300,000 Gallon Tank in House

[omalljd]

I thought I would start a thread in regards to the construction of my new home with 3 large tanks. I will try to keep this thread updated as the planning and construction progress. I will also add pictures as they come available.

When I was sitting down with my architect originally I told him that I wanted a home that the theme is the ocean. He came back with a rough design that made the tank the center piece of the home. The main tank is a cylinder that is 50ft. wide and 28ft. tall. This tank is in the center of the house and almost all of the rooms have a wall that is the tank. The tank has a room that looks like an igloo that is in the center of it. I will have 2 other large tanks that are approximately 43,000 gallons a piece that are in the foyer on each wall. I will try to get the plans online so everyone can take a look. This will be a very unique tank and I am told the largest cylinder tank ever made.

I will give you some of the statistics that I know currently:

~300,000 Gallons
It will pump 10,000 gallons/minute
The room that will house the tank will be ~5,000sq.ft.
We will have ~200HP worth of pumps
The tank will have ~8in. of acrylic
The tank will be assembled on the property and will be assembled before the house is built.
The tank will be accessed from the 3rd floor which will be accessed via a freight elevator at the rear of the home. This will be the only access for the tank so the caretakers won't be going through my home.
The 3rd floor will house all the equipment to clean the tank, all quarantine tanks, scuba equipment, refrigerators, freezers, etc.

This tank is being built by Living Color in Ft. Lauderdale and will have the reef pieces that they create. The logistics behind a live rock system would be incredible.
I don't know what animals will be in this tank but I have been told it will number in the thousands.

This is a life long dream and I will be very hands on with the tank. I will have at least 1 full time caretaker that will feed the animals and clean the tank.

Like I said, I will update this thread often and I will include pictures as they become available.

Please feel free to ask any questions. After the tank and home are complete I will allow anyone with an interest to view the tanks.

[Morbo]

WOW!!!!!


I have to come and see when its all done!

[omalljd]

One thing I forgot:

I have been thinking about starting a website to track the progress of the tanks and also a construction web cam.

Would this interest anyone?

[bigzman]

omalljd,

Rock on. I would love to see the webcam part. Nice plans. Is this tank going to be a reef or just fish only?

Regards,
Bigz

[GuidoSarduchi]

INCREDIBLE!!! A website would be very interesting to follow the progress.

[omalljd]

This will be a fish only tank with an artificial reef designed by Living Color.

I will make plans to start a website and add a construction cam.

[Freed]

I am totally stoked. Keep us posted. Thanks, Freed

[shaw]

Could i offer to come by and just clean that algae off the acrylic.
anything, pretty much

can't wait to see construction

[crescent1]

if you dont post pictures, you should be banned from reef central:D

[beefcake]

Wow, how much evaporation could you expect from such a tank ? keep us posted!

[Johnnyfishkiller]

Cha-Ching$$$$

All I can say is, I want your job so I can have one too.

[this is me]

uh may i ask what you do for a leaving?
i want to be just like you when i grow up.

[MrSandman]

One question.....how much will you charge for admission once its open? :D

[NewMariner]

What are you going to use for lighting? Even being a fish only tank you would need some sort of lights to see the fish.

Also, how are you going to deal with evaporation? Whats your house going to be made of? Id not use wood at all...maybe aluminum studs....

[ZeRoKooL]

WOW
maybe you should visit the Newport Aquarium in Kentucky, they have a 380,000 gallon shark tank with walk thru tunnels it is really something to see. http://www.newportaquarium.com/

[chastjw]

WOW, the website is a great idea, now I have at least 6 mo. of drooling on my keyboard. RC's new vacation destination.
Jeremy

[hears2u]

Holy @#$@@# !

I would love to see a web cam ! I will begin planning/construction in a few months on a MUCH smaller but similar setup (will be the centerpiece of a 12,000 sf home).

[yanksajo]

That is completely insane! (In a good way)
Enough said.

[Cody M]

Wow!:eek: That is awsome! I would fly all the way down there just to see it. Keep the info coming and a website would be awsome.

Cody

[Kaos]

Post a link to the site once it's up and running. It would be awsome to track the progress of the tank and see the finished product. I would love to see it in person but since I live in NC I don't think I could sell the wife on that kinda road trip.........although, now that I think of it, it is my turn to pick the vacation. :cool:

[HAMACHI]

forget the tank. go buy yourself your own island!

[yanksajo]

How far is this tank from Ft. Myers? My grandpa lives there so Maybe I could see it when i visit him in February (will it be done by then?)

[yanksajo]

oops

[masterswimmer]

That will be magnificent.
If you do the website/construction cam, you should somehow make school children aware of this. They would love to track it as a school project. I was the coordinator of a north pole expedition tracked online for our local elementary school. They loved it.

Yours would be a great way to make the youth of this country aware of our delicate reefs :fish1:

Please keep us posted. Should be an awesome thread.

Good luck,
Russ

[Entropy]

Can I get a loan?


Tagging along to see the pics.... :D

[jjmg]

Sounds like a nice public display, but if you hire the architect to design it and a firm to put it together and then at least one full time person to run it...are you really a reefer or someone with more money than they know what to do with and just wants to let everyone know it?

I bet I'll get more enjoyment from my 56 gal when it is the first thing I check in the morning and the first thing I check when I get home from work and I always make a check before bed. I guess your full time help will call your cell and tell you everything looks good.

[greenman]

Originally posted by Entropy
Can I get a loan?


Tagging along to see the pics.... :D







MUST BE NICE TO BE RICH!!!!

[underoo]

Will work for scuba rights!

[capt. insano]

tagging along for the ride

a 5000 square foot room? Can my family and I come live in one of the closets?

[Cody M]

Man whats up with the harsh words? I think its amazing that someone is actually attempting something like this. I don't really know how you could run it without some one helping you out. Also wouldn't you have to enjoy it to spend that much money, how about the part where he says its been a life long dream?

Just my 2 cents,
Cody

[QUOTE]Sounds like a nice public display, but if you hire the architect to design it and a firm to put it together and then at least one full time person to run it...are you really a reefer or someone with more money than they know what to do with and just wants to let everyone know it?[/QUOTE

[jjmg]

Cody M, if I had the money I'd put together a dream tank that I could put together and keep up. No matter the cost. JMO.

[omalljd]

I am not building this aquarium to impress anyone or to do it because I have too much money. I will be very involved in the upkeep and it will be the first thing I see in the morning.
I have posted on this site so that many people will be able to be a part of the construction. I appreciate everyone's comments, but the negative comments just aren't needed.

I can't remember all of the questions but the house will be made of concrete and the I know that humidity and lighting will be a major concern. I have been told that the moisture and temperature probably won't transfer to the 1st and 2nd floor but the 3rd floor is a different story.

I will have a website up this next week and I will have a construction cam placed on the property.

I have already talked with the local school district about being a part of this project. I think it would be wonderful to involve all ages and grades in different projects. Any ideas that anyone can think of in regards to the schools let me know.

This won't be a public aquarium but I will let people see it. I still want to be able to live in my house.

I never understand why people are so negative about money. I wasn't born with money and I grew up just like everyone else. I worked my way through college. I eat, sleep, watch tv, etc. just like everyone else. I was involved in a major accident where I received a very large settlement. I can tell you that I would give the money back if I could turn back time.

[Johnnyfishkiller]

Originally posted by jjmg
I bet I'll get more enjoyment from my 56 gal when it is the first thing I check in the morning and the first thing I check when I get home from work and I always make a check before bed. I guess your full time help will call your cell and tell you everything looks good.

Maybe he gets more enjoyment from sitting on the sofa and just watching the fish go by. Maybe his occupation allows him the money to buy such a thing, but not the time to maintain it. It would be just about a full time gig, at least at first. Perhaps he's retired and has the time to spend all day working on it for months on end.

The truth is that no one knows this person, least of all you.

I do know one thing though. If I had the money I would have one. So would 90% of the people here. If you had a few mil laying around, you might change your mind.

[Cody M]

Can't wait for new updates! This project is going to be awsome! When do expect to have it complete? Are you going to have a skimmer on there, sorry if I over looked it?

[jjmg]

Sorry omialljd. I did not mean to rain on your parade. I have no problem with money, I rather like it really.

I would very much like to see your web site of the construction of this tank.

However if I received a large punitive settlement of a law suit, I still believe that I would rather take care of a tank designed and kept by self more in relationship to reality.

[kentrob11]

bumpety bump

[LOTUS50GOD]

lets see some pics... I am dieing to see them...

[jjmg]

" do know one thing though. If I had the money I would have one. So would 90% of the people here. If you had a few mil laying around, you might change your mind."

I question if 90% of the poeple here would opt to have their tank run for them if they
had the $$. I wouldn't.

But thats just me

[rjrobert]

I like the idea earlier in the thread on the tunnel.. You should think about making a hallway through the tank, That would Seriously Rock!

Can't wait to see it. Almost sounds to big to be true.

[Bastianelli]

I think he just means if they had the money to build that size tank. I would have to agree that it is more than likely more than a one person job. Especially if he works during the week, I'm sure theres maintence that has to be done daily. It will be cool to hear what maitence actually has to be done daily and so on. And he said he was in a major accident, sounds pretty serious, so maybe he is disablied some how. Anyways, I can't wait to see pics and hear about it!

[yanksajo]

I just checked and my suspicions were confirmed. This tank is bigger than the huge ocean tank in the New England Aquarium in Boston. That tank is only 200,000 gallons. This puts it in perspective for me because without a reference 300,000 gallons is just too much to visualize. So now that I have a better understanding of how truly massive this tank is: Are you going to have any juge fish or sharks in the tank or just a lot of smaller fish common in many reef tanks? Do you plan on scuba diving in your tank? I'm still having trouble taking in the fact that someone could have a tank this big in their house. It seems unreal. Also, where is this tank going to be?

[Henry M]

Okay enough with the money talk. I think we all know this is not an inexpensive project. Lets just get back to the topic and enjoy this wonderful construction and learning experience.

[rjrobert]

Question on the volume.
your saying 300,00 Gallons

There's 7.5 Gallons per square foot
You stated cylinder so (3.14*(25*25))*28 = 54,950 Square Feet
SO that tank would be 412,000 Gallons. What am I getting wrong? This is almost as tall as my house!!!.
You stated 10,000 Gallons a minute so *only* 600,000GPH. I say only because although that motor would probably fill a room in my house it is only 1.5 turnover rate for that tank.
You should get some airtime on the Discovery channel if you are truly doing this and not just busting our bubbles. If you are playing us then it was fun thinking of the possibilities.

[Los]

Are you guys kidding??? This is the best idea I've heard of in a long while.

"Punkin, my little 240 aint nothin'... look at what this other guy is doing... I'll be back from the fish store in a couple of hours. Love you."

Oh, and don't listen to jjmg's criticism. I say go for it and get all the help you can - you are going to need it!

Best of luck,

LOS

[SOS]

Sounds unreal.

Once I get rich I'm going to have to bite your idea and make one myself...only 32ft wide and 30ft tall :p


Good luck and I can't wait to see the progress!

[masterswimmer]

Originally posted by rjrobert
Question on the volume.
your saying 300,00 Gallons

There's 7.5 Gallons per square foot
You stated cylinder so (3.14*(25*25))*28 = 54,950 Square Feet
SO that tank would be 412,000 Gallons. What am I getting wrong? This is almost as tall as my house!!!.
You stated 10,000 Gallons a minute so *only* 600,000GPH. I say only because although that motor would probably fill a room in my house it is only 1.5 turnover rate for that tank.

