A ~19,000 Gallon Aquarium

[dogstar74]

Wouldn't a massive (>20cm) inlet with a check valve work to promote directional filtration? Have a check valve that only lets water in one side, then a second check valve that only lets water out the opposite side. That way water is forced to go from left to right ultimately/passively circulating all the water through the tank.

[reefmo]

Originally Posted by stunreefer

WOW, very cool project!


2. Look into marine grade paints that are used for boats.

Careful here... dont many marine grade boat paints contain copper to resist growth of barnacles and other marine-nasties. Could be doom for snails and stuff if you wanted them in your tank.

[dave.m]

Epoxy-based paints would be safest - expensive, but safest. Stuff like refugiums, deep sand beds, protein skimmers etc. are for people who don't have access to fresh sea water. You might want to contact the Waikiki Aquarium, as they run their large displays directly off fresh sea water. They could probably tell you what they did, how they did it, and why.

What is the wind like at your location? A wind-driven pump would alleviate your operating costs, even if it only ran part-time.

dave

[firereef]

No freakin way!?!!? This thing will be huge!!

[Jflip2002]

Shoulda went 20,000g.... Im just saying.....

Lol, in all seriousness, this is awesome. Should be awesome to follow.

[Bax]

WOW! >>>

I do belive I just soiled myself!

We so often hear of peope "planning" these huge builds, but you are already well underway and it will be fantastic to be sure! Your proximity to the water is a huge plus!

Best of luck!

[jbrown11352]

Is the 12mm glass thickness a misprint? I would imagine it would need to be much thicker with that much water volume pressure?

[Lurking]

Ditto on all the "WOW!" comments....tagging along.

[dogstar74]

Originally Posted by jbrown11352

Is the 12mm glass thickness a misprint? I would imagine it would need to be much thicker with that much water volume pressure?

I believe it's two 12mm sheets laminated with the outside sheet also tempered. That's a full inch thickness with only 1 meter width. I believe it will hold well. If I understood correctly.

Aaron

[savethereef]

Cant wait to see this done. What is your time frame for completion on this monster cage?

[nahham]

Originally Posted by dave.m

Epoxy-based paints would be safest - expensive, but safest. Stuff like refugiums, deep sand beds, protein skimmers etc. are for people who don't have access to fresh sea water. You might want to contact the Waikiki Aquarium, as they run their large displays directly off fresh sea water. They could probably tell you what they did, how they did it, and why.

What is the wind like at your location? A wind-driven pump would alleviate your operating costs, even if it only ran part-time.

dave

Thanks for the paint suggestion. I read somewhere that the Aquarium of the Pacific pumps water directly from the ocean nearby, but they still filter it before it goes to the display tanks. I am thinking I will be able to clarify/enhance the quality of the water with a refugium. I can also use it to grow food and other beneficial "stuff" without affecting the main display. If it turns out I don't need the fuge, I can always turn it into a kiddy pool.

[nikecivic]

Awesome build!

[nahham]

Originally Posted by dogstar74

I believe it's two 12mm sheets laminated with the outside sheet also tempered. That's a full inch thickness with only 1 meter width. I believe it will hold well. If I understood correctly.

Aaron

You are partially correct

There are 2 pieces of glass each 12mm (0.47 inches) think. Both pieces of glass are laminated, tempered, and polished. There is also a support beam of glass covered under the steel lining. The size of each glass panel is 1m (3.28ft) high x ~3m (9.84ft) wide. The thickness is what the glass-guys, who did a lot of big aquariums around here, suggested and guaranteed to hold. A civil engineer friend who is experienced in such stuff even said all this thickness isn't necessary.

I wanted to take some photos of the glass before it went in but I was too busy.. sorry.

[Dkarc]

I would contact the good folks at Aquatic Eco Systems. They are one of the few companies in the world equipt with the knowledge to handle systems of this scale. http://www.aquaticeco.com

Also for pumps I would look into using a vertical propeller pump. High volume, low head (energy efficient). The manufacturer can build you a put to suit you exact needs as well. http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategor...ad/propeller/0

Epoxy based paint is going to be your best bet as for sealing the concrete. Aquatic Eco Systems sells that too.

I would at bare minimum filter the ocean water through a large sand filter (solids filtration) followed by some form of sterilization (ozone system would be best bet here).

