Planning phase of a 2000g wood aquarium

[AtheroS]

Hey all,

First i want to say english is not my first language, please let me know if something is not clear.

i recently bought my first house and will be moving in november in a house with an unfinished basement. After much discussion with the boss (wife) i was able to secure the whole basement for my man cave.
ive been dreaming of my big freshwater aquarium in a wall for the pass 10-15years. but i was always living in a rented appartement. Now i can finally build it

i am planning a 16' Long 6' deep 3' tall build which will be little over 2000g.

As for the plan for the tank itself. the whole lenght of the tank will have a DIY sump built into the stand. all in Wood frame and Plywood for end surface.
Pond Armor will be the epoxy i think i will use. complemented with fiberglass reinforced in all the corner.

most of the tank equipement will be controlled automaticaly at some point. (i build/repair automated system for manufacturing process for a living)
dosing, light, water change. etc...

My hot water tank for the house is a few feet away from where the tank will be. im thinking of using that to heat in a closed loop that will loop back in the hot water tank.



my main question that i have for this moment is the glass thickness i will need to get. i cant seem to find information for viewing panel only and not full glass tank.
i will separate the front in 2 x 7' panel cause i think 1 big 15' panel is way too much. the splitting of the viewing panel will help with the integrity of the tank too
i think the height of my viewing panel will be around 2' or 2,5'.

and anything recommended for a return pump that can turn that amount of water 2-3 time per hour?


I am still in the planning phase. please ask me any question that could help me plan an even better project. tips and trick welcomed.

Thanks for your time, and have a nice days

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Welcome to MonsterFishKeepers AtheroS!

What kind of fish are you keeping? Something important to keep in mind (source is Practical FIshkeeping) is that an aquarium should be at least 6 times the length of the largest fish it holds, and for you that would be 81 cm.
So if the fish you want is longer than that, it would be wise to either a) go bigger than 7600 liters, b) modify your planned dimensions to allow for a longer tank that still has the same water volume, or c) do both. Provided your wife agrees to everything of course.

 

[AtheroS]

i dont have any of the fish at the moment that wil go in that tank. but im looking at an planted amazon cichlid theme tank or asian arrowana tank.

depend on how i feel when water is in the tank couple month from now.

i think ill be good with my size of tank?

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

I agree that with the size of your tank, you''ll be good for either. Best of luck with whichever you choose.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Sounds like a nice project, I am alittle confused what you mean by the house water heater heating the tank with a closed loop? You mean pipes running from the heater that make contact with the tank? or am I misunderstanding

 

[pacu mom]

Sounds like a nice project, I am alittle confused what you mean by the house water heater heating the tank with a closed loop? You mean pipes running from the heater that make contact with the tank? or am I misunderstanding

He probably plans on using PEX tubing like VLDesign did for a radiant heat system.

Hey all,

First i want to say english is not my first language, please let me know if something is not clear.

i recently bought my first house and will be moving in november in a house with an unfinished basement. After much discussion with the boss (wife) i was able to secure the whole basement for my man cave.
ive been dreaming of my big freshwater aquarium in a wall for the pass 10-15years. but i was always living in a rented appartement. Now i can finally build it

i am planning a 16' Long 6' deep 3' tall build which will be little over 2000g.

As for the plan for the tank itself. the whole lenght of the tank will have a DIY sump built into the stand. all in Wood frame and Plywood for end surface.
Pond Armor will be the epoxy i think i will use. complemented with fiberglass reinforced in all the corner.

most of the tank equipement will be controlled automaticaly at some point. (i build/repair automated system for manufacturing process for a living)
dosing, light, water change. etc...

My hot water tank for the house is a few feet away from where the tank will be. im thinking of using that to heat in a closed loop that will loop back in the hot water tank.



my main question that i have for this moment is the glass thickness i will need to get. i cant seem to find information for viewing panel only and not full glass tank.
i will separate the front in 2 x 7' panel cause i think 1 big 15' panel is way too much. the splitting of the viewing panel will help with the integrity of the tank too
i think the height of my viewing panel will be around 2' or 2,5'.

and anything recommended for a return pump that can turn that amount of water 2-3 time per hour?