He did say that there would be an igloo shaped room in the middle of the tank. That would probably account for the reduced gallonage to 300,000. I'm guessing of course.

Then his turnover rate would be 2x. Still very weak if you ask me. But maybe a tank that size doesn't need the same turnover we need with our little tanks. Remember, the larger the tank the more stable it is. :eek1:

[rjrobert]

makes sense. Think about the turnover rate though 10k a minute is 133GPS. What kind of massive pippining would push 133 GPS. When I take my daughter to Marine Land I'm going to ask for a behind the scene's. This thread got me thinking about the type of machinery that could push this.

[Aaron1100us]

The best of luck to you, sounds like a great project. What are you going to do about evaporation? Did you ever hear of MR4000? He had a 4000 gallon reef tank in his house and he had to tear it down due to evaporation and other problems. It sounds like you are pretty loaded and I'm sure you know this is going to cost millions of dollars. What are you going to do for water and water changes? Ocean water or a huge RO/DI? Are you going to use some type of huge skimmer? If you had an open top in the house above the tank, you might be able to use sun light, otherwise it will take lots and lots of 1000w MH.

[rjrobert]

Funny part is the tank is usually the cheapest part of setups. :)

[Myladyfish]

this is insane don't let your neighbours know about that whale aight?

[NewMariner]

Originally posted by rjrobert
Question on the volume.
your saying 300,00 Gallons

There's 7.5 Gallons per square foot
You stated cylinder so (3.14*(25*25))*28 = 54,950 Square Feet
SO that tank would be 412,000 Gallons. What am I getting wrong? This is almost as tall as my house!!!.
You stated 10,000 Gallons a minute so *only* 600,000GPH. I say only because although that motor would probably fill a room in my house it is only 1.5 turnover rate for that tank.
You should get some airtime on the Discovery channel if you are truly doing this and not just busting our bubbles. If you are playing us then it was fun thinking of the possibilities.

Your also not taking into account the 8 INCHES of acrylic that is made into the tank.....so take 8inches off the total dimensions and then come up with your figure.......

[greenman]

Hey if you give me room and board ill mantain your system!!!


God knows something that size will be a full time job!

[rjrobert]

Nothing else to do at work tonight so let's do the calculations again.
Assume the 8" thick
Assume then 24.33' Feet Radius
Assume 10' First floor
Assume 9' Second Floor
Assume 9' Third Floor

Let k=Second Floor
Let k+1=Third Floor
Summation notation of i=1 to k+1 of C((3.14(24.33*24.33))*7.5) roughly equates to 28,000 Gallons.
So the Water volume on the first floor would be a "Measly" :) 2,000 Gallons
This would leave 1600 Cubic Feet for the Igloo.
So the walls on the first floor would be only be about 2 feet deep of water. Not even taking into effect the top of the igloo.
Even if there was hallways to get into the igloo the walls would only be about 3 feet think. Hardly seems worth it :)
Someone send me the blueprints
Good thing for my sanity (and everyone elses) I only have to sit here at the night shift once every 3 months.

So the Igloo would be about 22 Feet in Diamater!

Awesome Project to say the least.
:eek1: :eek1: :eek1:

[justgettinstarted]

Then his turnover rate would be 2x. Still very weak if you ask me.

large tanks dont need nearly as much turnover as a small tank...

lets think about this... you have a 100g tank.. a good turnover rate is 30X an hour (i know a lot of people who do more than this)

you do this on a 300,000g tank... thats 9 MILLION GALLONS AN HOUR... get real here... do you really think you can push 9M gallons an hour (or 150,000 g/min or 2,500g/sec) through a tank and have anything swimming in it???

that would probably be like a 40 mile an hour current in there... in a big tank you just need water movement... no a heavy current like in a smaller tank... plus the fish can actually swim in a big tank...

[rjrobert]

9 Milliion Gallons an hour. Let's get the guy (moron) who jumped off Niagra Falls and ask him what 9 Million Gallons feels like.

[rjrobert]

You better contact your RO/DI Unit installer now. You can borrow my 50GPD if you want :) - Ok I'll stop posting to this thread now :) Getting overtired

[Megalodon]

I believe it when I see it. And believe me... I really want to see it!

[MarkS]

Originally posted by Megalodon
I believe it when I see it. And believe me... I really want to see it!

AMEN!

I think anyone who would pony up the cash for a tank like that would want to be more involved in the contents of the aquarium. To not know what livestock will be added seems a little stupid to me. With what I know about keeping aquariums, I'd personally pick out each fish and coral. Then I would become PADI certified and buy SCUBA gear. NO ONE other than me would dare touch the inside of the tank; I would just have too much money invested in it to trust anyone with this.

[mojodeli]

FWIW -

I find many of the posts on this thread offensive. I do not get the sense that omalljd is writing to brag or fabricate a dream. He comes as somebody who is very excited about his project. I would be too.

There is no debate as to whether or not omalljd is a reefer. With a tank that size he definately will need some help unless he has plans for a xenograft operation allowing him the ability to use gills.

Good luck omalljd. I'll be waiting to see the pics. Keep us posted and continue to remain positive.

[Montec24]

Think it would be ok to put in two tangs?

[EnglishAl]

One question.
Will you be posting the job description, benefits, pay grade, educational requirements, etc. here on RC? I'm sure you would get enough applications.
And, oh by the way, watch out for the Tang Police :D
Cheers
:beer:
Alan

[EnglishAl]

And one more thing. If you need a construction project manager for your house/tank (or is it tank/house :D ), I have managed projects up to $26M and am available right now. PM me.
Cheers
:beer:
Alan

[5y5tem 0verload]

Tag'n along for the pics

[CORALFISHG]

how are you gunna heat/cool the tank.. or is that still in the planing stages.

[chaseracing]

hitting "Subscribe to this thread" button now!

-=E=-

[Smitty 750]

???????????????? hhmmmmmmm

[Frisco]

Originally posted by omalljd
I appreciate everyone's comments, but the negative comments just aren't needed.

I think you're going to have to embrace the skeptics and critics, because discussion forum posts like this are often fake. Many people here can barely afford to keep a 50 gallon tank, let alone a 1000 gallon or higher. I certainly have nothing against either you, your wealth, or your dreams, and although I'm definitely not trying to be offensive, I am having a hard time feeling comfortable about this thread.

I'm honestly a bit puzzled why you would even want to make a cylindrical 3 story tall tank, because it seems like the bottom 2.75 floors would be unlit if it's in the center of your house. There's a multi-million gallon tank similar to what you're describing being built in Europe in a hotel, but I think it's a FO with plastic corals. Again, no offense.

[Frisco]

I forgot to mention taht I'd suggest taking a look at the Sony SNC-RZ30N pan/tilt/zoom webcam - it's a really nice unit with a built in web-server and direct ethernet hookup. I have one and love it

[omalljd]

I appreciate all of the honest replies. Sometimes I think I am crazy for taking on such a project. Many of the specific details are still being worked out. We are looking at 6-7 months for design of the aquarium and construction will hopefully start in 8-9 months. The one thing I can say is that I am still excited about this tank and I know I have very good engineers working on it.

The numbers given are not exact but very close. When I get the exact # of gallons I will post it on my website that will be created. I thought that a turnover rate of 1.5x to 2x seemed low but I was told this is more than sufficient given the size. They said the current in the water would be incredible with anything higher.

I agree that lighting will be a major concern for this tank! This question has been raised and during the design process, 3D walk throughs will be made on a computer that will show the effects of different lighting scenarios.

I hope I haven't offended anyone with my post because that is not the intent. I just thought many people would be interested to follow the construction.

I know of a tank in Europe that is a cylinder that is 36ft. wide. It is in a hotel but it isn't quite as big. I didn't try to make the biggest tank in the world but the tank was designed around the size of the foyer of my house. I told the architect that I just wanted it to fit right.

I understand everyone's view of maintenance and doing it yourself. Currently I have a 90G fowlr and I do everything and it is very satisfying when things work out the way I hope and want. I hope to be very hands on but a tank this size can't be handled by one person. I would be tied down to this tank constantly.

[J0EC00L]

cant wait to see the pictures!!!

[llpoolej]

Wow! How amazing! When you finish construction, be sure to contact "Extreme homes" on HGTV. It would be a perfect candidate!

Are you the amazingly large house on the beach in Naples?? I was in Awe when I was there in June. This house had to span a city block. Lots of Wood on the outside, looked like Mahogany or something dark and rich.

If I decide to leave my husband, I will come look you up!(kidding of course!)

[dogfacepuffer]

When my husband showed me this thread, I had to log on and read it all! Amazing! Since we live in Naples, we would love to see it as it is being created. We guess that you are going to be in Port Royale, but who knows. Congratulations on seeing your dream come true!

[NRA4EVR]

tag

[gev]

Originally posted by rjrobert
Nothing else to do at work tonight so let's do the calculations again.
Assume the 8" thick
Assume then 24.33' Feet Radius
Assume 10' First floor
Assume 9' Second Floor
Assume 9' Third Floor


I haven't read any further, so I don't know if this has been answered, but I would not assume a 9' third floor. I'd assume more life 3-4' You can't service the tank if you can't get into it.

[jackson6745]

Will these tanks have a constant supply of ocean water pumped through them?

[XxDutchxX]

Unbelievable!!!!!!! I would be interested in seeing a website that deals with the construction of this mamoth tank. Good luck, I cannot wait to see it.

[rjrobert]

Gev, good point, didn't think of that. But actually IMO it would make more sense to have it go to the attic and have an access point up there cause your going to want some good equipment to handle the Lights and the Evaporation (Humidity Exhaust) Hope no one took my posts in a way I didn't intend. being an engineer I'm fascinated by such big scale projects! (That and just got off a 29 Hour shift :) )

omalljd We would be interested in seeing the schematics after your design phase. If you get a CAB file for the walkthrough I can render it and post it online for everyone.

Hope your serious about this and not pulling our chain. Will be great if every created. Expect requests for road trip visits.

[gev]

Originally posted by rjrobert
Gev, good point, didn't think of that. But actually IMO it would make more sense to have it go to the attic and have an access point up there cause your going to want some good equipment to handle the Lights and the Evaporation (Humidity Exhaust)

Well, he did say that there would be humidity problems on the third floor... <grin>

[omalljd]

Thanks for all the replies. This house will not be built in Port Royal but out in the Estates area. I enjoy my privacy plus I was able to purchase 80 acres in the Estates instead of 1 or 2 in Port Royal. If you want to PM me I can give you a better idea of the location.

The access for the tank will be on the 3rd floor which will be at least 8ft. We are working on getting a height variance because the house is well over 35 ft. high in total. We are hoping that the humidity problem will be contained on the 3rd floor.

I will keep everyone posted as construction progresses. I will post the website address this week when it is up. Give me some ideas of things you would like to see on the website.

[omalljd]

omalljd We would be interested in seeing the schematics after your design phase. If you get a CAB file for the walkthrough I can render it and post it online for everyone.


If you PM me with your contact information I will make sure you get the file.

[greenbean36191]

If there is going to be an igloo room with a 20' tall reef around it you won't see much from the igloo room. Of course you might have a much lower reef, but then you would have a loooot of empty water. IMO even with a couple thousand fish 15' or so of open water would look very odd in a tank like that. Imagine the view from the highest floor. It would look like a bare tank with a couple of fish in it.

