The Behemoth Tank

[mikster]

*removes jaw from the floor*

 

[lljdma06]

I'd just like to point out, my bedroom is 8'x7', anyone got a wagon load of silicone and a crane to take my roof off?
Neal

Yes, Tom, that tank is bigger than my room too. 64 altums, that's money. Wow!

 

[plantbrain]

What I wouldn't give to own an aquarium like that.

Plantbrain - exactly what sort of business do you run... Do you need an apprentice?

Would love to see some pics of other large tanks you've scaped if possible?

Nice one,

Paul.

Haha, why own it and waste $$ when you can get paid to take care of it, set it up and design it?
The apprentiship program is a tough one , I have several folks already in mind B) , but I do train public aquarist, eg Monterey Bay Aqaurium, other public staff etc.

I do large scale tank projects, planted, marine, lakes, wetlands, you name it.
I'm not cheap.
You dream it, I can get the folks to do it.


Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[excaliborg]

I'm lost for words, incredible tank on a huge scale! Do you have a website or portfolio plantbrain?

 

[Graeme Edwards]

I'm lost for words, incredible tank on a huge scale! Do you have a website or portfolio plantbrain?

I second that!!!!,
how did you get into this side of aquaria Tom??

 

[plantbrain]

Anything over a meter you have to plant inside.

www.BarrReport.com

I've posted pics for 10 years on the web.

The thing is with this tank, you feel underwater when you look at it, I've never seen a planted tank like that.
The owner wanted the flooded forest feel.
I wanted to do a design somewhat different, but I'm not the owner


Regards,.
Tom Barr

 

[netcode]

Anything over a meter you have to plant inside.

do u mean meter deep? unsure of what ur saying.


ps. today i was surfing the web looking for some articles regarding amano's work, anyways i ran into a picture of you.. the caption on the pic said "That's Tom Barr wearing the sunglasses in the back." kinda strange

 

[plantbrain]

No the tank is over a meter deep and meter front to baclk, it's 48 inches or 2.54 x 48= 122 cm deep and wide. 365 cm long.

One thing that was not anticiptated was the sense of actually being underwater, Mark from Monterey Bay Aquarium and he also is part owner in Tenji noted that feeling as did a few other folks.
I subcontract with Tenji.

They are 3 guys, all aquarist and curators from Monterey Bay Aqaurium, one of the top aquariums in the world. They have tons of engineering expeirences and life support at larger scales.

Far more than ADA ever will.

There are few things that will be different than the ADa tank: the wood is nicer.
The fish are nicer and this tank will actually have fish, if you can see a fish in the larger ADA and tell me what it might be, I'd like to know.

The fish list will be on par with the scale of the tank, the plant list is as well.
The tank will get more mainteance than ther ADA tank, Amano wanted something he tended less.
Cannot blame him either.

This tank has the stem plants in locations you can get to and the client has special tools to work the tank.
Should take 2-3 hours a week max.


Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[madcaow]

mad tank, Tom.

big ups!

 

[craynerd]

Hi,

Thanks for posting, v interesting to see something a bit more unusual.

What lighting is being used on this?

Dosing EI i presume you must have to have piles of the stuff ? How will you be fertilising, in dry bulk chemicals directly in the water?

Is that pipe being moved eventually?

Go on.....fill is in how are you gonna maintain it, whats the secret. My ideas are either a big scraper, like a wallpaper roller or even a big magent class scraper. How the hell you going to trim plants ? I don`t think they do a 3m long handle set of scissors!!!

Are you not worried with something this scale, that if you do get an algae outburst, it will be almost uncontrollable ? Or is a larger tank more forgiving in terms of algae being produced?

Last one....what substrate are you using?

Sorry lots of questions.....looks great.

Chris

 

[Themuleous]

I'm not cheap.

No reason why you should be!

You dream it, I can get the folks to do it.

I have some pretty wacky dreams Tom!! When I win the lottery Ill look you up

 

[PaulEbs]

Plantbrain,

I know you can't talk about cost when a client is involved, but could I buy a house instead of this tank or would it just get me a pool?

Paul.

 

[plantbrain]

A pool would be cheaper.

I personally do not know who much it cost, only the items I add which is everything inside, + the CO2 stuff, ferts, etc. It likely approaches the ADA tank in cost.

About 4000$ wholesale cost for plants alone.

What lighting is being used on this?

four 1000watt MH lights

220 up to 800 umols PAR at darkest and brightest sections of the tank.

Most folks have 220 at 4-6" from a 55w PC light with reflector etc.

There is a seperate FL bank and front facing lights to light specially the coloration of the fish at a much lower level so it does not wash out colors so much.

Dosing EI i presume you must have to have piles of the stuff ? How will you be fertilising, in dry bulk chemicals directly in the water?

50lb bags run 22$ locally, CA is one of the world's largest agricultural producers.
We buy 20x 5 liters of TMG at a time.
I always add dry bulk to the water, even nano's.
But I'll use cups, not tablespoons.
It'll be awhile before we move up the dosing.

Is that pipe being moved eventually?

Yep.

Go on.....fill is in how are you gonna maintain it, whats the secret. My ideas are either a big scraper, like a wallpaper roller or even a big magent class scraper. How the hell you going to trim plants ? I don`t think they do a 3m long handle set of scissors!!!

No secret.
Large magnets, but I think they are bad abnd can scratch tanks easily.
The tank is 48" deep, when you do a water change, 50% 2x a week for the first few months, the water is only 24" deep, and then the substrate is 1ft tall in the rear, so it's not that deep then.
24" long tools, tweezers, scissors are used.
You can also hang with your knees a certain way to get lower if need be.
Wicked head buzz when you come back up again though.

I have been maintaining nice Marine tanks 4ft deep with even less access for a few years.

Are you not worried with something this scale, that if you do get an algae outburst, it will be almost uncontrollable ? Or is a larger tank more forgiving in terms of algae being produced?

Last one....what substrate are you using?

I'm not worried about algae, seldom ever have been, I'm worried about good plant health/growth.

We get great pearling.
Main thing with any tank, CO2.
Larger tanks are less forgiving in terms of algae and getting good CO2 levels.

Nutrients are easy.

ADA Aqua soil, 60 bags of it. Nothing else.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[scubadoo]

*kneels down & bows head*

The scale of that baby is just something else for a domestic setup.

Hope you keep adding photos showing progress.

 

[samyboy]

quite simply.............lost for words thats amazing