I have attached my drawing of a approx. 5000 gal. water garden-aquarium. I grew up with water gardens, my dad always had one. I think they are great but I always wanted to see more of what was going on under the water and the plants were always in the way. I now have a plan for a creation that would allow the user to enjoy both the plant beauty of a water garden and the view of an aquarium. I have a steep slope so this plan will allow me to utilize more of the land while not having to remove as much dirt as I would if I attempted to create a completely level surface.
The build is 5 ft deep (16' by 7')with a 2ft shelf (5'x4'plus corner). My plan is to create steel screening above the bottom and place larger(8 in or so) rocks on the screen. Then use a bottom drain. This will give the look of a rock bottom with enough space for debris and waste to flow through the rocks to the drain. I will also have a skimmer for top debris. These both will be pumped to a waterfall that will fall to a pool 2 ft by 6ft. The bottom of this pool will be connected to a bog filter. My idea is that the water fall and bog filter will be seperated by a wall that is open at the bottom 6in. Large rocks will be placed on the bottom of the bog filter with progressively smaller rocks leading to the top layer of pea gravel where the water will then spill over into the main pool. The idea would be that the water fall into the small pool and is gravity forced under the seperating wall that holds back the rocks. The water then rises up through the rocks and pea gravel feeding the bog plants. Then clean, oxgenated water spills back into the main pond keeping the water crystal clear. Hopefully you can follow all that.
I've read the build of "anythingfish" and figured if he can build that massive tank freestanding then I should have no problem since most of my walls will be mostly underground and have the ground to support the weight. I will use two 4'x8' sheet of acrylic thickness yet to be determined but I'm thinking 1in or 1 1/2 in. These sheets will be supported every 4ft by 6x6 posts cemented into the ground. The rest of the walls will be framed lumber 2x8 12in on center. That's what "anythingfish" used and his was 6 ft deep so I should be okay. I will be using a lot of plants, rocks and driftwood to provide interesting home for fish native to Lake Wylie, SC where I live. The staple of which will be Largemouth bass and catfish with some crappie and panfish for variety.
I made the drawing in google sketchup which is free and pretty awesome if you ask me.
So with the information I gave is this a plausible plan?
The build is 5 ft deep (16' by 7')with a 2ft shelf (5'x4'plus corner). My plan is to create steel screening above the bottom and place larger(8 in or so) rocks on the screen. Then use a bottom drain. This will give the look of a rock bottom with enough space for debris and waste to flow through the rocks to the drain. I will also have a skimmer for top debris. These both will be pumped to a waterfall that will fall to a pool 2 ft by 6ft. The bottom of this pool will be connected to a bog filter. My idea is that the water fall and bog filter will be seperated by a wall that is open at the bottom 6in. Large rocks will be placed on the bottom of the bog filter with progressively smaller rocks leading to the top layer of pea gravel where the water will then spill over into the main pool. The idea would be that the water fall into the small pool and is gravity forced under the seperating wall that holds back the rocks. The water then rises up through the rocks and pea gravel feeding the bog plants. Then clean, oxgenated water spills back into the main pond keeping the water crystal clear. Hopefully you can follow all that.
I've read the build of "anythingfish" and figured if he can build that massive tank freestanding then I should have no problem since most of my walls will be mostly underground and have the ground to support the weight. I will use two 4'x8' sheet of acrylic thickness yet to be determined but I'm thinking 1in or 1 1/2 in. These sheets will be supported every 4ft by 6x6 posts cemented into the ground. The rest of the walls will be framed lumber 2x8 12in on center. That's what "anythingfish" used and his was 6 ft deep so I should be okay. I will be using a lot of plants, rocks and driftwood to provide interesting home for fish native to Lake Wylie, SC where I live. The staple of which will be Largemouth bass and catfish with some crappie and panfish for variety.
I made the drawing in google sketchup which is free and pretty awesome if you ask me.
So with the information I gave is this a plausible plan?
