In some cases, parents that allow their kids to partake in fishkeeping are not fully educated on the subject. They allow their kid to follow their aspirations, and this is perfectly acceptable, and frankly awesome. However, parents that are not fully educated on a subject could possibly allow their kids to “get in over their head.” They may just not be educated enough to say no. A big tank seems like a simple thing if you don't know much about it. You know.....build a big wood box, seal it, throw some fish in, some filtration, lights and heat.....voi la! Awesome big fish tank.
The reality is not so simple. The majority of large homemade tanks (especially by first time builders) will leak at some point whether it's during the test fill or a couple years down the road. And I don't know if you've ever seen an above ground swimming pool break, but it could be along the lines of that type of catastrophe inside the house. This could literally ruin your house to the point where you need to bull doze it and build a new house due to physical destruction from water inertia, mold, etc....
On to the build stage. Likely a younger person does not have enough building experience to make something that needs to be water tight. I wouldn't even let a kid be alone with a circular saw. Let alone trust him to build a watertight box out of wood that's going to hold back 500 gallons of water inside my home. This build may require tools such as nail guns, routers, miter saws, and other tools that could very seriously injure a young person who is not well versed in proper safety. Unless the parent is going to have very strict supervision over this build, I would say “no go.”
And you need to either hire a plumber or know how to plumb yourself. Because I guarantee you, you aren't going to siphon 300 gallons out of the tank and carry it outside in buckets for a water change. And if you mess up plumbing.....That’s another house flood situation.
And then comes the monetary part of it. I seriously doubt parents know how much it will actually cost to build something like this. Sure, building a big box out of lumber is cheap. But fiberglass, resin, and liquid pond liner are VERY expensive. And if you want a big glass or acrylic viewing panel, it's going to cost you quite a lot (think hundreds for a new panel). And to top it off, if you don’t do your research and calculations correctly, that glass panel might not be thick enough. There’s just nothing like an 8 foot by 4 foot piece of glass shattered into a million pieces with a few thousand pounds of water behind it. If you add up how much one of these tanks actually costs to build down to every nut and bolt, it's going to be much more than a few hundred dollars. You’re probably actually better off to find a good used 240 gallon tank off craigslist. It’ll be cheaper.
And then comes the electricity, food, and water bills. We're talking a minimum of 300+ gallons of water PER WEEK that you are going to need to change, thousands of watts of heat, and a ton of food if you keep big fish. Do you have an extra few hundred bucks per month to spend on this??? Because that's how much it costs. And most young people (under 18) that I know just don’t make that kind of money. So the burden then falls on the parents.
The reality is not so simple. The majority of large homemade tanks (especially by first time builders) will leak at some point whether it's during the test fill or a couple years down the road. And I don't know if you've ever seen an above ground swimming pool break, but it could be along the lines of that type of catastrophe inside the house. This could literally ruin your house to the point where you need to bull doze it and build a new house due to physical destruction from water inertia, mold, etc....
On to the build stage. Likely a younger person does not have enough building experience to make something that needs to be water tight. I wouldn't even let a kid be alone with a circular saw. Let alone trust him to build a watertight box out of wood that's going to hold back 500 gallons of water inside my home. This build may require tools such as nail guns, routers, miter saws, and other tools that could very seriously injure a young person who is not well versed in proper safety. Unless the parent is going to have very strict supervision over this build, I would say “no go.”
And you need to either hire a plumber or know how to plumb yourself. Because I guarantee you, you aren't going to siphon 300 gallons out of the tank and carry it outside in buckets for a water change. And if you mess up plumbing.....That’s another house flood situation.
And then comes the monetary part of it. I seriously doubt parents know how much it will actually cost to build something like this. Sure, building a big box out of lumber is cheap. But fiberglass, resin, and liquid pond liner are VERY expensive. And if you want a big glass or acrylic viewing panel, it's going to cost you quite a lot (think hundreds for a new panel). And to top it off, if you don’t do your research and calculations correctly, that glass panel might not be thick enough. There’s just nothing like an 8 foot by 4 foot piece of glass shattered into a million pieces with a few thousand pounds of water behind it. If you add up how much one of these tanks actually costs to build down to every nut and bolt, it's going to be much more than a few hundred dollars. You’re probably actually better off to find a good used 240 gallon tank off craigslist. It’ll be cheaper.
And then comes the electricity, food, and water bills. We're talking a minimum of 300+ gallons of water PER WEEK that you are going to need to change, thousands of watts of heat, and a ton of food if you keep big fish. Do you have an extra few hundred bucks per month to spend on this??? Because that's how much it costs. And most young people (under 18) that I know just don’t make that kind of money. So the burden then falls on the parents.
