jsbull’s parent’s 500+ gallon L shaped monster build

[jsbull]

My parents have been long time saltwater fans and we had a tank throughout my childhood back in the early 90’s. They haven’t had one in a many years, while I’ve gotten deeper and deeper into the hobby. They’ve finally gotten the chance to build their dream home, and they wanted to put a massive tank as the centerpiece. Enter the 1,000 gallon monster.

My mother loves seahorses, so the L will be sectioned into two separate bodies of water, connected via the sump and possibly some flow. It will be 9’ long on the main side with a 6’ long side creating the L. The 6’ long side will be divided so that 3’ is part of the main tank while 3’ is part of the seahorse tank.

Here was my early concept:

Final floorplan showing a wide view:

Final floorplan closeup showing the tank and fishroom:

For the last year, I’ve been planning and acquiring gear (along with working a full time job and running a startup). For this first post, I’m just going to cover info related to the structure and build of the tank. Below is the initial concept from Planet Aquariums via our friends at Worlds Under Water in Fayetteville, AR.

Stand:

Tank:

My first questions for the community:

1. Would you divide the tank with a solid glass pane or would you try to do a perforated type of pane so that water flows between them? One consideration is that the overflow on the smaller side will need ball or gate valves to reduce its drain flow, or else we’d have a strong flow into the seahorse side.
2. Do the bulkhead sizes sound correct on the two ghost overflows? (3) 2.5” holes with 1.5” drain bulkheads and (2) 1.5” holes for 3/4” returns
3. Do you think there needs to be a second ghost overflow on the longer side of the tank, or will 1 be enough?
4. The front(s) of the tank will have cabinets that come down that will help with jumpers. Any suggestions for how to block the back of the tank? I’d like to stay away from screen tops if possible, but need to get in there to work on it.

Anyway, there's the first post. Let's do this.

 

[Niterunner77]

No good experience yet. Just setting up my first big saltwater tank. Just wanting to follow along. This is gonna be an awesome thread! Good luck with it all!

 

[SDReefer]

Awesome! Hope I get to do something like that someday.

 

[Maacc]

My opinion is to separate the two with a glass wall. You can comingle the water in the sump, but I would do 2 separate returns due to how much the flow requirements vary. I would think at least 2 probably 3 ghost overflows on the larger section. Remember you are looking for 4x - 10x turnover. You may want to think about a custom coast to coast rear overflow on the large section, especially since you have a fishroom. I love it on my 180ish.

 

[Gweeds1980]

Wow... following along!

 

[ThunderGoose]

Jealous. Following.

 

[LbulletM]

;Bookworm

 

[JaimeAdams]

How are you going to separate out the temperature difference preference between the main tank and the seahorse tank?

 

[revhtree]

This should be great!

Will you have front access to clean the glass?

 

[SlvrZ]

that's gonna be awesome! i can only imagine the evaporation and humidity something that large in a home would be. i get all grumpy when i have to go through 1.5 gallons of top off water a day haha

 

[jsbull]

How are you going to separate out the temperature difference preference between the main tank and the seahorse tank?

I have a similar, albeit smaller system at home. I keep it at 75 degrees and have had great success. The fish don't mind. The corals might be growing a bit slower, but that's worth the cost. They are very healthy.

This should be great!

Will you have front access to clean the glass?

Thanks Rev. I've learned a lot from your build. If you have any tips, I'm all ears.

We will have access to clean the front glass. We're doing doors above that will lift up with hydraulics. It'll make feeding easier among other things. I'm sure I'll buy the largest magnet scraper on the market.

By the way, how did you like the light lift kit you put together? Any learnings that I should take to heart?

that's gonna be awesome! i can only imagine the evaporation and humidity something that large in a home would be. i get all grumpy when i have to go through 1.5 gallons of top off water a day haha

Yeah, we've installed 2 massive vents that are fan powered and have identified an industrial dehumidifier if it comes down to that. Luckily most of the humidity should be captured in the fish room.

 

[jsbull]

Well, I just realized my calculation was off. Without the sump, it'll be about 550 gallons. Sorry about that.

I'm now trying to determine what size sump to have built by Jeff at Lifereef. He's suggested the following options. Any opinions? Space obviously isn't an issue.

40 x 16 x 16 44 gallons
48 x 16 x 16 53 gallons
48 x 20 x 20 83 gallons