Advice for 12x4x4ft tank construction

[XnSdVd]

Heh, thanks for the input guys. But yes, I'm very aware that a 4ft tall tank would be very hard to fix if anything goes wrong. Hence my experimenting with my current 6ft.

Cabinet maker? I've got the most reliable consultant in the world, my dad He was a carpenter for almost 10 years. As for the maker, I'm going to see if the other Michael Lai from MAD Tanks can do it. He's got the experience(regularly makes 6ft + tanks) and he's the only one I know who works in solid wood. Expensive but relatively cheap compared to the tank.

Wife to be? haha, she's amazing... first thing she asked was "what!? where are we going to fi - erm.. wait... can I put my aro in?" Muahahahaha! Love that girl... she's got a 2ft gold aro, ugly fish if you ask me but meh, at least she understands the hobby And he does greet me when I come through the door... Though I have been toying with the idea of trading the fish for the tank...

Furniture? haha, of course the house comes first... If i have any money left THEN I'm getting the tank. And if I can REALLY afford it, probably hire green chapter to help scape the tank

Filtration? That's a tough question... on the one hand I'll probably need very stong flow for a tank that size, but i want to be able to have an ecosystem develope in the tank. And that means I don't want fry getting sucked into the impeller... or another case of daphnia soup. So we'll see, I'm still experimenting. Though logic tells us that the bigger the tank the less essential a filter is to the nitrogen cycle...

Monthly cost? Quite alot considering the ammount of light I'll need. For now the rough idea will be to have 12 x 80watt HO T5s. 8 tubes if get lots of sun. It would really make my day if someone invents solar powered tanklights by then...

The scape will, essentially be the same as all my other scapes. Singaporean biotope. Crypt carpets, Blyxa aubertii around the hardscape, moss on the hardscape, a sprinkling of other native plants to break up the lines. I'll probably be collecting DW for the next few years.

Gravel... I'm still playing around with this. I want to go as coarse as possible and still be able to grow smaller plants like hairgrass.

Tank maker.. hmm.. I've got a few ideas. Though it occured to me that something like this might be the first of it's kind in singapore. Hence it's a possible advertising opportunity for any of the companies involved... I'd imagine having "12x4x4ft planted tank" in ones portfolio would be a HUGE bonus.

[valice]

Talking about green chapter... I remember there was one thread many a months back showing them scaping this outdoor scape... It is huge and amazingly beautiful... Maybe can consult them for ideas on filteration, lightings and so on...

[XnSdVd]

I've spoken to lorba about it already. And he did give me a quote, essentially it was my entire budget for downpayment and renovations. Heh, so it's going to have to be an indoor tank for me.
And to be honest my budget for the thing is around $10 - $20K. It's hard to get a fix on the price, a US based contractor quoted US$7500 for the tank a local contractor gave SG$20,000 for a 10ft.

Of course I'll have to take into account the size of the house... Natural lighting would be quite hard to achieve.

Solonavi, any reason why you don't trust their workmanship? I'm quite wary of many things in this hobby. Especially when it comes to equipment and workmanship.

[XnSdVd]

Oh does anyone know what to do for lighting? I'm thinking to use T5s instead of MH because i'd imagine the combo of MH + chiller for such a large tank would bring my electrical bills into the $100+ range.
Now problem is T5s spread and dont have much depth. And in a 4ft deep tank, depth is a major issue. My plan right now would be to cram the lights in the middle of the tank and then find some sort of reflector that can focus the light.

Also does anyone know the lumen/sqft equivalent of 3WPG?

[solonavi]

Solonavi, any reason why you don't trust their workmanship? I'm quite wary of many things in this hobby. Especially when it comes to equipment and workmanship.

For normal application, they are fine. But if you are talking about aquarium which needed smooth joints for the acrylic, its gona be a huge challenge for them. Moreover, urs is a 12ft tank.

Cheers
JC

[Justikanz]

It would really make my day if someone invents solar powered tanklights by then...

This is rather contradicting isn't it... It's like someone inventing solar powered torchlight...

But, you might be happy to know my research topic is on solar cells! Haha... We are also hoping to improve the cell's effeciency!

[StanChung]

i think it's cool idea if it saves money and earth's resources.

[valice]

It's like someone inventing solar powered torchlight...

Actually that is possible ar... Just that you need a electrical storage to store the converted solar power... Hahaha...

Have you thought about using a small generator to power the lights? I think it could be cheaper? Or issit not... Hmmm....

[Justikanz]

Possible, of course.

But the joke was, WHY is there a need for solar powered torchlights? Why would you need torchlights when the ambient light is bright enough?...

Anyway, the storage device would render the torchlight immobile and useless...

[XnSdVd]

Ahem... TANK lights would make sense, cos I'll have another 12 - 16 floors of HDB above me. Besides, I've seen solar powered garden lights...