My Aqua Hobby Journey

[dimfer]

Backgrounder

My first experience in keeping fish came in 1991, when my cousin gave my daughter a goldfish bowl with 3 feeders on her fourth birthday. Well, of course, the feeders didn't last too long. After all feeders died, the bowl was put away for three or four years, then converted into a betta tank. I did much better in keeping the betta alive as it survived for more than two years. When my betta died, the container was put away again .

Back in 2002, my wife decided to change things around at home, doing what she called a modified feng shui. She wanted to add a water feature, so, the entire family headed to Petsmart to pick up our first real aquarium. She wanted to get a ten gallon but I convinced her to go for a twenty (an early indication of what's to come, I suppose). After the aquarium was setup, we got some guppies, then some gouramies, then three goldfish, then some little sharks & some more beginner fish. Later that year, my brother-in-law from the Philippines visited us and told me how popular arowanas were in the Philippines. I got curious and started searching the net for articles about arowanas. This led me to PALHS, a Philippine based aquahobby site dedicated to arowanas and flowerhorns. Palhs forum was the first forum I participated in, and the cool people there got me more interested. Being based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for a number of years, Palhs forum also became my new connection to my country of origin. At the same time, I was slowly getting more information about local arowana sources and local arowana fanatic groups. I also found arofanatics. Now I am hooked.

Not too many fish stores sell asian arowanas here in Edmonton, and the prices are quite prohibitive as well. Unwilling to spend $ 1,800 for a chilli red, I responded to an ad at a local Bargain Finder Magazine. After a short telephone conversation, I was convinced that I would get my first asian arowana from Tony, a very accomodating Vietnamese fellow whom I found out later to be the master purveyor of arowanas in our city. From the very beginning, I had a very good impression of Tony, his pricing was fair (but still expensive) and I thought he was honest in giving me informations about his arowanas, citing the good, and the defects.

I bought a complete 130 gallon Oceanic setup from a fellow who switched to smaller saltwater setup. I rounded up a few friends, and we picked up the tank. My wife was totally against buying a bigger aquarium, I had to promise her many times that this is the last one, the ultimate setup for me. A month later, on June 30, 2003, I picked up my first asian arowana from Tony's place - a 7" DFI chilli red. I can still vividly remember the feeling of bringing my first arowana home, so afraid that it would die on the way home.. I can also remember, how I spooked the arowana after I took it out of the bag, and it jumped out of the tank. My daughter was shouting so loud, while I was trying to catch this slippery fish under the dinner table. I did not sleep much that night, and the next few nights after that. When my wife asked me how much I paid for it, I waived four fingers, she exclaimed - whattt, you paid $400 for a fish ( she would have probably passed out if I told her $1,400). Feeling guilty, I told my older daughter my true cost. Armed with the informations acquired from PALHS & Arofanatics, I was able to grow my first asian arowana to a very nice looking specimen. It had seen a number of tankmates, from blood parrots, to stingray to tigrinnus. I moved my aro to a 210 gal in 2004 and converted my 130 to a flowerhorn community. This move allowed me to practice my d-i-y abilities, I did all the plumbing and cabinet of the 210 gallon setup myself. I also designed my own d-i-y overhead filter box to replace the Fluvals that were starting to fail on the 130.

I kept two setups for a while. My 210 gallon which was located in the dining area housed my chilli red, 2 blood parrots & the green severum. Sometime in 2005, I added a tigrinus, and then a motoro stingray.

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In the meantime, my 130 gallon which was located in my basement became a flowerhorn community. These guys fought night and day, but kept on breeding like crazy.

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In late 2005, somebody shared a link about arapaimag's 50,000 mega monster tank. This introduced me to MFK. I was awed and inspired by the big tanks posted here. This gave me an idea - how about a bigger tank and arowana community. There was no room for a bigger tank in our old house, so, my first step was to convince my wife to move to a bigger house. We bought a new house in June 2005, with the builder's estimated possession date of early/mid 2006.

In September 2005, me and Tony decided to split an arowana order from Singapore. We inquired from the usual sources like Dragonfish, Imperial Palace (Vincent), Arowana King & others. I was inquiring directly to Kan Tan Siong, who promised to ship us high quality arowanas for a very competitive price. Tony had dealt with Panda before, so we decided to place our order with Mr. Kan. I ordered six golden crossbacks, three chilli red, and an hbrtg, Tony ordered mostly reds and hbrtgs. A few days prior to the arrival of the arowanas, whatever was left of the flowerhorns were given away to friends. Our order arrived in late October 2005.

My first taste of arowana community came. Boy, I was excited and very anxious at the same time. Having read many arowana community failures, I prayed hard for the success of this one.

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In my estimation, the arowanas would be around 10" to 15" by the time we move. That would be perfect, I'll be able to move them to a bigger tank before they get too crowded in the 130 gal. But boy, were we ever wrong about the target possession date. The boom in the oilpatch drove the housing market in our city into a frenzy, the 10-12 month construction promise became "sorry, we don't know".

In early 2006, I started finalizing plans for my monster tank. My wife was quite convinced that we should hire a professional to do this. We inquired at a local fishstore that specializes in bigger tanks (Aquarium Illusions/Concept Aquarium). I was quoted $17k for a 1000 gal tank, plus stand, filter, cabinetry & so on, and in my estimate, it would be a $30k project by the time everything is said and done (professionally). The figures were acceptable to her, in exchange for the peace of mind that the tank is properly done. But, there was still a nagging thought in the back of my head - that this project would be sweeter if it is done D-I-Y style. It took me a while to convince my wife to let me do the design and most of the work. By the way, I am an accountant by training, but had been running a sheet metal shop for a number of years, so, I'd been exposed to design, properties and construction of various metal products.

I decided to go with a stainless steel box with glass front and back windows. I contacted our metal suppliers and finally decided to go with 11 gauge 316L stainless material. It was supplied to me at cost by my good friend Lou Cardamone of Thyssen Group. The 1/8" thick 2x2 square tubing materials used for the stand were supplied by another regular supplier, Wilkinson steel.

Since we don't do stainless welding in our shop, I had to have it done at our sister company's shop. Here, I dealt with Terry, a sheetmetal journeyman, considered to be one of the best. Terry disapproved my first design employing square tubing reinforcement all around the box to eliminate the risk of bowing due to too much continious welding. He suggested that the folded 11 gauge sheets would be strong enough.

So, I went back to the drawing table.

The Big Tank Project

Here's the final plan of my big tank.
the stand - 120" long x 75" wide x 28" high.
made of 1/8" thick 2 x 2 steel square tubing

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the tank - 120" long x 75" wide x 32" high.

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The actual construction began in our shop. Two younger fellows in the shop volunteered to stay after work hours to do the welding. I pre-cut all the materials for them. These two guys quit their jobs in the middle of the project. I paid them $100 each for their time.

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I had to get somebody else to finish it one weekend, it only cost me a case of beer.

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after the stand was finished, it sat in one corner of our shop for months.

Sometime late 2006, Terry was able to work on the stainless steel part of the project. What I didn't realize until after the job was done, was the fact the Terry is more of a craftsman than a journeyman. While he did an excellent job, it took him 75 hours and I ended up with a whopping over $ 5,000 bill. Man, I was surprised, and felt sick. This is supposed to be the cheaper way of doing it.

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Me and my wife did the prep works (sanding & grinding), priming and painting of the stand on two weekends.

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The stand, tank and the filter box sat in one corner of the shop for a few more months.

We finally took possession of our new home in February 2007. Aquarium project related, we upgraded to a 34" door in the basement ($400) to allow the 32" high tank into the house. We also added a window ($300) to have a little bit of natural lighting in the location of the tank during the day.

The building code specified that unfinished portion of our basement must be enclosed as part of the basement development plan, my first move was to tear down this wall.

I invested on a used compound mitre saw and a set of brand new cordless power tools from Costco.

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A couple of friends (Joey & Noel) from work helped me with the construction of the aquarium room. We did this project in weeknights and a couple of weekends.

Expecting elevated moisture inside this room, we used Aquaboard all around. Our inexperience presented a few challenges, but we're very happy with the result.

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My wife helped me with the paint job, she also installed the vinyl tiles. She was also in charge of keeping our construction site organized & clean.

