elusive_fish

I've been seeking some expert help on some more technical aspects of a large tank design... but before I do anything I need a sanity check. The plan is to have a tank 2300long x 700wide x 600 tall coming out from the wall like a peninsula, with bar seating on three sides. In the middle is a simulated rock wall that the fish can swim in and out of through holes, from one side of the tank to the other. This also stops you from staring at the person opposite. I would stock it with malawi cichlids - a bunch of electric yellows and dems, with some male peacocks and haps. All up, the project won't give me any change out of $3000. As a cafe in its first year of business on the door of gloomy winter, that is a major investment. For me, it is a dream tank, but I need to make sure it is a sound business decision and that it does have a Return On Investment. The front of my cafe is wide and floor-to-ceiling glass, so the idea is to put an aquarium in so impressive that when viewed from the roadside would draw people to come in and look. Then sit down and drink a coffee and watch. Then it would get known as the 'cafe with the giant aquarium'- something to differentiate it from the other 5 within the area. Kids seem to have a lot of say what happens in the family and I'd imagine kids would just love to watch the cichlids crazy and colourful antics (as would all ages) I know I'm asking an incredibly biased audience in here, but I still want to know what people think. Do you think it would create any noticeable increase in revenue? Would you/your friends/etc make a point of going to a place that had such a display?

The tank hasnt been built yet. After adding up how much the total project will cost my only hope is to do some of the work myself. If I can get the tank made with the correct holes, I can probably find and old tank on trademe for the sump and try and convince some of the fine local fish people to give me a hand. I just need to know what holes to have made into the tank, in what size and location. If anyone can take pity on me and suggest a design...

What part of christchurch are you? What kind of fish do you keep?

This is probably a dumb question... If the power failed, wouldnt a hole in the bottom allow all the water to syphon back into the sump and out into the cafe?

Yes, its a morbid topic but I honestly want to know... What do you do with a fish that is on its side, gasping for every breath and knocking on deaths door? Do you let it struggle it out or do you euthanase it in some way.

Having my tank come out from the wall like a peninsula would mean that both my overflow and return pipe(s) would be at the same end. Would this mean i just end up recycling a lot of the same water? Id imagine this would pick up virtually none of the crud in the tank. I guess this means I just have to find where it accumulates and vacuum regularly?

I guess its better to be safe than sorry in this regard, eh! Ive just always wanted a venustus.

I know they are predatory, as are most fish given the mouth-to-prey size ratio works for them Most juvies I see sold are the 2-3cm mark. Surely he couldnt eat those?

Ooh! Im excited about a trademe auction I just saw... a male giraffe at 10cm. Don't anyone go bidding on him! Would he be ok in the tank im planning with electric yellows and dems juvis?

I do want to learn more about sumps, but the time it will take me to research the whole thing and come up with a solid design myself is time I unfortunately dont have. It would be a HUGE help to me getting this project done if the experienced people on here drew up a design for me, with dimensions. Spoons drawings have been a huge help, but im such a noob to this whole thing that I still cant entirely tell what im looking at :oops: An older guy down here gave me a decent price on building the main tank, but he doesnt seem to know anything about sumps either. If I could just give him a design to build im sure he would hapily do it. Would the actual plumbing be simple enough for a below average handyman like me to complete? Thanks all for your help!

That would be nice. It's unfortunately not an easy idea being located in christchurch

So how high is the overflow? The total tank height is 60cm. So how would the water return be done?

My cafe is about 80sqm seating inside... the tank will only take up a sixth of that.

The guy I was talking to was going to section off the last 10cm or so length of the tank as an overflow and then have the water draining vertically out the bottom to the sump below. Is there any advantages do doing it this way, or is it just as effective to just have a outlet hole drilled near the top?

Great looking drawing spoon... only I cant really see it. Also need to know about the overflow design and where holes need to be drilled etc. Im so over this.

Hi, This is part of my initiative to put a large malawi cichlid tank in my cafe. I know nothing about sumps, except that it would probably be the way for me to go with a large tank. Ive been talking to a local 'professional' about doing this, and although he would no doubt do a great job, he wont commit to a firm price and his labour prices may put my project out of reach. My project is on the verge of being canned because I cant keep the costs to my budget... except maybe if I can do more of it myself (or mabye find some kind local volunteers who will work for food and appreciation? ) The tank will be about 2300 long x 700 wide x 600 high (nominally 966 litres) in 12mm glass. It will be viewable on three sides, with one of the short sides against a wall. I'd imagine this would be where all the plumbing would have to be? This is sorta what it will look like: Can anyone help me with links or sketches of a sump design that would work? Please help save my tank project! Please note: I did try the search function, but it does appear to be broken!

Unless you knew someone with a commercial kitchen. Like a cafe or something. :roll:

I would have thought youd be looking at a 4ft/240L for a group like that. But see what the more experienced people in here say.

With Jennifers permission I'm going to try her famous pumpkin pie in the cafe tomorrow. The buttercup got roasted this arvo and will be ready for action tomorrow morning

I've pretty much done what you described. The bottom surface has not been cemented, nor shrunk with the heat gun. Its just expanded poly. Do you think it would help the strength if I epoxy resined the bottom? I'm just wondering if the silicone would stick better to that. If you plan on being over the new brighton way somewhere in the near future you should let me know and come take a look and let me know what you think.

OK, time for my next random question(s) The tank is to feature a 'rock' wall running down the length of the tank, in the middle. There are diagonal holes carved in it so that the fish can weave their way in and out of the rocks, from one side of the tank to the other. Because it is polystyrene covered in cement, its incredibly buoyant and im concerned that there won't be enough surface area on the bottom of the feature to anchor it down to the aquarium safely. The wall is 2100 Long x 450 high x 80-150 wide. There are a number of cut outs along the bottom, meaning that the total surface area where it would stick is considerably less than the 2100x80-150 footprint. Questions: 1/ Should I cement or epoxy resin the polystyrene on the bottom of the wall, where the tank will be stuck down? Or would leaving the bare poly be better for the adhesive (presumably silicone) 2/ Will there be enough surface area to hold it down without the glue or the poly failing? Here is my (probably flawed) math if anyone can tell me if im on the right track! Best guess, this thing has a volume of about 90l. It probably weighs 10kg, but displaces 90kg of water... so it will have 80kg/785N upward force. The bottom surface is nominally 2.1 x 0.1 = 0.21 square metres. But as roughly half has been carved away, this leaves 0.1 m^2. Therefore, the rock wall will experience 7850N/M^2 (Pascal) of pressure/stress. Now that I've worked that out, I have no idea what to do with it :lol:

Are you sure its a good idea to be putting malawi cichlids in a tank with such a small footprint? Especially considering most people here will recommend you get a sizeable mob of dems.

I've never seen a dario dario before... or even heard of them. They seem colourful and interesting. I'll have to come see yours some time jennifer!

Thanks for the clarification Ryan. My big ice blue male is the only greshakei I kept after selling the rest. He was just too big and beautiful to part with. He never bothers my biggest male yellow (the sick guy) and just gives occassional chase to others. Ive never seen him hurt anything or even repeatedly harass the same fish. My current tank is a 4ft... but im planning on putting him in a 2.3m tank with a bunch of dems and yellows.

I'm a little confused. First you are saying its likely a case of bloat caused by hexamata and I should use metro... but now you are saying its caused by stress? Metro aint gonna help that. I can see how stress (diet/chemistry/aggression) would make a fish more susceptable to disease, but you are saying bloat is due to these things? The dominant fish is a big male metricliama greshakei. He gives the fish a bit of a periodic rev up, but hes not overly aggressive by malawi tank standards.