my 900 gallon should be underway????

[howardhsieh]

so far i had added 8 joists and 6 jack posts for the sub flooring. However i will have structural engineer to come over and maybe i will need to add more concrete for the foundation of those jack posts. it would probably costs me twice the fee for structural engineer to come to check first then second time to give inspection, and thats a $1000,
all the subfloor reinforment would cost me almost $3000.

then i will hire professional to do plumbing for me, which the labour and material would cost me another $4000-5000.

for the water current inside the aquarium, i was suggest to use "Tunze system" with controllers TS-48 that is 4x(800-3500gph) variable speed powerheads, what do you guys think about that???

i will probably skip ozone generator for now, because to have it work at its peek it would cost me almost $2000 extra.

 

[chen88]

Howard, I would be shock that plumbing would cost you 4-5k. Are you including the entire system ie. The sump as well?

 

[howardhsieh]

i just cannot believe i am putting half of my annual income into this 900gallon tank.
right now the plumbing is an easy work, but its the floor support i need to fix it right, i don't want to have my house collapse in the middle of night with my father and i crush with in......all cause begin because of a hobby

 

[howardhsieh]

Howard, I would be shock that plumbing would cost you 4-5k. Are you including the entire system ie. The sump as well?

thats include plumbing the system together, partitioning the 220gal aquarium to make a proper sump, lower the sump height(make it easier to clean, right now it is 6' height), install auto water change, include returning pump that provide 5 time return, include tunze ts-48 there are four power head that will each provide 800-3500gph.

basically i am paying over $2000 for the labour cost.

its really the time, $$$, energy and stress that i had and need to go through with this tank....hopefully at the end of the this year i can have it up and running.... due to my tight schdule (right now i am phsically at quebec) and i be asia from nov8 till dec.

anyway, i wont suggest anybody to put 900gallon tank in the main floor unless you have 50G to spare.

 

[Cirrus]

Howard, you know my story too, I spent over $5000 to install a beam in my basement and another $2500 to reinforce the floor. If you want to do things right it costs $$$, no doubt. Its always the labour. If you are a handyman I guess you can save a lot when it comes to setting up big tanks. I hope you end up with the tank working the way you want it. Have you thought of using the automatic water change/drip system that BWI can provide?

 

[howardhsieh]

anybody ever use ozone generator in freshwater?
i heard that is works the same as U.V sterlizer but no need to change bulb, it would be a one time deal, for my tank it would cost around $2000 to have ozone generator running properly.

 

[DaiDee]

holy sh*t you are serious howard...I hope you are documenting as much of this as you can.

 

[CanadaPleco]

Are you planning on using an ultima filter on that beast? They are prob. the best filters around for any large tank, and really not too expensive either. http://www.pondsonlinecanada.com/filter6j.htm These are what Neoprodigy on MFK is using, as well as arapaimag I believe.

I think your plumbing budget it set a tad high, but then again I have done all my plumbing myself :S so no clue what it costs to have this done.

Cant wait to see some progress pics tho!

 

[CHILLI RED]

Are these Ultima filters better or equal to a sump? Do you need to drill a hole in your tank to set it up or just setup like with a normal cannister filter? Sorry to derail the thred here.

 

[skynoch]

I've got everything together to try an ozone generator for my one tank but still have to make a reactor chamber for it. Don't know if it will ever get done at this pace.
Mike from H20 uses one for his entire system, I think he has bunch of info on it on his website.
Technically you could hook up an ultima filter like a canister filter but you would have to worry about priming then so I wouldn't reccomend it. If you currently have a sump I'm sure there could be an easy way to rig up an ultima filter depending on the overflow type.

 

[howardhsieh]

Are these Ultima filters better or equal to a sump? Do you need to drill a hole in your tank to set it up or just setup like with a normal cannister filter? Sorry to derail the thred here.

no worry, we just share our opinions.

the labour cost is about $2500 two ppl 25 working hrs

those are six jack post, and 220gallon will be use as sump.

 

[howardhsieh]

now i am just waiting for structural engineer to let me know if the basement floor need to add couple inches of concret or not.

 

[CanadaPleco]

Are you having more electrical run for the tank? Might be a good idea, then you can have your heaters on one breaker, pumps on another etc... Wouldn't be hard to do either with the basement unfinished.

 

[rudy]

Nice Howard! I would suggest Vortech powerheads over Tunze. Or better yet talk to Oliver at Below Water. He has an amazing one!

Dont get a ozonator. For a guy who is away as much as you you will kill your tank due to a faulty sensor. They are finicky and can kill your fish very easily They are for only the most advanced and anal hobbiests....Like Skynoch lol.

 

[chen88]

I'd say go for the one Oliver is selling...the tunze or vortech doesn't work since his tank is 1" thick...unless Tuneze or vortech has a new and better mag

 

[DaiDee]

You could try the mp60 from vortech. Supposed to handle upto 1" glass thickness now. A couple of those and you can create some nice waves!

 

[skynoch]

Nice Howard! I would suggest Vortech powerheads over Tunze. Or better yet talk to Oliver at Below Water. He has an amazing one!

Dont get a ozonator. For a guy who is away as much as you you will kill your tank due to a faulty sensor. They are finicky and can kill your fish very easily They are for only the most advanced and anal hobbiests....Like Skynoch lol.

lol you taught me well

 

[howardhsieh]

Nice Howard! I would suggest Vortech powerheads over Tunze. Or better yet talk to Oliver at Below Water. He has an amazing one!

Dont get a ozonator. For a guy who is away as much as you you will kill your tank due to a faulty sensor. They are finicky and can kill your fish very easily They are for only the most advanced and anal hobbiests....Like Skynoch lol.

i think i will save that expense by using two 36watts corallife twist, the main purpose is just to keep algae away and have clear water.

i will have structural engineer come in next week, then i will start from there. i already have 30 gallon volume of bio-balls, 45kg of bacteria house, and japanese mat in place, together with a 1000watt another 800watt heater.

 

[lsdragonfish]

Very nice project.
For the heater i would suggest to used external temperature controller. Because most of build-in temp controller pretty weak accuracy (+- 4-7F) with lifesapan about a year. JBJ temp controller support max 1000watt and accuracy (+- 1.5F). It also come with a very nice feature that you can actually calibrate the unit.

Keep us posted with your project.

 

[peacockbass]

i just cannot believe i am putting half of my annual income into this 900gallon tank.
right now the plumbing is an easy work, but its the floor support i need to fix it right, i don't want to have my house collapse in the middle of night with my father and i crush with in......all cause begin because of a hobby

are you doing this in your parents house??...what if you decide to finally move out of the house?....lol...