Possible For A "U" Shaped Tank?

[cm11599ps]

I'd like to get a LARGE tank in the future and have already chosen 2 possible locations for it.

1) In the wall between our living room and office. It would be a double sided tank and there's even a large closet in the office to hold the equipment.

The only problem with this option is I don't know what kind of wall is between the rooms now. I'm hoping it's not load bearing but would hire an engineer beforehand.

2) If it's possible, a U shaped tank that goes in the living room mentioned above. Do they even MAKE a U shaped tank? I wasn't thinking a curved U, but rather straight angles all around. I would also be using that office closet for the equipment as well since all i would need to do is run some piping through the wall

Is that possible?

 

[ishar]

a tank like that would very likely need to be custom made- get the glass cut and then seal it yourself. Other than that I am not sure of the logistics behind it. I would think filtration and water flow would be tricky.

 

[Chris_A]

Sure, if you can dream it, it's possible . The only question is "how much do you want to spend?"

You'd be looking at a custom tank/stand/hood/lighting/filters/water movement but I see no reason you couldn't do what your talking about (shrug).

With a set up like that probably the easiest to do would be a fast river biotope. Basically turn the "U" into a raceway with the return on one "tip" and the drain on the other. Depending on how big the tank would be, the pump could get a wee bit pricey though.

Chris

 

[Lotus]

You can basically have almost any shape tank made from acrylic, if you're willing to pay for it.

An in-wall tank would probably be fine, after you've had a consultation on the structural possibility. You do have to make sure you plan it well, so that you have good access to it for cleaning, feeding and maintenance.

 

[cm11599ps]

While we're at it, why are large tanks (100's of galllon) so expensive?

 

[Chris_A]

For the most part, cost of material to manufacture the tank. I hepled set up an Oceanic 540 gal a few years back... the bottom was made up of 5 sandwiched panes. 3 layers x 3/4" glass and 2 layers of 1/4" acrylic. The top was supported with 2layers of 3/4" glass that were siliconed on in strips. I might be wrong but I think the sides, front and back were 1" glass. Took 10 warehouse guys to lift it 4", carry it off the truck and into a walk out basement.

All said and done, if you work out $/gal for JUST the tank, most larger tanks in my area are actually cheaper until you get into custom stuff. By far DIY is the cheapest but 90% of the people I know that could afford 1" glass can also afford (and recognize the saving in time) buying a pre-built tank.

Last time I checked (which was admittedly a few years ago) this was the glass prices in my area.

1/4" = $14/sq ft
3/8" = $19/sq ft
1/2" = $24/sq ft.

Looking at those #'s, I figure my next DIY tank will be a welded metal box (steel or aluminium) with a glass front. Just have to decide what to seal it with. Then again... I also work a 100 ton Hydraulic Brake Press lol .

Chris