I ordered the acrylic panels from GE Polymershapes. From a 1.5" thick 72" x 120" sheet, they cut to size the front and back panels. My wife insisted in hiring a professional to be in charge of preparation and installation of the acrylic panels. It took me a while to find somebody to do it. I originally found this Johnny guy who was very enthusiastic in the beginning, but chickened out in the end, fearing liabilities after the installation. What pissed me off with this guy was he did't have the guts to tell me, he just kept on pushing the project aside. Finally, I found Rick of Stony Design. Rick agreed to do the job, provided I sign a waiver that would free him from any liability related to the installation of the panels.

One Friday afternoon, I rounded guys from work to help me with the move. A total of 17 guys helped me load the tank, stand and filter to a flatbed truck.

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Because most of the snow in our city was gone, we were not prepared to deal with the almost waist deep snow in the back of the house. This provided a stiff challenge to the guys, making them quite hungry and thirsty in the end.

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When we laid the tank in the stand, one end of the tank was lifting quite a bit. I decided to overcome this issue by putting the rocks/substrate inside the tank before the silicone sets. Me and my wife hauled approximately 800 lbs. of California lace rock from a local landscaping store in my van. My 80 year old mom helped me wash the rocks one Saturday morning. I also put stainless steel shims on some areas where the floor is not even.

I consulted various articles here at MFK in choosing the appropriate silicone. I checked various articles in the D-I-Y section, exchanged some pms with my idol johnptc :headbang2 and decided to go with Dow 832.

Rick prepped the acrylic sheet by roughening all surfaces where silicone will be applied by using a palm and a belt sander.

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here, Joey was waiting for his turn to do some work.

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we also used an air driven silicone gun to apply 15 tubes of silicone

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Rick supplied some 3/16" thick acrylic spacers so that the sheet is not sitting right on the floor of the tank. Silicone was generously applied.

Acrylic panel installation was done in 5 hours, Rick is a very nice guy, but still charged me $ 100 per hour.

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the panels were clamped to place

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as planned, bags of rocks were distributed around the bottom of the tank as required

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after all the bags were put in, we finalized siliconing all around the acrylic panel. there is a 3/16"
gap all around, all these gaps were filled with silicone.

The next step was building the wooden frames for the front access door and the enclosure over
the tank. As per advise of a guy at Home Depot, I used mostly cedar, for it's resistance to rotting
when exposed to moisture. All the wooden parts used have 3 coats of water based silicone
varnish. I used a satin coat floor and porch paint for all other parts that needs to be painted, with
3 coats as well.

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A 1"x6" piece of cedar board was screwed and siliconed in the front and back upper lip of the
tank frame.

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partially finished view of the back side

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There was a deep scratch and a crack on the edge on one of the acrylic sheets (which we installed
in the back side). Rick came back after 3 weeks to polish the edges of the scratch and insert
acrylic glue to the crack. We also inserted a 1.5" x 1.5" strip of acrylic inside the top frame, glued
to the main panel, like a Euro bracing, for added rigidity. This time, he only charged me a couple
of beers.
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The D-I-Y access doors, made of 3/16" acrylic sheets and siliconed to the 1/4" aluminum U
channel frame.

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I ordered the bulkheads, heaters, filter media and other fittings from Aquamerik (Montreal), it
took them over two weeks to ship out my order.

When I started to do the plumbing, I found out that the holes for the 2" bulkheads were about
1/8" too small. I was pissed off because before the tank was built, I asked them 3 times about the
size of the hole needed for the bulkheads.

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Terry advised me to use a cone shaped grinding stone. It took me 4 noisy, dusty and smelly hours
to do all 6 holes.

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The project continued. Tight clearances around the tank made the plumbing job much more
difficult. Measurements were taken, parts were measured, fitted, assembled and installed.

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The pipes connected to the return line (pump)

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One of the 2 2"pipes running from the tank to the filter box

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Tight space required me to cut the throat of some fittings

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top view of the filter box, the bead will serve as a gasket

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one of the many custom fittings

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Me, observing occupational safety procedure. The smell of PVC primer & glue were just too strong to do without a mask.

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additional faucets were installed inside the fishroom

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The legs of the filter box were strapped to the legs of the aquarium stand

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I kept the paper wrapper of the acrylic panels until we were ready to put water to ensure minimal scratches. The walls were washed and thoroughly vaccumed.

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Did I say I am an organized worker?

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My wife is, very organized.. and I spent a lot of my time finding stuff after she put them away

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After I finished all the plumbing works, I invited Joey over one Friday evening. We installed the lights and the inner front windows, we also vaccumed inside the tank one more time. For the occassion, I also had a wet vac available, just in case there is a leak. We ate a hearty dinner, rested a little bit while listening to music and started filling the tank. We started with the filter box, no leak at the bottom and bottom pipe connections. There were small leaks in all bulk head terminations. We drained the box and proceeded filling up the main tank. We filled it up just before it reached the plumbing connections. Me, Joey and my wife were constantly going around the tank, looking out for leaks. Thanks God, no leak at all. I continued adding water on Saturday morning, and discovered more leaks in the bulkheads.

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Joey & my wife resting a little bit.

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I also threw in the bag of filter media

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I had persistent problems with small leaks in the bulkheads. The painstaking process of removing the old silicone, re-applying a new coat, drying/curing took weeks and tested my patience. I probably had to dump close to 1500 gallons of water because of this excercise. Per John's (johnptc) suggestion, I stopped using teflon tape and switched to teflon paste. I also used a concoction of Dow 832 & Lexell sealant to finally stop the leaks.

I used different types of silicone

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I originally liked to use water lifting instead of the conventional water pump, thinking that I'll be shooting two birds with one stone (introducing oxygen into the system & use the same to circulate water). This elaborate water lifter produced a lot of noise and only moved about 1000 gph of water, so it had to go.

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I replaced it with Sequence Dart (3600 gph) and continued cycling the tank. Prime Stability Plus and Microbe Lift were also added to the water. I also threw in 30 goldfish feeders. None of the feeders died in the 2 weeks they were kept in the tank prior to the move of the arowanas.

We moved to the new house in mid-May, but all my arowanas and my two tanks had to stay in the old house. In the span of one month, my ever reliable Hydor pump in the arowana community stopped working three times, thanks God no serious adverse effect on the fish. For how long were my community left without filtration, I don't know. Also, during this period, the sump of my 210 in the main floor overflowed, thanks God (again) we got there before it did a serious damage to the kitchen floor. With so much risk of running 2 big setups without close supervision, we rushed to move everybody.

We started by moving the arowana community first. My original plan was to drain the tank to 30% and put transmore to calm them down, but reading more about the risk of the procedure at Arofanatics, I decided against it.

Me and my wife searched for the thickest bag available at Home Depot, ended up with a Tuff 3 mil construction grade garbage bag. I consulted Arofanatics again for tips on how to do it. Me and my wife decided to go ahead with the isolation system. We also bought ten pieces of 24 gallon containers. It was a Friday evening, I asked my father-in-law and my brother-in-law to help us out.

We started by turning off all lights, pumps and bubblers. 50% of water from the tank was removed, cover was removed. We filled the garbage bag lined plastic boxes with the water from the aquarium. We pushed the arowanas to one end of the tank, then using a wood divider, my wife would allow them one by one to the corner where I have a garbage submerged in the water. I would slowly let the arowana into the bag, hold the opening on the bag, let excess water in the bag out through hole in one of the corners (so that the bag is not too heavy to lift), and transfer it to the bag in the container. My brother-in-law was in-charge of securing the bags in the container. I think we did exceptionally well and finished bagging the ten arowanas in less than 30 minutes, with only two of them able to jump out, and landing on the floor. We used a towel to make it easier to catch the arowanas in the carpet.

The bags were floated for 20 minutes before the arowanas were released.

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The community in their new home

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In the meantime, the green severum almost fully skinned the stingray alive. It broke my heart to see the stingray with almost no skin left on it's back.
I sold my 210 gal & stingray to a fellow named Jimmy in the following week and moved the contents on Friday. The tigrinnus and the 24" chilli proved to be much harder to catch than the others. They both made serious attempts to get out of the bag, the bag proved to be strong enough in both occassions.

I was quite concerned how the big chilli red would behave when mixed with much smaller arowanas. Right from the beginning, he dominated the tank. But what amazed me was how he would behave like he was protecting the other 3 smaller chilli reds from the rest of the occupants. For more than a week, the 4 chilli reds would occupy one corner of the tank, with the big chilli red chasing away everybody else, and gathering up the other 3 right beside him.