Don't get me wrong, I would really like this to be real, but I just can't imagine it. I have seen too many threads like this one end with the good ole, "Got Ya," or, "I realized how much maintenance would cost," for me to beleive this one yet.

[ReeferMJP]

omalljd
Sounds like an incredible tank and house. Can't wait to see the website. Don't worry about all the negative people out there, there are always a few in the bunch that ruin for everyone.(like the guy with the 56 bow front, he's just ****ed he didn't go for a 90, ha ha ha) I would love a house built around a tank I always wanted to live in an underwater house so I can wake up to to an awesome view like you will. Good luck

[DgenR8]

While I agree that 300,000 gallons is beyond what most of us can fathom, I'm not ready to say I don't believe it's in the works. Let's allow omalljd the chance to show us what he's got without shooting him down for giving us a chance to see this from step one. Even if it turns out that it doesn't happen for whatever reason, at least we all get the benefit of discussing the possibility.

[o2manyfish]

If It's Real,

Omalljd, I am not doubting you, it's just sometimes these projects can get out of hand for anyone. But for those flinging doubt and criticism laugh upon them.

If you try it and fail, at least you tried something you wanted. I have a palty (sp?) thousand gallons outside. The number of people that told me it couldn't or shouldn't be done was staggering.

If someone with 4000+g throws a critique your direction, then that's one thing, at least their experience is behind what they say.

But when people try to dissassemble your plans/dreams based on their speculation and hypothesis just let it slide.

I look forward to seeing if the reality of the project is feasible. (Not from it's BS perspective, but the engineering, feasibility, practicality, cost perspective)

And my two cents for the top of the tank, is to make it open to the sky. I have had great success with natural unblocked sunlight in both my fish and corals. This will solve your evaporation problem, and during the day will provide maximum lighting to some of the depths in your tank.

PS -- I would be bummed with a tank this big, it could be months till I spotted my favorite 14 year old Mandarin Goby.

[yanksajo]

IMO omalljd is innocent until proven guilty. I see no reason to doubt him, but I must say that if for some reason this project were not completed I'd be pretty dissappointed.

[aqua_obs]

WOW, did I say WOW! Bush off the BS from people. Everyone wakes up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes. Money is relative and I think everyone here with a tank spends money on it at a rediculous rate in reality. Yep, I'm jealous, but I'm also really psyched your going to share! It will be a real privilege! Thanks!

I'm really curious as to your planning process at this point. What type of life? Reef, big fish? Mermaids? Did you want to have the biggest selection of tangs in the world and tell the Tang Police to BUGGER OFF! ;-) Do you have any pictures of your FOWLR? We have an opportunity to learn so much here. Please bare with all of us if we get critical, I'd hate to lose out on this opportunity cause one of us typed in something stupid.

In case you haven't thought about it, I read today that Tom Arnold is selling his and Rosanne's place in IA, 28000 sqft, 99 acres for 1.5 mil. Sounds like a good deal! Probably got a pond instead of a tank! Best of luck on the entire project.

[MrSandman]

I'm also curious what you have in store for lighting. Is it going to be a fish-only tank? Or a full blown reef tank? Any idea what kind of fish you plan to keep? Sharks? Or just reefsafe fish?

It would be awesome if you could have a retractable sunroof over the tank. On the sunny days you can open the roof and expose it to natural sunlight. At night, or on cloudy days you could close it and use artificial sunlight.

Or just have a glass dome over the 3rd floor and over the tank where it can receive natural lighting 24/7 and have the artificial lights on a rail system that you can swing in/out as needed.

Whatever you choose, i wish you the best of luck. Please excuse most of us for we are all living out our dream through your eyes (and pocketbook). :D

[rjrobert]

At first the thought of an open sky top presented a problem in my mind about heating. But then again there is going to be so much water volume that the open top Idea could actually be a great way to solve the humidity problem. Just leave yourself room to jump in with the scuba gear :)

If you pushed allot of bubbles throught the bottom of the column you could have the worlds largest Protein Skimmer. Fish may not like it though and wouldn't want to be anywhere near the foam collector but hey It could probably make Guiness Records.

omalljd - I sent you a PM, If this is real you can send me the CAB and I'll render some 3d sketches in 3DStudio and post

[lebrowski]

This tank will evaporate about 3000 gallons per day. That's a bit of Instant Ocean.

Not implying that someone's pulling our collective legs, but I'll believe it when I see the construction pics.

TBL

[las]

can you imagine a 10 % water change? It costs me $20 for a 50 gallon bag of salt. Youre talking about a 30,000 gallon water change.

Peace

[Demeter]

That's bigger than the National Aquarium in Baltimore. I can't wait to see the design. Let's get that website going:)

[beefcake]

Originally posted by lebrowski
This tank will evaporate about 3000 gallons per day. That's a bit of Instant Ocean.


That is a lot of evaporation but I certainly hope your not adding instant ocean salt to your topoff water!

[capt. insano]

he lives near the ocean......perhaps there will be some sort of delivery method for NSW to perform water exchanges. If the guy is serious about, which he seems to be......he is going to consult all of the right people and have all of the right equipment. I'm sure the company that is building this for him has done several large scale aquariums and will know what they are doing

[NewMariner]

You people need to think outside the box. Granted its going to take a lot to fill it up...but after that it is miniscule....You arent going to have to do major water changes, as this huge body of water will be more stable then anything any of the rest of us will have ever thought. I bet it could go years without a water change as long as he doesnt put in huge sharks that require heavy feedings....the normal everyday marine fish would probably do great with no water changes....

[Freed]

How about an angled wall on the south facing side of the house that would allow sunlight to shine in on the southern side of the tank. This way you could have a reef set up at the bottom or throughout the entire 28 feet of the tank. Wouldn't have to worry about dozens of 1000 watt halides over the tank to see all the way to the bottom. Let the sun take care of lighting the tank on the southern side. Do you understand what I am talking about? Full sunlight from the south facing wall of the tank. May want to ponder this and incorporate this into the design of the entire south facing wall. Freed

[koj11]

Well I think I'm a sucker, but I'll tag along as well. Like many others, I will have to see it to believe it.

[Gr8Ful4NA]

Really Nice Thread Started Here! Keep Me Posted!

[Groove]

Sounds awesome! I don't care what you put on the web site. A.ything will do. Even if you have to settle for a tank 1/4 the origial design size you will still have an increadible system. I'd fly down from Boston to go to a frag swap at your place! :o)

Naples area is great. My wife and I went down to Cape Coral last winter looking at real estate.

I hope things go smoothly.

[kanankeban]

Originally posted by omalljd
One thing I forgot:

I have been thinking about starting a website to track the progress of the tanks and also a construction web cam.

Would this interest anyone?

That will be great! Hey, are you some kind of prince or something like that? wops....that looks like some millions going in there...
Regards...
Hector

[aqua_obs]

I hate to make you feel inadequate but I found this!

A Giant Window on the Ocean Giants

The Chura-umi Aquarium in Okinawa has the world's largest fish tank, made from special acrylic plastic. A 22,5 meter front gives a wide screen view of the tank's 16'000 fish, and its 7'500 tons of water provide a spacious, natural environment. The tank is so big that, for the first time ever, scientists are able to study three giant whale sharks living together in the same space.

If I'm close on the math and it's in metric tons, that is almost 1.9 mil gallons... This 300,000 gallon tank is a mear water change! :-)

[EternalNY]

Originally posted by aqua_obs
The Chura-umi Aquarium in Okinawa has the world's largest fish tank, made from special acrylic plastic.

Not to get to far off topic, but according to this link (http://japanupdate.com/previous/02/11/08/story1.shtml), it's actually the 2nd largest. I wonder what the largest is!

[REEFnR6]

So what's the largest? It's gotta be the largest on RC. Any pics yet?

[lebrowski]

Beefcake! Good catch. I do not add salt to my top off ;-)


I do add Kalk though. He's going to have to get a 4 yard dump truck of Kalk every month.

I still think it's a put on. Not that that's necesarily a bad thing.

Let's see the photos of this house/aquarium or plans, anything to add some credence to this post.

TBL

[omalljd]

I called a web designer to get the ball rolling on the website. As soon as the site is up I will have the current drawings put on the site as well as some other info.

This is by no means the largest tank but it is the largest cylinder tank. I have seen many other tanks that are much bigger.

I appreciate everyone's opinions but I don't understand all of the skepticism. People spend money on more crazy things than this. I feel this will have an impact on not only my life but many students and possibly research. Who knows?

[NRA4EVR]

look at it from our angle... A 300,000 gallon tank. As far as I know Mr 4000 was the largest personal tank. for a lot of people here a 180g tank may be a dream let alonge a 300,000. Just in energy alone you have to be talking thousands per month. It cost me well over a 100 a month to run my 300. If this is real, AWESOME is the only word to dscribe it. I may be speaking for myself, but until you are able to provide some pics or schematics, I think the majority of us will be skeptics. If you were in our shoes, I think you would be just a skeptical.


All the best.
Scott

[NRA4EVR]

lol, please excuse my poor typing :)

[NewMariner]

Originally posted by lebrowski
Beefcake! Good catch. I do not add salt to my top off ;-)


I do add Kalk though. He's going to have to get a 4 yard dump truck of Kalk every month.

I still think it's a put on. Not that that's necesarily a bad thing.

Let's see the photos of this house/aquarium or plans, anything to add some credence to this post.

TBL

I believe him more then I believe you ever got that clam......

I would however, have an Open Top on the tank. As this would allow for evaporation to dissipate, and allow some sunlight into the tank....

[saltyseaman]

So what's the largest? It's gotta be the largest on RC.

Largest on RC!!?? HA!! That's larger than all of the tanks on RC put together!!! OK, not really, but still FREAKING Gigantic.

The tank in Okinawa on that link is about 1.8 MILLION gallons. {(7500 tons H2O x 2000 lbs/ton) / ~8.5 lbs/gallon} And that's only the SECOND largest. Now that's more like all of the tanks on RC put together

Omalljd, Good luck with this project. I hope you plan on being wealthy for the rest of your life ;). Can't wait for the website!!

[antigood007]

taggin along

[sharkboy11]

Im afraid thats gonan be a little small for a couple clownfish...what about 1??:p

SOunds like a sweet tank!Cant wait to see pics!

[Ken Sellick]

I work in a 30 person architectural/engineering firm that designs water and waste water treatment plants for small to medium sized communities and the volumes you are talking about remind me of work.
If you need help designing the pump stations or the back-up power system I can help.
I believe the firm “Team Zoo� has done many of the public projects that have been mentioned earlier. You might consider them as consultants for such a project.

[yanksajo]

Maybe if everyone on RC chips in we can buy an ocean! Haha. But seriously I think thats the only thing that could truly satisfy everyone (for about a month or so).

[Mustang]

The largest is at Epcot Its called the living Sea Its 5.7 Million Gallons

When I was there in July I got the chance to take a backstage tour it was a great couple of hours was even able to get to the top and see where everyone work on feeding etc.

You might get a hold of them on a project this big they would have some great insight I am sure

BTW it was filled with synthetic sea salt not NSW

Here is a summary of it

The Living Seas Pavilion measures 203 feet in diameter, 27 feet deep and contains 5.7 million gallons of salt water.

The Living Seas holds 5.7 million gallons of man-made sea water; a standard swimming pool holds 20,000 gallons of water. One inch of water from the surface here can fill a standard swimming pool.

The window panels in the 2nd level observation deck measure 8 feet by 24 feet and weigh 9,000 pounds each. They range in thickness from 6 to 8 inches.

