1900 Gallon Tank Ideas

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4

420Coupe

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 22, 2012
27
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Miami
Hello everyone, i've been lurking for quite some time now designing my own set up although i need some assistance. I need to figure a working filtration system. So far i've designed a stand, this will be an L shape in an actual wall, that will be visible from both the living room and bedroom.

Anyhow, any information from the pro's would definitely be appreciated. I was thinking of building an intricate plywood sump underneath the tank as i want the sump to not be visible. Frame will be covered with sheet rock/dry wall so only the glass will be visible. Also debating on heating weather to heat the sump or just connect it to the water heater. Also debating on whether or not to hang lights from the roof or design a canopy above to hold the lights.

regardless, here's a picture of the idea i have so far, I've already bought all the materials more or less. 1" glass already precut to my specifications 12'x3', 12'x3', 8'x3',8'x3'


screenshot20120423at906.png


Hopefully will have this tank up and stocked by mid july.
 
That looks really good, love the dimensions too. I was always wondering about L shaped tanks does the bottom glass comes as one L shaped piece, or is it two pieces with a diagonally cut side that get glued together to form the L? Maybe u can solve this mistery for me :D
 
alexanian said:
That looks really good, love the dimensions too. I was always wondering about L shaped tanks does the bottom glass comes as one L shaped piece, or is it two pieces with a diagonally cut side that get glued together to form the L? Maybe u can solve this mistery for me :D
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well if you ordered the bottom glass you would need it about 3" to be on the safe side, something i would not advise and it would be custom made L shaped for you. But this was too much money for me so i opted out and made the bottom of wood with the 4 sides of glass 1" thick
 
My thoughts acrylic might be a better material. It fuses together, glass will only be sealed. I would be concernced about a seam that runs along the bottom of the tank. Also the plumbing might get tricky, you'll have to either do a central drain, in the corner with returns at the ends, or have a drain at one end and returns at the other.
 
HackJob said:
My thoughts acrylic might be a better material. It fuses together, glass will only be sealed. I would be concernced about a seam that runs along the bottom of the tank. Also the plumbing might get tricky, you'll have to either do a central drain, in the corner with returns at the ends, or have a drain at one end and returns at the other.
Click to expand...

Not a big fan of acrylic but might look into that. My plans are to have it drain at one end and return at the other, although i still need to figure a sump idea out and deciding whether or not to use the bottom matrix and use plywood to build a sump from one end to another with the filtration and heating hidden underneath. As i do not want to the sump visible.
 
Filtering: I would go with an "Ultima Canister Filter" they back flush and are super easy to maintain and very popular for larger tanks. Just from what I read. I would also set up a trickle system for sure.

Looking forward to this build :)
 
Egon said:
Filtering: I would go with an "Ultima Canister Filter" they back flush and are super easy to maintain and very popular for larger tanks. Just from what I read. I would also set up a trickle system for sure.

Looking forward to this build :)
Click to expand...

ill look into that although everyone that has truly been in the business for a while advises against a canister if i have the room to set up a better filtration system. They only told me to use them when space was an issue. I can easily use the matrix below to build a ~1200g sump/ emergency reserve.
 
I built a sump under my tank and have my heaters in the sump. You can see my build in my sig. With electric heaters it takes a lot of juice to heat that much water. If you can take advantage of a gas water heater it would be a lot cheaper to run.

Those are a lot of supports. I think it's a little over built. You won't have room to get under the tank to do maintenance on the sumps. Just calculate the total weight of the thing and divide up the number of supports. 4x4 posts can take a lot of weight. Mine works out to little over 400lbs load per post which is more than enough safety margin. Keep in mind it's compressive load so it will take a lot of weight. If it was cantilever then that's a different story.

As far as lighting. I used the clear corrugated roof panels from Lowes and installed normal drop ceiling fluorescent fixtures into the ceiling.

Another thing to consider is your inside corner where glass meets glass. Make sure the corner is supported against outward pressure. Without bracing all the outward pressure will be on the glass to glass silicone and you don't want silicone to take any load.

BTW great looking design. :)
 
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