nancysnuwave
06/24/2003, 05:22 PM
Hi,
I'm thinking of building in an aquarium in a room addition, and was looking for ideas.. possibly 96" long, 14" high, 24" wide (140 gallons?)
Here's some thoughts - a plywood 'floor' would be easier to drill than glass (although getting it painted could be prohibitively expensive?).. any ideas on costs of this stuff, say tempered and professionally drilled (if I abandon the plywood idea).
Would it be such a deal to just get a shop to cut and deliver this stuff? What about assembly? any tricks there.. is there a length restriction (I'm thinking of 'bowing' in the middle? Maybe this could be controlled with a cap brace of some type.. every so many feet? What to make this from?
I think I could be good w/ a 14" depth - then perhaps get by w/ VHO lights - possibly less heat into the room, and lower total costs? Would SPS be happy there? What's the reality of this? does it make a huge difference in appearance? 14" doesn't seem very deep, especially w/ a deep sand bed (better that in a sump?). Insulation on the bottom and back for uniformity and energy efficiciency?
What for a "back wall" color? White for light? ? Black? TROMPE L'OEIL
Also, what are the econonomies in bulb length? if we make it 8 or 12 ?? (wife would shoot me, perhaps?) feet long, would 6 foot bulbs be cheaper, or better to go w/ 4 foot bulbs (there's got to be a lower breakage cost w/ shorter bulbs)
What about circulation? It would seem as if end to end would result in stale (deoxygenated) water at the 'far' end.
Has anyone done anything similar and have any words of wisdom?
I'm thinking of building in an aquarium in a room addition, and was looking for ideas.. possibly 96" long, 14" high, 24" wide (140 gallons?)
Here's some thoughts - a plywood 'floor' would be easier to drill than glass (although getting it painted could be prohibitively expensive?).. any ideas on costs of this stuff, say tempered and professionally drilled (if I abandon the plywood idea).
Would it be such a deal to just get a shop to cut and deliver this stuff? What about assembly? any tricks there.. is there a length restriction (I'm thinking of 'bowing' in the middle? Maybe this could be controlled with a cap brace of some type.. every so many feet? What to make this from?
I think I could be good w/ a 14" depth - then perhaps get by w/ VHO lights - possibly less heat into the room, and lower total costs? Would SPS be happy there? What's the reality of this? does it make a huge difference in appearance? 14" doesn't seem very deep, especially w/ a deep sand bed (better that in a sump?). Insulation on the bottom and back for uniformity and energy efficiciency?
What for a "back wall" color? White for light? ? Black? TROMPE L'OEIL
Also, what are the econonomies in bulb length? if we make it 8 or 12 ?? (wife would shoot me, perhaps?) feet long, would 6 foot bulbs be cheaper, or better to go w/ 4 foot bulbs (there's got to be a lower breakage cost w/ shorter bulbs)
What about circulation? It would seem as if end to end would result in stale (deoxygenated) water at the 'far' end.
Has anyone done anything similar and have any words of wisdom?