DIY 1,650 Gal Tank HOLDS WATER!!

novice150

novice150

Member
I've always wanted a huge tank, but after pricing really big tanks ($12,000 to $20,000) I decided to take a crack at making my own. On 6/20/02 I started the construction process of my dream tank. I had spent nearly 6 months, reading, researching and designing this tank. Now, 2 months later (AND LOTS OF WORK) it is holding water. :D
I built this tank for one reason, keeping sharks. My plan is to keep a bamboo, leopard, smoothhound, and black tip. I realize this tank will not hold them for life. And I realize plenty of people say they will get a bigger tank, but I did upgrade to this tank, so I have no intention of stopping here.
I have pics ranging from day one, to the point of holding water. I am still in the process of finishing my basement. So I will be uploading pics to a website soon to cover the whole process. The entire tank (frame and all) will be enclosed in drywall, so try to see the big picture:)
The tank is made from wood, fiberglass, and epoxy.
 
wamp

wamp

Active Member
Link is not working... FIX it. I am excited to see your work.. I too will be building shortly so, I'm stealing ideas:)
 
novice150

novice150

Member
Ok, I'll answer your question, but in return I want details on how you get your pics to show up on the thread like that:)
Its acrylic, and I paid $750. By far the most expensive part of the whole project!
 
javatech

javatech

Member
i paid 180 for just 2' X 5' glass
as for the photos when they did the upgrade here i could not use my msn photo page to host my photos any more so now i just use my own web page to host them
 
wamp

wamp

Active Member
novice,
Thats an awsome tank! You did a really good job on it.
You can get a free website at www.freeservers.com and post all your pics there and just put a link on here to there.
They have their own site builder and it is very easy to use.
 
novice150

novice150

Member
Wamp, thanks I appreciate the compliment.
It has been alot of work, but seeing it hold water made it all worth it. Still alot of work to go, all the plumbing, filtration, dry walling around the tank, etc.. But I think it will look good in the end.
I'll look into that site you recommended, thanks for the info.
Javatech, your tank looks great! Feels good to DIY huh?!?! I cant wait to finish mine:)
 
melbournefl

melbournefl

Member
Incredible tank! Can't wait to see more pics as you progress! FYI if you have the pics already, I'm in the process of building a website (and a tank too!) and would be honored if you'd let me devote some pages to your project. Let me know if you'd like to, at least you wouldn't have to put up with the ads that are forced on you at "free-sites" BTW anyone else that's building their own tanks the offer is good for you to, hear that Java? Until I run out of host space that is, then we'll have to figure out something.
Good luck and Later,
Paul
UPDATE: oops forgot the link Work in Progress so don't be toooo critical please
 
melbournefl

melbournefl

Member
LOL no, (you don't mind if I call you that do you? LOL) My site is hosted by webmasters.com. I used to own a restaurant and before some crazies ran an airplane into some big buildings and the economy tanked (pun intended) I had my restaurant's site there. It's prepaid so I figured I use it for my reef keeping adventure :)
Later, Paul
 
novice150

novice150

Member
Nolin and Melbourne: I really appreciate your offers, and I think I may just have to take you up on it:) I do have quite a few pics, so you'll have to let me know how many your willing to do.
Melbourne: I'm honored that you'd be honored!:D Way too cool.
I'm sure we can all share construction tips/resources too.
You can email me at nacnacmxr2@aol.com
Thanks again guys.
 
novice150

novice150

Member
Nolofin: Yeah, Im drywalling all around it. Basically the only thing in this pic that you'll be able to see when Im done is the glass. Im making this into a giant in wall tank, with a fish room for filtration behind it.
There will be a wall, or sofit, running from the top of the tank to the ceiling, and on the side of the tank will be a hidden door, which will be textured and painted as well. So when done, you have a white wall with a 4x8 picture frame showing the tank.
This is all in my 1/2 finished basement. It will all be one big room, with a pool table, and the tank:)
 
novice150

novice150

Member
There's only one pic on there right now, I wanted to see how it worked before uploading them all. But my user name is: blacktip101
Thanks:)
 
aquaman

aquaman

Member
Great looking tank. I hope you will post your directions so some of us more adventurous but not and technically wise will be able to try our had t it.
Good luck with it, I look forward to seeing more PICS.
 
novice150

novice150

Member
skilos1: Thank you. I'll try to get more pics on there.
I decided to try MSN, since they dont have the 5 pic per day rule. Gonna post a link in a few min.
 
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