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jagjohn2000

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 19, 2010
22
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Corbin, KY
Ok, so I am new and I am also new to this whole DIY aquarium stuff. I have a very specific plan on where I want to put my new aquarium. It will be out of the way and just flow with everything else in my house. I guess I am just the typical new guy with lots of questions. I have been reading a lot for the past few months and have decided I want to start my build. This will be a fish only build.

The dimensions are tight and can niot really be changed by much.

this will be a 48lx24Wx30H. I will be doing a plywood/acrylic method due to this being a semi-high traffic area. I plan on using a sump filtration method.
The aquarium will be viewable from both long sides, so there will be two pieces of acrylic so you will be able to see completely through the tank from either side. My questions now are this:

1. Build. What thickness will my plywood need to be and is the thickness of the acrylic safe.
2. Setup. If I want to have glass only view (meaning you would not be able to see the top or bottom of the aquarium) can i fill water above the glass. Also with drilling for the sump. Can i have the inlet on one shorter side (the 24" side) and the other on the outlet on the other shorter side so I can avoid seeing the inlet/outlet in my setup.
3. Filtration. I would like my main filtration to be sump. How large should my sump tank be/pump size/bio ball amount/etc. Also this tank will only set up a few inches above the floor. Will this affect my sump greatly? The bottom of the sump will still set 6-7 inches lower than the bottom of the main tank. I would like to incorporate a skimmer into this build as well as heat.
4. Lighting. This is what seems to be a deeper tank. I would like the bluish look but I want to make sure light penetrates well all the way to the bottom of the tank. Willing to spend 3-400 but would also like moonlight to be incorporated in this setup.
5. Substrate. In a setup like this is sand a good choice? I really like the look of sand but is there a better/safer/lower maintenance option?
6. Weight. What kind of support will need to be done for this build? It will sit only a few inches above the floor.
7. Water Movement. How much movement will need to be accounted for after the sump.
8. Heating. I would like to heat the water primarily in the sump for obvious visual reasons.


Thanks in advance,

John
Total noob
 
There are a few ply builds you can use as guidelines for your build.Have you decided on the type of sealant your going to use? or how your going to secure the acrylic?
 
hey bud, i haven't checked out any ply builds myself, ive got an idea, yet id be talking out of tune on any advise, so i wont comment on that.

from the sump perspective. 6-7 inch clearance from base of display to sump rim, is not enough! Its the drive motor of your system, so you need to have plenty of comfortable reach space and then some just to be able to work in it. if this can not be achieved, then dump the sump idea. its really that simple. if your not happy working in it, ie, getting all the way up to your shoulder in depth with clear acess to view what your doing, realisticly, your not going to want to...so you tank will suffer.

lighting, t5 is easy, blue can come from actinic bulbs, or bettwer yet, blue led - doubles as your moon lights after lights out.

sand is a good choice, bacterial & detritus removal plusses on that front. however it depends on your animals firstly, then type of flow secondly.

weight gets back to the build, so i'll skip over it.

turnover depends on your animals or personal preference.

heating in the sump - no worries.

wow, all that typing one handed, whilst eating chicken pieces, not bad..lol
 
not to butt in on your idea or anything but dude but in a at least a small viewing window across the front ur gnna regret it
 
the viewing window won't be small. I need to draw it up and show what I got. It's kinda hard to explain. I will have two viewing windows on opposite sides of the tanke each being ~48x28 thanks for the advice. I would have room to get down to the sump/tank. I guess what I am asking is if the waterlever at the sump wasnt completely below the waterlevel of the tank will I have problems with moving the water.
 
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