I'm new to making this big fish tank stuff. I live in pretty big house, and its just me and my father. We both like building stuff and what not, i'm very hady with wood and glass. i build reptiles cages on the side. but i want a huge fish tank in my basement by were i'm going to build a bar. the area i was gonna put it is about 6' x6' and i want a large front on it so 3' i was thinking. what is best for sealing the inside. Whats the best way to fasten the front glass/acylic to the rest. should i go with glass or acylic. i think acylic because it will be by a bar. and would a pool pump and heater work for my filtration, i was gonna run them parallel with another filter. i was thinking pump to filter to heater. any ideas or advice welcome.
1500 gallon tank
- Thread starter MWheaton
- Start date
Only thing I can help you with is the pump selection and maybe the heating, so I'll limit my response to that.
Pool pumps are typically very inefficient because they are designed to deal with a lot of head pressure and typically only run a few hours per day. Since your pumps are going to be running 24/7, you will want to buy the most efficient pump you can get your hands on. Most aquarium filtration systems do not operate under a lot of head pressure, so you would be much better off buying a pump designed for large aquariums or ponds. Even if they cost you more money up front, they will pay for themselves in monthly operating expenses. Reeflo (external pump) and Laguna Max-Flo (submersible) pumps are some of the most efficient pumps you can buy. Be careful not to make the mistake of buying a pump that's cheaper, but ends up costing you a couple hundred dollars more per year in electricity.
Since you are talking about heating, I'm assuming you are looking to keep tropical fish in he 78F to 82F range. If the temperature where the tank is located stays at or above 70F, you should be fine with as low as 1 watt per gallon, although 2 watts per gallon would be better. There are many variables, but the key to setting up an efficient tank is good insulation. I would insulate the heck out of the bottom and the sides. If you don't insulate the bottom and the tank sits on concrete, you'll basically be trying to heat the earth and that's expensive! lol
How deep do you plan to make it? If the footprint is going to be 6'x6', then the tank would have to be around 6' tall to be ~1,500 gallons. You'll need some seriously thick acrylic at that height.
I would check out some of the build threads if no one is able to provide some tips on installing the viewing panel and sealing the inside. There are lots of guys on here with experience with the journey you are about to embark on.
Pool pumps are typically very inefficient because they are designed to deal with a lot of head pressure and typically only run a few hours per day. Since your pumps are going to be running 24/7, you will want to buy the most efficient pump you can get your hands on. Most aquarium filtration systems do not operate under a lot of head pressure, so you would be much better off buying a pump designed for large aquariums or ponds. Even if they cost you more money up front, they will pay for themselves in monthly operating expenses. Reeflo (external pump) and Laguna Max-Flo (submersible) pumps are some of the most efficient pumps you can buy. Be careful not to make the mistake of buying a pump that's cheaper, but ends up costing you a couple hundred dollars more per year in electricity.
Since you are talking about heating, I'm assuming you are looking to keep tropical fish in he 78F to 82F range. If the temperature where the tank is located stays at or above 70F, you should be fine with as low as 1 watt per gallon, although 2 watts per gallon would be better. There are many variables, but the key to setting up an efficient tank is good insulation. I would insulate the heck out of the bottom and the sides. If you don't insulate the bottom and the tank sits on concrete, you'll basically be trying to heat the earth and that's expensive! lol
How deep do you plan to make it? If the footprint is going to be 6'x6', then the tank would have to be around 6' tall to be ~1,500 gallons. You'll need some seriously thick acrylic at that height.
I would check out some of the build threads if no one is able to provide some tips on installing the viewing panel and sealing the inside. There are lots of guys on here with experience with the journey you are about to embark on.
Any large fish would generate attention. Gars would be relatively easy to do, just go catch some! A big blue cat and some bass would look cool too. Smaller natives like pumpkinseeds would add tons of color. Make the bar have kind of a Bass Pro type theme and it'll all fit. You did say you liked outdoorsy stuff, right? 
Peacock bass
gar are good, what about Lima shovelnose cats?
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
gar are good, what about Lima shovelnose cats?Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
There are a ton of "go big, go home" fish tank threads on this site, most are filled to the brim with knowledge...I believe there's a sticky on large plywood tanks currently...check them out. You've come to the right place. Some of these guys on this site are big boys in the "we keep water" club.
As for the OP go with Max ACR from ebay with some fiberglass reinforcement. For 3' height go with a 1" thick peice of cell cast acrylic and use Dow Corning 795 to attach the acrylic to the front just sand the max acr and acrylic lightly and you will be fine Reeflo pumps are amazingly efficient, deffinately worth checking into. As for a heater, I simply use 2 300w heaters in my sump for my tank and it keeps it at 78 degrees as it is in the basement as well and the ambient room temp is around 72 degrees...though mine isn't 1500 gallons either!
Reeflo pumps are amazingly efficient, deffinately worth checking into. As for a heater, I simply use 2 300w heaters in my sump for my tank and it keeps it at 78 degrees as it is in the basement as well and the ambient room temp is around 72 degrees...though mine isn't 1500 gallons either!