DIY - ~2000 gal aquarium?

[telmnstr]

Hello,

The other day I saw a very large aquarium at a local college. The front had to be no less than 16' wide by at least 7' high (I would guess it was actually 8'). I couldn't accurately judge the depth, but rough estimate would be 3' or 4' deep.

A long time ago I had this curiosity about building such a beast. Seeing one in real life recently has me wondering some more.

For the heck of it, I decided to look around to see what the specifics would be to build say a 10' wide, 7' tall, 4' deep aquarium. The weight would be about 18,000 pounds... so concrete base would be a must (on the ground).

None of the calculators seem to handle such large sizes. How thick would the glass need to be? I'm guessing the only way to do such a thing is use steel sides and rear, glass front on a steel frame? Sealed using epoxy or other products specific to the task.

Does anyone know how the commercial ones are constructed? Is it rebar and concrete or steel?

I'm sure it's a pipe dream, but hey... someday for the future. Still can't kill the curiosity ...

 

[BillyZ]

well, first lets get some semi real numbers to play with (I like to pipe dream too!)

volume: (12"x12"x12") * (10'x7'x4') = 483,840 cubic inches.
231 cubic inches per gallon = apx 2094.54 Gallons
Water weight @ 8.81 lbs/gallon = 18,448 pounds
Live Rock @ 2lbs/gallon = 4,000 +/- pounds
Sand substrate @4" deep = 1,000 +/- pounds

Add to that equipment such as pumps, lights, plumbing etc and your total weight will be more towards 24,000 pounds. And that of course doesn't consider the weight of the tank itself as I don't know how much cement weighs other than, "a lot"

I would certainly suggest steel reinforced cement. Unless you plan on using all stainless steel, any other metal strong enough to hold the forces will corrode and fail. Hmm, I wonder about a carbon fiber frame? would have to find some stats on that. I would also suggest 1" acrylic. Not just for the weight of the water in the tank, but as "insurance" against an external force knocking into the tank and causing a failure.

here's somplace that has what i'd like to see in my dream home: http://www.aqds.com/PvtOff.htm

 

[telmnstr]

Ah

I don't know a terrible amount about salt water setups, but I'm assuming diatomacious earth pool filter / pool pumps would be usable for that amount of water -- assuming there aren't issues with metal parts.

I would probably run towards computer automation for pH, salinity, temperature. Water chiller would be nasty, would probably have to have a neslab on the loop. DMX-512 for lighting.

I was thinking about the reinforced concrete thing. Wonder how thick the concrete would have to be to support that kind of weight. And the window, would 1" really be thick enough? I found a guy who had built a 860+ gallon tank tank and the lexan front gave out when it was filling (water was 4" from the top). I think he said it was 3/4" Lexan, it's on the web somewhere.

Maybe I will email that company and ask from an "out of curiosity" angle what it takes to support such a beast.

 

[spoonmerlin]

On the cheap you might look at swimming pool construction. They make indoor pools so companies like that would know the sturctural codes and stuff. I would not want to guess what that would cost to setup and run but hey you may hit the lotto and that might almost cover it.


It would be cool if you could make a pool reef with one wall against the house being the view window. That would save alot on the structure. You could then build a platform on top to hold equipment and lights with removable sections for access and cleaning. You could even have that as a cool office with a glass floor to watch the fish swim under you.

 

[vega]

Then the mantis shrimp came with the LR. Now you need to scuba diving to catch the fella...

 

[spoonmerlin]

Better yet an attack sub with Mantis seeking torpedos.

 

[JProx]

even better yet..

mini - sharks with freakin' lazer beams attached to their heads!! ; that have a craving for mantis shimps.

 

[_dan_]

thats one big tank... 8O you might even need steel bands running around the tank evey 12" or so(silicone isnt that strong)

 

[Guest]

The only thing you need to determine glass thickness is the height. You can have a 50,000 gallon tank that is 21" high and use the same glass they use on a 70 gallon aquarium.

 

[telmnstr]

Ah

I was getting that impression from playing with glass thickness calculators, and it makes sense

Still digging! The main thing is how thick does the glass need to be for 7' depth which a high safety factor.

Well, and how thick does the concrete have to be

 

[_dan_]

remember this peice of advice people with REALLY big aquariums shouldnt throw rocks

 

[BillyZ]

you also have to keep in mind that you won't be making the entire structure out of glass. Honestly, you'll probably only use glass on one viewing side of the structure. the rest will be poured concrete and as mentioned above will likely be constructed much like a swiming pool. Because the frame is concrete, you can use glass/acrylic and silicone with out any worries. The preassure from the water will hold the pane against the frame and actually help with the seal. (see attached) Of course, you would probably be better off trying to use a rubber gasket and a bolted pane, silicone simply for leak protection.

 

[rokcrawla]

if someone can find strength specs on the materials I can play with some numbers and see what kind of force you'll be dealing with on the sides. It would be alot easier if it wasnt so tall

 

[chrism]

wouldnt it be nice lalalalala haha just a thought... why don't you approach a professional company let them do all the specs, talk through your designs get the info you need then do it yourself? sneaky eh?

 

[klrk 5k]

this sounds like an awesome project so i will add some input. here is a link from an amazing forum about building a 1700 gallon shark tank http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_1700g_tank_1.php hope to help you out on this amazing project

 

[fish_4_all]

Well the only tank I have ever seen that large was the salt water tank at a state aquarium. It was only 9 feet high but the glass front was over 6 inches thick! I don't know if it was because of safety reasons but if it takes 1/2 inch glass for anything over 24 inches tall then every 2 feet would be 1/2 inch, 7 feet = 3.5 inches thick! A guestimate but makes sense. Contact the army corp of engineers or your local aquarium and ask them.

 

[spartan 087]

well i find this page in other post around here, maybe near to what you want, but still it is in french but the images are awesome.

http://membres.lycos.fr/lafuitedebretx/index.html

 

[dr_girlfriend]

any headway?

 

[hashbaz]

The only thing you need to determine glass thickness is the height. You can have a 50,000 gallon tank that is 21" high and use the same glass they use on a 70 gallon aquarium.

This is not quite right. While you are exactly correct that the pressure will not be any greater, the same pressure on a larger area equates to a larger force. Also, for a longer piece of glass, the supports are farther from each other, increasing the stress in the middle of the glass.

 

[lyquidphyre]

Mark my words, I will one day build a supersized tank like those *nod*