The Living Seas uses a reverse-flow filtration system. This process forces impurities in the water to the top, where they flow out with skimmed water. The water is fed into the filter system, then returns to the main environment through the ocean floor. Between these two points is an extensive cleaning system.

The Living Seas Pavilion was added to Epcot in 1986 and originally sponsored by United Technologies. It took 22 months to construct the pavilion.

[yanksajo]

Hmm, I was at Epcot two years ago before i was reallyinto aquariums and I don't remember being that impressed. I seem to remember that there wasn't much in it and notmuch was viewable to the public.

[jerseyreefer]

:beer: Here's to you omalljd. Can't wait for picks, good luck.

[Tagamet]

Originally posted by yanksajo
Maybe if everyone on RC chips in we can buy an ocean! Haha. But seriously I think thats the only thing that could truly satisfy everyone (for about a month or so).

Yeah, but in a few months, we'd want to upgrade to a larger ocean...(lol)
Tagamet

[partagas]

Originally posted by Tagamet
Yeah, but in a few months, we'd want to upgrade to a larger ocean...(lol)
Tagamet

With better lighting. WTB 1,000,000,000K MH Lights.

[yanksajo]

We might just have to get another sun. And imagine the sump on that ocean. How many pumps would we need?

[Tagamet]

Originally posted by partagas
With better lighting. WTB 1,000,000,000K MH Lights.

I'm afraid we'd have to go skimmerless though...
(I fear we are in danger of hijacking a thread here)
Tagamet
PS I really DO hope this thread isn't a hoax. What a great daydream though!

[partagas]

My girlfriend thinks I'm crazy for what I would do to a house when we buy one. If I could I would do what he is doing in a heart beat. But then again I am crazy.

PLZ post more info on how things are going.

[mwaters]

tagging along

[AJT]

No tang police here!

Andy

[Scuba_Dave]

If I had the $$ I'd build a big @$$ tank, & post it here for people to watch the construction. Once we move & I finish setup of all my tanks I'll have about 500g. And will be looking at converting the 19,000g swimming pool :)
Florida or a Caribean island would be my choice.
Tho if I had the $$ I would simply have multiple houses in the caribean & other dive destinations & spend my time diving the real thing.
But definitely have tanks & someone to take care of them

Hoping to visit Fishyland in Florida in the future, have scuba gear & underwater vidoe, will clean tank to dive!!!

[Alberio]

I have to admit I'm skeptical.

But if it's a joke... it's funny.
If it's not, it should be awesome.

Hey Omall, if you need a website, send me some pics and info and I can put one together for you. I'll just do it. If you like it you can pay me a small fee. If you don't like it, no big deal.

You can do a free site on Geocities (which would honestly suck).
Or you could pay about $100.00 a year or less for advertising free webspace and a domain name.

I just started my reef website. Link on the top of this page. I'm not a pro, but I don't think I suck either.

Other websites I've done.
www.geocities.com/pfdc_2000
www.pcmb.net

(I don't do the pcmb.net site any more, but I did design and maintain it for a number of years).

mjd

[VegasMike]

I think I would just get a 500 gallon tank and save the money for vacations to Figi and other exotic destinations. Either that or I would buy a glass bottomed boat in a great destination.

[davidpt40]

If everyone on RC sent this guy 1 species of animal or plant, his huge tank would have some amazing biodiversity.

[Alberio]

Yes, if we all sent him a little piece of our reef, just imagine the flatworms and ICH he would have!

mjd

[davidpt40]

Maybe we could abstain from sending him flatworms or ich infested fish :)

[bkwudzjeep]

This sounds like a nice project!! I would love to see it when you're done....or even during the process!!!
Do you think its possible to do natural sunlight?

Good luck!!!

[alguy344]

WOW but I gotta see some pics before I believe it, cuz someone started a swimming pool thread, and it ended up just being retarded. So I want to see pics before I say anymore.,

[RicksReefs]

Originally posted by davidpt40
If everyone on RC sent this guy 1 species of animal or plant, his huge tank would have some amazing biodiversity.

if he can build this tank, i don't think he needs
donations to stock it. :D

and i'd be happy to apply for the job of flying
around the south pacific getting the fish & inverts
you'll need to stock it. :bum: :smokin: ;)

[ORLANDO]

i strongly believe that you are screwing with us

[ORLANDO]

ok ,let's say you'll do it ,how you are gonna glue the acrylic cause there's goin to be so much presure in there that you can't even imagine
maybe crazy glue,lol

[RonCathers]

hitchhiker

[pamela-troy]

Can i go swimming? hehehe

[RicksReefs]

Originally posted by ORLANDO
ok ,let's say you'll do it ,how you are gonna glue the acrylic cause there's goin to be so much presure in there that you can't even imagine
maybe crazy glue,lol


you really don't need a ton of glue/sealer for a round
tank, the (equal) outward pressure would pretty much
hold the acrylic panes in place.

[NOWICKI]

maybe you can create your own ecosystem and have some sort of evaporation collection ceiling that automatically drips back into the tank. Just a thought...
-Ryan

[parrothead]

Have you considered resale issues when it's time to sell? Although, I imagine if you advertised here that might not be a problem. :D

[tyler]

Originally posted by ORLANDO
i strongly believe that you are screwing with us

and you put your opinion's so delicately.

[partagas]

Originally posted by parrothead
Have you considered resale issues when it's time to sell? Although, I imagine if you advertised here that might not be a problem. :D

I'm sure Scuba_Dave would be very interested.

[pmrogers]

tagging along

[laxing22]

Originally posted by NOWICKI
maybe you can create your own ecosystem and have some sort of evaporation collection ceiling that automatically drips back into the tank. Just a thought...
-Ryan

I would imaging this would actually be some-what possible, but there would need to be a tremendous amount of plant life to create enough oxygen (a system sealed well enough to collect moisture would need to be rather air tight) Maybe it could have a giant glass dome for a roof with a rain forest installed on the 3rd floor. :D

[brahm]

To bad this tank is STILL to small for yellow tangs!

[dkh0331]

Originally posted by yanksajo
Maybe if everyone on RC chips in we can buy an ocean! Haha. But seriously I think thats the only thing that could truly satisfy everyone (for about a month or so).

What about the DSB debate? If it went w/o a DSB, that would be one massive amount of sand to remove. How far down would it be dug out/down?

Screw it, go w/ a DSB. If the ocean bought crashes in 5 years, so be it.

David

[Vapor]

This cat needs to read what happened to Mr. 4000. Last i heard he ruined a perfectly good house with his tank and I am talking the whole thing, tank was ok though.................lol

[RicksReefs]

installation of a dehumidifier could reclaim the water
but i'm not sure it'd be OK to use without repurifying it.
i've been involved ina few indoor pools, but the pool
sanitizer takes care of the cleanup of the DH water.

[Smitty 750]

where do I read about this MR.4000 fella?

[DgenR8]

Originally posted by Smitty 750
where do I read about this MR.4000 fella?

Here's a few threads that talk about him:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=1960223&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

[DgenR8]

Actually, try these here:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=1960236&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

[Alberio]

Haven't heard much from the original poster in a while.

I called the aquarium builders that he mentioned. I chatted with them for a bit. They would not say whether they were actually doing such a project or not.

They did say it was possible however.

Reading between the lines of what they were saying, I don't think they have contracted with anybody to build a 300,000 in a home. I could be wrong.

mjd

[DgenR8]

Originally posted by Alberio
Haven't heard much from the original poster in a while.

I called the aquarium builders that he mentioned. I chatted with them for a bit. They would not say whether they were actually doing such a project or not.

They did say it was possible however.

Reading between the lines of what they were saying, I don't think they have contracted with anybody to build a 300,000 in a home. I could be wrong.

mjd

I think that's a pretty big leap, and I can't figure out why it's one you want to take.
Weather or not this project actually happens, do we not stand to benefit from discussing the possibility? Brainstorming about likely pitfalls, and talking about how to deal with temp., circulation, STOCKING are all good subjects for this forum. I say we drop some of this "I don't believe you" attitude and pick up some "It would be really cool if you....."

[EternalNY]

Here's an interesting technique being used to deal with evaporation:

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994323

[DgenR8]

That's a very interesting idea. I wonder how it effects gas exchange though?

[RicksReefs]

they came out with a similar product for pools
about a year ago, marketed as a 'liquid' solar blanket,
used to heat up a pool & to cut down on chem usage
& evaporation. i've never tried it, seemed kind of hokey,
like what keeps it from getting sucked into the skimmer?
(pool not protein), & i'd guess a protein skimmer would just
go nuts on this stuff. i'm betting anything that puts
a film on the water (aka, 'oil slick') cuts into free gas
exchange bigtime.

[Jack Stone]

New to this board but not to the hobby.
Not to be smart but how much is the the acrylic tube alone?
You say they form this on site? I also can not wait for the pictures or the website. Jack

[scoobydoo]

I think we've found a place for everyone to meet.

[DgenR8]

Originally posted by Jack Stone
New to this board but not to the hobby.
Not to be smart but how much is the the acrylic tube alone?
You say they form this on site? I also can not wait for the pictures or the website. Jack

Hi Jack,
[welcome]

[shaw]

WEll, i'm tagging along as well.
but, i was wondering if you could try to stock this large tank with mostly aquacultured animals (live rock, inverts, fish).
You said earlier that you may have 1000 fish in this tank, i think it would be cool if you could set a goal of some sort of the amount of tank-raised animals that are in the tank.
thanks
shawn

[omalljd]

Wow! I just got back from a trip and I'm amazed at all of the reactions. I feel like I need an attorney to even answer the questions. I'm not sure how to respond to all of the doubts and negative comments except that the only reason I am even posting on this site is I thought many people would find this project interesting to follow.
I have decided not to continue discussing on this site but I will post the website that is in the process of being created. I am told it will be up within 5-7 days. If anyone is interested in communicating with me, they can PM and I will give you my email address.
I hope everyone understands my position and I have nothing to gain by posting on this site and making up stories. I do appreciate all of the positive feedback and I hope everyone will enjoy the progress on my website.

[NRA4EVR]

Why not just post the site here publicly, it should remove all doubt. what is the websites address going to be?

[DgenR8]

omalljd,
While I do understand your position, I hope that you'll reconsider. A project of this magnitude deserves to be shared, and I am very interested in kicking it around.

[kcirtap]

ONE OF THE NICEST LARGE DISPLAY TANK I HAVE SEEN IS IN SYDNEY AUSTRALIA AT THE PUBLIC AQUARIUM. I DO NOT KNOW THE SIZE, BUT IT DID LOOK LIKE A BIG HOUSE.
ONE OF THE NICEST FEATURE IS THAT ON DIFERENT SIDES OF THE TANK, IT HAS SOME DIVISIONS, SO YOU COULD HAVE SOME SMALL FISHES ALSO AND CORALS, ANEMONES... IT APEARS THAT THEY ARE IN THE MAIN TANK, BUT THERE IS A DIVISION.
I THINK THE PROJECT IS VERY INTERESTING, AND TO PERSONAL TASTE, I WOULD TRY TO ADD ALSO SOME KIND OF REEF IN IT.
THE GREATEST THING IN THE SEE IS ITS DIVERSITY, BUT IT IS NOT EASY TO REPRODUCE IN A FISH TANK, AS MOST OF THE TIME LARGE FISHES DO EAT THE SMALL ONES AND INVERTEBRATES...

