Intermediate/ Beginner needs help building 500-650 gallon setup

I’ll start out and apologize for the novel here but I don’t know where else to turn. I have reached out to a local tank builder and they aren’t familiar with discus. I also emailed Gabe at Jack Wattley as he’s nearby but I think the poor guy is just buried.

I am returning to Discus after a 12 month hiatus. I’m far from an expert but I’m not clueless either. My experience started with a 55 gallon and 1/2 a dozen medium size discus with 2 HOB filters turning the water over nearly 10x an hour and weekly 50% water changes.

Next I had the pleasure of caring for my father’s tank after he passed. It was a work of art. It was an 890 gallon acrylic cylinder with an entire room of filtration. About an 80 gallon wet/dry, a pool filter, UV light, pneumatic system for feeding, a subterranean 250 gallon tank filled by an RO unit for water changes all with a light bio load of 30- 6 inch discus. Maintenance was a breeze and water changes were literally a few switches to flip a couple times a month.

Now I want to straddle the two experiences and get a large tank for myself. A “filter room” is not an option for me so it all probably needs to go under the tank. I realize it will be more work than my Dad’s 890 but I’m hoping I can get close.

So where do I start? I’ll also mention I’m not interested in building anything myself- I just don’t have the time. So I would like ideas where to buy this stuff. Here’s a lot of random stuff I’m thinking about in no order. I’m looking at a large, long rectangle tank. Planning to do fake plants and thin substrate with an nice aquascape background. Where can I get a sump and how big should it be? I’ve heard pond filters are worth looking at. Do I need a UV light? I’m thinking yes because it will be near a south facing window. The tank will be near an exterior wall so a subterranean tank for water changes is an option. So is a drain and I’m very intrigued by the idea I’d having an RO unit dripping in 50 gallons a day and essentially doing 10% water changes daily/ automatically. Is putting the pump outside an option or worth considering to cut back on noise? How many times an hour should I be turning the water over? I continually see people saying discus like still water but both my tank and my Dad’s were easily doing 8-10x per hour. What do I do for a heater(s)? Never had an air pump with water being oxygenated so well in my Dad’s filter room or even my HOB’s. I know a lot of folks are fans of sponge filters, can I just drop a couple on the wet/dry? What else am I not thinking of?

THANKS SO MUCH TO ALL for taking the time to read this and contribute. Ill throw in a couple pics of Dad’s tank for attention in a little bit.

That's quite a busy post! I can't wait to see a thread dedicated to the build, as well as photo's of your dads tank.

Sorry, I can't help with sump filtration but I'm sure someone else here can.

Here's a thread you may be interested in and may give you some pointers...

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...0-gallon-build

Here are a few considerations; with such a large tank I would work out these details first, where is the tank and it's stuff go in the house. Then there is the logistics of actually moving the tank into the house and onto the stand. There have been TV shows on doing large tanks builds and how the tank is moved into the house using heavy duty equipment.
Pat

Here are the pics of my Dad's tank...Attachment 129783

Attachment 129784

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Originally Posted by jeep

That's quite a busy post! I can't wait to see a thread dedicated to the build, as well as photo's of your dads tank.

Sorry, I can't help with sump filtration but I'm sure someone else here can.

Here's a thread you may be interested in and may give you some pointers...

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...0-gallon-build

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Thanks very much! I saw this post as well and read through a couple times. It seems he hasn't updated in a while and didn't give a ton of specs from what I saw bc it seemed like he knew what he was doing. I'll still use it as a reference though!

