a 500g one glass sided tank ..

[zazz]

this is my space and i would like to ditch the 150g and put in a concrete slab at the same height as the tank stand i have now but it will occupy the whole space between the walls.
the final dims will be 11ft long by 3ft deep by 2ft high.
i was wondering how easy it would to put in a concrete slab without having to put in structure underneath if it was supported by three sides.
also the walls i guess are concrete or blockwork with a layer of thin limestone tiles. I suppose i would have to waterproof the walls and the supporting slab.
also in order to acheive a clean join of the glass and the walls/slab i would imagine i would have to introduce an allaround groove although this might be hard if the glass needs to flex to fit into it??
maybe there are examples somewhere of a similar scenario??
with a 500g tank this size i would hope to get a good flow going from say left to right to remove poop.. so i was thinking one monster canister that was designed for ponds. prehaps an eheim.
i know people say sump but i have seen some large tanks with these monster canisters and they say they are preferable for malawi.
another issue is that the 150g is in the way... maybe ill empty it with just a couple of inches of water and drag it forwards across the marble??.. maybe the 150g should become the sump??
any thoughts of my idea are welcomed.

 

[BadOleRoss]

If I had that space and wanted a tank that big I woud take a look at some of the DIY builds that are on here (see sticky above) and go with a plywood tankk instead of concrete. Just think of the ease of tearing apart a tank if it ever comes to that against have a tear out concrete. The things you can do with wood and tanks are almost endless with pretty basic tools. As far as filtering, a pond filter IMO is not designed to remove fine particals so I think your water would always look pretty bad, I would use the 150 as your sump. As far as the viewing window, you can have an 8' window with 18" on each side of the tank that you just cant see bystanding in front of the tank or you can have 2 smaller viewing windows seperated by a center support. I like a single window better. Glass is avaiable in longer lengths but it will cost you. Also consider Perma-Dri's Poat Coat to seal the tank.

Here is a nice build to look at:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45035

 

[zazz]

Thank for that link.

i was considering prehaps ibeams to take the weight.. excavate holes either side and lay them in. I was hoping to have a bracing free rimless 11ft edge with an area open to the top for easy access. ..maybe not possible i guess because of the length.

The idea of plywood base doesnt bother me that much but is it possible to use the three walls either side as the tank sides??

I will create a 3d image to illustrate what i am after.

 

[bob965]

Your plan is to make the walls of your house part of the structure of your tank? Doesn't sound like a good idea. A concrete slab is also unnecessary. I would build a conventional wooden stand that can accomodate your current tank as a sump, and build a plywood tank, since it will only be viewable from the front anyway.

 

[zazz]

bob.. i agree that constructing an independant self supporting plywood shell with a glass front is sound and i am seriously considering that as one approach.

but as i am thinking this through there are other factors which need consideration.

from the photo you would be right to think that the walls are structural ..but acctually the house is only solid on the ground floor. The floor above is just hardwood construction. This house is in the philippines and the ambient temp for a lot of the year is above what the tank should be which is 28 degrees centigrade. If you look at the photo you will see the chiller with the heat pointing away from the tank.

What i wanted was a tank that used the surrounding walls as a heat dissapation sink and since it was connected with the ground that effect would be even greater...the ground temp is below the air ambient.

If its not practical to use the walls as the sides of the tank then so be it but if posssible it would save a chunk of change on electricty bills.

Also the idea of the tank apprantly floating on a shelf without support is pleasing .. if at all possible i would love the look. If the sump sat below and was visible i would consider that a feature .

 

[zazz]

Ok this is what i have planned for that space.. the idea is that there is no frame around the edge everything is flush. i was thinking to drill holes in the floor and the walls to take steel bars. The columns below would be hollow blocks around the bars..limestone finish to be added.. the horzontal slab would be tied to the existing structure with more bars. The existing surrounding wall would have the limestone finish removed where the slab and tank would be and some of the wall would be removed so that there is a good bond between the new slab and the existing. Around the back sides of the tank would be a layer of concrete that was waterproof as well as the horizontal slab. Not sure wether to leave it as plain concrete or paint it with epoxy??

the 150 would become the sump.

Im still not sure about the glass at the front ..i would really like one piece without a brace along the top but if there has to be more glass added then so be it.

what do you think..

 

[nolapete]

Why do you think you need to put a concrete slab in? Is your house raised or on a slab now?

 

[zazz]

Why do you think you need to put a concrete slab in? Is your house raised or on a slab now?

sorry..when i say slab i just mean the bottom of the tank...the concrete shelf....its the grey horizontal strip in the computer rendering.

 

[xdragonxb0i]

did you already started working on it? or that 2nd picture is photoshopped?

 

[zazz]

did you already started working on it? or that 2nd picture is photoshopped?

..no that image is totally cgi but i pumped in my dims of my room..nothing is real apart from some textures from photos. However if i manage to do what i imagine then thats what it could well look like.