skuzza Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 We will hopefully be moving in a couple of years and i am starting to round up some bits for my new tank and get some prices on materials. Looking at building a 8 to 10 meter fish only. We were thinking around 20mm thick by 8 to 10m long by around 700mm high. So far we have come up with making it out of concrete or maybe marine ply with a fiber glass inside. Kind of like a insideout boat. Also lighting ideas? This is not a joke. The only thing that will make it smaller is the house or the price of the glass front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skuzza Posted January 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Not really after MH lighting. Maybe T5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 I'd be thinking acrylic rather than glass at that size. Our tank is less than 1.5m long and uses 12mm glass, so 8 metres umm yeah thats some glass. Message TankMan on here, he makes tanks of this calibre on occasions, in all shapes and sizes too. Probably a good idea to get a quote too lol I'd definately say 'dont try this at home'. You're talking about 4 tonnes of water here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 I think it'd be pretty impractical to use T5s for a tank that size. You'd probably end up needing something like 60 4ft T5s, I think it'd be much easier to go with a dozen MHs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 19mm glass is quite easy to get in nz. You would have to look at using a couple of viewing panels. You could also use natural light. I think this would be a better option. Some well placed skylights would do the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 did you win lotto if it is fish only , normal t8 floros will be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 I think it'd be pretty impractical to use T5s for a tank that size. You'd probably end up needing something like 60 4ft T5s, I think it'd be much easier to go with a dozen MHs. It's "fish only" so as long as he can see into the tank doesn't really matter what he uses. Personally I can't see it staying fish only hahaha but hay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skuzza Posted January 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Im going to try my hardest to stay fish only so i dont spend every cent i have. I wish i won lotto. Thats a good point t8's would do it. How does acrylic stand up to cleaning and the age of time? . Will it scratch easy ? . By viewing panels do you mean have glass sections with joins. If power was cheaper i would go coral but can you imagine the power bill of running 30x 400w MH lights plus 20 streams and the pallet loads of calcium and mag etc. What about the tank itself. Any ideas there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazzard Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Have you thought about buying a house with a pool and converting it? Put a conservatory over it and it would be fantastic! A lot cheaper too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petplanet Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 I would go the skylights aswell. Then throw on two or three halides with lumenarc reflectors for massive light spread. It would be well worth it for the ripple effect in the water that you do not get with T8's. Also the T8's just won't have the light punch for a tank that deep. There was a tread ages ago about a guy that made a shark tank in his house. It was huge. I think he used overlapping ply and then fibre glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 This guy's tank is acrylic: http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_tank.htm I think the calcs may be different if you are just using glass/acrylic for a front panel. You could ask these guys: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/hi-fro ... 13954.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skuzza Posted February 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 I can only get glass 3.9m long so its looking like two joins or acrylic. I will look into acrylic next week. The oregon reef tank link is realy good. Still worried about scratches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Acrylic would scratch. I would have thought 2 panels would be better anyway, well strength wise that is. I would also think glass would be cheaper than acrylic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 You can buff the scratches out, they do this at the National Aquarium. Otherwise, you could be ultra careful like Steve Weast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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