SO IF YOU DID NOT THINK ABOUT IT BEFORE,TRY TO CHEK THE POSSIBILITY OF INVISIBLE DIVISIONS.

BEST LUCK TO YOUR PROJECT.

[DgenR8]

kcirtap,
Please take off the caps lock. Typing in all caps is the BB equivelant of SCREAMING at us. I promise, we will hear you just fine in lower case. ;)

[kcirtap]

Dgenr8

sorry about the caps lock, most of the time i tape in spanish, i am not a good typer, either do i know spanish perfecty, even worse in english, my kee board is english, and as you might know in spanish, we need some funny accents,
examples: año 2003 (year 2003)
versus :ano 2003 (******* 2003)

THIS IS THE REASON WHY I USE CAPS (NO NEED FOR THESE ACCENT)
i will still make a effort.
by the way have you seen the display tenk in sydney//

[rjtib]

I am so sorry but after having seen this happen again I have got to vent!!!! :mad2:
I get so sick and tired of these guys who have maybe have a 50 gal tank and have been in the hobby for something like 6 months and they want to criticise some guy who has been in reefing for years and finally decides to build his dream tank and what does he get.... GRIEF!!!!
Once again we have what could be a fantastic thread from someone who is trying to push the edge of home aquaria and what does he get from others? GRIEF . Aparently this is from some who are either eaten up with envy or their attitude to any cutting edge project is why IT COULDN'T HAPPEN... WHY IT SHOULDN'T HAPPEN...
And as a result we have another outstanding large tank reefer who now follows the paths of other guys such as MR. 4000 or Bill Wann who ask themselves, "Do I really need this grief and character assasination or dispersions to my intelligence when my whole motive in sharing this was simply to share my dream with some of my fellow reefers...
I am usually a very positive person... unlike some who have posted here but finally I do GET MY FILL OF THIS... When I yet see another fellow reefer put down for trying to lift us up with his dream...
In a few years I also am planning a new house and I have plans on putting in a very large reef into the side of my living room and have it go out under a greenhouse in the back of my house but do you think I am going to post it here after seeing how these other guys have been treated.... OH YEA RIGHT!
That is quite telling when we have a fellow reefer who comes back and reads some of these pathetic coments and he states he doesn't know wheither to contact his lawyer or what....
WAY TO GO GUYS ON RUINING ANOTHER OTHERWISE FANTASTIC THREAD...
(OK I have vented and feel a little better.... I guess)

[NewMariner]

Originally posted by rjtib
I am so sorry but after having seen this happen again I have got to vent!!!! :mad2:
I get so sick and tired of these guys who have maybe have a 50 gal tank and have been in the hobby for something like 6 months and they want to criticise some guy who has been in reefing for years and finally decides to build his dream tank and what does he get.... GRIEF!!!!
Once again we have what could be a fantastic thread from someone who is trying to push the edge of home aquaria and what does he get from others? GRIEF . Aparently this is from some who are either eaten up with envy or their attitude to any cutting edge project is why IT COULDN'T HAPPEN... WHY IT SHOULDN'T HAPPEN...
And as a result we have another outstanding large tank reefer who now follows the paths of other guys such as MR. 4000 or Bill Wann who ask themselves, "Do I really need this grief and character assasination or dispersions to my intelligence when my whole motive in sharing this was simply to share my dream with some of my fellow reefers...
I am usually a very positive person... unlike some who have posted here but finally I do GET MY FILL OF THIS... When I yet see another fellow reefer put down for trying to lift us up with his dream...
In a few years I also am planning a new house and I have plans on putting in a very large reef into the side of my living room and have it go out under a greenhouse in the back of my house but do you think I am going to post it here after seeing how these other guys have been treated.... OH YEA RIGHT!
That is quite telling when we have a fellow reefer who comes back and reads some of these pathetic coments and he states he doesn't know wheither to contact his lawyer or what....
WAY TO GO GUYS ON RUINING ANOTHER OTHERWISE FANTASTIC THREAD...
(OK I have vented and feel a little better.... I guess)

I wholeheartedly agree.........This is the 3rd time that Ive noticed, something like this has happened. People get shot down because they have a dream that others think is impossible to become reality.

It really sickens me to see all those Doubting Thomas' voicing their disbelief. If you dont believe it, then dont post. Its simple as that...This is REEFCENTRAL.....NOT FLAME CENTRAL!

[lebrowski]

What's wrong with being cautiously skeptical? To quote Cuba Gooding, show me the money!

Omall I wouldn't run off cuz a few people are skeptical. Once you get your website up and running, we will all be bowing down to you! And if you are pulling our leg, who cares.... funny stuff.

Good luck with your new tank regardless of how many gallons it is.

TBL

[greenbean36191]

The negative comments on this thread are exactly what is driving everyone to think about new ways to do things. No offense to the original poster, but his post didn't help anyone, it just told everyone how he was living his dream and got people thinking. The people who are saying "great job", or "I can't wait to see it" aren't the ones furthering the discussion either, although I'm sure these are the ones the original poster likes to read more. The people who are saying it can't be done are the ones bringing up valid problems that will be faced, which leads others to offer creative solutions. Without the people bringing up the problems this would be a useless thread. Everyone is entitled to thier own opinion so lets quit getting angry at everyone who doesn't think the way we do. This site is for discussion isn't it? It wouldn't be much of a discussion if everyone agreed.

Now as for all of those who say they don't believe this, there is good reason. There have been several other threads posted about huge tanks, even some with pictures, which turned out to be hoaxes. After so many people cry wolf it is hard to believe people, especially with no evidence. Right now I am neutral on the whole issue because I don't have any evidence to say this guy is or isn't telling the truth.

[seandanekind]

I can't imagine the scale of this tank. Honesly, why not just make your own saltwater lake and build and acryllic house underwater?

[RicksReefs]

Originally posted by seandanekind
why not just make your own saltwater lake and build and acryllic house underwater?

now ya got it, think outside the (glass) box. :D

[jerseyreefer]

Omalljd, I for one respect your dreams and hope they come true with little complications. Sorry to see you go because of a few richard craniums. I don't believe they have any reason to doubt you, maybe because they can't even fathom a tank this size. I cannot wait to see this up and going, good luck!!:beer:

[seaofdunes]

while i am absolutely no expert on fish keeping, maybe there is a slight chance some ideas of mine might be useful, afterall, the mind of a child is a beautiful thing. For lighting, why couldn't the sun be used to light the tank? If it is good enough for the oceans, why not a tank no matter what the size? And if the light wouldn't be strong enough, why not make some kind of magnifying lens on the top? this would increase light as well as help with heating. And i don't see why a filtering system would be so far-fetched. Why wouldn't a larger then life version of ours work as long as it is based on the same principles? And in a tank of this size, why wouldn't be possible to actually create a biological filter of somekind much like a dsb? Any answers other then i can't imagine it would be appreciated, and I applaud you, omalljd.

[jdsabin1]

Whether or not this is fabricated, let's assume for a minute that it's going to happen.

I am not so sure having a tank/silo/thing that is several hundred THOUSANDS gallon is a good idea. Of all the things that happen in a reef tank (algae, disease, etc), not to mention the maintenance (someone or more than one person) would need to take care of it, don't forget about a structural problem that dumps 300,000 gallons on your head (would local ordinances and/or building laws even permit such a thing? I seriously question that), not to mention you are stuck with that for LIFE (and go ahead and try to sell a house that houses that thing). As much as we all love reef tanks, this is something altogether different. Finally, you'd be sick of having schools and clubs and everyone else knocking at your door to get in.

Again, I could care less whether we're getting taken for a ride with this tall tale (ooops) I mean with these plans. I am curious to hear what others think about a plan like this long term for the reasons I stated above.

*shrug*

[mikrok]

I don't know if it's real or not, but I sure hope it is because I'd love to visit and see it!

let's give the guy a chance to post his website and plans....this is HIS dream tank that we are sharing in our own imaginations...he has barely spoken in here, I subscribed to this thread a long time ago without posting and every time I see a new post I am sad to see it's just another person on a pedestal...I believe this thread was supposed to be about education for those interested in the process of this man's dream tank being completed...and I, for one, am interested in that goal in mind...so let's keep on track

so cheers! and please do not be discouraged!

[jdsabin1]

Keep on track by continuing to post and say 'Wow!' or 'Neat!'?!? This forum is designed so people can discuss the topics at hand, whether they agree with what is being said or not.

I get a kick out of people who want to believe something so badly that they get upset when others question anything about the post at all.

Besides, my post was designed to spur conversation about having a 300,000 gallon tank in their home and all of the pitfalls that would/could happen because of it.

By the way, I have some land in Florida for sale if anyone is interested. :lol:

[mikrok]

I didnt direct anything towards anyone in particular...

but to say "Keep on track by continuing to post and say 'Wow!' or 'Neat!'?!? "
-well, perhaps - but only when the man actually who started the thread actually replies; he has barely spoken his word in his thread.

talk is good, but as he said the focus is of his thread was intended to be for those interested in his planning and construction and furthermore...when/if he actually posts again(which i hope because I'm interested in his plans and original purpose of the thread) i'm now going to have to skim ahead through pages and pages of posts to pick out what this man has to update us with...

sorry everyone:beer:

[RicksReefs]

Originally posted by jdsabin1
By the way, I have some land in Florida for sale if anyone is interested. :lol:

don't you mean a bridge in NY? they've been building
on swampland for years in fla. then selling for millions. :rolleyes:

[yanksajo]

rjtib, don't just decide not to let us share in your dream tank because of some skeptics on this thread. I personally love reading about these dream plans and I would really like to see your plans for a huge reef in the future.

[EternalNY]

If you are putting up a website, why do we have to email you to see it? Why not just post it here as your final post?

There are two main problems here as I see it. After the monumental initial build costs, the ongoing maintenance costs would be incredible. You'd have to be so rich that you know you will never have to worry about money in your lifetime. Of course, that's a reality for many people.

Then, I can't see anyone buying a house like this when you decide to sell. Unless they are very wealthy and completely obsessed with reef tanks, this is a maintenance nightmare and a huge money pit. This is why tanks of this size are found in aquariums and not private residences.

[davidpt40]

What are these 'monumental' costs of maintaining a large aquarium?

Electricity might be expensive depending on what he uses. A couple 1000 watt MHs would probably be enough to light his tank.

Most large tanks like this do not have live coral, and they have big hardy saltwater fish.

After the initial investment, I would consider this more akin to keeping an indoor pond rather than having a giant saltwater aquarium.

I believe it all depends on what kinds of fish he keeps. People keep largemouth in their swimming pools (dechlorinated of course) for almost no cost. Yet others spend thousands to keep yellow tangs in a 100 gallon tank.

[jjmg]

Originally posted by davidpt40
What are these 'monumental' costs of maintaining a large aquarium?

Electricity might be expensive depending on what he uses. A couple 1000 watt MHs would probably be enough to light his tank.

Most large tanks like this do not have live coral, and they have big hardy saltwater fish.

After the initial investment, I would consider this more akin to keeping an indoor pond rather than having a giant saltwater aquarium.

I believe it all depends on what kinds of fish he keeps. People keep largemouth in their swimming pools (dechlorinated of course) for almost no cost. Yet others spend thousands to keep yellow tangs in a 100 gallon tank.

Yes, but this would be a 300,000 gallon indoor saltwater pond and don't forget the two 43,000 gallon tanks he is also planning to build (read the first post if you didn't start at the beginning).

