If You Build It They Will Come; Monster Fish Need a Home Too
- Thread starter Anythingfish
- Start date
Miles said:
I am writing an article about how I built the 2400 gallon aquarium; I hope to have it finished sometime this week and publish it on the Monster Fish Keepers site: in the Articles section. http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=67
Some quick information:
Construction cost, all materials including 7 by 30 glass window, pipe fittings and filter box; but exclusive of pumps, UV light, filter media, electrical wiring, lights, circuit breakers and the heat system came to about $1,500 in the spring of 2003. Inflation has driven up the cost of everything; you might want to add another $1,000 to construct a similar outdoor aquarium made of plywood in 2006.
The 350 gallon external filter box has 3 chambers with 50 gallons of bio mass. The UV light is a must to kill algae in suspension as the outdoor aquarium is in direct sunlight most of the day. I got my heaters and thermostatic controllers with remote temperature readout in my house from John at Jehmco, http://www.jehmco.com.
Lighting is dependent on what you are willing to spend. I purchased a dozen Home Depot aluminum reflector lamp holders with the spring clamp. I got the largest output low energy compact florescent bulbs available and it has worked out ok. The heavy duty tarp covering the outdoor aquarium keeps the rain and snow off the lamps.
The plywood aquarium was constructed as inexpensively as possible just to find out what it would take. In my forthcoming article I will make suggestions on how it might be improved upon.
The glass window was sealed with Tub and Shower or Kitchen and Bath GE Silicone available at Home Depot. I would avoid the newer Silicone package with the Anti-Mildew or some such label; I dont know if it is toxic for fish. The Aquarium-Safe Silicone is three times the price and appears to have exactly the same ingredients as the home repair types. I always test my water with a canary-in-the-mine type goldfish in the new tank for several days.
You can view my Aquarium Glass Thickness calculator which will give you a general idea of what thickness the fish tank glass should be. http://anythingfish.com/Aquarium_glass_thickness_calculator.htm
The photo below shows the first monster aquarium which I constructed in the garage.
http://anythingfish.com/images/Ted/PhotoGallery/2400AquInsCover.jpg
More later
dam ted you are the man how did you get the word out about you being able to adopt large fish????
Because i would like to do the same in my area i will have a 7500 here soon and i do not have enough to stock it yet and dont want to spend thousands on fish to fully stock it
Because i would like to do the same in my area i will have a 7500 here soon and i do not have enough to stock it yet and dont want to spend thousands on fish to fully stock it
rottbo said:
WOW!! You are getting a 7,500 gallon aquarium; I would like to know, is the tropical fish tank inside or outside the house? How is your monster fish aquarium constructed? What are the dimensions for this huge fish tank?
How to stock your jumbo aquarium with donated orphaned fish?
1) Work with Local Fish Stores. Visit as many pet shops in your area as practical and get to know the fish keeping staff. Give them your card and tell them you have a large aquarium which you are stocking with donated fish which have outgrown their aquarium home. Agree to pick-up the fish in the nearby area, you will learn a lot about how other people take care of their pet fish. I supply the pet shops with interesting pictures of fish which they keep under the counter in a 3 ring binder. I agree to take calls from tropical fish customers with various problems. It takes a short while to build up these relationships; you may already have these contacts in place. I also get a lot of medium large fish donated free by various pet shops when they have grown too large to sell.
2) I take my African Lungfish Darwin to local schools for show and tell in the classroom. You might do the same with something appropriate for school children to see and learn about. I give every child a card with a bright looking fish and something about my orphan fish program. Although I have a web site, see link to Darwin below, this is not a source of donated orphaned fish for me.
http://www.anythingfish.com/images/Ted/PhotoGallery/TedInClassroomWithDarwin.htm
3) I contact individuals doing aquarium maintenance and suggest that they call me when they do a fish change out. Sometimes I have a small aquarium fish which I am willing to swap for a jumbo fish from one of their maintenance aquariums.
4) I belong to the Washington Koi and Water Garden Society and spread the word at the meetings about how I adopt orphaned aquarium fish. http://www.washingtonkoi.org/
This should get you started. The calls seem to come all at once and then for a while there may be none. During the summer lots of people move and if you are handy you might get not only the fish but the aquarium and all the equipment.
Good Luck
hey thanks for the info i will post on my tank when i get back from my moms house she is cooking me dinner for my bday but a little taster of how its gonna beAnythingfish said:
lets just say my uncle owns a concrete supply company that my brother runs
but i might do a wood frame with a pond liner who knows youll just have to wait and hear about it when i get back how bout that for suspense
The TRUST said:Take good care of my Niger Ted.I still miss it very much. It was quite the conversation piece when people saw it in my tank.
I KNEW IT!!!!!
i figured that was jeds cat
Fella said:So, do you ever swim with them?
It's a great aquarium, something really special. You do a great service for people unable to sort their problems.
You are very perceptive Fella, that is often what I do for fish fanciers. Sometimes a year or so later when they are over the rough spot and back on an even keel I set them up again with one of the many unused aquariums in my storage yard.
There was a time when I did swim with my fish and other aquatic friends but that was many years ago. Presently I am looking for a volunteer to sit on a chair in my 2400 gallon aquarium and feed the pacu hot dogs; so far no takers.
