Hey guys its been ages since I have posted on OVAS an decided to make a post an get some help on a few things
I have bought a house since my last post an I am building a 1400g Tank with alot of help from Dongxun a fellow OVAS member
here is a link to what I have done so far the dimensions are 11'X4'X4' LxWxH
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38352&l=b7cc5&id=545575715
I was hoping to put alot of large SA/CA cichlids
my question is im looking for a certain pump for the tank an cant seem to find one online from any Canadian sites the pump model is Dolphin AM 4000/3000 External Pond & Aquarium Pump
please tell me what ya think about the pics aswell I would love some comments an advice
Link does not work...says content not available.
Oops sorry
I just went to check the link an they are doing some site maintenance it should work in a few hours if not Ill post them up again lol
thanks
hope you have all the ventilation worked out! thats a ton of evaporation. will it be covered?
the tank must be in the basement?
For me a tank this size would so me full of clown loaches!!! A nice river flow with bala sharks and whatever else. Either that or an oddball tank with gars, arrowanas, oscars or the likes. Very neat indeed and as mentioned I do not envy the logistics you must be looking to get this done.
Good to here that we have someone on Ovas doing a true big tank. have you thought about maybe a sequence baricuda...I know that they com in very high volume inline pumps.. check this guys out he did basicaly what you are attempting to to... atleast fish wise it is a very long reed just to warn you but very informative.. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=103294
Pat
I love it GO BIG OR GO HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
make sure you throw in a couple spotted peacock bass......
I don't know if I missed anything but there doesn't seem to be any glass!! Are you planning on looking at your fish from the top or will there be a glass pane on your tank? Again, maybe I just missed something ;D
what, my 500g isn't big LOL ;)
what do you plan on useing for your lining the paint... or a liner.... also for your stand have you taken it to a engineer to get it check out I would hate to here that your beutiful tank leaked because your stand shifted... My wife and I are planning.... dreaming for somthing similar to this on our nxt house... keep us up to date on how everything goes with construction... lemy know if you need a spair set of hands aswell.. this is gonna be a fun project that is for sure and I can't wait to read as things progress... you should post it on cichlid form they maybe able to give you some suggestions/ sulution to problems or snags you may come by
;D
Wow congradulations! I am looking forward to your progress. I ways dream of a 14'x4'x4' tank, but am afraid to attempt it for 2 reasons first the $ and secondly I'd have to tear out my basment floor and creat footing for such a larger tank! Third.. Wife would not allow it :)
Bruce
thats awesome!!!, i hope everything goes smoothly with your build. have you decided what your going to do with the lighting, heating, and filtration?
I'm planning on building a 1000 gallon give or take a few, i already have half the block and 3/4 inch glass, I'm just waiting for the rest of the block and re bar.
keep us posted with your progress
1400g, I'l believe when I see it LOL ;) nothing against the builder but I've seen many of these post come and go. the price on a tank like that is HUGE to say the least. glass or acrylic your in the 4 to 5 grand range. the stand has to be built perfect and by a qualified carpenter or someone whom knows there stuff.
I'd love to see it happen though don't get me wrong.
lots of planning and coin needed for a project of this size.
good thing its gonna be freshwater because a reef setup like this would be well over 10 grand without livestock.
Quote from: sniggir on August 03, 2007, 11:41:12 AM
what do you plan on useing for your lining the paint... or a liner.... also for your stand have you taken it to a engineer to get it check out I would hate to here that your beutiful tank leaked because your stand shifted... My wife and I are planning.... dreaming for somthing similar to this on our nxt house... keep us up to date on how everything goes with construction... lemy know if you need a spair set of hands aswell.. this is gonna be a fun project that is for sure and I can't wait to read as things progress... you should post it on cichlid form they maybe able to give you some suggestions/ sulution to problems or snags you may come by
thats a good point... thats a LL of atleast 11,620lbs not to mention all the dead weight of the tank, stand and any aquascaping. If this was to go into a basement you would need to put in a poured concrete footing to stop this tank from sinking into the ground.
