125,000 Gallon Shark Tank 60'x20'x14'

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nolapete

nolapete

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 1, 2007
2,726
9
38
New Orleans, LA
Phase 1 of the nature center my friend and I are working on centers around a 60' x 20' x 14' shark tank (125,000 gallons). The primary viewing window, which we already own, is 21' x 8' x 5.25" cell cast acrylic and weighs 3 tons.

In previous renditions, the window has been used in two shark tanks. At my friend's night club it was a 100' 135,000 gallon dumbbell shaped tank (14' deep x 14' wide approx) and at his restaurant 107,000 gallon 60' x 20' x 12' tank. Both tanks were concrete construction and epoxy coated. They both had their problems, filtration, construction and otherwise that we'd like to prevent with this new tank. I'm told they were constructed how zoos and aquariums do, but I'm not so sure as to what exactly that means.

While I have my own ideas on construction, coatings, and filtration, I've always been one to be open-minded to new ideas and better ways of doing things. If you have experience through working at zoos/aquariums or similar private aquarium construction, I'd like to hear your ideas. I know from my own build, hindsight is truly 20/20. How would you do things different if you had to do it over and had the knowledge you have now?
 
The side panels at both locations were 12' x 8' x 4.75" and the end panels in the turnaround ends of the nightclub tank were 5' x 8' x 4.25" and we still have them as well.

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I'm told they were constructed how zoos and aquariums do, but I'm not so sure as to what exactly that means.
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I have spent a lot of time trying to find people that build for zoos and aquariums and will talk about it. I think the ones that will talk about the methods used must ride around on the back of unicorns. I keep a sharp eye out but never seam to be able to find one.

Looks like another amazing project. Good luck.:popcorn:
 
Subscribed.... You always keep up riveted with these great projects.

:popcorn:
 
epond83;3960754; said:
Check out a few pages here http://science.howstuffworks.com/conservation-issues/georgia-aquarium5.htm

Seems like a good sand filter and protein skimmer should do.

Seems like getting the best/biggest skimmer is the best idea since this removes waste before it breaks down. Also water movement so the waste gets to the skimmer.
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The skimmer we have already from the other tanks is around 10' tall and 2' in diameter. :nilly:
 
http://www.concretemonthly.com/monthly/art.php?2402

Found this about the Georgia Aquarium.

Of particular interest:

The tank walls have many pipe insets, so Lafarge used its self-consolidating concrete Agilia in all areas of the tanks where pipes and congested steel were located. This highly flowable SCC contained Grace's ADVA superplasticizer, and was self-consolidating, moving easily through highly congested forms to deliver strengths above 8,000 psi - 33 percent more than design specifications.

Because the tanks would contain saltwater, the mix for the tank walls also incorporated the addition of Grace's DCI-S corrosion inhibitor. This admixture helps extend the life cycle of concrete exposed to marine environments and minimizes the need for future repairs due to corrosion.

In addition, STRUX 90/40 synthetic macro fiber reinforcement was used for secondary reinforcement in slab-on-ground concrete throughout the structure, including concrete walkways, areas near the tanks and other high traffic locations. STRUX is safer to use, reduces the potential for damage to waterproofing materials placed under the concrete and eliminates the risk for corrosion compared to other types of reinforcement.
 
The California Academy of Sciences has an ammazing Reef tank but i can't seem to find much on it's filtration. Very new and a lot of research went into it to conserve water and electricty.
 
This highly flowable SCC contained Grace's ADVA superplasticizer, and was self-consolidating, moving easily through highly congested forms to deliver strengths above 8,000 psi - 33 percent more than design specifications.
Click to expand...
Self consolidating would be handy for any tank project. Would save a lot of guess work and labor making sure the form was filled, with no air gaps. Also 8,000psi sounds much better than the normal 3,000psi. With concrete around $100 a yard, I wander how much it would add to the cost. I was also wondering if fiber mesh reinforcement would be usable for this kind of application.
 
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