75,000gal tank Looking for information sources

[spiff44]

That sketch is pretty elementary compared to the things you should be worried about. Where are the footers? What will be your footer specs? What type of concrete will you use? What type of rebar? What type of rebar reinforcement pattern will you use for that various parts of the tank? (sills vs walls vs window frame) How thick? Will you taper going up to save on materials? Will you prep the ground at all? (pyles vs tamping) What do you know about the ground? Is it old back fill? High clay? Any drainage concerns? How far down is bedrock, the water table?

These are all factors for what you're trying to do.

 

[Ilawis]

That sketch is pretty elementary compared to the things you should be worried about. Where are the footers? What will be your footer specs? What type of concrete will you use? What type of rebar? What type of rebar reinforcement pattern will you use for that various parts of the tank? (sills vs walls vs window frame) How thick? Will you taper going up to save on materials? Will you prep the ground at all? (pyles vs tamping) What do you know about the ground? Is it old back fill? High clay? Any drainage concerns? How far down is bedrock, the water table?

These are all factors for what you're trying to do.

Yes it is but it was only a reference for people to understand the size and shape as that is what people wanted to know I sketched it up in about 10 minutes

 

[Ilawis]

That sketch is pretty elementary compared to the things you should be worried about. Where are the footers? What will be your footer specs? What type of concrete will you use? What type of rebar? What type of rebar reinforcement pattern will you use for that various parts of the tank? (sills vs walls vs window frame) How thick? Will you taper going up to save on materials? Will you prep the ground at all? (pyles vs tamping) What do you know about the ground? Is it old back fill? High clay? Any drainage concerns? How far down is bedrock, the water table?

These are all factors for what you're trying to do.

As for your other questions the property has not been purchased yet as the design dictates the property. my family and I are currently living in Auckland new Zealand. However so you know this is not just a pipe dream the details on this part of the plan is.. we have sold our home in Auckland and currently living in a apartment until the 20th of June when we then fly to South Africa for 4 weeks then Thailand then Vietnam before arriving in perth Australia on the 8th of August from there we will be looking for the property to build the house on once we have that property a relocated home will be put on the property and over the following 5 years +/- I will be building the home with the help of a few other friends in construction and steel manufacturing
So at this stage I'm getting a lot of the design plans ready to help dictate the property to suit the home over the next 4 months hense the size and layout of the viewing windows and how they attach as this affects how rebar and support beams are situated and sized through the house
I am expecting the water table to be quite high and the soil to be mostly sand as most of Australia is and worse in the western parts of Australia as such I will most likely need a very thick slab as with this weight and size footprint sitting on sand I will need to have supports going about 30 degrees horizontal in various directions outside the house to provide enough support for the sideways pressure on the structure
As a structure this size I believe it may be unwise to taper up to save on materials as I would rather ensure the soundness of the build than spend more trying to save on materials and increase the difficulty than what I would spend just leaving it same size at top as on bottom for the walls. after all the tapering part of only just over 3 meters high (less footing and slab of course)

 

[spiff44]

Right on.. my point on all that was to consult a professional the whole way. I'm not a professional related to anything in construction, but I still know enough to know when I'm over my head on something.

I didn't consult anybody when I built my tank, it was easy enough to just err on the safe side on things that I (thought) I knew for sure would work. But my tank is no where near what you're talking about.

Good luck man.. please keep us in the loop.. it'll be cool to see another project of this scope happen.

 

[Oompa Loompa]

Sounds like you're actually set on building this thing. I would DEFINITELY not DIY this entire thing. I like that it's attached to the house, that's awesome. What are your plans for viewing panels? Care to share a budget? And my big question:

What the hell is going in this thing??

 

[Ilawis]

Sounds like you're actually set on building this thing. I would DEFINITELY not DIY this entire thing. I like that it's attached to the house, that's awesome. What are your plans for viewing panels? Care to share a budget? And my big question:

What the hell is going in this thing??

Lol some parts of it are a bit big to diy (I don't know about you but I'm not particularly good at skimming concrete and I can't really lift a 40 ft bit of acrylic with my own hands
I'll get professional help (both mind and body) as it's needed but the bits I can do myself I will do as labour is one of the most expensive parts of the build and I would like that connection with the house of building it with my own hands
At the moment I'm unsure what will be in it but mostly local fish it is a salt water tank so I'll see what I'll catch
The ningaloo reef is not far from where I will build it so it will be a live coral tank and have some of the more colourful fish from the area
I'm hoping to seed the coral from reef spawning rather than picking up small bits or captive breed corals that way it's more healthy for the environment of the tank and the fish I get into the tank
However I don't think I have ever heard of someone seeding a tank before but to me it seems like the best way with such a large area to live coral and it provides a great viewing platform for learning about the development of coral reefs and that's something I want to teach my kids about in the environment and how we need to look after the world

 

[Oompa Loompa]

Woah woah woah. You want a 75,000 gallon live reef? This is a whole nother ball game. If you want saltwater, go with the simple answer - sharks. Your tank is the dream of more shark keepers, why not go with some? With something of that size you have the opportunity to keep some serious sharks in that thing.

I figured it would be freshwater. But a 75,000 gallon reef, unless you had all native species and water pumped into it, is not very feasible.

 

[Ilawis]

Yes water pumped into it is the plan but I don't think it's suitable for sharks too many corners and I hate seeing the bloody noses
Rays will be nice and yes all native (hense the moving to Australia as well as the by far cheaper land prices and living expenses)
In Australia as it's a desert there is sun every day so the plan is solar panels to a pump that will just pump water in and flow back out
That's also why I expect there to be so much more sand and I high water table so there are some massive challenges to overcome there
But in saying that I've helped build $12M homes before and the challenges with them so it's just part in parcel for it

 

[Oompa Loompa]

If you think you can actually do this, go ahead. Definitely get in contact with public aquariums though.

Australia is pretty sensitive with their wildlife. I would check and double check about pumping in fresh seawater. For lighting, I would just do straight skylights. You could do blue lights and MHs as well for supplements. You could easily remove those corners to make it suitable for sharks, and I think it would be a great investment. You could do your reef and keep reef sharks in it, you would be the envy of every MFK'er ever. Large morays, schools of barracuda - everything you could imagine. Oh, please tell me you're going to try and get giant trevally for this thing!

 

[Ilawis]

If you think you can actually do this, go ahead. Definitely get in contact with public aquariums though.

Australia is pretty sensitive with their wildlife. I would check and double check about pumping in fresh seawater. For lighting, I would just do straight skylights. You could do blue lights and MHs as well for supplements. You could easily remove those corners to make it suitable for sharks, and I think it would be a great investment. You could do your reef and keep reef sharks in it, you would be the envy of every MFK'er ever. Large morays, schools of barracuda - everything you could imagine. Oh, please tell me you're going to try and get giant trevally for this thing!

I guess if I wanted I could put rock formations or something in the corners to round it off and make a nice close viewing place for smaller fish
I would definitely be finding out about the intake outtake part of it but there are a few loops that might help with letting them be OK with it all
Atho it is a huge tank I'm still a bit cautious about fast moving ocean going fish as I don't want them to get a fright and destroy themselves so I'm going to have to think a bit about what goes in there and do a bit of research into the native species of the area
There is no roof at all above the tank However I am thinking of putting a retractable awning to prevent the water getting too hot in the sun and some flood lights for night just for viewing and led in the water for night too