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At this point, everybody was eating scarcely. The tank also suddenly got cloudy again. Then I noticed most of them have lifted scales and red spots all over their body. They were also staying at the bottom of the tank quite a bit. I tried to cure them with Melafix. After treating the tank heavily with Melafix for about a week, I did not see much improvement on their infections, I started to get worried when I noticed most of them breathing heavily and gasping for air on the surface of the tank. One afternoon, when I got home from work, my mom greeted me by saying "one of your fish is dead, it's been floating around since this morning". Man, I felt sick in the stomach. I rushed to the tank, to find out it's one of the 2 peacock bass.

Getting more worried, I searched for possible reasons why they would be breathing heavily, I have 2 big bubblers and an oxygen generator going. I found out from AF, that Melafix could do this to arowanas. I stopped adding Melafix and did 25% waterchange. Tony insisted that I put salt, which I refused in the beginning because by doing so, I would have to remove the oxygen generator (it produces chlorine when salt is present in the water). The condition of my favorite chilli red was getting worse, with most of the scales red, lifting and the surface peeling away. Fearing to lose it, I decided to take the oxygenerator out and added 4 kgs of coarse salt. Within three days, everybody healed, as if nothing happened.

I added another filtration system using Matala mats and a 2400 gph Laguna pump. A week after, the tank started to clear up again. The arowanas eating heartily again.

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the box on the left is the second filter (matala), the box on the right houses the intakes for the main filter box and the two 2500 watt heaters.

There is a dehumidifier in the fishroom to keep the humidity at 50%. The discharge pipes are both kept submerged/pointing down to minimize condensation. The dehumidifier still pulls 3-4 gallons of water per day.

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I have recently added locking hooks to secure the access doors in the back of the tank. The tank is partially insulated with 1.5" pink foam, I'll finish it off when it gets colder in the winter.

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I also finished the front cabinets to organize my vinyl collection. My wife wanted to get it profesionally done, but I insisted (again) to do it myself, with the understanding that we will have it redone if she didn't like the end result. She did not say much, but she didn't ask me to take apart either.

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I think I am done for now, tools and stuff were put away, time to relax and enjoy whatever is left of the summer.

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I hope you enjoyed reading about this amazing journey.

[Wackamole]

very cool...thanks for sharing this

[bigspizz]

That is some good good stuff man!!!! The kitchen tank is dope also!

[Bderick67]

Very nice article, nice aro community.

[Mystix212]

Great article. Any plans on getting a bigger and better tank in the next 2 decades? Lol

[salsa]

sweet

[Euge]

great article! Inspirational.

[fishdance]

Would you use stainless steel again or recommend it? Even your filter is stainless....

Do you still have the goldfish bowl?

[Loubard]

Wow, awe-some project! Thanks for writing this up, very interesting read.

[TROY25]

Inspiring article :) kabayan

[redtailfool]

Dimfer that was amazing, i still remember you posting your red aro on pahls .

[PEVINE11]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh :headbang2 :headbang2 AMAZING:)


good work.

[Angel51087]

awesome tank, and gorgeous arrows. Sad that you lost a fish but, without sounding heartless, at least it wasnt one of your beloved arowanas. Really good job and looks great!

[Nic]

great article an amazing journey and awsome tank set up

[señor_pescados_felices]

wow, nice article but it hard to focus with all the dollar signs floating everywhere....LOL

$$$$cha-ching, cha-ching$$$$$


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[IanR]

Galing! Spot on pareng Ding! Congrats! All I can is wow....:)

[black_monster]

wow, that's just truly amazing.

[DJ BIG T]

awsome job on building everything..great looking fish

[dimfer]

thanks guys for taking the time to read and post here.

Great article. Any plans on getting a bigger and better tank in the next 2 decades? Lol

I don't think so. My initial plan was to build a 3600 gal pond but scaled it down to this size due to concern about too much humidity inside the house. If I want to have a bigger setup, I'll have to do it in another place (city or country) where the environment is different. My wife likes to move to Victoria, British Columbia and she's dangling the idea of having a backyard arowana pond to get me to go there.

I'd been thinking of volunteering to stock and maintain the lake in the back of our house

[dimfer]

Would you use stainless steel again or recommend it? Even your filter is stainless....

Do you still have the goldfish bowl?

yes. I think stainless steel is a great material to work with. The filter box made of 400 series S/S not 316L, we'll see how it holds up in the long term. 316L is the most suitable product for this application, according to the data I gathered.

We donated the fishbowl (with the rest of other seldomly used stuff) to the charity when we cleaned up after the house move.

[dimfer]

awesome tank, and gorgeous arrows. Sad that you lost a fish but, without sounding heartless, at least it wasnt one of your beloved arowanas. Really good job and looks great!

thanks. this experience proved to me how hardy arowanas are. The one that got sick the most looked really bad at the height of the infection.

[Davey_8313]

All I can say is wow! That looks really nice....

[Jesto]

Very Good Work Ding! :nilly:

I can empathize with you :grinyes:

Your Aros are probably quite happy now. Did your DFi SR loose some color when it was added into the community?

[redtailfool]

thanks. this experience proved to me how hardy arowanas are. The one that got sick the most looked really bad at the height of the infection.

The healing power of salt is excellent.

[dimfer]

Very Good Work Ding! :nilly:

I can empathize with you :grinyes:

Your Aros are probably quite happy now. Did your DFi SR loose some color when it was added into the community?

yes. I think the higher ph on this tank has something to do with it.

[dimfer]

The healing power of salt is excellent.

yes, now I am a believer.

[arapaimag]

FANTASTIC TANK AND GREAT PICTURES AND DETAILS.

I wish I knew about the salt cure for the aro before.

I just lost a fantastic red tail golden aro about 6 weeks ago. I used other meds when he got red sores and scale problems and lost him over a weeks time.

Have you started working on your wife yet with the plan to build your next tank?

[cichlaguapote]

Wow great tank and great project..

[dimfer]

FANTASTIC TANK AND GREAT PICTURES AND DETAILS.

I wish I knew about the salt cure for the aro before.

I just lost a fantastic red tail golden aro about 6 weeks ago. I used other meds when he got red sores and scale problems and lost him over a weeks time.

Have you started working on your wife yet with the plan to build your next tank?


thanks for the kind words Mike, you are one of my inspirations here.

I am sorry about the loss of your RTG.

I was so convinced that Melafix would cure them in the early stage of infection, only to find out that the med has it's limits too in the end. To be honest, I was preparing myself to lose the chilli red which was affected the most. It was just sitting in the bottom of the tank for days, like it was wasting away. The cloudiness of the tank complicated things for me as well, making it really hard to see them when they are 2 ft or more away from the glass.

Salt worked like magic for them. Within days, almost everybody was back to normal.

I don't think I'll be building a bigger tank in the near future. It takes a lot of effort and resources to do projects like these. I could only imagine what you have gone through with your monster projects. Even if I do aquariums full-time, I don't think I have the guts and patience to go as deep as you did.

Now that my tank seems to be stabilizing, I'll relax a little bit and have some down time before kids go back to school.

I am also in the process of building my audio system, hopefully I could finish it also soon so that I could enjoy both hobbies at the same time, in the same room.

[dimfer]

Wow great tank and great project..

thanks

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Awesome tank you have there, great story too :thumbsup: .

Melafix is not a strong med, its better for treating physical injuries and preventing secondary infections infecting wounds, rather than treating a full blown bacterial infections in your fish (which by the sounds of the symptoms you describe, is what your fish had).

Even salt has it limitations though...It is fine for some fish, but for other types of fish it causes too much osmotic stress on their internal system and can be very bad for the fish. It can be a good med for treating a variety of parasites and bacterial infections though none the less, just be careful what fish you use it with :) .


I was wondering though, how do you go about cleaning the bottom of the tank and how long does it take?

I'm looking into doing a massive indoor pond project in a few years time, so right now i'm just collecting info here and there to help give me a clearer picture of what it is like to maintain massive aquariums and indoor ponds etc :) .