He does state that he plans on this being a fish only tank so that will mean massive filters to remove the waste of these fish because no matter the size of the system waste will build up if not removed somehow.

He also said he plans on hiring at least one full time employee which I imagine would be essential to keep the tank looking nice. Then figure in the cost of making the top off RO water daily and I don't think you'd really see much with just a couple of 1000 watt MH over a 50x28 ft tank.

I'm sure he has taken all this into consideration if he has come this far in the planning (I know I shouldn't say he since I don't really know if the person is male, sorry if your a she:D ). If he has the money to spend and this is how he wants to spend it then go for it (although I don't approve of how he got his money, that is just my own believes).

Good luck with the project.

[REEFnR6]

Omalljd, your idea sounds awesome and I cant wait for updates. I think you should check out Twize's build-up thread on his new 770. He has a website (http://www.twize.com) , plans, and pictures galore- and he still gets bugged for updates, so dont feel bad.

[yaoming713]

c'mon folks...yall are being duped!!!! there's no way on earth he can do this by himself unless he's BILL GATE or MARK CUBAN..you'd have to be a billionaire not millionaire to do this...HOMER SIMPSON would say D"OH!!!!!!!

[jdsabin1]

Originally posted by ricksreef
don't you mean a bridge in NY? they've been building
on swampland for years in fla. then selling for millions. :rolleyes: I didn't realize they had built on all the swampland in Florida. :rolleyes:

News flash: They haven't.

And to yaoming713 -> Amen.

[lllosingit]

I can't wait to see it myself, considering he's selling his 90 gallon since he's moving this is a F....ing huge upgrade.
Anything is possible with enough money so I guess we'll see.

[laxing22]

Originally posted by jdsabin1
Keep on track by continuing to post and say 'Wow!' or 'Neat!'?!? This forum is designed so people can discuss the topics at hand, whether they agree with what is being said or not.

I get a kick out of people who want to believe something so badly that they get upset when others question anything about the post at all.

Besides, my post was designed to spur conversation about having a 300,000 gallon tank in their home and all of the pitfalls that would/could happen because of it.

By the way, I have some land in Florida for sale if anyone is interested. :lol:

There is absolutely nothing wrong with saying "Wow" or "great" - it is called encouragement, (executives should know the importance of this)
Yes there will always be a need to question the design as many people on this board are qualified to look at structural engineering.
Blindly doubting is as bad (or worse) then blindly believing. Nothing has been stating to make this an impossible project. Money is totally relative in every facet of life. I work with people who have cars that cost as much as my house! I think that is wasteful / stupid spending and they probably think putting 10k+ in to a glass box of water is very stupid. There will always be people that have more money then they know what to do with (what makes our economy work).

Is it the money spent in doubt? Look at exotic car collectors that build million $ garages for 20 $500,000 + cars being shown off on TV shows every week.

If not the $ in doubt, what is it? The overall logistics? There are many public aquariums have much larger tanks.

[lebrowski]

It seems to me he would keep his 90 gallon for a hospital tank. Unless of course the two 43,000 gallon tanks are to be used for a fuge and hospital tank.

TBL

[NewMariner]

Originally posted by jjmg
Yes, but this would be a 300,000 gallon indoor saltwater pond and don't forget the two 43,000 gallon tanks he is also planning to build (read the first post if you didn't start at the beginning).

He does state that he plans on this being a fish only tank so that will mean massive filters to remove the waste of these fish because no matter the size of the system waste will build up if not removed somehow.

He also said he plans on hiring at least one full time employee which I imagine would be essential to keep the tank looking nice. Then figure in the cost of making the top off RO water daily and I don't think you'd really see much with just a couple of 1000 watt MH over a 50x28 ft tank.

I'm sure he has taken all this into consideration if he has come this far in the planning (I know I shouldn't say he since I don't really know if the person is male, sorry if your a she:D ). If he has the money to spend and this is how he wants to spend it then go for it (although I don't approve of how he got his money, that is just my own believes).

Good luck with the project.

Everything you have mentioned is all setup cost with the exception of the hiring of the maintenance guy and electricity. Many people can and have paid hired help. Thats not a big cost. He wont have a huge electric bill if he designs the tank using natural sunlight.

What Other maintenance costs are there? Maybe RO filters, but Im sure he will be getting an industrial sized unit which filters would last longer then anything we have. You arent going to do water changes on a tank this big. What are you gonna do change 10% of 300,000 gallons:eek1:

But seriously, what other "maintenance" cost are there going to be? Maybe to keep food in those massive fishes' bellies?

[NRA4EVR]

I think the logistics alone are amazining. if my math is correct 300,000 gallons at 9lbs a gallon is 2.7 Million pounds or 1350 tons. over 1962.5 sq ft is about 1375 lbs sq ft thats a lot of weight, I wonder how deep the footers are

[jdsabin1]

I was serious when I was asking about zoning or building ordnances/laws.

Wouldn't there be some caveats to trying to build a 300,000 gallon aquarium in your home from a building permit standpoint?

An analogy - The neighbors keeping tigers in their backyard as pets. I wouldn't want that and that's why there is laws against such things. Wouldn't there be similar problems if you're a neighbor and you realize the house next door has a 300,000 aquarium in it? God forbid the thing should ever blow up and dump all of that.

Just asking .....

[jdsabin1]

Originally posted by laxing22
There is absolutely nothing wrong with saying "Wow" or "great" - it is called encouragement, (executives should know the importance of this). I don't spend my day going "wow" or "great" and that is not encouragement in this regard anyway, it's blind optimism (can you say gullible?).

Let's assume for a minute that this *is* going to happen. Frankly, I find this appalling. An out of control case of gluttony. Instead of putting a 300,000 gallon tank in your house, why not create a local aquarium to house this so others can learn from and enjoy it.

It's one thing to be an enthusiast like Steve W. here who has a 750 gallon showcase tank, it's another entirely when you are going to put an aquarium in your house that is larger than a lot of other public tanks. That's just ridiculous. Heck when he's done maybe he can throw in some giraffes, elephants, and some bears to wander around his yard and hire a zookeeper to take care of them. And then he could build a launch pad across the way and hire some ex-NASA engineers to build a rocket ship so he can fly to the moon and back.

Having money is great. It's what makes this country tick. Three cheers for capitalism! This is none of those things. Even the idea reeks of excess spinning wildly out of control.

Finally, there is nothing wrong with being skeptical. When someone who has a few posts on RC says he is building a 300,000 gallon tank in their new house, then you better believe I am going to question that. You'd be a fool not to no matter how neat or cool you thought that might be.

[NRA4EVR]

jdsabin1 I agree,

My parents always told me... believe none of what you here, half of what you ready, and a quater of what you see.

[NewMariner]

And its thanks to the comments like yours that we will never find out the outcome of this.........

I really appreciate your skepticism(sarcasm intended) :rolleyes:

[jdsabin1]

Hey no problem. I'm happy I could help you out (sarcasm intended right back at you).

Double :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[RicksReefs]

Originally posted by jdsabin1
I didn't realize they had built on all the swampland in Florida. :rolleyes:

News flash: They haven't.


what's with the attitude?

news flash: i live here & put pools in
former swampland everyweek. i see it all
around me everyday. ALL of south florida
was swampland at one time.


& if this thread bothers you so much, why post?
what's wrong with a little dreamin' ?

[jdsabin1]

You gave me attitude first with the whole 'bridge in NY' thing. If I wanted to say 'bridge in NY' then I would have said that. It's a FIGURE OF SPEECH anyway. Besides, they haven't built all of Florida's swampland into something. Do you really want to try and argue that point.

And there's nothing wrong with dreaming. Did I say there was somewhere and missed it?

You obviously didn't read my post a while ago that specifically stated that you don't have to agree with what is being said in a thread to post in it. I have my point of view, you have yours.

Feel free to wait on this project like Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin to arrive every year.

*shrug*

[RicksReefs]

yup & too bad your whole attitude & demeaner
is so negative. it really makes reading a post
a helpful experience.

could we get any further off topic?

i, for one would be the first to build the
mother of all tanks once that rich uncle dies. :D

[jdsabin1]

Originally posted by ricksreef
yup & too bad your whole attitude & demeaner
is so negative. it really makes reading a post
a helpful experience. Ditto.

could we get any further off topic? I suppose we could. Does anyone have a great meatloaf recipe? :D

[FLnewbie]

Hello everyone, I am new here and wanted to say hi. I decided to become a member of this site for a few reasons. The most imprtant reason of them all was to communicate with other reefers out there. I don't know about everyone else here but there is only one person I know who is interested in reefing. Because there are so few in my area who are into it, I searched for people like you to share my hobby. We are into reefing because we love it and we want to share it. When I tell my family I have spent thousands of dollars on a fish tank they tell me I'm crazy. So for that reason I am here to share with others who love it and don't tell me I'm crazy for this passion. Omalljd is probably looking for the same thing. If this is truly his dream, and it's finally coming true, who are we to criticize?? WE ARE THE ONES THAT SHOULDN'T BE CRITICIZING!!!!! We all know that this project will be an enormous feat to accomplish. Let's encourage and not criticize. All this guy wanted to do was share something with fellow fish-lovers. Let's all be friends here and be a small part of something so amazing. If you don't believe it that's your right but don't ruin it for everyone else!!!!!

[omalljd]

I thought I wasn't going to respond on this thread anymore but my curiousity keeps me coming back to read the replies. It is actually very interesting to read everyones opinions and positive and negative feedback. Everyone is asking what the name of the website is and I will post it as soon as the site goes live. Should be this week. I will have a forum that will be part of the site.

I have heard 2 things that are disturbing to me. One is that someone said they don't approve of how I received my money. They don't know my situation other than I received it from a lawsuit. I don't believe suing someone is the right answer in all cases but again nobody knows what happened to me.
The other thing is that people are saying that this is ridiculous because it is in my house and not in a public area. Everything is relative in life. Money is one of those things. I give more money to worthy causes then I will ever spend on this tank. The comment that you would need to be a billionaire to do this is ridiculous. I can guarantee you that I am not a billionaire and this project is well within my means. I don't have any concrete figures but we are projecting $6M for the tank project not including the house and surrounding property. Like I have said before, we are still in the design and planning stage. I have already spent considerable money with the architect and structural engineers. We will be filing a PUD with the county to basically write our own zoning. I will have no neighbors and this house is on a lot of land.
It is ok that people don't believe me. I would probably be skeptical myself but I have seen people do much crazier things than this. I wouldn't spend $20M to go to the space station and I also wouldn't spend millions on cars. This is my passion and I will enjoy it. My intent for this thread was for everyone to discuss the pros and cons of a system like this. I have heard some great ideas and also concerns.
I will post the website as soon as it is up.

[absolut]

Hope the website is up and runnin soon, post back when it's ready to roll!:cool:
Good Luck

[FLnewbie]

I don't see why people are upset about this not being a public aquarium. So what if it is in a home? There are so many things in this world we should be allowed to see but don't. Life isn't fair. There are egyptian tombs that aren't open to the public, why should we judge the reason they are not public? Omalljd, I hope everything works out for you. I would love to see the site when it is up and running.

[NewMariner]

Omalljd,

I just want to thank you for bringing us along with the construction of this tank. Please dont let the skeptics get to you.

I truly do believe you, and would love to see your house/tank when completed. Im also sorry that you were dealt a bad hand with the accident. Im sure if youd had your choice it would all go back. I probably would do the exact same thing you are doing if it happened to me. I also commend you for donating to charity. I would do the same, but alas my family comes first.

