A monster freshwater aquascape

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yuiop

Feeder Fish
Jun 19, 2015
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Hello everyone, I am new to this forum. Although I am not seeking to keep large 'monster' fish, I need your advice on constructing a 3000 gallon aquarium. I am still in the earliest stages of development.

I want it to be an Iwagumi aquascape. Take a look at these pictures to get an idea of what I'm talking about here.

http://www.akvarijum.org/forum/upload/uploads/_41465639_iwagumi.jpg

http://www.aquariumdesigngroup.com/data/photos/27_1aquarium_iwagumi_fishtank.jpg

http://m0.i.pbase.com/o2/11/259611/1/97052860.1OfQSrVY.14050804.jpg


15 feet long, 4.5 feet high, 6 feet from front to back.

I want to create a mountain-esque aquascape with rolling hills, using a carpeting plant, and a variety of rocks that weigh around 50-200 lbs. Some sort of supports on bottom, hidden away by a thin layer of substrate on top.

I would greatly prefer to have absolutely no visible bracing on the front panel, like a public aquarium. The hardest part would be installing this front panel, perhaps it would have to be assembled in pieces, to form a nearly seamless product in the end.The ground will be reinforced, and the bottom of the tank, as well as the back wall, will be cement.

I understand that this is a lofty goal, high maintenance, and very expensive, but it is a dream of mine to have a giant aquascape sitting in my house. A dream that can be reached with determination.

I want to have a few schools of 50-100 tetras gliding through the water.
The biggest fish I would put in this tank would be a turquoise rainbowfish.. 3" Maybe a small school of discus, if my bioload permits. The water quality needs to be pristine for this aquascape to work.

Large aggressive fish will rip the plants apart, and ultimately destroy the aquascape by disturbing everything, unfortunately.

I have many grounds yet to cover (lighting, filtration, etc) and I came to this forum because other aquarium forums have been clueless as to how to help me construct such a large tank.

What would I realistically have to do, structurally and financially speaking, just to build the tank I have in question?
 
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This is going to be hard man. Almost everybody know takashi amano and his famus iwagumi style. And to cover all botom with carpet ?
Best luck :) i wanted to see this. I'm thinking and thinking but triming and maintenance for 3000g aquascape. I'm alredy seeing that this is your dream tank. Ferts + co2 Going biggggg. :D
 
Sounds interesting. I just want to point out that all of those example tanks are pretty small... the equivalent of a miniature diorama. Such detail might be lost so scaled up. Especially towards the back of a 6 foot wide tank.

It doesn't sound like you would have a bioload problem.
 
spiff44 said:
Sounds interesting. I just want to point out that all of those example tanks are pretty small... the equivalent of a miniature diorama. Such detail might be lost so scaled up. Especially towards the back of a 6 foot wide tank.

It doesn't sound like you would have a bioload problem.
Click to expand...

I know most Iwagumis are small, and it might seem to be hard to capture that look on a huge tank, but I think the 6' depth from front to back would look amazing with hills and a carpeting plant. I dont think I will have any problems scaling up Iwagumi, looks wise...
 
Gotcha.. I thought you was going for the miniaturization effect that he uses... most his scapes resemble life sized equivalents. But yeah, with 90 sq/ft to scape, you'll certainly have plenty of possibilities.
 
spiff44 said:
Gotcha.. I thought you was going for the miniaturization effect that he uses... most his scapes resemble life sized equivalents. But yeah, with 90 sq/ft to scape, you'll certainly have plenty of possibilities.
Click to expand...

I guess it may not be "Iwagumi" 100% to Amano's standards, but it would employ the principles of wide open spaces and cleanliness and organization of scape, given off by Iwagumi tanks. I would also use minimalism in the sense of few plants, and only one type of stone.

Also, what do you think of the dimensions? I may play around with the height and width a bit, but the tank will be atleast 2500 gallons.
 
If it makes you happy, go fo it! You might want to compute cost of operation to make sure you're not opening a can of worms though... and prepare for higher filtration that you're originally intending.. you might change your stock ideas down the road and need some serious pumps and filters then. My 1600 gal runs right around 60-100 bucks a month.. (higher in winter for heating)
 
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