[dimfer]

I was wondering though, how do you go about cleaning the bottom of the tank and how long does it take?
to my knowledge, most big tank owners don't do anything special to clean the bottom. I actually asked the same question - johnptc said he just let the strong current in the bottom of the tank to blow the dirt to the filter. I noticed that my 2 plecos are the biggest contributors in the poo department, I will make a DIY vacuum cleaner for the gravel, something that would detach/attach quickly to the 1.5" hose I use to remove the water from the tank during W/C.

It takes me less than 1 hour (start to finish) to do waterchange.

[albee63]

hi, very inspiring article, nice job. maybe one day i will a one just like it. good luck.
john
massachusetts.

[Aquaman_95]

Backgrounder

My first experience in keeping fish came in 1991, when my cousin gave my daughter a goldfish bowl with 3 feeders on her fourth birthday. Well, of course, the feeders didn't last too long. After all feeders died, the bowl was put away for three or four years, then converted into a betta tank. I did much better in keeping the betta alive as it survived for more than two years. When my betta died, the container was put away again .

Back in 2002, my wife decided to change things around at home, doing what she called a modified feng shui. She wanted to add a water feature, so, the entire family headed to Petsmart to pick up our first real aquarium. She wanted to get a ten gallon but I convinced her to go for a twenty (an early indication of what's to come, I suppose). After the aquarium was setup, we got some guppies, then some gouramies, then three goldfish, then some little sharks & some more beginner fish. Later that year, my brother-in-law from the Philippines visited us and told me how popular arowanas were in the Philippines. I got curious and started searching the net for articles about arowanas. This led me to PALHS, a Philippine based aquahobby site dedicated to arowanas and flowerhorns. Palhs forum was the first forum I participated in, and the cool people there got me more interested. Being based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for a number of years, Palhs forum also became my new connection to my country of origin. At the same time, I was slowly getting more information about local arowana sources and local arowana fanatic groups. I also found arofanatics. Now I am hooked.

Not too many fish stores sell asian arowanas here in Edmonton, and the prices are quite prohibitive as well. Unwilling to spend $ 1,800 for a chilli red, I responded to an ad at a local Bargain Finder Magazine. After a short telephone conversation, I was convinced that I would get my first asian arowana from Tony, a very accomodating Vietnamese fellow whom I found out later to be the master purveyor of arowanas in our city. From the very beginning, I had a very good impression of Tony, his pricing was fair (but still expensive) and I thought he was honest in giving me informations about his arowanas, citing the good, and the defects.

I bought a complete 130 gallon Oceanic setup from a fellow who switched to smaller saltwater setup. I rounded up a few friends, and we picked up the tank. My wife was totally against buying a bigger aquarium, I had to promise her many times that this is the last one, the ultimate setup for me. A month later, on June 30, 2003, I picked up my first asian arowana from Tony's place - a 7" DFI chilli red. I can still vividly remember the feeling of bringing my first arowana home, so afraid that it would die on the way home.. I can also remember, how I spooked the arowana after I took it out of the bag, and it jumped out of the tank. My daughter was shouting so loud, while I was trying to catch this slippery fish under the dinner table. I did not sleep much that night, and the next few nights after that. When my wife asked me how much I paid for it, I waived four fingers, she exclaimed - whattt, you paid $400 for a fish ( she would have probably passed out if I told her $1,400). Feeling guilty, I told my older daughter my true cost. Armed with the informations acquired from PALHS & Arofanatics, I was able to grow my first asian arowana to a very nice looking specimen. It had seen a number of tankmates, from blood parrots, to stingray to tigrinnus. I moved my aro to a 210 gal in 2004 and converted my 130 to a flowerhorn community. This move allowed me to practice my d-i-y abilities, I did all the plumbing and cabinet of the 210 gallon setup myself. I also designed my own d-i-y overhead filter box to replace the Fluvals that were starting to fail on the 130.

I kept two setups for a while. My 210 gallon which was located in the dining area housed my chilli red, 2 blood parrots & the green severum. Sometime in 2005, I added a tigrinus, and then a motoro stingray.

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In the meantime, my 130 gallon which was located in my basement became a flowerhorn community. These guys fought night and day, but kept on breeding like crazy.

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In late 2005, somebody shared a link about arapaimag's 50,000 mega monster tank. This introduced me to MFK. I was awed and inspired by the big tanks posted here. This gave me an idea - how about a bigger tank and arowana community. There was no room for a bigger tank in our old house, so, my first step was to convince my wife to move to a bigger house. We bought a new house in June 2005, with the builder's estimated possession date of early/mid 2006.

In September 2005, me and Tony decided to split an arowana order from Singapore. We inquired from the usual sources like Dragonfish, Imperial Palace (Vincent), Arowana King & others. I was inquiring directly to Kan Tan Siong, who promised to ship us high quality arowanas for a very competitive price. Tony had dealt with Panda before, so we decided to place our order with Mr. Kan. I ordered six golden crossbacks, three chilli red, and an hbrtg, Tony ordered mostly reds and hbrtgs. A few days prior to the arrival of the arowanas, whatever was left of the flowerhorns were given away to friends. Our order arrived in late October 2005.

My first taste of arowana community came. Boy, I was excited and very anxious at the same time. Having read many arowana community failures, I prayed hard for the success of this one.

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In my estimation, the arowanas would be around 10" to 15" by the time we move. That would be perfect, I'll be able to move them to a bigger tank before they get too crowded in the 130 gal. But boy, were we ever wrong about the target possession date. The boom in the oilpatch drove the housing market in our city into a frenzy, the 10-12 month construction promise became "sorry, we don't know".

In early 2006, I started finalizing plans for my monster tank. My wife was quite convinced that we should hire a professional to do this. We inquired at a local fishstore that specializes in bigger tanks (Aquarium Illusions/Concept Aquarium). I was quoted $17k for a 1000 gal tank, plus stand, filter, cabinetry & so on, and in my estimate, it would be a $30k project by the time everything is said and done (professionally). The figures were acceptable to her, in exchange for the peace of mind that the tank is properly done. But, there was still a nagging thought in the back of my head - that this project would be sweeter if it is done D-I-Y style. It took me a while to convince my wife to let me do the design and most of the work. By the way, I am an accountant by training, but had been running a sheet metal shop for a number of years, so, I'd been exposed to design, properties and construction of various metal products.

I decided to go with a stainless steel box with glass front and back windows. I contacted our metal suppliers and finally decided to go with 11 gauge 316L stainless material. It was supplied to me at cost by my good friend Lou Cardamone of Thyssen Group. The 1/8" thick 2x2 square tubing materials used for the stand were supplied by another regular supplier, Wilkinson steel.

Since we don't do stainless welding in our shop, I had to have it done at our sister company's shop. Here, I dealt with Terry, a sheetmetal journeyman, considered to be one of the best. Terry disapproved my first design employing square tubing reinforcement all around the box to eliminate the risk of bowing due to too much continious welding. He suggested that the folded 11 gauge sheets would be strong enough.

So, I went back to the drawing table.

The Big Tank Project

Here's the final plan of my big tank.
the stand - 120" long x 75" wide x 28" high.
made of 1/8" thick 2 x 2 steel square tubing

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the tank - 120" long x 75" wide x 32" high.

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The actual construction began in our shop. Two younger fellows in the shop volunteered to stay after work hours to do the welding. I pre-cut all the materials for them. These two guys quit their jobs in the middle of the project. I paid them $100 each for their time.

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I had to get somebody else to finish it one weekend, it only cost me a case of beer.

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after the stand was finished, it sat in one corner of our shop for months.

Sometime late 2006, Terry was able to work on the stainless steel part of the project. What I didn't realize until after the job was done, was the fact the Terry is more of a craftsman than a journeyman. While he did an excellent job, it took him 75 hours and I ended up with a whopping over $ 5,000 bill. Man, I was surprised, and felt sick. This is supposed to be the cheaper way of doing it.

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Me and my wife did the prep works (sanding & grinding), priming and painting of the stand on two weekends.

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The stand, tank and the filter box sat in one corner of the shop for a few more months.

We finally took possession of our new home in February 2007. Aquarium project related, we upgraded to a 34" door in the basement ($400) to allow the 32" high tank into the house. We also added a window ($300) to have a little bit of natural lighting in the location of the tank during the day.

The building code specified that unfinished portion of our basement must be enclosed as part of the basement development plan, my first move was to tear down this wall.

I invested on a used compound mitre saw and a set of brand new cordless power tools from Costco.

