500gal Mega build

[BrendanJ23]

Hi Everyone, long time no post.


Works been insanely busy the last year or so, a bit short on time. Hope you are all well on the other side there.

Moving straight on, I am excited to announce the start of the mega build. I am building a 2400mmx800x800 aquarium(~1560L or 410 US GAL. to be housed in wall, viewable from the newly built (still under construction) sitting room. Serviceability and all the tank etc will be from an extended large laundry behind.

The tank itself will have a starfire front panel for optimal viewing , and a ~500L/130 GAL sump. Sides, back and bottom will be clad with white vinyl, as I am running BB. I plan on running about 100 or so liters of k3 media fluidized, as well as some marine pure balls and various other bio media. The exact configuration is still yet to be decided. I plan to heat the tank with 4/300w eheim heaters, running off an Inkbird controller. I’ve purchased a Jebao 10000 LPH return pump, in hopes this will be enough. Tossing up the idea of running a refugium, just not sure yet.

Actual tank lighting will be atm 1-2 AI Freshwater lights. They provide good shimmer and spectrum for the plants. Only running a couple small but powerful lights will allow me to create depth and shadows, while still providing enough light to grow some basic plants such as Val and swords.

To tackle water changes, I’ve had the tank drilled (it is still being made) with 2/50mm bulkheads at the bottom for fast water changes with the simple turn of a valve. This will be plumbed into the laundry sink drain, with a T so I can alternatively run it off a hose out to the garden.
For refilling, I’ve had a plumber install a hot/cold mixer directly above the tank, and a 3/4” cold only for speed things up if needed. I will incorporate a dual prefilter off both taps (sediment and carbon).

Here’s a few pictures to start with.








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[danotaylor]

Bloody awesome mate! Can't wait to see it all come together!! :thumbsup:

[pablos]

Nice project.. looking forward to see results.

I would add more vertical support into your stand. You might consider to mount two parallel pumps for a redundancy.

[14Discus]

This is SO cool.......am jealous. Yes, more vertical support is needed as I see it. With that big a tank, support overkill is imperative. You might add some drywall framing too and be sure to seal the edges very carefully in case water should find it’s way to the opening edges. Late now, but bathroom drywall might be better for moisture reasons. Can’t wait to see the final setup and all.

[Shan_Evolved]

What size wood is that for the stand? Very interested in the build. Good luck

[pablos]

When I build my stand for 190g, I used much heavier wood. 6 vertical wooden blocks, each 4"x2" plus 4 horizontal with the same dimensions. Each corner is supported by L shape metal joint. .. stand itself is around 150lbs :)
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[BrendanJ23]

Whoops, I should have mentioned that I have purposely left a leg out so I can slide the sump in. Once the sump is in I will finish the framing. As apart of the Reno I had my engineer over look the stand design and confirmed it’s strength so no need to worry (plus I’m a builder lol) :). All wall sheeting in the room is Villaboard (cement sheeting) for wet areas, and I have waterproofers sealing the floor perimeter just in case.
The frame is constructed from 90x45 mgp 12 structural framing with 17mm plywood top. With the type of timber and construction method used it will be able to support much more than required.

Interesting about running a second parallel pump. Assuming I would need two separate return pipes/outlets into the tank?

[pablos]

Yes, you would need to have two return pipes. the benefit of that is that they might point in different direction. Take a look on www.reef2reef.com its quite popular there for reef keepers and tanks 1000l +

[BrendanJ23]

Hey all,

An update/completion post for you!

I must say I am super stoked with how it all turned out. Still a bit of tweaking to do with the scape, and the sump is ever changing. I ended up incorporating a 120W Pentair Uv sterilizer with I’m really happy with, and it’s huge! I’ve got a Jebao 10000LPH pump with adjustable flow, so I can get maximum exposure time with the UV sterilizer.
I’m running a bean animal overflow system, to 100L of k3 media (still fine tuning the fluidized section) and 5x300w heaters controlled by an Inkbird. It’s probably overkill, and I may end up removing 1 or 2. I’ve also got about 10L of marine pure balls in there, and I may add more at a later stage.

