Plywood and epxoy aquarium

[Aquariareview]

I am doing it again.

 

I have built more than a dozen plywood tanks in my life and I have decided that I want to build a new 350+ gallon show tank for my den.

 

I want any advice from people who have made these types of tanks. Did you come up with a cool idea that you have not seen published anywhere.

 

My plan is to build an 8 ft long 38 inch deep tank with a lot of room front to back. I intend to run all of the plumbing thru the ends and bottom so as to set it directly against the wall (1in or so). I want to add a closed loop so there no visible power heads in the system.

 

I am building a sump/refuge from an old 180 gal that I own. It will have an 8in deep 8in wide tray that will be inside of the tank and will run the length (6ft) of the tank. It will be 9in off of the bottom and against the back of the tank. This will allow for the water to run thru a long path of mud and macro (lit with PCs running 24/7) before it drains into the bottom of the sump. In the bottom the water will go thru first a large 3ft section of mud (with top off and dosing coming in here) then a clean section with the skimmer and heaters and return pump.

 

I am building a hood with MH lighting (is there really any other kind) and in the front, above the hinge that you open, I want to try to build an insulated area with a 2nd fuge of some kind. I have a 2nd fuge now above the tank and it really helps the systems zooplankton levels (see my 2nd refuge in the gallery) I may just build a place to hold a small tank or if I can figure out how to insulate it I might try to build an acrylic tank that is 6in high 6in deep and 6ft long and mount in right into the hood. This would have an 11gal volume and would be about 90lbs or so. I think I could design the support for it because of the distribution of the load over a 6 ft span. It would be driven with a power head so water would flow thru it end to end. By loading it with small macro and 1/2 in of mud, some feather dusters and a few shrimp and pods it would add a lot of life to the system.

 

When complete the wood exterior will be finished like furniture and there will be a 7ft 6in X 30 in glass window in the front

 

Ok that is the basic design I am still finishing the design plans and I will post them here as soon as they are done.

 

Now why would I waste you time reading through all of this? I want input... I have done several large projects systems but I have never had a group of people (who had skill and experience that I respect) who could give me advice and ideas. I will keep this thread alive until I am done with this then I intend to turn this into a major DIY article on my site. So please check in with ideas and criticism, post links and suppliers. I need to find good sources for the front glass. Post ideas, sources, comments and naked pictures of you cat...I need input..

I look forward to you help

[dgasmd]

Nathan:

 

Sounds like a good project. Having a large tank requires a lot of thinking in a totally different manner than having a regular size tank. You ahve to really think big. A tank like you are proposing could have some nice flow, light, livestock, and can be very efficiently done. You've probably heard my numerous pst about some of this stuff anyway. As far as the construction itself, I can't contribute anything because i don't know jack s.... about it. As far as the rest, I can contribute something.

 

LIGHTING:

 

I would seriously consider 1000 watt radiums. Sunlight supply now carries the appropriate ballast required to drive those bulbs to specs. I have seen a couple of pictures of them running and have spoken at leangth (will switch to it in a year) with people running them that had run just about everything else under the sun including it and they would not do it any other way. For 8 feet you are probably OK with just 2. I would start there and go to 3 if you feel greedy later on.

 

FLOW:

 

Now, you could ahve some major movement in this monster tank. I would drill or arrange for 8 x 2" bulkheads on the back wall. I would go with the 2" bulkheads because you can reduce it on the inside to 1 1/2" tubing and strainers causing less of a sucking action on the strainers and being much easier on your fish. Also, if you run 2" pipe to the pump and back to the tank to be reduced at the end on the outlet you decrease significantly the flow resistance and gain a bit more flow from your close loop pumps. If you spread them right, 3 x AmpMaster 3000 pumps for the close loops should be much more than plenty for it no matter what you are keeping. I believe in high flow inside the tank and slower flows thru the sump/refugiums. It allows for more contact time to the skimmer and the macro fauna in the refugium to do their job. That is just me.

 

FILTRATION:

 

I don't really know much about the mud you speak of and quite frankly you lost me with all the refugium/mud/trays. I would simplify things here and just get the biggest sump you have space for. Block a small area for the heaters, pumps, skimmers and such. The rest, fill with some LR, rubble rock, and all the macro algae you can get your hands on. Believe me, in 3-4 months there will be so much life in that refugium that you could grow a couple of whales int he tank!!

 

LIVESTOCK:

 

That is all on you man. :D

 

Hope that helps. See my other post in the gallery please for the conclusion of this reply.

 

Alberto

[geofloors]

Here's a thread about a guy who built a 300g plywood tank  http://www.reeftalk.com/ubbthre....fpart=1

 

 

George

[dgasmd]

George:

 

That is exactly the same guy I was thinking of when I saw this post. I just couldn't remember who it was. I had seen the post before and the pictures as well.

 

Alberto