New tank build pic's, 90"x48"x36"high

[kev]

Hi all, i recently had my dream tank built, its 90"x48"x36"high made using 19mm glass. The tank was made by a friend and the hood was made by Les at Coral Aquariums in Maghull.

the filtration is a 18" Lacron sand filter and a 18000s Sequence pump in a small shed outside with a load of insulation.

here's the pic's, bloody loads of them











































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Hope you like it

Kev

[Neo]

thats a tank and a half cheers for sharing

[kev]

cheers

[Viktor Jarikov]

Nice, Kev! Why the top was built into the inside of the tank in place of resting on the top edge of the walls?

Coincidentally, I have been eyeing the fiberglass tubs with an acrylic window, 8' x 4' x 3', ~700 gal, $2000. I think I will get 5-10 of those for my aquarium. Cannot find anything better.

[kev]

im not sure what you mean Viktor, do you mean the hood? if so it does sit on top and overlaps the edge by 3" to cover the water line.

Kev

[Viktor Jarikov]

I am talking about the thin long strips of glass that, I suppose, will support the hood. They are positioned 1"-2" below the top edge of the walls. I do not think I saw such a construction choice before and I am trying to understand whys and pros of that choice because (God forbid, not criticizing, just thinking aloud) for now I see only cons - the weight of the glass strips and the hood exerts shear forces on the thin seams connecting the strips to the walls; I imagine it also pushes the walls out, instead of holding them/pulling them in, which would occur if the strips were glued to the top; and you lose a couple of inches of the height.

Sorry, I am sure I am explaining it badly.

[MatsP]

They are stress-bars, they prevent the glass from bending (too much). For such a long and tall tank, it's essential to have stress bars. They can be used to hold cover-glass and sometimes the hood, but their main purpose is to strengthen the glass and stop it from flexing out from the water pressure.

The same problem could, technically, be solved by using thicker glass, but this makes the whole construction more expensive and heavier (because the glass is the same thickness from top to bottom, and adding a few mm over a large sheet of glass adds more weight than a relatively narrow strip of thicker glass - and glass cost is roughly equivalent to the weight of the glass, so more weight -> higher price).

This is the same as the reason we have T/I-beams for steel constructions, rather than a solid flat/square piece of steel - the vertical part of the T/I is providing strength in the vertical direction, and the sideways [and to some extent torsional] strength is provided by the bits that stick out to either side.

--
Mats

[kev]

Mats is right about the stress bar's being there to stop any flex at the top, but being 19mm glass there wouldnt be much anyway. the hood is not actually sat on these bars, it sits on the 4 walls and overlap's the edge by 3" to hide the water level. the only thing on the stress bars is the cover glasses.

Kev

[MatsP]

Do you mind telling who built the tank for you?

--
Mats

[exasperatus2002]

I like it! Besides the pleco, what else are you putting in it?

[kev]

The tank was built by Andy who used to run the aquatic department at BAS and his friend Tony.

Not sure what else is goin in there yet, thinking about some Geo's or maybe a Asian aro

Kev

[saltcop]

Kev, I noticed that the front, back and side glass all rest on the bottom glass. I always thought that the bottom glass must sit a 1/4" off the bottom so the weight of the tank would be supported on the vertical glass and not the bottom glass which could crack.

[MatsP]

There are two ways to build (big) tanks: "floating base", where the base is not in contact with whatever is under the tank, and "standing on base" (I'm not sure this has a name as such - I've never heard one, and a quick google didn't come up with anything), where the base is supporting the weight of the tank.

Both have their own pros and cons. In this case, it looks like it's a double-base, which should make it strong enough, for sure.

--
Mats

[wrasse]

Kev, I think it looks like a superb build.

I would love having a tank that size with geos and cats and maybe discus

There's a more definite green tint with thicker glass. Do you notice the tint with the tank filled?
Re- syphoning the bottom... as the tank is practically on the floor it might prove tricky syphoning mulm and uneaten food. Do you see that as a problem? Maybe you have a powered vacuum for that?
With a 3' deep tank there are times when you might need long arms, especially to reach towards the back of the tank. How will you manage this?
Will you do water changes direct from the tap or do you have a reservoir/ water storage of some kind?
Are you planning any supplimentary filtration?

[kev]

Yeah is has a double base, the bottom pannel is 19mm and the there is a 12mm panel on top of that the 2 19mm bars running the length front and back so I think this is well enough support. The lads have made loads of huge tanks this way with no problems.

The green tinge isn't bad at all really, my biggest problem with colour is cos there is so much wood the tannings are coming out loads.

Reaching the bottom is a bit of a problem, but as it's on the floor with step ladders I can get right over it and reach in with a pair of prongs.

