Author Topic: One Tank To Rule Them All  (Read 84601 times)

Offline Ron

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One Tank To Rule Them All
« on: July 19, 2014, 09:03:16 AM »




*That's condensation on the tank. It is actually clear acrylic.  ;)

I've been thinking about scaling back on how many tanks I'm maintaining and taking a quality over quantity approach. It'll be a while until I'm at a point where it's running, but I'm looking forward to the journey of getting there.  :)
"All men are equal before fish."
- Herbert Hoover
Planted 100 Gallon Tank
550 Gallon Hap Tank

Offline Frontboy7

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Re: One Tank To Rule Them All
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2014, 09:59:08 AM »
Nice!!  :)  You will have to post pics as you move along.

Offline TrailerParkFishTanks

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Re: One Tank To Rule Them All
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2014, 10:38:42 AM »
What the hell!? I didn't know you were getting a new pool! Did you purchase scuba gear so you can clean the glass? That's freaking awesome. Do you know how many guppies you can fit in there? Ok, ok, I'm only poking fun cuz I'm majorly jealous.
I have about 18,000 rounds of .223 I'm  looking to get rid of, 100 rd bags. 1-4 bags $40 ea, 5-9 bags $38 ea, 10 or more bags $35 ea. I can't put this in the for sale section, its not fish related. No shipping.

Offline Mission Man

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Re: One Tank To Rule Them All
« Reply #3 on: July 19, 2014, 10:39:45 AM »
Is that a 30 long or a 40 breeder ?   ::)

Feel like I'm watching an episode of Fish Tank Kings.

Nice tank !!!!  Keep the updates coming for us "less fortunate".  :'(

Offline Ron

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Re: One Tank To Rule Them All
« Reply #4 on: July 19, 2014, 01:12:54 PM »
Nice!!  :)  You will have to post pics as you move along.
That's the plan.  ;)

Do you know how many guppies you can fit in there? Ok, ok, I'm only poking fun cuz I'm majorly jealous.
Ironically I have 30 gallons worth of guppies right now.  :P

Is that a 30 long or a 40 breeder ?   ::)

Feel like I'm watching an episode of Fish Tank Kings.

Nice tank !!!!  Keep the updates coming for us "less fortunate".  :'(
Thanks! It's about 16 40 breeders (less the overflow volume) all in one tank.  ;D
"All men are equal before fish."
- Herbert Hoover
Planted 100 Gallon Tank
550 Gallon Hap Tank

Offline Marty

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Re: One Tank To Rule Them All
« Reply #5 on: July 19, 2014, 01:44:49 PM »
Nice!  Good for you!

Offline Somethingsfishy

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Re: One Tank To Rule Them All
« Reply #6 on: July 19, 2014, 02:13:52 PM »
Wow!  That's quite the tank!!  What are you thinking of putting in there?

Offline danielratti

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Re: One Tank To Rule Them All
« Reply #7 on: July 19, 2014, 02:27:56 PM »
600 gallons huh...  Good for you man hopefully the fish shed you built can support this

Offline Ron

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Re: One Tank To Rule Them All
« Reply #8 on: July 19, 2014, 02:45:21 PM »
Nice!  Good for you!
Thanks. I've been thinking about being able to do something like this for years and am happy I finally could execute it. I'll be picking your brain at the picnic tomorrow; I'd like to do something similar to what you did with your in-wall tank.

Wow!  That's quite the tank!!  What are you thinking of putting in there?
I've tried many styles of tanks over the years and I still love malawian haps the most. It'll be hap tank (maybe a few non-haps too like clown loaches or peacocks). I've already come to accept whatever I put in it, I'll not be able to get back out without draining the tank way, way down.

600 gallons huh...  Good for you man hopefully the fish shed you built can support this
I've got a walkout basement, otherwise I'd have never gone this big.

Not sure what people have pegged it at from the photos, but it's 8' long, 4' wide, and 29" high. Add in the euro-bracing around the top and without draining the tank to net fish, the only way to get them out would be "fishing" for them. The volume is roughly 550 gallons, less the overflow which is ~25 gallons roughly (I haven't done the math).

It's also got a center overflow setup, which initially I wasn't thrilled about, but like that it'll do a better job of drawing water from throughout the tank compared to rear-mounted overflows. I'll be making a DIY background to hide the overflow stack.

I'm still not sure what I'm doing with the background. A DIY background would look amazing, but doing something outside the tank that would allow me to see through the tank from the backside (maintenance side) might be nice. I've spent years researching large tank setups and am still looking for more ideas before I make a decision.

I'll be finally doing a sump for the first time, as it doesn't make sense to do anything different for a tank this size. I'm thinking it'll be in the 150 gallon range, but haven't quite figured out where I want it located (under the tank vs off to the side), but if under the tank the dimensions of the supports under the tank might limit what I can do. I'm aiming for a "leak proof" sump - no holes/seals that could ever potentially result in a flood.

The tank didn't come with much of anything besides the tank, though the PO through in a wavemaker he'd used with it (previously reef setup). While not necessary for an african tank, I'm intrigued and need to look into it more.

Has anyone done a LED lighting setup? Based on power consumption, I think that'd the route I'd like to go, despite having a copious amount of 8' long T12 lights sitting unused.

If anyone has links to other large malawian hap setups, please share. The more ideas the better.
"All men are equal before fish."
- Herbert Hoover
Planted 100 Gallon Tank
550 Gallon Hap Tank

Offline danielratti

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Re: One Tank To Rule Them All
« Reply #9 on: July 19, 2014, 03:07:48 PM »
Look into the Taotronics led setups I've seen them got for under 100 and are equipment to ecotech radions for a lot less

Offline Ron

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Re: One Tank To Rule Them All
« Reply #10 on: July 19, 2014, 10:03:51 PM »
Thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking of DIY'ing the lighting, but will take a look into those as well just in case.
"All men are equal before fish."
- Herbert Hoover
Planted 100 Gallon Tank
550 Gallon Hap Tank

Offline jcunningham0295

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Re: One Tank To Rule Them All
« Reply #11 on: July 19, 2014, 10:47:11 PM »
Very awesome Ron.  I am sure what ever you put it will look great!!!  Look forward to seeing additional pics as you move through the process.
Josh Cunningham
Cunningham Cichlids, LLC.
Over 5,290 gallons of quality African Cichlids

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Offline Super Turtleman

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Re: One Tank To Rule Them All
« Reply #12 on: July 19, 2014, 11:19:26 PM »
Look forward to talking about this tomorrow. I can go over some ideas about the sump based on the sump on my 8'. It seems impossible to overflow due to not having enough water between sump and tank to allow for overflow.
Emil
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Offline mightieskeeper

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Re: One Tank To Rule Them All
« Reply #13 on: July 21, 2014, 05:44:18 PM »
That is awesome Ron, great score!
"We’re nothing but the walking dead in Flint." CHRISTINE BROWN

Offline Stan M.

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Re: One Tank To Rule Them All
« Reply #14 on: July 21, 2014, 10:04:32 PM »
Nice tank Ron!