Good luck to you, Tyler - I would never be brave enough. When it's done, you could host an OVAS party....
well his costs are greatly decreased since his tank will not be all glass... just the viewable part... atleast that is what it looks like to me... check out the link I posted... the link has a similar tank to this... great learning experience...
and hey I say we help him out rather than de negative... so we can all learn from it
Pat
WOW :o
thanks for all the feedback good an bad
now to answer all the questions I am a carpenter by trade an have built many homes etc for the windows I dont know if ya can see but there is gonna be 2 windows about 4' X 2 1/2' Im not sure exactly on the dimensions yet hence why it sint framed yet as for the stand it is not going to be any higher off the ground then in the pics
in the pics I framed the base of the tank like a floor system for a house except I went 2x6 joists an 12" centers an everywhere where wood touches wood I have used PL Construction adhesive for heating I am not sure yet what I am going to do the whole tank is insulated with rigid foam an once the tank is up an running with water I was gonna wait an see what temp it balances out at
the tank is also on a concrete floor
as for the ventilation It will be completely sealed I will be building the canopy an sealing it all with plastic so all humidity will just drip to a low point that I make an drip back into the tank an also the lights will be completly sealed from the tank as well so no moisture wont rust out the lights
as for what I am sealing all the wood with I will be using a huge pond liner to seal everything I am debating on how to get the roughness off the playwood so it dosnt puncture it with the water being in it
now to stop the whole thing from coming apart I have used 3/4 plywood on the inside then framed it all with 2x6 studs then to hide all of that used 1/2 there will also be 3/4 plywood triangles installed in all 4 corners an 3 or 4 2x6 studs running across the tank to stop it from bowing out
as for costs I am only in the 100 $ mark right now my wife works at home hardware so I get it at cost ;D
for a stock list I am not sure the whole point of this tank was to get rid of all my other tanks an only have one so I have to play it by ear but I love all your ideas an will put them into though this is what I have sorta had planned but its all just ideas
1 flower horn
1 catfish (bullhead- Red tail catfish - Tiger shovel nose)
1 Dovii
10-15 Tinfoil barbs
1 arowana
2 Common Plecos
Convicts ????
Stingray ????
Here is a link to dongxun's 1000g tank on youtube
his tank is what inspired me to build my 1400
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieklBWBRTA8
good stuff, hope you found a cheap 2 part epoxy source!
Quote from: StylinT on August 03, 2007, 07:53:08 PM
1 flower horn
1 catfish (bullhead- Red tail catfish - Tiger shovel nose)
1 Dovii
10-15 Tinfoil barbs
1 arowana
2 Common Plecos
Convicts ????
Stingray ????
The dovii and flowerhorn will likely still fight in a tank that big, especially if they're two males. If it turns out to be a male/female pair and they somehow decide to breed then you could end up with some dead tank inhabitants.
Also, be careful with something like an RTC. Your tank is big but and RTC will likely still outgrow it. And if it doesn't then it may be able to eventually eat everything in it.
Have you thought about other cichlids that would be easier to cohab? Are you looking for colour? Personality?
As for the stingray... Be careful with what cichlids you put in and it could be alright. This will also play a factor in what type of substrate you choose.