Please keep us updated. And thinks for allowing me to come along with you in this magnificent endeavor.

[DgenR8]

Originally posted by FLnewbie
Hello everyone, I am new here and wanted to say hi. I decided to become a member of this site for a few reasons. The most imprtant reason of them all was to communicate with other reefers out there. I don't know about everyone else here but there is only one person I know who is interested in reefing. Because there are so few in my area who are into it, I searched for people like you to share my hobby. We are into reefing because we love it and we want to share it. When I tell my family I have spent thousands of dollars on a fish tank they tell me I'm crazy. So for that reason I am here to share with others who love it and don't tell me I'm crazy for this passion. Omalljd is probably looking for the same thing. If this is truly his dream, and it's finally coming true, who are we to criticize?? WE ARE THE ONES THAT SHOULDN'T BE CRITICIZING!!!!! We all know that this project will be an enormous feat to accomplish. Let's encourage and not criticize. All this guy wanted to do was share something with fellow fish-lovers. Let's all be friends here and be a small part of something so amazing. If you don't believe it that's your right but don't ruin it for everyone else!!!!!

Hi FLnewbie,
<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>
I'm sorry your first experience here wasn't a more positive one :o
I'm also totally amazed, and very disappointed that it took a new member, making his first post to say so much.
While I can understand skepticism, I can't tell you how disappointed I am in how the responses to this thread have gotten so ugly. Some of you guys really have a lot to be proud of [ now THERE'S a place to insert sarcasm ]
Can I ask what the harm is in discussing even the possibility of a project like this? Why must so many shoot it down just because it's not your everyday fish tank? Just because it's beyond your means, or comprehension does not make it impossible.
It's a damn shame, but I can see no good coming from this thread right now, and I'm going to close it.
omalljd, IF you desire to add anything, just send me a PM, I'll reopen the thread for your input, and possibly leave it open at that point, but for now,
THREAD CLOSED [chimp]

[Agu]

Now that people have had a chance to cool down I'm reopening this thread. I really want to learn about this tank. If you're skeptical please keep your skepticism to yourself for now.

Agu

[mikrok]

on a positive note...any updates omall???

[DgenR8]

Good timing (and advice!) Agu, I was just thinking that we should give this another chance. I think the potential is here for a great discussion, and it's been long enough for everyone to take a deep breath.

[carribeanlovers]

I'm glad to see this has been reopened. I would really like to see updates about this guys project.

[drifter]

Just tagging along

[StinkyNappy]

WANNA SEEE!!! PICS!! (if there are any at the moment...):)

think what ur doing is awesome, i would love to do something like that if i had the $$$... when you feed ur fish you can go scuba!

[Shoestring Reefer]

Originally posted by Curly20sa
WANNA SEEE!!! PICS!! (if there are any at the moment...):)

Probably none yet, but I'd like to see some drawings/sketches. A draft of the design specs would be cool, too. I wonder what he's gonna end up with for a pump(s)-stainless impeller? Maby with a diesel-powered back-up pump for power outages? And your generator.... Ohhh, I'm drooling so bad. IMO all the support equipment would be as cool as the tank.

BTW, omall, the impression I got here is that (at least in the power industry), is that DI units provide better water than RO at less cost. I'm talking about the big ones, of course. Start with two mono beds (one cation, one anion, I forget which goes first) then go through a mixed bed. You can regenerate the monobeds in place. They have whole systems for seperating mixed beds, regenerating, and re-mixing them, too. You can get really big RO units, too, but DI seems to be preferred for large volumes of high-quality water.

Any seismic concerns in Florida? I'm thinking not. I wouldn't want to build a tank like this in LA.

[grostanzo]

I'm glad the bashing has stopped. It's ok to have different opinions and express them but, why bash each other. Just accept everyone is entitled to their opinions. Following this thread to see how things turn out. I have to admit that if I were to walk into someones house that had a tank like that 1) I would be in awe,2) I would be jealous I'm sure. I will never have that much money and I just love Money!!!!

[Shoestring Reefer]

Originally posted by omalljd

It will pump 10,000 gallons/minute
We will have ~200HP worth of pumps
The tank will be accessed from the 3rd floor which will be accessed via a freight elevator at the rear of the home. This will be the only access for the tank so the caretakers won't be going through my home.
The 3rd floor will house all the equipment to clean the tank, all quarantine tanks, scuba equipment, refrigerators, freezers, etc.

Will the pumps be on the third floor, too? If not, ignore all of this...

If so, have you made sure you can get a pumps that won't corrode in SW (ie, stainless), have the flow and head you want, AND can operate with low suction head. The little dinky pumps we use in our tanks run just fine with a couple of inches of water at the suction side, but big boy pumps are a different story.

Maby a circulating pump for the chem/pharm industry. Low-suction head pumps tend to be slower and bigger (of course, always exceptions). I looked around a little and didn't see any circulating chem pumps for much more than 250 gpm, but I didn't look long-I'm suppose to be working on a power plant, not an aquarium:) .

I'd recommend you provide 1.5 times the suction head required. Oh, and get at least one spare pump piped into the system so you can switch during maintenance or in case one breaks down.

And, in addition to care takers, don't forget visits by your equipment reps. every few months. All that equipment won't maintain itself. :)

[Shoestring Reefer]

Originally posted by grostanzo
I will never have that much money and I just love Money!!!!
If you love it that much, you can have all of mine (techincally, this means you're financial situation just got worse by $70,000, give or take).:lol:

[carpetride]

I have lurked RC for a few months now, more or less learning all that I can. I for one am glad that this thread has been re-opened and hope that it will stay that way. We all have our own reasons for being involved in this hobby, for me it is the simple pleasure of seeing something grow from nothing, the WOW! factor that you get when people see accomplishments don't hurt either.
Just the shear idea of a private project such as this has captured my imagnation and I suspect many others as well, whether the project comes to fruition or not is irrelevant to me, the genuine discussion about how to succeed is what is interesting. Just my 2 cents.

Good luck with the project omalljd and keep us posted.

[Ken Sellick]

I hope this can turn into a positive learning experience for all of us concerning large tank construction. I work on large water and waste water systems and this project is not beyond my comperhention.

[blueoceandiver]

good luck on the project i hope all goes well.i cant wait to see the web site,best of luck.:D

[DgenR8]

Hi carpetride,
[welcome]

I have confidence that this thread will be a great learning experience for anyone that takes the time to read, and dream!

[jjmg]

48 hours after being re-opened...we have now concluded that this will be a positive thread...as long as no one posts.

[LittleFishBoy]

Jumping on for the ride. Have read all 300,000 posts :D and can't wait for the website. Im seriously extatic. I look at my tank, and now it seems like a glass of water compared to what we're about to witness. Very excited for you OmallJD. If i had the means, you know id be doing the EXACT same thing. Best of luck to you. Do you ever worry about it ever "leaking" or possibly breaking? I think you would drown if you were on the bottom floor. Heck probably anywhere in the house. Will be waiting (very impatiently) for the website... Ill have to put the cam on my desktop. :D Take care, and best of luck.

[armac]

I lived in Ft Myers for quite a while, where are you, in Port Royal?

[Demeter]

Well said!

I thought I wasn't going to respond on this thread anymore but my curiousity keeps me coming back to read the replies. It is actually very interesting to read everyones opinions and positive and negative feedback. Everyone is asking what the name of the website is and I will post it as soon as the site goes live. Should be this week. I will have a forum that will be part of the site.

I'm not surprised that people would doubt and discourage you from pursuing something you believe in. It's human nature, I suppose. I've seen many wonderful things happen as a result of discussions in this and other forums. I've learned some valuable information from these forums and saved myself considerable time and effort. Not everyone has a negative opinion or reply for what you're trying to accomplish. I hope everything works out for the best and you'll realize our "collective" dream. Good luck!

[Drew_P]

Cant wait to see this! :O

[armac]

finally read the entire thread, your not in Pointe Royale, where at in Golden Gate Estates?

[ddoering]

Hi,
I have never been accused of being an optimist, but I have been known to be a dreamer.

A couple of things I am curious about, somebody earlier mentioned something about the depth of the footers to support all this weight.

I am curious about this as well, with all that weight above grade, and Florida land not being the most solid of bedrock, how thick would your foundation have to be, and how far down the footers to prevent settling?

With something that large and heavy, you really want to prevent settling over time as that might cause a big mess if settling leads to extra stress on the tank and you have a blow-out.

For humidity reasons, I wouldn't enclose the top of the tank where airflow is shared with any part of the rest of the house...
Maybe have the top of the tank exit through the roof of the house into a greenhouse room that is sealed from rest of the house. That way you have natural sunlight to help in lighting, and can have vents in the greenhouse room on top.

For filtration, since you are in Florida, have you thought about making a natural filter using a Mangrove swamp? That would be interesting and provide you with filtration and an additional biotope. This could be in an attached greenhouse, or even outside really in a cement pond...

I like the idea of the dividers to separate sections of the tank so you have different areas, but if you are just interested in a fish only tank, then maybe the free swimming is more what you are looking for. I personally would never want a tank this big, you can't get close enough to see the things that I would want to view... those neat little critters and small colorful fish and corals (unless you are going to be diving in your own tank).

If you aren't going to have to worry about zoning because you have so much land etc, that would be cool. What about concerns with Home Owner's Insurance? Make sure whatever policy you have covers this tank, I know that a lot of insurance covers fire damage, but does not usually cover water damage... and if you sprung a leak it could really damage the house, as well as if you are having visitors etc or people who come to look at the tank, you have to have insurance to cover them in case they get injured in your home. I would really not want to have a bunch of people coming over to my home for reasons that people do sue at the drop of a hat.

Is the home construction going to have some backup for leaks etc. Like the rooms surrounding the tank, are they going to be tiled, have drains, etc?

What about power backups? Living in Florida, do you have to worry about extended power outages due to hurricanes? Don't forget to plan for backup power for pumps. I don't think that volume of water will cool off quickly, but with a tank that deep you will have to worry about flow for oxygen in the water I would think.

As for large tanks and maintenance, there was a natural ocean biotope in the biodome in AZ that I went to when I lived out there.

They didn't have artificial lighting, or heating, and the water that flowed to the ocean and then evaporated was controlled by artificial rain, and run off from the other sections of the biodome.
I remember that the natural tank thing was not the prettiest, they did have yellow tangs living in there and breeding naturally, and some naturally growing coral (was not pretty, mainly dull browns) and they had some other fish and some shrimp/lobsters etc. They did have a wave maker to create tidal effects, and they did studies of what different levels of rain would do to the salinity of the water etc.

With pumping for the tank, how are you going to protect the inlets within the tank so that you don't suck in your fish? With as big of pumps as I am expecting you will need, and as expensive as they will be, you really don't want to be sending fish through them, and you don't want to be blending up fish either.

Looking forward to the website, it will give me something to peruse during those quiet times at work when I am not busy with other things.

Cheers,
Doug

[Sloth]

Saw a 40,000 gallon tank at the Columbus zoo. 300,000 gallons in house? I'll believe it when I see it.

[grostanzo]

Yes, don't forget to post your web address as many of us would like to follow your progress. I haven't seen you post in awhile and figure your not because of some of the responses so alot of us are waiting for the site.

[reefsociety101]

As much as I would love to believe this is true and if it is true, how much of an advancement is is for the hobby, I have to be say I will believe it when I see it. We haven't heard from the guy in quite a while and he seemed to disappear from the face of the earth. I want to say good luck to him, but he has not posted a single thing to help our curiousity. It just seems way to suspisous.

