not be that hard to hide if i ever get outta the hobby. Have you built a walkway in the fish room around the tank so you can access it easier? would love to see pictures of the fish room. my room will be 12x16 and im already running out of space.

I think theres been a lot of great ideas posted.. which is what the OP was looking for... he has a base idea of what he wants to do but wanted opinions, experiences that offer options he may not have considered yet... this helps us all... I'd rather find out what everyone else thinks or has done and obstacles they may have encountered before doing a build.. it helps cut down on the number of mistakes.. just adds to comfort and happiness I think!

Yup you got it sir, This has really got my gears turning and brought up alot of things i never would have thought about.

 

[dave.m]

I think the key elements to pick up from that picture are that: a). you really need a front access panel on such a wide tank to reach the front effectively, and b). a low tank makes for a squat appearance (i.e. go taller).

Dave.M

 

[SERVO]

The perspective of my picture is showing the start of the beams that are at 20 feet. The ceiling in that room is 30 feet. But Dave is correct, the taller the better. (Ex John Coppolino's new tank). I do have a cat walk from the front and the back. On the front, there are stones that are fixed into steal beams that I can pull out and place a plank on. The back has sliding beams with a board that is on a hinge. When its not in use, the beams can be pushed back into the stand and the board can hang against the back of the stand.

 

[SERVO]

 

[SERVO]

 

[mike810]

If you're going to build a tank that big, it should be front and center. It will only add to the house, never take away from the house. Your wife should think of the tank as a nice piece of furniture/art to be on display, not hidden.

That said, I do not have a tank as big as yours but we have a 8 ft 250 peninsula which is used to divide the family room and dining room. It is the focal point of our house when you walk in the front door. Everyone that comes over is automatically drawn to the tank the instant they walk in.

Please do put it somewhere you can enjoy all the time along with your guest.

 

[Atomic081]

Very cool stuff guys!!!

Here are the updated plans, in case you wanted to keep up. Still pretty preliminary though. My wife is on board with the location now. She said something about the laundry room being too small.......So this is my compromise. As always, The house keeps getting bigger and is up to 4500 sqft. Not the biggest house ever, but should have everything we would ever need. In this plan i have the tank being 8'x4'x'4. The fish room is only 7x16. Im gonna struggle to fit in all in this area, but i know it can be done. I have the following in the fish room drawing already: the 8'x4'x4' Display tank, a 150g Rubbermaid sump, 2 55g barrels for SW and freshwater, 1 40b for QT, 1 40b for refugium, 1 6'x2'x1' Frag tank, 1 6'x2'x1' Anemone Frag tank (under other frag tank), a Sink, Storage around sink, Table for CA reactor/media. The only thing im missing is a place for the Skimmer and more storage.

 

[Atomic081]

The perspective of my picture is showing the start of the beams that are at 20 feet. The ceiling in that room is 30 feet. But Dave is correct, the taller the better. (Ex John Coppolino's new tank). I do have a cat walk from the front and the back. On the front, there are stones that are fixed into steal beams that I can pull out and place a plank on. The back has sliding beams with a board that is on a hinge. When its not in use, the beams can be pushed back into the stand and the board can hang against the back of the stand.

This idea is awesome. I might need to try something like this. My gears are turning!!!!