Major Tank

[Energy]

I need opinions and advice! I want to install an addition onto my house which would hold an extremely large reef. The dimensions I want to achieve are 16' length by 4' height by 7 ' depth. I was considering making the tank out of concrete with 2 - 8' starphire glass viewing panels. The problems is I don't know any concrete guys qualified to make such a tank. If there was any information of construction of such a beast it would be very helpful. My other option is acrylic. Greg with Reef Mania who makes awesome acrylic projects has offered to help. The problem is the Max tank dimensions would be 8' by 30" high by 7' depth. This means I would need 2 of them to achieve my 16' length. This really isn't a bad thing as there are many bonuses to having 2 seperate tanks built into the wall side by side. ( If one leaks I don't loose everything etc,etc.) The drawback is I loose some continuity. Again any opinons or links to large tank construction ( especially concrete) would be appreciated. TANKS for your help guys. (pun intended)

[myreef]

You can get acrylic in lengths of more than 8 feet....will cost you an arm and a leg, but you can. Might check around....if you truly want a tank 16 feet long. Check with Tenecor or another acrylic tank maker.

[Energy]

I have looked into it. If we build the tank out of acrylic the cost goes way up when we go over 1" material. Price is an issue since I am also building an addition to the house and need to save monet where I can. As long as we stick to 1" acrylic the cost is within reason. This limits us to 8' by 30" by 7' tanks. Since I don't have limitless funds this might have to be the way to go. I was hoping to do it out of concrete and pour the tank the same time we did the foundation work. I wouldn't think it would add more than $2,000 or so to pour a 16 ' trough to hold water. The problem is how do I reinforce the front center brace for the viewing panels and create a lip for the glass to fit into and create a water tight seal?

[youngcoral]

The most economical way of building this tank is to use a FRP shell with Acrylic windows bonded into it. The FRP “ Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic� is also the most structurally secure way for this project. I actually work for one of the largest aquarium manufactures in world. If you would like to PM me I will guide you in the right direction. :)