[DgenR8]

He has been in touch with me via private message. I'm told that the web site is in the works, and once it's done, he will post the URL.
Put your suspicions aside for a few days, and concentrate on potential issues that could come up constructing, and maintaining such a system.

[mike4271]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DgenR8

[B]He has been in touch with me
Aha, my post yesterday "R/C award " now makes sense, and everyone thought i was joking about the helicopter....

[BraenDead]

Awesome thread, just waiting to hear about the website!

Bob

[spanker]

If he stocks it with Tuna, I'm heading over :D Methinks he should become a divemaster and certify people in his own aquarium.

Great thread. Looking forward to hearing more about the engineering aspects of this project and reading more about the problems and accomplishments that are being encountered, and tackled.

I am curious if you have talked with any public aquariums about the potential pitfalls that you might run into.

[yaoming713]

OK isnt it obvious folks!!! The guy is a can you spell F A K E!!! sorry for the bashing but we havent heard anything from him since reopening of this thread. D'OH!!!!!!!!!!! For the so called belivers...*shaking head* where are u now!!! Please close this post

[LittleFishBoy]

Close the post? Please correct me if im wrong, buy you are NOT the original thread opener. Further more, why would someone come one here and post something like that and walk away, leaving him/her self open to ridicule about something made up? Personally, yes, i do believe that he is making this happen, and when he does, i will say what i used to say in 2nd grade.... I TOLD YOU SO!!!! If all you have is negative to spread, please keep it to yourself and skip the thread, there are literally thousands of other threads that you can respond to here on Reef Central. :mad:

[Duce]

Originally posted by omalljd
I appreciate everyone's opinions but I don't understand all of the skepticism. People spend money on more crazy things than this. I feel this will have an impact on not only my life but many students and possibly research. Who knows?

The skepticism arise from previous posts of people who said they are building big tanks and got everyone excited but nothing ever materialized.
As well for people who have BIG tanks, they understand that the maintenance and care for such tanks are enormous both in terms of time and money.
There are also lots of issues that arise that will not occur with smaller tanks (I say up to 200G) such as moisture damage to the house.
But if you indeed ended up with such a tank, hats off to you and I l would love to see the pics and if I have the chance (IF I am down at FL) come by and see it in person if possible.

[Vicious]

omalljd said the web site should be up this week. I hope it's true, this is an awesome project and I'd love to be able to watch it unfold!

[spanker]

Originally posted by yaoming713
OK isnt it obvious folks!!! The guy is a can you spell F A K E!!! sorry for the bashing but we havent heard anything from him since reopening of this thread. D'OH!!!!!!!!!!! For the so called belivers...*shaking head* where are u now!!! Please close this post

One of the moderators has been in touch with him, which is, as I'm to understand it, the reason this thread was reopened. Is this thread doing you some devistating harm by being open? If it's such a fake, then wouldn't you rather sit there and see how far this individual will take it? Also, if it's so hard to believe, why even bother following the thread? All those out there who have wasted so much time bashing the posts of people who would like to think this possible should understand that things are dealt with on order of magnatude, and something of this magnatude intrigues people. It makes them think of the possibilities and gets the grey matter working. It's thought provoking. What's wrong with that? Even if it isn't a real project he's working on, I'd be interested in the discussion of the possibilites anyway.

Leave the thread alone if you don't believe it. It's certainly doing you no harm. Why must adults sometimes exhibit the tendencies of children and insist on pointing out "I TOLD 'YA SO!", when most of the world doesn't give a $&*% if you did or not. If it's so hard for you to believe, then just go away. We won't miss you..

I remember bout this time last year a guy came on here and said his job was looking to build a large tank (I think it was almost 2500 gallons) and I don't remember one person calling him a fake, a liar or any of the things this guy has been called. People started thinking. They started stating experiences they had with setting up their larger tanks. Ideas were formed. Conclusions were drawn. People talked about water movement strategies, lighting requirements, plumbing and filtration needs. If memory serves me correctly, that got scaled back to a single 400+ gallon tank for that office, and not one person bashed on him for it. Why? They realized it would be hard to maintain anything more with the time requirements they gave him. How did they come to that conclusion? Probably because of a LOT of the discussion that went on here. If the same thing happens with this project, in my opinion, its for the better, and it wouldn't disappoint me one bit.

I for one would love to have one of the Monterey Bay Aquarium exhibits as the center of my house. Unless I invent a new widget that everyone in the world wants, it's probably not going to happen. It's nice to think that it might happen for someone though.

My buck fifty. Someone owes me 1.48 change....

[yaoming713]

Listen fishboy!!! i suggested close the post..it's only a suggestion whether the moderator want to do this or not is up to him..omalljd said many a time in the past that a website will be due soon..where is it now? if youre that rich a digital camera is only a few hundred $$$...nuff said!!! IMO he posted this post just to satisfy his curiousity..in a way i guess he just wanted to see if it's feasible to build a tank that large..then again it's just my opinion

[LittleFishBoy]

GO AWAY YAO!

[Alberio]

Well, I consider this whole 300,000 gallon tank thing, no more than a blatant attempt to buy an RC TOTM award!

MJD (tongue in cheek) and ;-)

[Shoestring Reefer]

Originally posted by omalljd
I will have at least 1 full time caretaker that will feed the animals and clean the tank.
I'm thinking:

Two people doing husbandry (first) mon-thurs, (second) fri-sun, and they can switch off or work extra during vacations.

Someone doing mechanical maintenance every other day, or a few hours every day.

Consider having someone there at night, considering the investment and what would happen if a pump failed, or a strainer was clogged, etc. Maby you could have mechanical maintenance done by your night person, and tank maintenance/husbandry done during the day, to reduce staff.

Obviously, your best bet would be to talt to public aquariums to see what they do. As someone else said, definetly see what did and didn't work for them, but do it for everything, like husbandry, maintenance, equipment, staffing, stocking, chemistry, lighting, heating and cooling, and flow/current design. And don't forget equipment layout, and access paths to get replacement pumps in and out, etc. That's gonna be one big elevator :).

I'm still curious about heating and cooling, and back-up power. Chillers and generators...drool... York or Carrier? EMD or Cat? Decisions, decisions. You should post in the lighting/filtration/equipment forum lol.

[petedoc]

I have been following this thread since the beginning and I think there is value in the discussion of such a grand topic. The criticism and sarcasm are merely an annoyance. It is easy and simplistic to be a critic. Positive comments require much greater thought process and contemplation. The negative comments should taken for what they are, juvenile and immature responses to the unfamiliar.

[RicksReefs]

what's the problem people? so what if it's all imaginary??
it still puts the ideas on the table for us to learn from.
i hope he gives all the specs & play by play of construction
on his website once it's up. & if he doesn't, oh well, we
can still TRY to hold an adult conversation about the ideas
behind the undertaking...

i'll toss out an idea...
why not lay a geothermal cooling/heating system
beneath the house foundation slab, i'd think this
would help quite a bit in keeping the temps stable
& costs down.....

[Shoestring Reefer]

Originally posted by ricksreef
i'll toss out an idea...
why not lay a geothermal cooling/heating system
beneath the house foundation slab, i'd think this
would help quite a bit in keeping the temps stable
& costs down.....

I agree. If it doesn't happen, I'm out nothing.

Originally posted by ricksreef
i'll toss out an idea...
why not lay a geothermal cooling/heating system
beneath the house foundation slab, i'd think this
would help quite a bit in keeping the temps stable
& costs down.....
Under the slab would make it hard to do maintenance, but otherwise, a good idea IMO.

[Rich the Newb]

Originally posted by yaoming713
Listen fishboy!!! i suggested close the post..it's only a suggestion whether the moderator want to do this or not is up to him..omalljd said many a time in the past that a website will be due soon..where is it now? if youre that rich a digital camera is only a few hundred $$$...nuff said!!! IMO he posted this post just to satisfy his curiousity..in a way i guess he just wanted to see if it's feasible to build a tank that large..then again it's just my opinion
Have you not realized yet that your trolling does no one any good. If the guy is a total sham at least we all talked out various design problems with big tanks, that way if someone decides to build say a 2,000 gallon tank we will all be more knowledgable and able to assess the situation more easily. It will also help people be more prepared for their own projects and help them avoid annoying (and most of all costly) pitfalls along the way.

I do hope this is real though, I would like to see pics and/or a webcam of it. You better believe though if I win the lottery I am going to build a tank so big I will consider this thing a small sump. :D

[jjmg]

OK, I'm a skeptic and I don't even like the project if it's paid for the way he says it is...that's my problem, the legal system didn't agree with me.

HOWEVER; I've got to admit that this got me thinking (my wife says that's scary). The big tank is supposed to be what, 50x28? I like the idea of the two little 43,000 gal tanks better. But with a 50x28 in south Florida, why couldn't it be open to the sun under glass and use that as your lighting and make it a full blown reef? Works for the Gulf around there.

I still think that you would need some pretty hefty water changes...I know, I'm one of those people that does a water change every weekend, so I'm a bit anal...I think that heavily stocked systems will always need water changes and any enclosed system will probably be heavily stocked. What if you could plumb in a source of NSW to do a constant water turnover? If your on the coast, why not? I know several public tanks do this.

But like someone said above (in a joking way?) this would be a 24/7 job for at least one person to take care of. That would mean at least 4 full time employees. I've seen the big tanks at Epcot and The Aquaruim of the Americas. I don't think they are this big. It ain't a hobby at this size, let alone the 2 43,000 tanks for the foyer.

But, what if?

[nysbadmk8]

See i have lots of problems with this thread,

For one, Lots of secrets... the original poster claims he won a lawsuit. Well to pay for his 6million dollar tank, at least anoth 5-10million on the house and land , and at least looking at 500-1.5m in upkeep a year....

So we are looking at a lawsuit payout of at least 60+ million making it ummm to say the least one of the largest Personal lawsuits.


So for the poster not to tell us a bit more... yea we are allowed to say, hey this guy aint for real,

I couldnt see why he wouldnt tell us more? Im 19, i have erb's palsy, It was caused by medical malpractice, My parents won 900k in 1986, I took over the trust fund at 18, I own 4 very nice cars, a 6000sqft house, and a few pieces of investment real estate. Im not ashamed of how i got where i am, nor am i ashamed at how i spend it.



But my take on this... BS... and if im wrong Im sorry

[jjmg]

nysbadmk8, please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I can understand reasonalbe compensation. But I agree this guys would be outragous.

I believe compansating for loss is due, but punitive damages should not go to one person, I guess if some of the sports stars or Bill Gates were to be injured...but don't get me started.

I'm don't know what erb's palsy is, but I do understand the palsy part..I think. At your age, I could easily believe you would earn 900k or more in your lifetime.

I'm sorry if you thought I was being negative about all settlements. Just the ones that are unjust.

Where do you race?

[nysbadmk8]

i didnt take any offense to your posts, but for this guy to have us reasonably belive this... there needs to be more proof, and i couldnt see anybody winning a lawsuit as big as the one that would be needed to fund this adventure!

i race My vette at e-town and atco on a bi-weekly basis if the weather is good

[jjmg]

Remember nysbadmk8, if you don't believe in this thread it will be closed again since we can't all play nice together and agree. I don't believe this guy for a minute, but it still caught my "what if" gene.

Have a nice night and don't wreck your vette, I always wanted one of those!