[SKRIZ]

i am planning a 700 gal reef tank. I am having a steel support for it built that will extend from the basement up. I need some help and ideas with this tank, including design, equipment, and common sense stuff that i might be ignoring. all help and comments appreciated.

skriz

[Reefland]

Hi SKRIZ!

You say your having a steel support built for it from the basement up, can you elaborate on that a bit more? Is the tank going to be in the basement or will it be upstairs?

I think one of the most important things with a tank of this size (after everything has been supported to hold the weight) is accessing the tank. What are the dimensions you are planning for?

Scott Z.

[Ninong]

Here is an interesting 770-gal tank design (lots of pictures): http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/...202&uid=495463

Here is an up and running 539-gal tank with a nice equipment room: http://www.moyesreef.com/home.html

Here is a nice innovative 500-gal tank with an immaculate equipment room: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...threadid=51139

Here is a nice 850-gal tank that just replaced the above nice 500-gal tank: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=263696

Here are some interesting tanks but you will need a Japenese to English translation program: http://www.splash-sea.co.jp/tank/index.html

Here are the equipment drawings for Wayne Shang's new 650-gal tank: http://www.underseadiscovery.com/gadget2.htm

There are lots of good ideas in those links. That should keep you busy for a few days at least.

[SKRIZ]

the tank is going to be so heavy that the floor had to be supported. instead of supporting the floor, the steel supports will actually go trhough the floor and the tank will sit directly on top of it. the tank is on the main floor. the supports come from the basement floor up.

[SKRIZ]

i was thinking of making the tank 118x58x24. do you think 2 feet deep is good or should I go 3 feet?

[myreef]

Originally Posted by SKRIZ

i was thinking of making the tank 118x58x24. do you think 2 feet deep is good or should I go 3 feet?

I wouldn't go more than 30" deep. My 400 is 30" tall and it can be abear to get to the bottom. I think you also have to look at how tall your stand will be and the feasibility of working on the tank. My stand is 40" tall and the tank is 30"..that is plenty tall for me. Plus you would have to use tons of light to reach the bottom effectively. Of course, you could have low light corals on the bottom....

[SKRIZ]

i screwd up on the dimensions. it is going to be 58" tall, 118" long, and 24" wide! it can be shorter if need be. what do you all think.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by SKRIZ

i screwd up on the dimensions. it is going to be 58" tall, 118" long, and 24" wide! it can be shorter if need be. what do you all think.

Is it going to be glass or acrylic? If it's going to be a reef tank I don't think I would go 58" tall and only 24" wide. That would work for a fish only tank but I don't believe it would be appropriate for a reef.

I am assuming you are planning on going with acrylic if you are going 58" tall. I suppose that would be at least 1.5" thick acrylic, maybe 2"???

Good luck,

[SKRIZ]

what height dimension would you reccomend? as far as glass or acrylic, what would be better and why for this size tank?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by SKRIZ

what height dimension would you reccomend? as far as glass or acrylic, what would be better and why for this size tank?

I'm not sure I have ever seen a glass aquarium 58" tall. I have no idea what thickness the glass would have to be but I would guess that it would need to be a MINIMUM of 1.5" thick, which probably means lamination. The weight of a glass tank 118"L x 24"W x 58"H would be probably somewhere around 7,500 lbs EMPTY. If one could be built it would have to be built on-site and the cost would probably be well over $20,000 just for the bare tank.

An acrylic aquarium of that size would be much lighter and much cheaper. One of the links I provided earlier is to Twize's new Tenecor acrylic aquarium. It is 120"L x 36"W x 48"H with 1.5" thick acrylic. I believe that tank runs about $10,000 plus shipping and installation.

The reason I don't think 58" tall by 24" wide is a good dimension for a reef tank is because it would be very difficult to access the bottom. I believe the tank that Twize just purchased is about as deep as a home hobbyist could possibly manage. I can't imagine myself trying to handle anything deeper than 36" but I suppose 48" might work if you are extremely athletic.