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A couple of friends (Joey & Noel) from work helped me with the construction of the aquarium room. We did this project in weeknights and a couple of weekends.

Expecting elevated moisture inside this room, we used Aquaboard all around. Our inexperience presented a few challenges, but we're very happy with the result.

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My wife helped me with the paint job, she also installed the vinyl tiles. She was also in charge of keeping our construction site organized & clean.

I ordered the acrylic panels from GE Polymershapes. From a 1.5" thick 72" x 120" sheet, they cut to size the front and back panels. My wife insisted in hiring a professional to be in charge of preparation and installation of the acrylic panels. It took me a while to find somebody to do it. I originally found this Johnny guy who was very enthusiastic in the beginning, but chickened out in the end, fearing liabilities after the installation. What pissed me off with this guy was he did't have the guts to tell me, he just kept on pushing the project aside. Finally, I found Rick of Stony Design. Rick agreed to do the job, provided I sign a waiver that would free him from any liability related to the installation of the panels.

One Friday afternoon, I rounded guys from work to help me with the move. A total of 17 guys helped me load the tank, stand and filter to a flatbed truck.

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Because most of the snow in our city was gone, we were not prepared to deal with the almost waist deep snow in the back of the house. This provided a stiff challenge to the guys, making them quite hungry and thirsty in the end.

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When we laid the tank in the stand, one end of the tank was lifting quite a bit. I decided to overcome this issue by putting the rocks/substrate inside the tank before the silicone sets. Me and my wife hauled approximately 800 lbs. of California lace rock from a local landscaping store in my van. My 80 year old mom helped me wash the rocks one Saturday morning. I also put stainless steel shims on some areas where the floor is not even.

I consulted various articles here at MFK in choosing the appropriate silicone. I checked various articles in the D-I-Y section, exchanged some pms with my idol johnptc :headbang2 and decided to go with Dow 832.

Rick prepped the acrylic sheet by roughening all surfaces where silicone will be applied by using a palm and a belt sander.

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here, Joey was waiting for his turn to do some work.

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we also used an air driven silicone gun to apply 15 tubes of silicone

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Rick supplied some 3/16" thick acrylic spacers so that the sheet is not sitting right on the floor of the tank. Silicone was generously applied.

Acrylic panel installation was done in 5 hours, Rick is a very nice guy, but still charged me $ 100 per hour.

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the panels were clamped to place

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as planned, bags of rocks were distributed around the bottom of the tank as required

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after all the bags were put in, we finalized siliconing all around the acrylic panel. there is a 3/16"
gap all around, all these gaps were filled with silicone.

The next step was building the wooden frames for the front access door and the enclosure over
the tank. As per advise of a guy at Home Depot, I used mostly cedar, for it's resistance to rotting
when exposed to moisture. All the wooden parts used have 3 coats of water based silicone
varnish. I used a satin coat floor and porch paint for all other parts that needs to be painted, with
3 coats as well.

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A 1"x6" piece of cedar board was screwed and siliconed in the front and back upper lip of the
tank frame.

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partially finished view of the back side

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There was a deep scratch and a crack on the edge on one of the acrylic sheets (which we installed
in the back side). Rick came back after 3 weeks to polish the edges of the scratch and insert
acrylic glue to the crack. We also inserted a 1.5" x 1.5" strip of acrylic inside the top frame, glued
to the main panel, like a Euro bracing, for added rigidity. This time, he only charged me a couple
of beers.
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The D-I-Y access doors, made of 3/16" acrylic sheets and siliconed to the 1/4" aluminum U
channel frame.

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I ordered the bulkheads, heaters, filter media and other fittings from Aquamerik (Montreal), it
took them over two weeks to ship out my order.

When I started to do the plumbing, I found out that the holes for the 2" bulkheads were about
1/8" too small. I was pissed off because before the tank was built, I asked them 3 times about the
size of the hole needed for the bulkheads.

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Terry advised me to use a cone shaped grinding stone. It took me 4 noisy, dusty and smelly hours
to do all 6 holes.

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The project continued. Tight clearances around the tank made the plumbing job much more
difficult. Measurements were taken, parts were measured, fitted, assembled and installed.

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The pipes connected to the return line (pump)

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One of the 2 2"pipes running from the tank to the filter box

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Tight space required me to cut the throat of some fittings

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top view of the filter box, the bead will serve as a gasket

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one of the many custom fittings

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Me, observing occupational safety procedure. The smell of PVC primer & glue were just too strong to do without a mask.

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additional faucets were installed inside the fishroom

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The legs of the filter box were strapped to the legs of the aquarium stand

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I kept the paper wrapper of the acrylic panels until we were ready to put water to ensure minimal scratches. The walls were washed and thoroughly vaccumed.

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Did I say I am an organized worker?

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My wife is, very organized.. and I spent a lot of my time finding stuff after she put them away

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After I finished all the plumbing works, I invited Joey over one Friday evening. We installed the lights and the inner front windows, we also vaccumed inside the tank one more time. For the occassion, I also had a wet vac available, just in case there is a leak. We ate a hearty dinner, rested a little bit while listening to music and started filling the tank. We started with the filter box, no leak at the bottom and bottom pipe connections. There were small leaks in all bulk head terminations. We drained the box and proceeded filling up the main tank. We filled it up just before it reached the plumbing connections. Me, Joey and my wife were constantly going around the tank, looking out for leaks. Thanks God, no leak at all. I continued adding water on Saturday morning, and discovered more leaks in the bulkheads.

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Joey & my wife resting a little bit.

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I also threw in the bag of filter media

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I had persistent problems with small leaks in the bulkheads. The painstaking process of removing the old silicone, re-applying a new coat, drying/curing took weeks and tested my patience. I probably had to dump close to 1500 gallons of water because of this excercise. Per John's (johnptc) suggestion, I stopped using teflon tape and switched to teflon paste. I also used a concoction of Dow 832 & Lexell sealant to finally stop the leaks.

I used different types of silicone

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I originally liked to use water lifting instead of the conventional water pump, thinking that I'll be shooting two birds with one stone (introducing oxygen into the system & use the same to circulate water). This elaborate water lifter produced a lot of noise and only moved about 1000 gph of water, so it had to go.

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I replaced it with Sequence Dart (3600 gph) and continued cycling the tank. Prime Stability Plus and Microbe Lift were also added to the water. I also threw in 30 goldfish feeders. None of the feeders died in the 2 weeks they were kept in the tank prior to the move of the arowanas.

We moved to the new house in mid-May, but all my arowanas and my two tanks had to stay in the old house. In the span of one month, my ever reliable Hydor pump in the arowana community stopped working three times, thanks God no serious adverse effect on the fish. For how long were my community left without filtration, I don't know. Also, during this period, the sump of my 210 in the main floor overflowed, thanks God (again) we got there before it did a serious damage to the kitchen floor. With so much risk of running 2 big setups without close supervision, we rushed to move everybody.

We started by moving the arowana community first. My original plan was to drain the tank to 30% and put transmore to calm them down, but reading more about the risk of the procedure at Arofanatics, I decided against it.

Me and my wife searched for the thickest bag available at Home Depot, ended up with a Tuff 3 mil construction grade garbage bag. I consulted Arofanatics again for tips on how to do it. Me and my wife decided to go ahead with the isolation system. We also bought ten pieces of 24 gallon containers. It was a Friday evening, I asked my father-in-law and my brother-in-law to help us out.

We started by turning off all lights, pumps and bubblers. 50% of water from the tank was removed, cover was removed. We filled the garbage bag lined plastic boxes with the water from the aquarium. We pushed the arowanas to one end of the tank, then using a wood divider, my wife would allow them one by one to the corner where I have a garbage submerged in the water. I would slowly let the arowana into the bag, hold the opening on the bag, let excess water in the bag out through hole in one of the corners (so that the bag is not too heavy to lift), and transfer it to the bag in the container. My brother-in-law was in-charge of securing the bags in the container. I think we did exceptionally well and finished bagging the ten arowanas in less than 30 minutes, with only two of them able to jump out, and landing on the floor. We used a towel to make it easier to catch the arowanas in the carpet.

The bags were floated for 20 minutes before the arowanas were released.

