I'm turning my 26x16" unfinished basement into the ultimate man cave, which will include an 800g tank built into the wall. I am waiting on quotes from 4 glass suppliers in search of my glass, a 12'x3' piece 1" thick. Two have already come back saying they can't do it, but I'm still hopeful that someone will be able to do it.
It'll be glass and plywood on a stand. I'll be making the wall with a hole and using trim on the outside of the tank so that it will slide into the hole with a lip on all sides, giving it a nice appearance. As I finish the basement, I'm going to move the one wall forward 5ft to give room for the tank and supplies, as well as being able to move around in a semi decent manner. Inside the tank I'm planning an overflow that will run the length of the tank, and 6" tall by 6" deep with slotted PVC running the length of it and 4 drain lines going to a 110g sump. Two return lines will run to a 10' spray bar that will spray down the front. I'm hoping that this should eliminate dead spots in the tank.
Behind the wall I have a water supply as well as a drain that I'm planning to set at 2gph for constant water changing. That would give me a 40% water change every week.
In the tank I'm planning on putting two arowana, 3-4 parrotfish, 2 indo dat's, and 2 hystrix rays.
I'm still buying supplies, I'm trying to figure out how much throughput the sump is going to be able to handle, but I'm hoping it will be fast enough to support 10x turnover. I'm also planning on having a second tank above the sump with some moss to grow shrimp that I can use as food in the tank. I figure a 20g long with a constant flow of fresh water and moss should provide ample grazing and breeding for them. I'm also thinking I want to put them in the tank a few weeks before I put the fish in, so that they can establish themselves. Decoration wise I was thinking some holey rock in one side and a large piece of driftwood on the other, relatively centered so the rays could still do figure 8's around them cruising the bottom with room to spare.
I'll be "breaking ground" in 2-3 weeks and will update with plenty of pictures as I go. The first week will be easy, framing and running electrical, then hanging drywall, laying tile, applying grout, painting. I'm also making a laundry room in the basement, a cat bathroom(fully ventilated to the outside), and putting in new stairs. I also have to have my well tested to make sure the water is viable for fish. I had city water installed when a spill at a local manufacturing plant contaminated everyone's well's, but that was years ago and I would imagine it's cleared up.
Any ideas on the tank setup would be greatly appreciated. It's my first time designing my own so I would appreciate the insight of others with more experience.
It'll be glass and plywood on a stand. I'll be making the wall with a hole and using trim on the outside of the tank so that it will slide into the hole with a lip on all sides, giving it a nice appearance. As I finish the basement, I'm going to move the one wall forward 5ft to give room for the tank and supplies, as well as being able to move around in a semi decent manner. Inside the tank I'm planning an overflow that will run the length of the tank, and 6" tall by 6" deep with slotted PVC running the length of it and 4 drain lines going to a 110g sump. Two return lines will run to a 10' spray bar that will spray down the front. I'm hoping that this should eliminate dead spots in the tank.
Behind the wall I have a water supply as well as a drain that I'm planning to set at 2gph for constant water changing. That would give me a 40% water change every week.
In the tank I'm planning on putting two arowana, 3-4 parrotfish, 2 indo dat's, and 2 hystrix rays.
I'm still buying supplies, I'm trying to figure out how much throughput the sump is going to be able to handle, but I'm hoping it will be fast enough to support 10x turnover. I'm also planning on having a second tank above the sump with some moss to grow shrimp that I can use as food in the tank. I figure a 20g long with a constant flow of fresh water and moss should provide ample grazing and breeding for them. I'm also thinking I want to put them in the tank a few weeks before I put the fish in, so that they can establish themselves. Decoration wise I was thinking some holey rock in one side and a large piece of driftwood on the other, relatively centered so the rays could still do figure 8's around them cruising the bottom with room to spare.
I'll be "breaking ground" in 2-3 weeks and will update with plenty of pictures as I go. The first week will be easy, framing and running electrical, then hanging drywall, laying tile, applying grout, painting. I'm also making a laundry room in the basement, a cat bathroom(fully ventilated to the outside), and putting in new stairs. I also have to have my well tested to make sure the water is viable for fish. I had city water installed when a spill at a local manufacturing plant contaminated everyone's well's, but that was years ago and I would imagine it's cleared up.
Any ideas on the tank setup would be greatly appreciated. It's my first time designing my own so I would appreciate the insight of others with more experience.
