Six-Figure Aquariums as Architectural Design Elements

[Ninong]

NY Times Article

Try not to barf when you read that, especially the part about the couple who are keeping a dozen koi in a tiny 450-gallon aquarium in their living room. What the wife likes the most about their aquarium is the fact that she has a choice of 64 different colors she can choose from to light the tank. The lighting is computer-controlled just like a rock concert stage. She just pushes a button and the koi change colors with the change in lighting. Her favorite color is fuchsia, because it turns the koi a deep pink.

Many of those aquarium owners don't even want to have to feed the fish themselves. They pay the aquarium maintenance company $150 per visit to come out to feed the fish. A water change cost $500.

This 700-gal reef aquarium cost more than $200,000. (You have to endure a commercial before the video clip comes on.) That tank is suspended from the ceiling and all of the equipment is located in a bedroom closet on the floor below.

Most of those aquarium owners are completely clueless, as is the author of the article who refers to the "different breeds of fish."

[Parrothead]

Where are these fools when I need extra cash flow

[zhenya]

Many of those aquarium owners don't even want to have to feed the fish themselves. They pay the aquarium maintenance company $150 per visit to come out to feed the fish. A water change cost $500.

Quite the lucrative business for some folks... Although nothing unusual in the practice one would prefer to learn at least something about the life you hold in those tanks. The Koi situation is simply a disgrace, a bimbo with money plays with lights to tickle her fancy.
Definitely deserves this treatment...

[schrocat]

Oceantatious.

[Ninong]

The couple with the dozen koi in a tiny 450-gallon aquarium in their apartment either don't know or don't care that these fish have a natural maximum length of well over 30" and a natural lifespan of well over 60 years.

The record age is believed to be 226 years old. That record was held by Hanako, who lived from 1751 until July 7, 1977. Just google Hanako koi. Another very old koi was owned by the Emperor of Japan and kept in the imperial koi pond. It was believed to be 217 years old. Records were kept in the case of the royal fish and in the case of Hanako, one of it's scales was removed and subjected to microscopic examination in 1966. At 227 years, it is believed to be the oldest-lived vertebrate ever recorded.

If you check out the 450-gallon aquarium with the 12 koi fish in that New York couple's apartment, you will see that it is 14.5 feet long but only about 12" wide! That's for a fish that can easily reach 20" long in the first few years of its life. And it's an outdoor pond fish and not a tropical fish at all. In this photo it appears that the couleur du jour is jaune. Maybe they were watching the Tour de France that day. Those people are idiots. The woman who wrote the article is an idiot, too.

Of all the tanks featured, only the little $200,000 700-gal reef tank suspended from the ceiling looked halfway decent. The others were all disgusting. I wonder what that $750,000 aquarium in Dallas looks like? The one with the planetarium ceiling. The one that woman in Dallas had installed in her second floor bathroom! Must be some bathroom to have a planetarium ceiling and a $750,000 reef tank! I believe the tank is horseshoe-shaped. That way the bathtub can be placed inside the space, so that when you're lying down in the tub, you're surrounded by a living reef and when you look up, you see the night sky. At least it better be that way for $750,000 or she should demand a refund.

[Ninong]

I think I have found that 14.5' long, 450-gal koi tank featured on the aquarium builder's website. Just scroll to the right, past the first two pics of that hideous tank with artificial coral decorations, and you will see this long, narrow tank with white koi. Check out the blue motorcycle in the living room as what I guess represents "performance art." I wonder if they ever ride it around the living room?

The owner of that tank said that it's hard to tell which color the fish like best because all they do is swim back and forth from one end of the tank to the other, but she thinks they like blue best. Her favorite color is fuchsia because it makes the fish a deep pink.

[Ninong]

I just found that $750,000 "reef" tank in Dallas. The one with the planetarium ceiling. It's obviously a phony reef tank, filled with artificial coral decorations. The tank itself is gigantic. There's a round bathtub in the center of the space, surrounded by the artificial reef tank.

Here's the link. If you click on the video link, you will see how they moved the huge, curved tank sections with a crane into the second-floor bathroom. No doubt the customer is paying a minimum of $15,000/month for service. They have to remove all of those artificial coral decorations regularly and replace them with cleaned ones. And the monthly water changes must be gigantic. I hope the maintenance company has a truck large enough to carry at least 5,000 lbs of saltwater.

It appears that the tank is constructed with a minimum of three separate curved sections... maybe more. I'm sure they had to have a structural engineer design the support for that bathroom. All of the equipment is probably located on the floor below.

[zhenya]

Thanks for that last link, Ninong. That is a huge aquarium to install in the upstairs bathroom... It's probably bigger than my entire house...

[Ninong]

If you had a bathtub that big, you could invite the neighbors over and have an orgy. Haven't you always wondered if that isn't what most guys would do instead of calling a doctor right away if they "experience an erection lasting more than four hours?"

[zhenya]

I don't know what to think about situation involving 4 hours of frustration...

[SPasse]

Hi All,

There is a town close to me (Rockwall) that has 10,000+ SQFT houses and tanks like these.

The local High School (Rockwall/Heath) has a student parking lot featuring Aston Martin, Porsche and other high end sports cars.

Different world…

Regards,

Scott

[Parrothead]

Hi All,

There is a town close to me (Rockwall) that has 10,000+ SQFT houses and tanks like these.

The local High School (Rockwall/Heath) has a student parking lot featuring Aston Martin, Porsche and other high end sports cars.

Different world…

Regards,



Scott

Damn, I knew I had my Mobile Detailing Service in the wrong town, if the kids are driving that, imagine what the parents got, maybe I need to think Texas

[SPasse]

Robert,

I have a next door neighbor that is trying to convince me to go into the Reef Store business with him. Due to our proximity with the aforementioned upscale clientele, I am thinking about it.

If you could succeed in that business anywhere in the US, in this economy, it would be in this area…

Regards,

Scott

[Parrothead]

You and I need to chat, if you don't mind, my kid is gonna get on the computer for a few while I grab a quick shower after working all day today, I'll send you a pm.

[TheMarineGuy]

wow the system for that salt tank is dope!!!!!,poor koi