Good luck,

[Kendall]

SKRIZ, Can you give us some info on your experience with reef tanks? No offense, but you are asking some begginer questions. A 58" tall tank? How do you plan on reaching the bottom? 24" deep? Very limiting on building a rock structure and aquascaping in general. Glass would be out of the question, unless it was built on site. The weight will be incredible. Same with acrylic. Once you fill it with water, add another 6000 lbs. Have you though about the delivery and installation? A tank that size will need a lot of planning. A few examples, electrical needs, plumbing, what kind of circulation, closed loops, powerheads etc., you would need 5 1000 watt halides which create a lot of heat, what type of skimmer, how will you do water changes, etc, etc. Also the initial start up cost will be towards $30,000+ at a minimum. I don't know you financial position, so maybe it is not an issue.

Again, not meaning to offend you, you did the right thing by asking.

[SKRIZ]

Kendall,

Not offended at all, in fact THANK YOU for asking and bringing up some good points. I have been keeping reef aquariums for about 5-6 years. I am asking beginer questions because I have ZERO experience with a setup this large. I have never had the need to look into glass vs. acrylic, etc. everything I have done before has been small and using very little equipment.

I NEVER even thought about the need to reach the bottom of the tank! Now we're getting somewhere! Weight has been covered with a solid steel stand. Electrical has been taken care of with a dedicated line from the breaker box. Water changes can be done through the sump. Myreef can probably make a skimmer and calc reactor.

I have not looked into lighting, circulation & plumbing, powerheads... This is where I will need a lot of help.

thanks for all the help. i really appreciate all the input.
Oh, and i wont be offended!

[Kendall]

Glad you took my post as intended! If you want a large tank, then forget how many gallons it is going to be. I designed my tank to the dimensions that fit it's location, and how I wanted to set it up. Height is your first limiting factor, and depth is the second. As I stated before, 32-34" is max on height, but you will get wetter than you want at 34". My old tank was 48" deep (front to back). I did not like it. It was hard to view clearly, and reach stuff in the back. Also aquascaping was tough because some things in the front of the tank would block/hide some things towards the back. Although you could have a deep tank and utilize, say 6", to block off for a refugium/overflow. Definately make it out of acrylic.

My tank is 96"L X 40"D X 32"H. I am very happy with it. If you have the room then length is not a problem. 118" will work.

Depending on what you want to keep, you will need 2 rows of metal halides at least 250 watts each. How many will depend on the length. I have 6 total. Andy can definately build you a great skimmer and calc reactor. Your circulation will also depend on the length. Remember, your return pump does not need to flow more than your skimmer can process per hr. Your next decision will be closed loops, powerheads on a wavemaker, or the Tunze stream pumps.

That's basically it for hardware. I could go on but I'm tired. Keep us posted and ask plenty of questions.

[Poseidon]

I think Kendall is right, unless you are 7 feet tall there is NO way to reach the bottom of a tank deeper then 32"!!! While planning your tank remember each MH bulb effectively lights a 2 foot by 2 foot area. So if your tank is 36" wide you will have 6 inches at the front and 6 inches at the back that are noticeably darker then the "center area". That might not be a big deal though, depending on coral placement. In fact it may be an advantage to help keep the Front "glass" clean from algae!!

Also don't forget about the cost of Rock, and critters like snails!

[SKRIZ]

I'm back guys! I have been doing a lot of research about this aquarium and have gotten a lot of prices. It seems as though an acrylic tank would be my best option. however, I have been told that it will scratch. does it really cratch that easily? will snails scratch it? I know kids wont since there will be an electric fence aorund the perimeter

the top of the tank...should it be covered with glass/acrylic to reduce evaporation? If not, how will evaporation affect the surrounding sheetrock?

if the aquarium is 118" long, would an overflow on one end be sufficient? if not, what are my other options for creating more circulation?

besides price and weight, are there any other disadvantages to glass? I am still waiting on one more quote on the glass tank, and will be making my order soon.

as always, thanks for the input. I will post some pics soon of the project.