I drain the tank via a 40mm bulkhead (with ball valve) from the tank plumbed into the laundry waste, and will drain to 50% in about 2-3 minutes which I was pleasantly surprised with. For refills I have the 2 taps above the tank, which will fill it from 50% to full in about 12mins or so. It’s a relief for me that it is so quick as I was unsure how long big water changes would take place.

For lighting I am running a custom made 6ft tunable LED light (from my old setup) and an AI prime freshwater light. Like most other aspects of the tank, I’m still dialing everything in. I may get rid of the 6ft light and replace with 1-2 AI primes. I like how they throw light and bring out the colors of the fish.

I’ve also got a jebao wavemaker on the RHS to push all the detritus down the other end of the tank, where the weir sucks up all the crap from the bottom grate. As apart of the weir I also have an adjustable grate for surface skimming . So far it works fairly well. It’s just a matter of placing plants and driftwood in he right place, in order to not block the flow of water.

I do plan to have most of the back wall covered in Val to soften the look and naturalize it more.

Any questions please fire away :)





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[danotaylor]

Looks ripper mate!! :thumbsup:

[Willie]

The tank looks amazing. I can see adding some high intensity spot lights to create a shimmer with all the current in there.

[Iminit]

Great looking tank!!

[FischAutoTechGarten]

That is sooo big.... expecially when one takes into consideration your Discus are probably at least 6" TL, no?

The speed at which you can change over water is very impressive. On my small mini-rack, I take about a full 15 minutes to drain down ~33% of the entire system volume.

[BrendanJ23]

Thanks everyone.

Willie - I agree. I think a couple more AI’s will complete the look I’m after.

Peter- thanks . My discus range from 4-7 inch nose to tail, I’m just after a few more to help fill out the tank a bit, without overcrowding. I’ve got 5 more coming over the next month or so. After they pass quarantine they’ll be in!.

To be honest the WC time was a pleasant surprise. I had actually drilled for 2/40mm bulkheads, but only ended up needing one. The other I will eventually put a garden hosing fitting on, so I can run a hose from it and water the lawn when it needs it.

[Shan_Evolved]

Very nice man. Massive!!

Do you have to age your water or is it straight tap? Very impressive plumbing

[BrendanJ23]

Straight tap.

[jhm119]

Straight tap.

Excuse the ignorance - how are you able to do that? No chlorine? Do you have a filter of some kind for the whole house? Thanks!!

[BrendanJ23]

Excuse the ignorance - how are you able to do that? No chlorine? Do you have a filter of some kind for the whole house? Thanks!!

Sorry I meant, no aging etc. I just treat the water with safe/prime as it goes in.

[Iminit]

I too use tap water. I have an under counter filter which removes chlorine. Than into the tank. No prime just water.

[famtsberg]

very impressive

[BrendanJ23]

Just an update on the tank guys.

The tank is getting well established now. Bio media is strong, new growth on plants and battling diatoms 😅. The fish are doing extremely well and have just added a yellow raffelsia, red raffelsia and golden snakeskin .
I had to add another wave maker to cover the full width of the tank, so it blows all detritus into the weir intake. I usually only have to spot vacuum a couple times a week where the flow is blocked by pots.

[danotaylor]

Tank looks majestic mate! Where do you buy your discus in Brissy? I live in Ohio, USA, but lived in Brissy for 31 years. My folks live on Nth Straddle still.

[BrendanJ23]

Tank looks majestic mate! Where do you buy your discus in Brissy? I live in Ohio, USA, but lived in Brissy for 31 years. My folks live on Nth Straddle still.

No where decent in Brissy. They all come from Sydney - ‘Oz Discus’ they’re called.

[seanyuki]

Oz discus, they have famous discus suppliers from Europe and Asia.


https://ozdiscus.com.au/?fbclid=IwAR15X4IneyybD8lcFZOWqE9Gl2P1A71hcIewZ-Dc34YIHQTDsqaJp9Awb18