Updates....
Well I had Craters and Freighters ship it, and they apparently didn't realize that when I told them the crates was 10'x5'x5', and 7'x4'x5' for the sump that it was really that size.
So they couldn't fit both crates in their truck, and had to go back and get the sump. Then they told me that the crate was built like crap, it was built by aquarium obsessed so I'm not really sure that they would build a crate housing a $12,000 tank poorly, but either way they reinforced the bottom with 4x4's.
So this brings me to yesterday, when they finally called me back, after two weeks. They got the sump finally and were preparing to ship it out.
She said they ended up being much heavier than what the initial quote was for so she tried to charge me double the initial quote on shipping then said that it wouldn't be covered for insurance due to its high cost and fragility.
At this point I was irate, So I told her to explain to me why I would risk losing a $13,000 tank without insurance????? Apparently insurance is only $1 for every $100, so $123 for insurance, I told her there was no way I would risk shipping a tank 900 miles without insurance, finally she conceded to insure it if I paid the $123 and a $500 deductible if it broke.....
Now on to the added freight charges, The display and crate weigh 1950 pounds, the sump an additional 600. So the tank was about 900 pounds over what I was told, after some more negotiations I got the shipping down to $1200 up from the quoted $900 but far less than the $1900 she was trying to charge me....
So it will be here on tuesday.....Now time to round up at least 12 people to help with the unload, it has a lift gate but the brunt of the labor will have to be manual.
The plan is to fully enclose the carport on the house we just bought for the tank display room, so much much more additional labor, as well as jackhammer out the current concrete pad which is only 4" and cracked badly. I will repour a 4" heavily reinforced pad, with a total of an 8" thick pad under the tank. The stand will most likely be steel and I'll have studs in the concrete to bolt the stand down to.
With 10,000 lbs on a 4x8 area thats a heck of a load, I want everything to be as sound as possible.
Sorry for the book....
Now to sammie's question, I love the look of a tall tank, it has much much more visual appeal and swimming room for large fish... But as you mentioned maintenance on a 36" deep tank is tricky to say the least. First and foremost the entire canopy will be on a pully system to raise for complete access. Crystal wants to do barebottom again, but I'm on the fence I love the maintenance aspects of a bare bottom, but on a tank that size I'm not a huge fan of the look. I may do a faux sand bottom for visual appeal but I"m on the fence.
So the short answer is lots of elbow grease and a good cleaning magnet, the rock work will be setup for easy maintenance. The 25" x 84" skimmer as well as a huge designated refugium should take care of much of the algae issues.
If all else fails I'll have a scuba mask handy!!!!
Now for enclosing the carport it has a full structural supports already there, I was debating on one wall of glass for a sunroom effect, but worry about the heat issues....I've been here two weeks and haven't seen a cloud yet, its 96 today.....
The tank will be plumbed to the 1700 gallon lagoon that I will start on next week in the basement, so that will help with evaporative cooling as well as being subsurface...
Keep up the questions and ideas, I'll be posting pics on moving day,
unfortunately its going to be a while before it sees water as we are moving into the house here this month and have 700 gallons of tanks to move as it is...... luckily its only about three miles away!