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The community in their new home

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In the meantime, the green severum almost fully skinned the stingray alive. It broke my heart to see the stingray with almost no skin left on it's back.
I sold my 210 gal & stingray to a fellow named Jimmy in the following week and moved the contents on Friday. The tigrinnus and the 24" chilli proved to be much harder to catch than the others. They both made serious attempts to get out of the bag, the bag proved to be strong enough in both occassions.

I was quite concerned how the big chilli red would behave when mixed with much smaller arowanas. Right from the beginning, he dominated the tank. But what amazed me was how he would behave like he was protecting the other 3 smaller chilli reds from the rest of the occupants. For more than a week, the 4 chilli reds would occupy one corner of the tank, with the big chilli red chasing away everybody else, and gathering up the other 3 right beside him.

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At this point, everybody was eating scarcely. The tank also suddenly got cloudy again. Then I noticed most of them have lifted scales and red spots all over their body. They were also staying at the bottom of the tank quite a bit. I tried to cure them with Melafix. After treating the tank heavily with Melafix for about a week, I did not see much improvement on their infections, I started to get worried when I noticed most of them breathing heavily and gasping for air on the surface of the tank. One afternoon, when I got home from work, my mom greeted me by saying "one of your fish is dead, it's been floating around since this morning". Man, I felt sick in the stomach. I rushed to the tank, to find out it's one of the 2 peacock bass.

Getting more worried, I searched for possible reasons why they would be breathing heavily, I have 2 big bubblers and an oxygen generator going. I found out from AF, that Melafix could do this to arowanas. I stopped adding Melafix and did 25% waterchange. Tony insisted that I put salt, which I refused in the beginning because by doing so, I would have to remove the oxygen generator (it produces chlorine when salt is present in the water). The condition of my favorite chilli red was getting worse, with most of the scales red, lifting and the surface peeling away. Fearing to lose it, I decided to take the oxygenerator out and added 4 kgs of coarse salt. Within three days, everybody healed, as if nothing happened.

I added another filtration system using Matala mats and a 2400 gph Laguna pump. A week after, the tank started to clear up again. The arowanas eating heartily again.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/../mfkarticle/dimfer/69.jpg

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/../mfkarticle/dimfer/70.jpg

the box on the left is the second filter (matala), the box on the right houses the intakes for the main filter box and the two 2500 watt heaters.

There is a dehumidifier in the fishroom to keep the humidity at 50%. The discharge pipes are both kept submerged/pointing down to minimize condensation. The dehumidifier still pulls 3-4 gallons of water per day.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/../mfkarticle/dimfer/66.jpg

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/../mfkarticle/dimfer/61.jpg

I have recently added locking hooks to secure the access doors in the back of the tank. The tank is partially insulated with 1.5" pink foam, I'll finish it off when it gets colder in the winter.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/../mfkarticle/dimfer/65.jpg

I also finished the front cabinets to organize my vinyl collection. My wife wanted to get it profesionally done, but I insisted (again) to do it myself, with the understanding that we will have it redone if she didn't like the end result. She did not say much, but she didn't ask me to take apart either.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/../mfkarticle/dimfer/1-1.jpg

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/../mfkarticle/dimfer/2-1.jpg

I think I am done for now, tools and stuff were put away, time to relax and enjoy whatever is left of the summer.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/../mfkarticle/dimfer/20-1.jpg

I hope you enjoyed reading about this amazing journey. Very Nice!

[rob0521]

Wow. That is an amazing project. I did find one flaw though, your couch is facing the wrong way!!!

:D

[dimfer]

Wow. That is an amazing project. I did find one flaw though, your couch is facing the wrong way!!!

:D


:D :D it will be replaced, eventually. We are looking for a rotating/reclining chair that's not too big.

[Arofanatic]

I haven't come across anyone as passionate as you about your aros and taking the time to share all your joys (and woes) of your almighty project with us. Well done and enjoy these magnificent fish.

[XAVIER01]

TRULY A "MONSTER FISH KEEPER" GALING MO DUDE!
I'LL PROBABLY DO THAT ON MY NEXT HOUSE. IF I CAN AFFORD IT :)

[The Amazonian]

Amazing Stuff, Inspirational!!!

[cdntopaz]

gorgeous

[BrtnBoy449]

Nice!!!

[dimfer]

TRULY A "MONSTER FISH KEEPER" GALING MO DUDE!
I'LL PROBABLY DO THAT ON MY NEXT HOUSE. IF I CAN AFFORD IT :)

salamat kabayan (thanks my felow Filipino in our language)

and thanks also to the other guys for the nice comments

[dimfer]

Update

The setup has stabilized now. All fish are very healthy and eating very well. I do a 20% waterchange every other week, which generally takes about one hour to do. I am still trying to figure out how to vacuum the gravel. I still test water before w/c - and ammonia is kept at zero, nitrate is relatively low and ph is around 7. Water is treated with Seachem Prime, MicrobeLift Concentrated Barley Extract, MicrobeLift for Ponds and a little bit of salt.

I removed some strainers in the main filter box to allow for higher flowrate, which is estimated at 3600 gph. The Kaldness filter media seems to be working well.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37645&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37645&size=1)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37637&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37637&size=1)

The water has cleared considerably as well. I feed beefheart, pellets, chopped melt - on rotation.

I also finished most of the work, the only thing I have to do is install the curtain to cover the junk underneath the tank.

entrance of the back room

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37639&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37639&size=1)

the electrical outlets. each 2500 watts heaters are controlled by Process Technology controllers, set at 29 deg celsius, with 3 degrees variance. The tank seems to be holding the temperature well, even with the colder temperature now, the drop seems to be quite slow.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37655&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37655&size=1)

a section of the plumbing between the tank and the filter box

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37638&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37638&size=1)

back right hand side showing the Sequence pump

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37658&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37658&size=1)

the tank is fully insulated with 1.5" thick foam insulation, the filter box is insulated with .5" thick foam

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37642&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37642&size=1)

water leakage detector/alarm

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37649&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37649&size=1)

the shelves in the backroom are covered with shower curtains the also serve as aquarium background

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37652&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37652&size=1)

now that the house heater is running occasionally, the dehumidifier is almost not required, but I still keep it on just in case. Room humidity is staying at 45%

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37643&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37643&size=1)

the door on the left is the access door to the backroom (aquarium room). It is relatively quiet. One of my daughter's room is just across the hallway, she sleeps with the door open, no complaint about motor noise

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37647&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37647&size=1)

view of the rest of the room

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37653&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37653&size=1)

La Crosse Technology temperature and humidity monitor. The humidity in the house (outside the aquarium room) is normally below 50%

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37644&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37644&size=1)

a digital thermometer (on the wall, by the light fixture) displays the tank temp

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37640&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37640&size=1)


photo taken at night, with room lights off

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37654&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37654&size=1)

The occupants

the Chilli red that got really sick is very healthy again

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37657&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37657&size=1)

the rest of them

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37650&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37650&size=1)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37646&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37646&size=1)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37651&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37651&size=1)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37648&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=37648&size=1)

thanks for viewing :headbang2

[fISHyPriorities]

nice!

[Bogwoodbruce]

Thats a great stroy bro! I enjoyed reading it. Now you just need some Datnoids.

[dimfer]

Thats a great stroy bro! I enjoyed reading it. Now you just need some Datnoids.


thanks. I do, on a 30 gal in my office. They'll be moved to this tank when they grow big enough.

[Oxyman]

WOW!!!! Super set-up you've got there my friend...

[jimsuy]

VERY NICE.... MONSTER TANK...

[ChrisGray]

wow you have created a dream of mine and i am jealous

[artemis1]

Amazing! A great read.

[one7h4n9]

wow funny how your wife was already nagging about the 130 and 210 lol. Those are some lucky aro's, made the owner move to a new house and built a monster tank plus get his wife to agree with everything. I envy you =). Love those picture and i am jealous that you accomplish something i want to do. Too bad i am only 21 and US don't allow asian as of yet. Gl keeping them healthy and safe, update more and share more stuff if you find out.

[RBE17]

Very impressive build. I saw your Chili Red and I'm hooked. Someday I hope to have a monster tank w/ at least one Chili Read in it.

[sulley171]

awesome tank

[dimfer]

thanks oxyman, jimsuy, chrisgray, artemis1, one7h4n9, RBE17, sulley 171

I am glad you enjoyed reading this article.

