All,
I'm in the planning stage to have a larger sized custom tank built. The general idea is that this tank will be a permenant fixture in my house. I'll throw in a brief list of my generic plans, as it will help answer the questions I have.
Generic Plans:
This is going to be a larger L or T shaped shaped tank. I've been talking to the achitect building my place about this some, so the actual size is not yet worked out.
This will be a freshwater tank, with higher and lower current areas. Think "L" shaped tank with flow going from one end to the corner. One of the ends will be a see through wall between the Dining and sitting room. I want this part to be higher current so it looks like a river flowing in the middle of the house.
Capacity will be pretty large, not completely sure as we haven't worked out final dimensions yet. I want it to be at least 800 gallons, my initial sketches look like it might be twice that.
This will have a rear access room, as the tank will be in the middle of the house. The room will have enough space for everything I can think of, including plumbing. Floor will be supported well to handle the weight. This is going to be a 2-3 year project to set up. My budget for this is pretty good. I want to give the foundation time to settle.
Questions:
I'm at a loss as to what the non-viewing sides and base should be made out of. Concrete with an epoxy coating?
The viewing sides will probably need very thick glass/acrylic. I prefer glass due to ease of cleaning, but nearly every large aquarium that has tanks of this size has acrylic panels in place. Acrylic might be cheaper on this, not sure. Anyone have any ideas on this? Also, anyone know the best way to build the viewing glass/acrylic? I'm thinking that having the base material built so that a trench will be cut to make a bracket for the clear panel.
Anyone know of a place that builds such tanks? When I get back to the U.S. I plan on stopping by, and calling ahead to see if I can get a look at how larger tanks are put together at commercial aquariums (and to look at the aquatic creatures).
Any help would be appreciated. This is only in the planning stages right now, and it will be a long time in coming.
I'm in the planning stage to have a larger sized custom tank built. The general idea is that this tank will be a permenant fixture in my house. I'll throw in a brief list of my generic plans, as it will help answer the questions I have.
Generic Plans:
This is going to be a larger L or T shaped shaped tank. I've been talking to the achitect building my place about this some, so the actual size is not yet worked out.
This will be a freshwater tank, with higher and lower current areas. Think "L" shaped tank with flow going from one end to the corner. One of the ends will be a see through wall between the Dining and sitting room. I want this part to be higher current so it looks like a river flowing in the middle of the house.
Capacity will be pretty large, not completely sure as we haven't worked out final dimensions yet. I want it to be at least 800 gallons, my initial sketches look like it might be twice that.
This will have a rear access room, as the tank will be in the middle of the house. The room will have enough space for everything I can think of, including plumbing. Floor will be supported well to handle the weight. This is going to be a 2-3 year project to set up. My budget for this is pretty good. I want to give the foundation time to settle.
Questions:
I'm at a loss as to what the non-viewing sides and base should be made out of. Concrete with an epoxy coating?
The viewing sides will probably need very thick glass/acrylic. I prefer glass due to ease of cleaning, but nearly every large aquarium that has tanks of this size has acrylic panels in place. Acrylic might be cheaper on this, not sure. Anyone have any ideas on this? Also, anyone know the best way to build the viewing glass/acrylic? I'm thinking that having the base material built so that a trench will be cut to make a bracket for the clear panel.
Anyone know of a place that builds such tanks? When I get back to the U.S. I plan on stopping by, and calling ahead to see if I can get a look at how larger tanks are put together at commercial aquariums (and to look at the aquatic creatures).
Any help would be appreciated. This is only in the planning stages right now, and it will be a long time in coming.