-Ryan

[nahham]

Originally Posted by savethereef

Cant wait to see this done. What is your time frame for completion on this monster cage?

I am more excited that all of the people that commented "WOW!!" or "I've just soiled myself"

It depends on when I can get hold of our construction company workers, cheaper is always better. I am also a PhD student and a family man so I'm running thin trying to juggle everything. They should be starting with the refugium and fish farm repairs soon. After that we move to plumbing and lighting.

I can't give you an exact date but I'm hoping it wouldn't take more than 2 months give or take 2 months

[marekt]

wow ,amazing

[barnabus's gimp]

Put a mantis shrimp in there!!!

[shaneh]

Can I ask what you do for work and if you are hiring....haha i bet you are going to have a nice house to go with the aquarium. BTW how much do you think this will cost to complete the project. I’m stressed about my 180 bow expense ....sheeee i don't think I have even bought one of your glass sheets yet. Nice view!

PS: Do you need to be concerned about birds trying to get your fish? Just a random thought

PS: can I live in the straw hut on the right?

[nahham]

Originally Posted by shaneh

Can I ask what you do for work and if you are hiring....haha i bet you are going to have a nice house to go with the aquarium. BTW how much do you think this will cost to complete the project. I’m stressed about my 180 bow expense ....sheeee i don't think I have even bought one of your glass sheets yet. Nice view!

PS: Do you need to be concerned about birds trying to get your fish? Just a random thought

We actually have 4 houses facing the aquarium (me and my brothers). I'm not keeping a good track of the expenses because I really don't want to or else I would stop building this

I was worried about birds but running the fish farm for 6 months with around 150 fishes in there, we didn't have a problem with any birds. We did have an incident where guy wandered into the our 'backyard' and decided he might have better luck fishing in the fish farm than in the sea, but thankfully the fish didn't bite, I did

Here is the location of the aquarium in the 'backyard':


PS: The design is a concept and is changing for sure.

[evsalty]

Originally Posted by nahham

Thanks for the paint suggestion. I read somewhere that the Aquarium of the Pacific pumps water directly from the ocean nearby, but they still filter it before it goes to the display tanks. I am thinking I will be able to clarify/enhance the quality of the water with a refugium. I can also use it to grow food and other beneficial "stuff" without affecting the main display. If it turns out I don't need the fuge, I can always turn it into a kiddy pool.

I think Monteray Bay Aquarium in Monteray CA also uses the ocean for it water source. Beyond that I have no idea what they do to it as it comes into the facility. I could be wrong though.

Originally Posted by nahham

I am more excited that all of the people that commented "WOW!!" or "I've just soiled myself"

WOW I just soiled myself

[nahham]

Originally Posted by Dkarc

I would contact the good folks at Aquatic Eco Systems. They are one of the few companies in the world equipt with the knowledge to handle systems of this scale. http://www.aquaticeco.com

Also for pumps I would look into using a vertical propeller pump. High volume, low head (energy efficient). The manufacturer can build you a put to suit you exact needs as well. http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategor...ad/propeller/0

Epoxy based paint is going to be your best bet as for sealing the concrete. Aquatic Eco Systems sells that too.

I would at bare minimum filter the ocean water through a large sand filter (solids filtration) followed by some form of sterilization (ozone system would be best bet here).

-Ryan

Thanks Ryan for the information. I am looking at the site right now. I will, however, try to find something similar locally because it should be cheaper; I have to worry about costs sometime The concrete we've used is marine grade so the paint will be for aesthetic purposes, this was also the aquarium guys suggestion here but do you think its important to seal it?

I'll keep the filtration suggestion in mind and I was leaning towards that to begin with.

[nahham]

Originally Posted by shaneh

PS: can I live in the straw hut on the right?

The stray hut is being removed, sorry . You can always rent one of the villas for the very low price of 100,000 USD annually, j/k.

[serpentman]

How can I not subscribe to this one! Not only is the size and scope unique, the concept is very interesting. Keep 'em coming....

[locito277]

Good luck I guess we can all dream huh lol.. Great Idea btw

[FishyBiz]

Epoxy is OK but if you really want to run with the big dogs you should use Polyurea.
Dries in seconds
Can withstand chemicals
WAY more mills then epoxy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjXX4S437To