hey pplz long time no see
ok i am in the mids of designing a MAJOR project (for me)
it is a new tank for my basement.
It is going to be 5 foot long by 3 feet tall by 2 and a half feet wide
which should give me like 280 galons or so....
correct me if im wrong? 5 x 3 x 2.5 = 37.5 ft3 x 7.5 = 281.25 galons
that is 1061 litres which should make a pretty good centerpiece for my basement.
that is great
the only problem is i want to build the tank myself.
that will probably require speacial glass (8mm?) and my own frame....
now the first thing i will do is build the aquarium then build a wooden frame which will go 2.5 inches up from the bottom of aquarium to make sure the glass dosent slit under the...
2340 punds of pressure
anyways the more i talk about this the more insane i start to sound :crazy:
but what do u guys think
also can someone give me estimates on what the lighting will cost... I see insane prices like 700-1000$ us :wtf:
i will much rather buy a few long sticks and make the canopy + wiring and cooling myself (i also build computers) than pay that!
and finaly i want to stock it with live rock which i will make sure is cured
maybe i will actually spend some time to make a cement structure which should help support the coral and provide lots of hiding places for the fishes i will stock
tips will help as this will be my 1st salt water aquarium and i know NOTHING about them other than the fact i want one :P
anyways i have to go to bed now i have work tomorow but yes
what do you guys think about it? :?:

personally, investing in a reef tank......i wouldnt take that risk of building the tank myself. I just can't imagine the disaster of the tank collapsing. There are tons of options as far as buying professionally made tanks, I just don't see the risk in building it. That is a huge tank you are talking about building, any minimal screw ups would be disastrous. Just my opinion....hope everything works out and cant wait to see pix of whatever it is that you will do. Good luck.

Its alot cheaper makeing your own tank but anything over 2ft I would leave to the pro's as you need a good solid box to frame it up because if the aquarium is not dead center and spot on 90 degrees then the tank will colapse or fold once water is in it. It wouldnt need a frame my largest tank is 3ft tall and 10ft long and isnt framed, only the really huge ones like 15ft long need them.

For the lighting I think its a good idea to do it yourself as your right and it can cost alot. A moderator here called cich1 posted a topic on how he made his own tank light for home, i will ask him to dig it up and show you.

I make that 235 USG. I don't think 8mm glass will be anywhere near thick enough for a tank of that depth IMO. My 24" deep tank is 10mm glass, a 30" deep should have 12mm minimum so a 36" deep should be even thicker than that. Good luck with the project and take plenty of pics along the way :)

ooook
i have decided that i will cut down the size a bit... seing as how this is my 1st project
the size is going down 5ft by 2 by 2 which will give me 150 galons or l680 itres :P
this will be much more within my budget and im guessing easier to build and keep
since it is currently winter and i have no plans to start building or stock untill at least april, i will build my live rock.
it will be 2-3 smaller pieces instead of one larger so it can cure better
i found a great deal on articles that say curing takes 2-3 months which will be perfect time.
After rocks are completely cured, i have no idea as to how to start em up growing coraline algea
anyone have an idea?

anyways that is it for now
im still going to look around for filters
i have my eye set on two emperor biowheel 350s and a seaclone 150 protein skimmer

for lighting im looking at coralife 50/50 VHOs with 20 white + 8 blue LEDs which il connect myself for moon lighting
or will the LEDs be too much?

thanks

i would suggest asking your algae question in the salt water forum"getting started". ritsuko and the other salty fans are great members with a very large knowledge base to provide answers to your saltwater questions.:)

Where are you located BTW? A 5'x2'x2' in the UK and the US tend to be cheap as chips relatively speaking and I would be surprised if you could make much of a saving (if any) building it yourself.

Make sure you put crossbeams on the underside of the tank. There should be a gap between the bottom of the tank and the stand the thickness of the glass you are using. In that area you want to cut strips of glass to use a crossbeams. On the horizitonal put them in 18-24" apart and then one down the middle. For better stability run strips around the edges of the tank on the underside.

You want to use 5/8"-3/4" thickness of the glass. Go into your local glass shop and get a silicone called Spectrum 2. It is safe for the fish and is not biodegrable. My tubes cost me about $10 a tube Canadian. If you have any quesions let me know.

I want pictures everyday as you progress now xD