1900 gallon tank idea help

69cichlids

69cichlids

Members
I'm not sure on the final gallon but I was thinking about building a plywood tank once we get a house sometime soon, the wife is looking for 3 bed 2bath....I'm just looking for a basement for this bad boy lol. The size would be 16' x 4' x 4' my first problem would be with that I would use 2 sheets of ply to get 16ft not sure if the pressure from the water would be to much on that seam, second is what size of a sump would I need? Iv never used once before, seems simple to build and with a tank this size a must have. I was thinking maybe a 200gal sump? I might just have to settle with 2 8'x4'x4' next to each other if that seam would be to weak...so far I was thinking 4 windows on the front and maybe one on a side, might just make it look like its part of the wall behind a bar...ill try to get on the computer to draw up whats in my head for everyone. I would seal the corners and seams with fiberglass and then put a few layers of epoxy down.

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69cichlids

69cichlids

Members
minifoot77 said:
check mfk on the diy tank section it will answer all your questions :)
Click to expand...

I looked last night and created a tread there all I was seeing was how to build/what too put in it not what kind of a size ratio the sump should be to the tank, ill continue to look tho

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minifoot77

minifoot77

Members
lol :) i have a 135 made buy some old guy in va now florida and it is working just fine :) all single sheets but the stacked 2"x tanks don't look to bad either... your joints wouldn't be weaker if you had a frame behind it :)
 
69cichlids

69cichlids

Members
Yeah I'm plaining on doing like a wall frame and putting some insulation and then covering the wall frame up with more plywood

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Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Beyond the construction of the tank itself, your largest challenge will certainly be filtration. I would assume that you want to cram it full of something big - big Malawi haps, P bass, Boulengechromis, big eartheaters, etc.

You're going to want big flow in the tank, from multiple inputs and outputs. For an open system (sump), you're going to want a turnover rate of at least 2-3 times per hour. This equates to a pump pushing somewhere between 4,000-6,000 GPH. This is a monster. We're talking something that fills a 5 gallon bucket in 3 seconds.

Beyond the monster pump, you're going to need a vessel that will hold bio-media capable of filtering this flow. I'm thinking something like a couple of large trashcans with that plastic lightweight bio-media (the name escapes me now, but you should be able to find it on MFK. Then there's mechanical filtration... Maybe stacking several layers of Poret foam. To handle the flow, you will need a lot of surface area to avoid clogs.

The other challenge will be water changes. In order to change let's say... 25%, that's 500 gallons of 70-80 degree water. During the winter, my hot water heater gives up at about 250 gallons of low 70s water. So you're going to need a separate water heater or if you're on gas, a no-tank heater.

In order to safely minimize the amount of water being changed, I'd certainly set up an algae turf scrubber system. Once it got rolling, you could probably get away smaller changes (depending on your stocking).

Oh yeah - humidity will be a significant factor. I would seal off the tank entirely from the living space and have a door for access from behind. You will likely need an air handler in this area to prevent your house from rotting away.

Don't keep anything that has very specific water requirements - soft water, 85 degree water, super hard water, etc. These all will make life more difficult.

All of the above considered, I'd guess that the project could be done for between $5K-$10K if you're handy with carpentry, plumbing and electricity (and depending on lighting, glass, air handler, water heater, etc).

Not trying to scare you away, just sort of going over logistics of a mammoth project like this.
 
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Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
One last thing, don't ever plan on moving. For 99.9% of folks, something like that is not exactly a strong selling point on a house. ;)
 
69cichlids

69cichlids

Members
Lol yes I don't think it would be a great selling point...the house we are now looking at would be perfect, basement unfinished but it's straight out of the 50's so this project would happen after updating the house. I'm thinking on buying stuff here and there so the wife doesn't get to pissy lol saving the glass or acrylic for last . I appreciate your in put. I wish I could just start building this thing now but probly won't be for a year :(

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Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
I'll be honest, I was able to rattle off an answer so quickly because I've been pondering such a setup... not quite on the same scale, but a plywood tank with a 4'x8' footprint.

Not sure if I'll do it in the current house, but picture myself doing it in the next 10 years.

Your thread got me thinking about it more and I started researching electricity consumption costs. I did some math and it's rough, but not as bad as I thought it may be.

Wattage breakdown:

-Return Pump (based on Little Giant FP6 - 6KGPH) 557W
-Heaters (2000W based on 20% on cycling) 400W (prorated 24HRS)
-Lighting (8x 48" T8 x 8HRS/DAY - 32W each) 80W (prorated 24HRS)
-Dehumidifier/Air handler (1500W based on 20% cycling) 300W (prorated 24HRS)

TOTAL: 1337W = 1.3KW x $.13/KWH = $.17/HR x 24 HRS/DAY = $4.05/DAY.

Yeah, it's rough, but you could reasonable cut the cost in half if you were to setup a more "modest" (yeah, lol) 4'x8' setup. This would be half the lighting, pump size and heater power usage. Down to $2.00 per day, while pricey, is not particularly terrible.


You should totally do it, dude. :cool:
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
I did some research into the tankless water heaters a couple years ago. Some new houses come with them, especially if there's a bathroom with an extra big bathtub.

Anyway, the gas ones require a larger than standard line (so even if you have gas service, you'll likely require a larger line). The electrical ones pull serious power and don't work that well. At least that's what I got from the folks I talked to (people who install them in Sacramento)...

Matt
 
JLW

JLW

CCA Members
Tony said:
One last thing, don't ever plan on moving. For 99.9% of folks, something like that is not exactly a strong selling point on a house. ;)
Click to expand...

I don't know... someone tell's me there's a 2000 gallon aquarium built into the basement, I don't care if the place even has a bathroom anymore.
 
mdlnewman

mdlnewman

Members
No need for heaters just get fish that like it room temp :p



Tony said:
I'll be honest, I was able to rattle off an answer so quickly because I've been pondering such a setup... not quite on the same scale, but a plywood tank with a 4'x8' footprint.

Not sure if I'll do it in the current house, but picture myself doing it in the next 10 years.

Your thread got me thinking about it more and I started researching electricity consumption costs. I did some math and it's rough, but not as bad as I thought it may be.

Wattage breakdown:

-Return Pump (based on Little Giant FP6 - 6KGPH) 557W
-Heaters (2000W based on 20% on cycling) 400W (prorated 24HRS)
-Lighting (8x 48" T8 x 8HRS/DAY - 32W each) 80W (prorated 24HRS)
-Dehumidifier/Air handler (1500W based on 20% cycling) 300W (prorated 24HRS)

TOTAL: 1337W = 1.3KW x $.13/KWH = $.17/HR x 24 HRS/DAY = $4.05/DAY.

Yeah, it's rough, but you could reasonable cut the cost in half if you were to setup a more "modest" (yeah, lol) 4'x8' setup. This would be half the lighting, pump size and heater power usage. Down to $2.00 per day, while pricey, is not particularly terrible.


You should totally do it, dude. :cool:
Click to expand...
 
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