[dimfer]

wow funny how your wife was already nagging about the 130 and 210 lol. Those are some lucky aro's, made the owner move to a new house and built a monster tank plus get his wife to agree with everything. I envy you =). Love those picture and i am jealous that you accomplish something i want to do. Too bad i am only 21 and US don't allow asian as of yet. Gl keeping them healthy and safe, update more and share more stuff if you find out.

your time will come.

[dimfer]

now, let me take you to my living room.

Good music while watching the aquarium.

I recorded 8 videoclips with some of my favorite recordings.

Here's a cut from Andrea Bocelli's Under the Desert Sky cd (which I highly recommend)

Memento by Andrea Bocelli (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSWb4EvwOYM)

I really like this song.

Enjoy

[Drykerzen]

nice! very nice!!

[AquataHolic420]

Youre the man!!! Congrats on such an awesome project! Love aLLLLLLLL the pics!

[RBE17]

thanks oxyman, jimsuy, chrisgray, artemis1, one7h4n9, RBE17, sulley 171

I am glad you enjoyed reading this article.

I enjoyed it so much I might be building a tank using some of your techniques w/ the stainless steel. We'll see if my wife lets me utilize that space or not.

[dimfer]

here's another music video

Feelings by Jerome Etnom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMkTdekZSLw)

[dimfer]

feeding video.

Excerpt - Mozart Divertimento D.K. 136 (http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALnR6waPWL0)

I picked this music because the intensity of the violin complements the voracity of arowanas' as feeding frenzy. enjoy

[artemis1]

Hey, what are the different kinds of fish in there? Obviously the chili red aros, some plecos, and i thought i saw a severum???

[dimfer]

if the link above doesn not work, try this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALnR6waPWL0)

[dimfer]

Hey, what are the different kinds of fish in there? Obviously the chili red aros, some plecos, and i thought i saw a severum???

4 chilli reds, 1 rtg, 6 x backs, 2 blood parrots, 2 common plecos, 1 green severum, 1 tigrinus

[dimfer]

and 1 peacock bass

[artemis1]

Sweet. That's awesome... I love aros, pbass, plecos, and shovelnoses...Great choice:headbang2

[artemis1]

The first didn't work, but the second did. Awesome vid!!! I love the music 2. None of those fish could be very cheap, that must of cost a fortune...i remeber you said your first chili red aro was what, like $1,300 or something?

[dimfer]

The first didn't work, but the second did. Awesome vid!!! I love the music 2. None of those fish could be very cheap, that must of cost a fortune...i remeber you said your first chili red aro was what, like $1,300 or something?

The plecos, p bass, severum and blood parrots are quite cheap. The tigrinus & arowanas are quite expensive, mainly due to their relative rarity. I don't want to keep too many setups and too many fish due to my busy schedule. I bought 10 asian arowanas at the same time. I have no arowana community experience prior to this batch and was quite scared that the community would not work out. Had I known that I would be successful in establishing a community tank on my first attempt, I would have gone with premium quality aros from VIP or N1wan. Too late for me to change now.

[artemis1]

Hmmm. I suppose the plecos would of been inexpensive if you bought them young.

[dimfer]

pictures taken Oct 28, 2007

back - the bottom of the tank is finally covered

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=38594&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=38594&size=1)

room light on, no flash

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=38592&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=38592&size=1)

room light off, no flash

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=38595&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=38595&size=1)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=38593&size=1 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=38593&size=1)

the tank is relatively peaceful. water parameters seem to have stabilized. arowanas are much bigger now than when they were moved in May. Xbacks are showing more 6th level development.

[Opiate]

fark....!! freakin amazing dude!!! :thumsbup: :drool:

[dimfer]

fark....!! freakin amazing dude!!! :thumsbup: :drool:
thanks for viewing and taking the time to comment.

[arkmann]

Wow... Such a magnificent set-up! Makes me want to move to Canada... Ang galing mo boss! Nakaka-inspire talaga!

[dimfer]

Wow... Such a magnificent set-up! Makes me want to move to Canada... Ang galing mo boss! Nakaka-inspire talaga!

there you go, now you have a reason to go to Canada :headbang2

thanks Dude

[rickson]

this is truly one of the best articles i have ever read.
great job, i enjoyd reading it.

[jd300]

such an awesome setup very nice arowanas

[dimfer]

thanks. haven't done much on the aquarium as I have been more concentrated on the audio side lately.

[dimfer]

latest picture, feature my DIY audio rack. th chair rotates.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/New%20Setups/nov2007_0650.jpg

[aidenb]

Sweet tank setup

[mobster]

amazing set-up dimfer!

[dimfer]

thanks aidenb & mobster.

2007 has been an amazing year, wishing everybody all the best in 2008.:mwave:

[dimfer]

Happy New Year :headbang2

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/123007a.jpg

[jayvee_austin]

i wish my parents were as cool as you.

monster tanks rule!

[Jonesy604]

Excellent Job, I simply love arrowanas

Dale

[Acer]

I really enjoyed reading that - thanks a lot!

I know nothing about arrowanas, but why no plants? All the monster tanks lack plants - is that for ease of maintenance or would they be decimated by the fish?

Thanks!

[dimfer]

i wish my parents were as cool as you.

monster tanks rule!


thanks. my 20 year old daughter thinks it's cool to have a dad that's into aquariums too;)

[dimfer]

Excellent Job, I simply love arrowanas

Dale

thanks Dale. yes, arowanas are special

[dimfer]

I really enjoyed reading that - thanks a lot!

I know nothing about arrowanas, but why no plants? All the monster tanks lack plants - is that for ease of maintenance or would they be decimated by the fish?

Thanks!

main challenge in plant in bigger tanks is providing enough lighting. At 5 watts per gallon requirement for most aquatic plants, you'll need a very bright light.

[Acer]

main challenge in plant in bigger tanks is providing enough lighting. At 5 watts per gallon requirement for most aquatic plants, you'll need a very bright light.

Never even thought about that!

[Zero1938]

Solid Tank Man.... Did you ever find out what the innitail cause of the pandemic was?
Stress Maybe?
Anyhoo thanks for sharing...

[dimfer]

Solid Tank Man.... Did you ever find out what the innitail cause of the pandemic was?
Stress Maybe?
Anyhoo thanks for sharing...

I concluded that the tank was not fully cycled yet when I moved them and the change in environment weakened the system of the arowanas, making them more susceptible to illnesses, and yes, it could stress.

the tank is very stable now.

[dimfer]

update taken Feb 08, 2008, enjoy

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/1.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/9.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/11.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/12.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/2.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/3.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/4.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/5.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/6.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/7.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/8.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/10.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/13.jpg

[arapaimag]

Great picture updates

Thank You

[vildotcom]

your background/curtain kinda distracts attention from your beautiful fish. upon looking at the first picture briefly, i thought you had millions of smaller fish in the tank. very awesome tank and fish.

[dimfer]

Great picture updates

Thank You
thanks Mike

[dimfer]

your background/curtain kinda distracts attention from your beautiful fish. upon looking at the first picture briefly, i thought you had millions of smaller fish in the tank. very awesome tank and fish.

I would prefer to have freshwater fish print in the background, but we can't seem to find one that we really like.

thanks for the taking the time to comment, I appreciate it.

[Lupin]

Nice collection of fish. I read your articles in Animal Scene magazine, October-December 2007.:)

[dimfer]

Nice collection of fish. I read your articles in Animal Scene magazine, October-December 2007.:)

thanks Lupin

[The Amazonian]

Great Journey!!!

[tuaniee]

i like the picture of the Asian arowana

[Kdcarey]

wow it only took 17 years or so

[lumad]

really nice sir, your story is really inspiring! hats off to you sir!

[js302]

what a gret thread.

everybody should have a thread it takes at least a year to compile.
great fish and tank too!

hope ur fish continue to do well

[Adam-011]

i am Speachless ... OMFG ASOME

[dimfer]

new music videos - recorded March 30, 2008. Enjoy :popcorn:

In My Secret Life
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSz_FHCWJyA)

Love Itself (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVWDNaerB7U)

[b-man]

awesome - that includes the audio equipment too!

[addicted2cichlids]

all i can say is wow! now thats a nice tank and you made it yourself! it would make me wanna swim in it! good deal!

[TLkmDN]

wow check it out! ure arowanas have really grown...cool

[drpez008]

ohh man i gottaa say it rally is a long way, but is worth every second of work,,

[unlabledpack]

very very nice

[Chris_A]

First off, HOLY ****! That is AMAZING! Nice to know someone in my neck of the woods has something like that. Not really sure why... but it is. Congrats!

