My 12x4x4 1400 gallon cichlid tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
trace said:
I am glad I could inspire you. Go for it and when you do hit me up, I will help you any way I can.


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Sure bro. I've been contemplating a cement tank for long. Will definitely get back to you regarding the build.

Thanks,

Najib
 
I have plans of building a cement fish tank what I plan on doing is when I have a steel building built on my property I plan on having it eater pored when the forms of the building are built or if I buy a existing house with a steel building I will go the cinder block way. But I'm a big support of the cement fish tank over plywood.
 
Ocean Railroader said:
I have plans of building a cement fish tank what I plan on doing is when I have a steel building built on my property I plan on having it eater pored when the forms of the building are built or if I buy a existing house with a steel building I will go the cinder block way. But I'm a big support of the cement fish tank over plywood.
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Your idea sounds awesome in fact it is one that I have thought about myself. I have thought that maybe sometime in the distant future that I would like to put up a steel building with large concrete tanks around the perimeter with full drip systems turning over 20-30% water daily. I hope you can make your dream happen!


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trace said:
Thanks! Yes the fact I can fix a window leak without a complete drain was in fact another reason I went this route. As for your questions:

1. I am currently running 5 300w ehiem jäger heaters. I will eventually go titanium w/ heater controller.

2. I heat the basement with a very big wood fire place. I shot for maintaining at least 75 degrees and given I can get enough wood this fall, higher. With no heat at all temps drop to about 68 degrees typically. Colder during cold snaps by several degrees. I am going to insulate more soon though so that will help.

3. No I have a 55 gallon kenmore water heater. I do my first water change the other day and drained out about 40-45%. The water temp was 79.2 when I started and by time it was full I was down to 77.2. I turned my heat up at this time and it's now running about 81.5.

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Nice!

I'm surprised that your water heater is able to keep up. Aren't your incoming water temps pretty cold?

A 45% water change on that beast is over 600 gallons. How long did it take you to refill?
 
Concrete is actually a poor insulating material, due to it's high thermal mass. If the concrete floors or walls usually get cold during the winter, then it may act as chiller. You may be wasting a lot of energy keeping the aquarium warm.
 
coolkeith said:
Concrete is actually a poor insulating material, due to it's high thermal mass. If the concrete floors or walls usually get cold during the winter, then it may act as chiller. You may be wasting a lot of energy keeping the aquarium warm.
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Nope not true. I can actually unplug my heaters and it will hold the temp of the tank above the room temperature for several days,( I tried this just to see what would happen). If it were the same thickness as glass or acrylic I'm sure it would be a much poorer insulater but at 8" thick it quite good.


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coolkeith said:
Concrete is actually a poor insulating material, due to it's high thermal mass. If the concrete floors or walls usually get cold during the winter, then it may act as chiller. You may be wasting a lot of energy keeping the aquarium warm.
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That's what I thought too. Concrete like most rock are great heat sinks but when it comes to being an insulator it's terrible.

http://www.allwallsystem.com/design/RValueTable.html
 
I believe you're right, the concrete will take a lot longer to heat up and cool down than other materials (such as water or air) and this will help keep the temperature of your tank stable, but the actual R-value of concrete is fairly low. You may actually benefit from encasing the exterior of the concrete walls in polystyrene and making sure it is sealed air-tight.
 
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