my dream sw diy extreme build

[keenfish]

im planning to build this once i can afford to stock it and that (about 5years+), i want it to look like where the reef edge meets the open ocean i worked out it be about 2000lt ((over 500 usG) being 2ft deep)

but i dont know a thing about sw like how many fish can i have is one of them. i know this is a diy Q but it will only have a single piece of glass ((front bit of course) to save cost) so the Q is how thick should it be i most prob use tougherned glass to make sure.

in the left hand corner the cupboard will house the sump but may have to build one one the side of tank which will hold a multi level sump unsure if this will work

all ideas and critisim welcome. you may make my wife happy by telling me how stupid im being.

 

[Phranque]

Very cool idea. Couple of things (among many you'll probably encounter)... at the 6ft deep end, that's a decent amount of hydraulic pressure, so research good before building. And, if you're wanting corals down the vertical face of your "continental shelf", you're going to need some serious lighting at that end of the tank to penetrate 6' deep, unless you plan on lighting from the side as well.

 

[keenfish]

Very cool idea. Couple of things (among many you'll probably encounter)... at the 6ft deep end, that's a decent amount of hydraulic pressure, so research good before building. And, if you're wanting corals down the vertical face of your "continental shelf", you're going to need some serious lighting at that end of the tank to penetrate 6' deep, unless you plan on lighting from the side as well.

i know about the pressure thats why i will plan to use tougherned glass just in case
well in the real sea corals dont go all the way down so i may go part down then put some waterproof leds in the rock to light the bottom for my pleasure

what about the multi level sump idea?

 

[Phranque]

That would be nice on the lighting...

As far as a multilevel sump.... I don't think it would be necessary. Going off the dimensions you show, your cabinet will be 4' long, 3.5' high, 2' deep. If you built a single sump 3.5' long, 2' high, 22" deep, that would give you nearly a 100gal sump, and you'd still have 1 1/2' above it for lights & room to reach in (and height room for a skimmer). You'd have to run in-sump submersible pump(s) for your return, but you still have 6" off to the side for power strips. It would be tight, but manageable. If you reduced your deeper side to 3' wide instead of 4' (giving you 5' shallower side for more corals), that would also open up a lot more room in the cabinet....