Making 6ft Tank

[ranmasatome]

WAH!! get that set ah?? actaully very good buy lah.. but..only 5 ft plus leh..
Actually...if you go into MHs then look at something around 1500 JUST for the lights.. hahaha..good luck..
to think you wanted to do soemthing cheap...its quite ironic..

[vishy100]

Hey,
I'm not sure about prices over there, but if you still want the length just get a 6x2x2 or a 6x18x18 it wont be as huge but it will definetly be a lot lot cheaper 10mm glass is expensive enough let alone 15 which may be a bit blury and you may need crystal glass or whatever its called, bigger is not always better on the budget
Good luck
Matt

[XnSdVd]

Heh, another thing I was worried about was getting the tank into the house
You see, I figured I could bring the individual panes into the room and build the tank there. It's pretty simple. I also thought of building the cupboard to fit the tank. Like have a 2 inch hole that fits the tank exactly. That way you get a simple external brace for extra support.
And seriously, the last thing I want is to wake up covered in fish and tank water

As for lighting, I wanted to try doing it with the sun. Since the tank's in an area that gets lots of afternoon sun. 2 reasons:
- It's cheaper. I'm already getting nagged for wanting to redo my room
- I'd like to see my fish actually breed for once. And if I'm not wrong spawning is triggered by the rising sun in most species.

Heh, I'll probably doccument this little "project" once I get about to doing it. Btw, thanks for the advice guys =) I'm considering the 2nd hand tank from Gratiola now... heh. Know any glass merchants(or whatever you call people who sell glass)?

[joestoys]

Planted Aquascaping a big tank is not a cheap hobby> better do homework first. good luck

[XnSdVd]

I plant to be as cheap as possible
Fert - fish poop
CO2 - fish breathe don't they?
Lighting - the sun!

[joestoys]

I plant to be as cheap as possible
Fert - fish poop
CO2 - fish breathe don't they?
Lighting - the sun!

A small tank can do with the above but 6ft..... hard lah.

I think you will get a full tank of algae with sun light!

good luck- i am interested to see how you gonna assemble the 6 footer 15mm glass by yourself.

[Simon]

not forgotten how many people u need to carry a 15mm, 6ft long glass. if u ask me, u are better for getting a standard 6x2x2 with 12mm glass. not to worry, it can fit yr lift and door width . When your tank is this big, you cannot afford for things to go wrong. so get enough budget before you jump into it.

[XnSdVd]

I suddenly see myself waking up covered in fish...
I'm planning on putting the tank above and next to my mattress.
But chances are I'm going to have to get my tank from vincent. Would've really liked to build it myself but it seems my post ORD budget can't handle it
Still, I'll be posting pics as things develope. Hopefull I don't end up with a big algae farm...

[ranmasatome]

building it yourself would be just too chaotic... imagine how heavy one plane of glass would be.. and at one time in builing you actually have to handle 3-4 at one time..

[BFG]

I plant to be as cheap as possible
Fert - fish poop
CO2 - fish breathe don't they?
Lighting - the sun!

Using fish poop for fert? Are you sure? You gonna need alot of plants to consume all that. Even then, algae would thrive before the fish poop is being broken down into what plant would consume.

CO2 from fish? Another flaw in your plan. The amount is too neglible for the plants to consume. Thinking of adding more fish? Forget it. When night falls and photosynthesis stop, most of the fish would be gasping for air.

Please be a bit more realistic before going with the plan. A 6ft tank is a big monetary expenditure for anyone and you need to seriously reconsider into going for it.

[XnSdVd]

Actually the main problem when building(for me anyway) is waiting for the sealant to set before I start adding water I'm really impatient when it comes to things =) Anyway, I'll be shopping for a cabinet later today =) I can imagine the look on the sales guys' face when I ask "can this support 1200kg?" Muahahaha!!

