DIY Concrete Aquarium 5,000 gallon - Anderson Family Reef

[McPuff]

Ok, I'm definitely intrigued. Is there a plywood pond in the early photos?

 

[dca22anderson]

Ok, I'm definitely intrigued. Is there a plywood pond in the early photos?

I have two full buckhorn food grade bins and one sump bin + a 150 gallon tank and had a 100 gallon frag tank going in the fish room in preparation for the big tank builds. Active water volume is around 690 gallons running. Here is the set up when I was first putting it together:

 

[McPuff]

Wow! I'll have to check out those bins. Might work for a new sump. :0)

 

[dca22anderson]

They work great but do require some bracing to keep them in form when they are full. Half full they work great for a sump.

 

[McPuff]

They work great but do require some bracing to keep them in form when they are full. Half full they work great for a sump.

Excellent. Another option anyway... kind of nice to have a square version instead of the oval rubbermaid trough. Would fit more easily in the space I have.

 

[Slicktop]

Love the closed loop, thats gonna save lots of effects cleaning wave makers and power heads for flow, not to mention buying and replacing them in that monster.

 

[dca22anderson]

Love the closed loop, thats gonna save lots of effects cleaning wave makers and power heads for flow, not to mention buying and replacing them in that monster.

Thanks! I agree! Plus with a 4’ deep tank it’s hard to get that water from down low up and over the overflow on a regular basis, goal is no dead spots

 

[boehm742]

Amazing work!

 

[dca22anderson]

 

[dca22anderson]

Overflow drains

 

[dca22anderson]

Need to take these down to make room for the new filtration and 740, hope we can ship it this week.

Already sold the frag tank (I’ll get one that fits better with the new layout)

I’ll end up cutting off the feet from the bins to shorten them to 2’ tall so they will slide right under the 740 gallon tank

 

[McPuff]

They work great but do require some bracing to keep them in form when they are full. Half full they work great for a sump.

What are the dimensions of those bins?

 

[dca22anderson]

https://www.globalindustrial.com/p/...MIrufLyYfa4AIV9x6tBh1VTAKIEAYYBSABEgIe7fD_BwE

48"x44"x29"

Bulk Container
Ideal for numerous storage, shipping and material handling applications. Seamless, impact-resistant one-piece injection molded construction of structural-foam high-density industrial grade polymer. Holds fine powder and granular materials. Stacks 6 high. Reusable and returnable. FDA approved for cleanliness; covered corners allow for easy cleaning. 4-way forklift access.

 

[dca22anderson]

 

[dca22anderson]

Took the closed loop piping out to get ready for some aquascaping. I’ll cover the lower pipes outside the tank with rock then drop them in and add the top rocks inside the tank.

I wiped down the tank and there was a heavy brown dusting from mixing the salt in there. May switch salts for the final run.

 

[dca22anderson]

 

[dca22anderson]

120 lbs in place

 

[dca22anderson]

 

[dca22anderson]

My buddy Jerry thinks my rock stack looks like a low rider!

 

[McPuff]

Are you going to use e-marco 400 or some other type of mortar to secure those rocks? Or just the zip ties? I would suggest going with the mortar once you're happy with the structure. It's pretty awesome stuff and you won't ever worry about any rock topples.