I am still in the planning phase. please ask me any question that could help me plan an even better project. tips and trick welcomed.

Thanks for your time, and have a nice days

My understanding is that glass thickness is calculated from the height of the tank, not the height of the window. So if your tank will be 3' tall, the glass thickness should be based on that and not for a 2' tall window. In VLDesign's thread, someone asked the question about glass thickness. In post #963 he wrote that in his opinion, 3/4" glass is good for up to 3'

Check out VLDesign's impressive build (too bad he sold his house)

My new 2600 gallon plywood tank project

No pictures yet because I know it drives you guys crazy not to have them.. :ROFL: Might post some later today or tomorrow of where it's going etc. Just wanted to get the thread started with the details. The actual work won't start for another week still. Total capactity: 2618 Gallon Outside...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Videos of his tank:

the build:

As far as return pumps, check out ReeFlo pumps. The ReeFlo Barracuda/Hammerhead Hybrid Pump 6,000 GPH - 4500 GPH. ReeFlo pumps are quiet, energy efficient workhorses. They have bigger power pumps if you want more than that.


While there are similarities in VLDesign's tank and what you want to do, there are also major differences since his "stand" is just the foundation for his tank. Have you considered using an Ultima II filter instead of a sump?

Spiff44 built a 1700 gallon tank which he ended up resealing.

Pict of my DIY build- now recycling

I had to redo my tank, so its recycling now. Here's the latest picture. I'll post a build article later once cycled and filled with fish...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

He also uses Ultimas

Tank resealing w/no silicon at all- 1700 Gallons

Silicon is just too much trouble... redid this tank with Sanitred only. You can see how it bonds straight to the windows. Sanitred makes a primer specifically for this, its harder to peel off that silicon on acrylic. Both water and air pumps relocated upstairs... not the ideal configuration...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

If you are on Facbook, check out DIY Monster Fish Keepers. The person who started the forum built a smaller tank 1200 gallons with a sump underneath like you are planning. He fabricated everything including his sump and background. It is an absolute show piece. I'd show a pic of it, but FB has been down all day.

 

[AtheroS]

Hey Pacu mom,

yes i saw those build by VLdesign and i took some of his idea. Im also taking idea from the 3000g aquarium domain tank(on youtube)

i kinda want the sump like aquarium domain did if i go the amazon cichlid theme. Would go with a big filter if going the arrowana way.

still kinda in between still on that part.

i read most of Vldesign forum thread but didnt go till post 963.. should had went deeper.

how come the lenght and deep dosent change the thickness of glass only height? Is it cause of the atmospheric pressure the more underwater you go?

 

[pacu mom]

It is both height and length, and total water volume also plays a part. Here's a glass thickness calculator

Aquarium Glass Thickness Calculator

Given below is the online aquarium glass thickness calculator which helps you to calculate a volume of an aquarium, glass area, glass thickness, weight of glass and weight of water in a glass based on the length, width, height, and safety factor.

www.easycalculation.com

Also, while I have read that the glass thickness is based on the height of the tank and not the window height, this OP disagrees. You'll need to research it further.

Glass Thickness Guide

There seems to be alot of people on here that keep asking the same old question how thick should my glass be. well i am going to write it up so you all can know and can just look it up here. i build glass aquariums from 24x12x15 to 96x36x24". Now remember folks when calculating that you need to...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Glass Thickness Guide

There seems to be alot of people on here that keep asking the same old question how thick should my glass be. well i am going to write it up so you all can know and can just look it up here. i build glass aquariums from 24x12x15 to 96x36x24". Now remember folks when calculating that you need to...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Amehel0 hasn't been on MFK in 7 1/2 years

 

[M1A1]

If the glass is not the full height of the aquarium then you do the calculations based on a water height from the bottom edge of the glass. So if the aquarium will have 4 feet of water and you are using a 3 foot tall piece of glass spaced 6 inches off the bottom then you do the calc assuming 42 inches of water.

 

[AtheroS]

Thanks M1A1,

with even more research and looking again through those post Pacu mom posted,

i think a 3/4in will be good egnough with a 2.5 safety factor.