75,000gal tank Looking for information sources

[Ilawis]

HI everyone I'm planing a massive build and am looking for sources and information for a one of the largest domestic tanks in the world
At this stage I'm in planing for building a house in perth Australia as part of this house there will be a tank that is aprox 40ft long 10ft high and goes back aprox 15ft before gradual slope to the surface aprox another 20 ft further on there will be viewing on the main 40ft by 10 ft side and on both sides of the 15 ft sections
It is a salt water tank
The base and sides will be pored concrete the 2 front corners will be steel as will all edges as it is entirely framed with box section steel and some i beams to reinforce the sideways movement of the box section over the 40 ft and 35ft lengths

The information I'm looking for is methods of connections for water tightness between the acrylic and the steel
Also to confirm the thickness of the acrylic. I'm debating on if I should be using 6 squares of 118 inches (breaking the 40 ft section into 4) at what I have worked it out to be is 5 inches thick
OR have the main window as 1 piece at 8 inches thick
I have spoken to one acrylic supplier and he was certain 2 inch thick was thick enough as my local aquarium has a large tank only 2 inches thick acrylic
I am still yet to find a supplier in Australia who can supply acrylic thicker than 2 inches
Any ideas or sources will be appreciated thanks

 

[fishguy306]

I don't have much in the way of help as I can't imagine anything that big for a personal tank, but I do have a couple thoughts for you. At 10' deep 2" does not seem nearly thick enough. Also I would go the several smaller window route rather than one massive piece. For one I cannot fathom the cost for a 40' piece of acrylic would cost. Also in case of any accidents, while unlikely, it would be much cheaper to replace one section should it crack or anything than the entire window.

 

[Ilawis]

I don't have much in the way of help as I can't imagine anything that big for a personal tank, but I do have a couple thoughts for you. At 10' deep 2" does not seem nearly thick enough. Also I would go the several smaller window route rather than one massive piece. For one I cannot fathom the cost for a 40' piece of acrylic would cost. Also in case of any accidents, while unlikely, it would be much cheaper to replace one section should it crack or anything than the entire window.

Thanks for the reply
Are you saying the 5inches is not thick enough or just the 2 inches because I would agree with the 2 inches not being thick enough but just wanted a second thought. I'm quite unfamiliar with the thickness needed for acrilic as all the tanks I've made in the past have been glass.
I also think it's a good point about if the 40ft pane would need to be replaced
Something I have just thought of I'd this tank is lit by natural light as the main body of the tank is outside and light would come into the house through the panels would the natural light discolour the cast cell acrylic over time?

 

[fishguy306]

I don't think that 2" would be thick enough, to be honest I'm not sure about 5". I haven't worked with acrylic much, but even if you divide it up into sections those are some very long and tall sections to cover, that is a lot of bowing you need to prevent.

As for discoloring the acrylic because of the sunlight I have no clue. I could see that being possible, however with as much water as the light will need to pass through maybe the water will filter out the UV that causes the discoloration?

 

[vincentwugwg]

David.. first, you need to get 5+ posts.. that way members here can PM you. I have a few ideas that may help you

 

[Ilawis]

I don't think the water will filter out the UV light it may do at the bottom of the tank but the top will be close to the surface of the water and I don't think it wI'll dissipate that much however once I find a supplier they should be able to say if it will or not
With thickness I just watched tanked the other day and they had a tank that was (from memory) 15ft high and I'm not sure how long but looked to be just over 40ft long and that was a 6 inch thick acrilic single piece the tank was quite narrow tho only about 8ft wide I think
Depending on price I don't mind leaning it up to the 6 inch but if 5 is all I need the extra money is better spent elsewhere
However I do think the smaller sheets are more practical but give more optunity for weak spots (sealing ect) and the point of a tank this large is to be impressive I'm worried the smaller windows may take away from that

 

[Ilawis]

David.. first, you need to get 5+ posts.. that way members here can PM you. I have a few ideas that may help you

Awesome thanks for that didn't know that

 

[vincentwugwg]

A single sheet would make this tank incredible looking! I own a factory in china and my neighbor is an acrylic manufacturing company who builds public aquarium displays. I do believe they can produce 40ft x 20ft sheets up to 20cm thick.. 8inches

 

[vincentwugwg]

Here is a picture of one of their sheets.. not exactly sure what the dimensions are for this sheet.

 

[wannadivesteve]

Sounds to me like you need to make some phone calls or e-mails to as many public aquariums as possible bout leads towards manufacturers and hope you find a responsive curator or staff. ATM out of Las Vegas apparently does aquariums of some magnitude for casinos and such, there may be others who have. We have a guy in our town that had a 35K gallon (from what I read on the very limited references on the internet) aquarium built at his place, 25' by 10' cylinder, about 16 years ago. I'd heard about it back in '98 but left town for 14 years, actually knew his maintenance person (found this out the week before I moved, never got to see it). His house was up for sale last year and pics made it on the real estate site... was taken down in 2 weeks, probably too many gawkers wanting to see his reef shark collection. Wish I knew him so I could steer you in the right direction. He was bigtime in the casino gaming software biz and probably had connections with whoever was doing large aquariums in casinos. I've emailed an aquarium with a fish question years ago and was surprised at how responsive they were... that may be your best bet.