I have been thinking more an more about what I wanna put in this tank
as the stingray was just an idea an was the catfish if anything I may just may go with
5-6 oscars
10-15 tinfoil barbs
1 dovii
2 arowana
2 common pleco's
1 flower horn
4-5 peacock bass
an maybe a few male covicts
I think with all those dither fish the Dovii an flowerhorn will wanna pick on them an not each other but its all just an idea an all the fish will be put in the tank as fry or later in time once all the peaceful fish have adapted to it
Quote from: StylinT on August 03, 2007, 07:53:08 PM
I am sealing all the wood with I will be using a huge pond liner to seal everything I am debating on how to get the roughness off the playwood so it dosnt puncture it with the water being in it
For sealing the inside to prevent the pond liner from being punctured how about outdoor epoxy concrete paint. It is water proof and resistant to high & low temps. It would also add a little bonding too. With your discount on hardware won't cost an arm & a leg either... Good stuff can't wait to see the progress! :)
can't wait to see the end product!!! that will be quite something else!! You will indeed have to invite your fellow OVAS members to see it when it's done, you're aware of that I hope ;D Then again, some of our wives may not let us go see it though as I'm sure many will have bright ideas on their way back and will more than likely have their complete basement reconfigured by the time they get back home lol.
Good luck with your project and I sincerly hope it works out for you. You will have many jealous fellow OVAS members lol
If you get a male dovii it'll likely kill off everything else in the tank.
I would avoid the dovii.
I'd make the recommendation too to select your cichlids carefully. Oscars are big push overs for the most part and can't really tangle all that well with some of the more hardcore guys like doviis and flowerhorns. You'll want to make the right selections here otherwise you'll end up with a lot of dead fish.
And that second list you made sounds horribly overstocked, imo. Remember, it's only 1400 gallons. Not 14,000.
I already own a male dovii an he is very docile an minds his own usually
did you see the link to the utube video ? that is a tank in Ottawa an all those fish get together if ya look closely it has 3 male dovii an its a 1000 gallon tank 8'X6'X4'
an to seal the plywood I was gonna use laminate flooring gasket you lay down before you put the install the floor
I'm researching plywood tanks right now (nothing like what you're doing tho) and am very interested in what you use to seal the plywood. I was pretty much sold on epoxy paint, but now I'm wondering what "laminate flooring gasket" is? Is it non-toxic?
its that plastic foam underlay you lay down on the floor prior to installing the laminate flooring its about a 1/4 of foam I was gonna use it to protect my pond liner from little sliver etc
Oh, ok, gotcha. So plywood, foam, liner.
Have you considered doing the epoxy route? (I ask only because perhaps you considered it, and have a reason for not doing it?)
The flooring stuff could probably work pretty good but I was wondering if you had looked into the protective underlay sold for pond liners. I have set up a few temporary indoor ponds displays and used the same inexpensive underlay to protect the liner from punctures that I used when installing them outside.
Umm I actually never thought about using the epoxy but the reason I chose the underlay was speed I can use a little 2 way tape an stick the underlay to the plywood alot faster then using epoxy an also cost its alot cheaper to use underlay then buying alot of epoxy even though the epoxy may give me more strength the foam gives me a bit more insulation value an then stuff i am using also kills the noise
Are any of the male doviis in the 1000 gallon tank actually full grown?
I got my Dovii from him an they are all the same age I believe an mine is pushing 14"
Hi Tyler,
Got you PM, and sorry to be late to the party.
I did use 1/4" floor underlayment for insulation. And also under the bottom 3/4" plywood, I used Styrofoam to further insulate it from the concrete floor. It is like building a hottub with a window. From your picture, I see you are doing a great insulation. My 1000G tank only need 200 Watt heater to keep temperature at 25C in winter, pump (150 watt) and lighting (320Watt) are almost enough to keep the water warm.
There is no need to further seal the tank walls if you use higher gauge EPDM liner, this thing is supper strong. Unless you keep something like Pacu's.
I have made a few tanks with plywood and epoxy, epoxy is very expensive and not fun to work with. I believe for such a big tank to seal it with Epoxy you have to use fiberglass, just like building a boat.
As for Dovii's, they are very aggressive towards each other and other Parachromis. I had to remove his siblings when he was 13". Now his is about 15", he doesn't bother others unless someone picks on him. All the fish that have bullied him when he was young got his revenge. Some had to be removed.