I work a shear and break press so this thread really got me thinking very bad thoughts (read: really big, reinforce floor big, big F'in tank). Two questions though.

1) Why 316L? I understand it is marine grade and will NOT corrode even under extreme conditions but why not 304? It's food grade and has a similar composition to 316 plus it's significanly cheaper and I find it easier to work with. As of today the cheapest I could get 304 11ga for was ~$19/sq ft. I'd hate to think what you paid for 316L.

2) What, if any, profiles did you have broke to add strength and/or rigidity?

Again, WOW!

Chris

[dimfer]

thanks guys for the additional comments.

sad to report that my I recently lost my green green sev.

He got a gill infection and I isolated him on a hospital tank. He died there on the fourth day.

thankfully, everybody else is doing fine.

additionally, I've been cleaning the substrate using a Matala Pond Vacuum II, and this thing works. I modified the discharge section a little bit, I got rid of the discharge hose and replaced it with some parts from built in vacuum system and DIY damper using cutouts from the lid of a margarine container. This way I could fit the vacuum on the sink beside the tank. I am very happy with the result and it made up for all the failed experiments on DIY vacuuming systems. While I had what I still consider good ideas, most of the pumps I used were just not powerful enough to do the job properly. Most of them worked, but with limited capability.

Thanks to Ron at Aquarium Illusions for the excellent deal on the Matala.

[dimfer]

First off, HOLY ****! That is AMAZING! Nice to know someone in my neck of the woods has something like that. Not really sure why... but it is. Congrats!

I work a shear and break press so this thread really got me thinking very bad thoughts (read: really big, reinforce floor big, big F'in tank). Two questions though.

1) Why 316L? I understand it is marine grade and will NOT corrode even under extreme conditions but why not 304? It's food grade and has a similar composition to 316 plus it's significanly cheaper and I find it easier to work with. As of today the cheapest I could get 304 11ga for was ~$19/sq ft. I'd hate to think what you paid for 316L.

2) What, if any, profiles did you have broke to add strength and/or rigidity?

Again, WOW!

Chris

thanks for the nice comment Chris

The value of the arowanas is simply too much and I don't want to take risk with other materials. We use 304 extensively in the manufacture of class A chimneys in our shop and I was quite familiar with it's properties - but my supplier (and friend) insisted on 316L for it's non oxydizing property. Yes, it is more expensive than the 304, and much harder to work with. We used 3 - 10' x 5' sheets and as previously mentioned, the guy who did the stainless part charged me for 75 hours (ouch, you know how much shops charge for journeyman hours).. but no regrets - he did an excellent job. Before the project started, I had no idea how hard it is to weld stainless steel and keep it from bowing.

except for the welded U channels on both ends, there were no reinforcements added. We just folded the material strategically, and you can see how it was done on the sketches provided early in the thread. The opposing folds (like a Z) around the glass viewing areas are supposed to be stronger than square tubing.

I hope you go ahead with your ideas... only way to find out if it works.

[dimfer]

holy smokes.. is this right?

169 people viewing this thread right now:headbang2

[Hot Slime]

WOw very inspiring! Makes me wanna do something big :D

[Robert_Lu999]

awesome tank. Your living my dreams. If you went back in time, would u have built the tank taller to cover the top part. I reckon it would look alot nice if it was deeper.

[dimfer]

WOw very inspiring! Makes me wanna do something big :D

I hope you do something similar one day.

[dimfer]

awesome tank. Your living my dreams. If you went back in time, would u have built the tank taller to cover the top part. I reckon it would look alot nice if it was deeper.

It would look nicer, for sure, but I won't change a thing. I am quite happy with the result. Making the tank deeper will make maintenance harder, in my opinion.

ok, if I have to change something, I would use stainless or aluminum angle bars to frame the enclosure instead of cedar (although cedar has not presented a problem yet)..

[Robert_Lu999]

True, maintenance would be bad

[DIGITAL]

My hats off to you man, the tank looks great! How much did it all run you in the end?

[DIGITAL]

You really need a different background though!!!!!

[dimfer]

My hats off to you man, the tank looks great! How much did it all run you in the end?

thanks.
Including the room, my actual cash outlay is around $15k

You really need a different background though!!!!!

really? I don't mind the background, even though it would be nicer if it is freshwater theme. But, I wouldn't change it now - it is my compromise with my wife because she picked it - and for letting me use most of the basement for my hobbies.

[dimfer]

taken 05.24.08 - Canon Rebel XT, kit lens, no flash

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/b.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/a.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/c.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/d.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/e.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/f.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/g.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/h.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/i.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/j.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/k.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/l.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/m.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/n.jpg

[ltofwt]

a treat! thk

[ltofwt]

nice red & xback. too bad they r banned in the us..

[dimfer]

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/14.jpg

[aeri]

oh god

[krielikieli]

AWESOME Project & nice community!!!:headbang2
The water looks nice and clear. What do you use as filter media?

[dimfer]

AWESOME Project & nice community!!!:headbang2
The water looks nice and clear. What do you use as filter media?


thanks

I am using kaldness in one filter and matala mats on the other

[komodoking]

man o man, I hate u guys in a good way

awesome awesome

Thanks for the pics

[fishfries]

wow thats crazy..... nice

[Wutangxxx]

awsome

[LBathory]

unreal..

[vildotcom]

still looking good dimfer.

how big are those aros now?

[wanyusri84]

hail you... $$$$$$

[dimfer]

thanks guys


still looking good dimfer.

how big are those aros now?

the SRs are much bigger than most of the XBs. The biggest SR should be close to 24" and the smallest XB maybe below 20".

here's a recent picture
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/sep08_1921x.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/sep08_1920x.jpg

[dimfer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwmYwGhH5mw

[dimfer]

and l@@k :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwmYwGhH5mw

[dimfer]

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas%202008/120801.jpg

[AreoN]

Wow, that's very inspiring. I also enjoyed reading the story. Hopefully someday I can build one myself. but... I'll dream about it for now. :drool:

Saan po kayo sa Canada kuya? (If you don't mind me asking po :D )

[silverdragon]

I loved reading this build pare!
Nice job :D

[dimfer]

Wow, that's very inspiring. I also enjoyed reading the story. Hopefully someday I can build one myself. but... I'll dream about it for now. :drool:

Saan po kayo sa Canada kuya? (If you don't mind me asking po :D )

thanks. I'm in Edmonton

[dimfer]

I loved reading this build pare!
Nice job :D

thanks to you too.

[dimfer]

btw, I found an old picture of the goldfish bowl that started it all for me, as mentioned in initial post

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/slide113.jpg

[foldem]

wow dude, you're living my fish keeping dreams.
I will be starting my first aro tank soon, red/golds are still pretty expensive down under so i will probably get an RTG

[aro-lover]

Beautiful article.
Lovely aro community & house too.

[jellyfish]

Wow you're so inspiring.Good luck!:):):)

[VTfish]

Great Documentation!

[dimfer]

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas/070.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/dimfer/arowanas/063.jpg

[mr.reef24]

awesome article really gave me some idea's thanks for the inspiration.

mr.reef24

[pounder]

and l@@k :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwmYwGhH5mw


OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO looks like their doing the dance of love!!!!!!

[lonewolfe6024]

i saw this chronicle through animal scene magazine, a truly awesome creation sir, an inspiration, congratulations!

[Enmascarado]

Nice article.
Congrats and beautiful tank and aros!.

[j.eggleston]

Pretty Cool

[phunkadelic]

any reason why you used silicone to glue the acrylic panels? Why not acrylic adhesive that "welds" them together? Are there 4 acrylic panels?

[dimfer]

any reason why you used silicone to glue the acrylic panels? Why not acrylic adhesive that "welds" them together? Are there 4 acrylic panels?

the two acrylic panels were siliconed to stainless steel frame. no acrylic to acrylic joints here as there are only two acrylic panels - the front and the back. Dow 832 is a multi-material silicone.

thanks for the additional comments.

[Emmaline]

wow. this is a truly amazing build! I wish I had room for a monster tank like this! One day... =) Seriously though, this is a beautiful tank & your aros are freakin' awesome!!!

[Pharaoh]

Stunning tank build!