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Originally Posted by Second Hand Pat

Here are a few considerations; with such a large tank I would work out these details first, where is the tank and it's stuff go in the house. Then there is the logistics of actually moving the tank into the house and onto the stand. There have been TV shows on doing large tanks builds and how the tank is moved into the house using heavy duty equipment.
Pat

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Hi Pat,

Great thinking. Luckily I don't think this will be too much of a challenge. The tank will be about 15 feet from the front door which is a double door. It will also be about 2 feet from an exterior wall. The subfloor is poured concrete, and on top of that I just have large tiles. So I don't think moving will be too much of a challenge. 1,000lb tank isn't light but with a few guys and dollies it shouldn't be impossible. Or even if they want to bring in equipment we'll have room. I have been looking at Tsunami tanks (I'm open to others but they're close to me) and the tank should be 8-10 feet long, 3 ft wide and 3-4 feet tall on top of a metal frame with a wooden stand built around it. Again I don't have another room I could use so I am hoping to store the equipment under the tank. I do have some space just outside where I could put a pump (for noise reduction), drain line and submerged tank for WC. I'm assuming with the filtering equipment under the tank there will not be enough room for a WC tank as well. So think I have the main issues figured out. I just need to know what kind of equipment to get for this size, ease of maintenance, noise factor, and is a trickle system worth pursuing?

Anyone with the funds to build a tank this large should go right to a professional and work out the logistics, filtration, lighting, etc. Otherwise you might make some very costly mistakes

Hi CaptAndy- I agree with you, but discus tank builders is kind of a niche market. As I mentioned I reached out to wattley discus and a reputable tank builder in my area but got nowhere. I’d be happy to hear a recommendation if you or anyone else has one. I’m based in South Florida.

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Originally Posted by jhm119

Hi CaptAndy- I agree with you, but discus tank builders is kind of a niche market. As I mentioned I reached out to wattley discus and a reputable tank builder in my area but got nowhere. I’d be happy to hear a recommendation if you or anyone else has one. I’m based in South Florida.

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What makes a tank a discus tank? I personally know of no "discus tank builders".
Pat

Have a look at Monster Fish forum for huge tanks set up ,light ,filtration etc.


https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/

Commercial tanks are made of heaver glass. (3/4" thick) They are meant to be used in public places such as zoos, nature centers, restaurants, and business establishments open to the public. They can be used in homes but are much heavier built than usually needed.

https://glasscages.com/?sAction=ViewCat&lCatID=47

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Originally Posted by Second Hand Pat

What makes a tank a discus tank? I personally know of no "discus tank builders".
Pat

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Hi Pat, I guess I misspoke and didn’t mean it that literally. I am sure you’re aware discus need particularly clean water. And I am sure there are probably not people who’s sole occupation in life is building tanks exclusively meant for discus. What I meant is that I wanted someone who could help me build a large freshwater tank and is familiar with discus and their needs. So maybe they need a larger sump than the average freshwater tank, or a stronger pump that’s able to turn over water more frequently, perhaps they can design the tank to make water changes easier. I really don’t know- hence why I was hoping for a suggestion.

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Originally Posted by seanyuki

Commercial tanks are made of heaver glass. (3/4" thick) They are meant to be used in public places such as zoos, nature centers, restaurants, and business establishments open to the public. They can be used in homes but are much heavier built than usually needed.

https://glasscages.com/?sAction=ViewCat&lCatID=47

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I can personally vouch for Glasscages.com. They do great work and stand by their products. It would be ideal to try to pick up which is what did. It was 8 hours driving each way, but way worth it. Joe is awesome to work with and they can do any customization you’d desire. They do acrylic and glass tanks/sumps. They’re in Tennessee near Nashville.

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Originally Posted by jhm119

Hi Pat, I guess I misspoke and didn’t mean it that literally. I am sure you’re aware discus need particularly clean water. And I am sure there are probably not people who’s sole occupation in life is building tanks exclusively meant for discus. What I meant is that I wanted someone who could help me build a large freshwater tank and is familiar with discus and their needs. So maybe they need a larger sump than the average freshwater tank, or a stronger pump that’s able to turn over water more frequently, perhaps they can design the tank to make water changes easier. I really don’t know- hence why I was hoping for a suggestion.

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Two things to consider; first, Make the tank easy to clean. Tools help with deep tanks and second is to make water changes easy. Lessons learned on your dads tank would help with this I think.
Pat