He seems to tolerant fish that doesn't look like himself. This thing is definitely the most powerful cichlids that I have kept. Extremely fast and strong, Jaguar, Motaguense and other Parachromis stand no chance against it. He is as aggressive as other CA cichlids, but because of his power, he could do much more damage.
As for bulkheads connections, for your water flow, I would definitely use at least 2 2" for return, and 1 2" for drain. 2 returns should have separate piping (at least 2") from the filter to allow enough flow. This is what I am doing. My pump is 3600GPH, you might need more. I just use on strainer on the drain bulkhead. You can find the fitting from bulkhead's thread to glue-on PVC/ABS pipes at HD. Once the adaptation is made, it is all standard plumbing, use PVC or ABS contact cement for very fast installation.
Cover the tank and leave an adjustable window, also position the returns so that they are just above the water level, it will provide enough surface movement so that water is oxygenized. I don't have humidity problem at all. (My house has an air exchanger, but don't know how much it helps).
Have fun!
Thanks for all the info again dongxun
so I take it ya got my post on waterwolves
Also did ya have a link again to some good places to get the windows an stuff I am gonna call a few places that I know off but I dont know how thick to get would 1/2 be sufficient ??
an as for the filtration I as thinking of going with something like is in the link were the pump drains into buckets with media
http://forums.waterwolves.com/Several-Pics-of-my-1100-Gallon-indoor-Pond-Setup-t118710.html
Do you think I would also need a skimmer or just the return bulkheads will stir the water up enough ???
I also noticed at my gf work the have pond UV sterilizers for ponds up to 2000 gallons there 25 watt for around $200.00 now with her discount I might save 40 or 50 bucks would that be a good investment for the tank while I am plumbing it out
as for the plumbing I was reading I should use vinyl hose instead of ABS cause the curves in teh hose will give less resistance then 90 degree elbows in abs
As for plexiglass, I got it from here:
http://www.canusplastics.com, they cut it while I was waiting. Take extra care when drilling holes, use the drill bit that has the tip shaped like this:
lWl
As for thickness of the glass, I have done some calculation before. I remember if the 1/2" acrylic is 2' tall, the bottom of glass can be as deep as 3'. This is with a lots of margin, you can probably push it.
For the filter, I would reverse the waterflow and sprinkle the water on top. In this way, you can add prefilter on top of the media, so it can be easily cleaned. I basically change the prefilter every 3 weeks (WalMart pillow stuffing). Cheap and easy. The drawback is if prefilter gets really dirty, water can overflow and cause flood. This can be easily solved by installing a gauge or bypass pipe. I would go with 100G filter capacity for a tank that big.
I don't use skimmer, the return cleans the surface very well. I am running a 18Watt UV sterilizer, it got rid of the algae problem and I didn't have disease problem in it for 3 years.
The more expensive Vinyl hose could be a good idea. It can save you a lot of times. And after your wife gives you discount it wouldn't be expensive anymore :)
Great !!
that helps out alot I will buying the pump tonight from jl aquatics I belive they are from British Columbia the pump is a Sequence ReeFlo External Water Pump - Barracuda (4500GPH) for 339.99 I most likely after I get the pump ill be saving up cahs for the windows I belive mine are 3'X2 1/2' an I will have 2 of them I will also be using 2 2X12 pieces of wood for cross bracing an also in every corner I will be installing 3/4 inch play wood corners that will tie them all together an to finish the whole aquarium off I will be installing if I can get the scraps form the job site 2x6 tounge an groove pine boards that are clear finished an look really nice this will also give it some huge strength
I also love the idea of a overflow on the filter so it dosnt fill up to fast I will use that idea for sure :)
if all goes well I will have tis done this year :)
WOOOOT MY pump Arrived last night I took a few snaps I will post tonight of it
I will be in ottawa saterday night till sunday night an will be stopping off at big als in search for 2" bulkheads I couldnt find then on there website so I was wondering if any of you have seen them there forsale