As for what BFG said, I realise it's impossible to have a lush planted tank without the proper equipment. But I'm trying to go as natural(and cheap) as possible. So if everything goes well I'll have sparse vegetation and about 30-ish small fish/shrimp. I experimented with a smaller tank last year. It's completely self-sufficient 1 footer with 2 harlequin rasboras, 1 recently added betta pugnux, assorted snails to handle the algae, some hairgrass(very slow growth. doubled in size only after 4 months) and tubifex worms(to break down the shit and feed the fish). The only time I touch that tank is when the snail population gets too large and I remove some of them. So hopefully, I'll be able to do the same with the 6 footer.

[juggler]

Maybe can make a vivarium instead? Not as heavy.

[XnSdVd]

Maybe can make a vivarium instead? Not as heavy.

Heh, I was considering but I have no experience with vivas

[Simon]

Anyway, I'll be shopping for a cabinet later today =) I can imagine the look on the sales guys' face when I ask "can this support 1200kg?" Muahahaha!!

you gotta make really sure it can support the weight. 1stly, u dun wanna have a mini pool in your house, 2ndly, if a tank of that size drop, your neighbour gotta have a free skylight. lastly, HDB wouldnt be too happy about it and it wouldnt be nice when they take back your flat

to get enough poop for yr plants, you probably need like 1000 & more fishes

[Phillipians]

hi there, i was thinking, if you really want to get the 6 ft aquarium gget it from vincent cos he's selling like - not sure 1400+ or 1500+ for the tank and light which is a steal. The tank normally alone costs you 1000 odd bucks and the lightis another 1000. So i rather you obtain yourstuff from them. Yeap

[vinz]

A handful of members are messing with vivariums now... plus we have guru WildGinger. Talk to them, and do your research.

A vivarium with sunlight or less artificial is probably more viable... less/no algae problems in the emersed portions. Minimal aquatic plants.

Sunlight is an issue... the tank will probably get bright sunlight for a few hours a day... you'll need to get shade plants mainly.

One problem is all the plants will grow towards facing the window and not you.

Big tanks can be time consuming to maintain, depending on the choice of plants, etc.

I suggest you plan such that you won't have limitations if you want to convert to a moderate or high light tank with CO2 later (in case, your low maintainance method is not giving satisfactory results). E.g. space and mountings for additional equipment like CO2 reactors, cylinders, extra filters, hosing, lights, ballasts, etc.

For a high-light tank... try T5s. I suspect 3 rows end to end of 3ft T5s, with good reflectors should do the job. For foreground, use easy to maintain low-moderate light plants like crypts.

Seriously, if you don't intend to put in a large fish like an arowana or gar, a standard 180cmx60cmx60cm or 180cmx60cmx70cm is about the max before reach becomes a serious issue.

[vinz]

Oh yeah... calculate budget for fishes and plants too. A lot of fish and plants can go into a tank that large.

[ranmasatome]

if you want cheap..i suggest you dont go into a 6 footer... its like what they say in the army.. do thing dont do it half ****... you get the idea..

a 6 footer and a 1ft cube are 2 VERY VERY different things..what works in a 1ft cube may not necessarily work in a 6 footer... and because its such a big scale.. if you mess up just becuase you want to go "cheap" you'll mess up BIG time and have alot to cleanup.. i suggest that if you want to go into a big tank.. do it well.. dont try to scrim and save at area where its not worth it.. it'll just cost you more in the end.

[joestoys]

I experimented with a smaller tank last year. It's completely self-sufficient 1 footer

It's totally different! from 1 footer to a 6 footer!!! I think most of the old bird already advise you.

MY sincerce ADVISE- if you wanna everything cheap by DIY the tank, using sunlight, CO2 fr fishes, POO fr fishes, buy a cheap cabinet fr IKEA- get a 6 feet plant poster instead it's safer.

I am more worried than you- DIY the 6 footer tank- chances of breaking it and get yourseif cut or the whole tank collapes

please consider buying the tank and get a proper cabinet that able with stand the weight.
YOU are simply too NAIVE!

[copycat]

First time i heard of people DIY such a big tank. Good luck, I be watching the newspapers these days for news.
A piece of advice, if such tanks can be DIY, why do we need tank makers?
why do we pay then so much to do our tanks?