Building a Mega-Home Marine Tank (18,000 GA) Need Advice All Welcome
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If anyone has advice on using materials please feel free to commit because that is the area of development that has me some stomped. Because the tank is so large I was thinking of using aluminum as the bases for the tank. I would then coat the inside with fiberglass the same as thing they use in pools either that or epoxy. And then of course the front would be the only view area with 14.5 in thick Acrylic (this number is from the calculation calculator found on here). I have seen some tanks made from wood but I am thinking there would be too much pressure to build out of wood and aluminum is not that more expensive as wood.
Also any help on calculating a filtration and bio system would be appreciated as well so I am open to any suggestions.
Also any help on calculating a filtration and bio system would be appreciated as well so I am open to any suggestions.
Is this tank going to be 180 inches tall? Or 180 inches wide? 180 inches tall would be pointless IMO, as that is 15 feet. 5 feet tall would be much more reasonable 
I say this because 14.5 inch acrylic sounds too thick, and would cost thousands of dollars. Save your money and only go 5 feet tall
I say this because 14.5 inch acrylic sounds too thick, and would cost thousands of dollars. Save your money and only go 5 feet tall Yeah but thats the point 5 feet is cool I'm 6'6 and even I want to look up its the idea of having a commercial type tank in your home the view will be 15 feet add 2 ft for the filtration and system because it will be on the top. The tank will then have a nice cherry would finish trim so it blends with the funiture and the Acrylic would be about $2500 - $5000 but as the market falls the price gets cheeper
oh boy, this sounds like a pipedream.. best of luck man but it sounds like you are in over your head.
i doubt aluminum will work unless you get it fairly thick and brace the outsides of it with some I-beams fastened to the foundation. and you have to have some kind of base on top of the floor. what are the sides going to attach to?
15' of water ~= 21psi
420in^2 * 21psi ~= 8800 pounds pressing against the bottom inch of the longest side of your tank
hopefully my math isn't too far off but you need to get in touch with your structural engineer to discuss tank design and feasibility before you go ahead and think about filtration. but how about 250 HOBs for some "on the top" filtration?
a 15' tall by 35' long and 1.25' thick piece of acrylic.. you're gonna need a crane to move that! not to mention it is going in your game room which sounds impossible without tearing down a wall
i just don't see it happening and i hope you can prove me wrong because it would be pretty awesome
good luck
i doubt aluminum will work unless you get it fairly thick and brace the outsides of it with some I-beams fastened to the foundation. and you have to have some kind of base on top of the floor. what are the sides going to attach to?
15' of water ~= 21psi
420in^2 * 21psi ~= 8800 pounds pressing against the bottom inch of the longest side of your tank
hopefully my math isn't too far off but you need to get in touch with your structural engineer to discuss tank design and feasibility before you go ahead and think about filtration. but how about 250 HOBs for some "on the top" filtration?
a 15' tall by 35' long and 1.25' thick piece of acrylic.. you're gonna need a crane to move that! not to mention it is going in your game room which sounds impossible without tearing down a wall
i just don't see it happening and i hope you can prove me wrong because it would be pretty awesome
good luck
Sorry this cant go in your home unless you excavate, pour new steel reinforced concrete floor and walls for the tank because an aluminum frame will not work. 18,000 gallons weighs just over 75 tons. Your filtration system will be to large to put over top of the tank its going to need its own room to be housed in. Water changes will almost certainly be out of the question so you'll need to recycle the water which will require chemical filtration which means you need even more room. all the lighting required for the tank will leave no room for the filtration to be over top of it anyways. Your acrylic price estimate is way way off. Of course none of this is impossible as long as you have the money but this is no simple project at all.
ageed with everyone.
i have been running all thoes same questions in my head when i first read this. even if it is on concrete it would have to be atleasr almost 2' deep just to suport that weight. its seems like his measurements ment to be in inches not feet. i mean you might as well section off part of the ocean where you have your reef, little rock, then open water and call it your own.
yeah we all want abit of the ocean in your house and well sometimes you just might need to realize you need to leave the ocean where it is, or live in a sub in alittle corner of the world that is yours and only yours
i have been running all thoes same questions in my head when i first read this. even if it is on concrete it would have to be atleasr almost 2' deep just to suport that weight. its seems like his measurements ment to be in inches not feet. i mean you might as well section off part of the ocean where you have your reef, little rock, then open water and call it your own.
yeah we all want abit of the ocean in your house and well sometimes you just might need to realize you need to leave the ocean where it is, or live in a sub in alittle corner of the world that is yours and only yours
well being there is already someone on this site that has built a 50k gal tank. Its just a matter of money the more you have the skys the limit. but u also have to figuer in up keep on something this large also being a marine tank there are extra cost factors involved. IMO
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