For syphoning I jus use a long pips outside as my front garden slopes down a lot.

I'm thinking about adding a trickle tower but at the min while the stocking level is low I don't think I need it.

The tank has a overflow pipe running to the grid outside so I've got a RO unit dripping in constantly.

Are you the same wrasse that has the Geo Megasema from Pier? If so have you managed to get the breeding yet? I'd like 10-20 of them in there

[wrasse]

Hi Kev,

Yes its me .
If... that's IF they are a pair, I wish they would get on with it. They live with some S Acuticeps and they've spawned in there, although the eggs disappeared by the 3rd day. But yes if they produce, I'll let you know.

Thanks for your reply. I'm planning a big tank, but not THAT big, so it's helpful to see the workings-out.

Can't help picturing you reaching in from your stepladder, when you're on your third glass of wine... SPLADOOSH

Cheers, Richard

[Lloydy]

Not sure what else is goin in there yet, thinking about some Geo's or maybe a Asian aro

Kev

Is that a L14 or L48? (I think that's the right number)

How about a load of L14/48's and trying to breed them? I've had 4x L14s together for a while now with the long term plan to hopefully get a breeding pair from the 4. I think a tank your size would certainly be big enough to have a mature group together without too much aggression due to lack of space.

[grokefish]

When I had a big tank like this I used to actually get in it to clean it.

[apistomaster]

I have built some large all glass tanks using 1/4" plate glass so they where never more than 90 gallons but had similar proportions.

I was always pushing the limits of the thickness of glass I could afford so I used some of the same methods but not all.
I have always used what what Mats called the "floating base" but otherwise my tanks also had the top longitudinal stiffening strips and a center cross brace glued underneath the long strips and the front and back.
I discounted the cross brace's butt joints' strength between front and back panels and relied more on the tie in with the long stiffening strips. It always seemed like the best way to distribute the loads over more area.
I preferred a floating bottom and never felt comfortable with the side connections to the bottom pane being subjected to the shearing forces from the outward water pressure nor the concentration of vertical loads along the edges of the bottom.

I once built a 36" tall tank out of 3/8" glass and laminated a piece of 1/4" glass for the bottom pane plus added laminated two more 1/4" X 2" strips along the bottom and front and back panes to increase the total surface area at every bonded structural connection. Each main structural joint was 3/8" + 1/4" + 1/4" so the bond width was 7/8".
Of course if the glass is thick enough you can make just about any design work.

It is an impressive tank just a bit low to the ground for me. My larger tanks usually contain wild Discus and plecos. Discus would not be happy so low to the ground. In fact none of my fish breed well on my bottom rows so I use them for fry grow out and not breeding or display.

[kev]

yeah it is a L14, there are 3 of them all about 12" but unfortunatly they are all males and are kicking the crap out of eachother even with the amount of space and hiding places.

Kev

[PlecoCrazy]

Very nice tank Kev. And some great pictures. The L14 look very nice in the tank.

In fact none of my fish breed well on my bottom rows so I use them for fry grow out and not breeding or display.

Not to high jack but interesting comment. Why do you think this is Larry? I have had many species of plecs spawn on my bottom rows. Temperature?

[kev]

I have built some large all glass tanks using 1/4" plate glass so they where never more than 90 gallons but had similar proportions.

I was always pushing the limits of the thickness of glass I could afford so I used some of the same methods but not all.
I have always used what what Mats called the "floating base" but otherwise my tanks also had the top longitudinal stiffening strips and a center cross brace glued underneath the long strips and the front and back.
I discounted the cross brace's butt joints' strength between front and back panels and relied more on the tie in with the long stiffening strips. It always seemed like the best way to distribute the loads over more area.
I preferred a floating bottom and never felt comfortable with the side connections to the bottom pane being subjected to the shearing forces from the outward water pressure nor the concentration of vertical loads along the edges of the bottom.

I once built a 36" tall tank out of 3/8" glass and laminated a piece of 1/4" glass for the bottom pane plus added laminated two more 1/4" X 2" strips along the bottom and front and back panes to increase the total surface area at every bonded structural connection. Each main structural joint was 3/8" + 1/4" + 1/4" so the bond width was 7/8".
Of course if the glass is thick enough you can make just about any design work.

It is an impressive tank just a bit low to the ground for me. My larger tanks usually contain wild Discus and plecos. Discus would not be happy so low to the ground. In fact none of my fish breed well on my bottom rows so I use them for fry grow out and not breeding or display.

having it so low was a risk but now that its in im very happ with the look. once you plonk yourself down on the giant beanbag infront of it its perfect hight, even now as i sit on the couch looking over at it it's a perfect hight.

Kev