Swimming Pool to an Aquarium

[oceana]

you guys are thinking retail. yes this could be done and yes it would be very expensive.
BUT with a system like this you wont be going to the LFS to buy your salt. many many thing for this project would fall into the commercial side of things. lighting wont be a
issue because nature provides you with the best lighting there is.
i bet it would be cheaper to lease a plot in the gulf like some rock companys do then it would be to do this project. sorry

 

[hagfish]

Originally Posted by emmitt
I know but we were talking about heating and cooling a OUTSIDE aqauarium in Texas, so what did cooling a basement aqaurium have to do with anything??
I think you're being a little rude. I was just pointing out some relevant things about a large aquarium I knew of. And it is relevant to note that his temperature control is largely ambient, being in a basement. It's not really killing you to read one or two sentences about his temp control is it?
Anyway I believe ambient temp is one of the easiest ways to control overall temp. I actually thought this was an indoor pool. But, I don't see why it wouldn't be an option to put a building up around this pool and give it a dedicated AC and furnace. Actually, being outdoors one would have to deal with unpredictable rain (and whatever is in the rain) and all kinds of other things being blown into the water.
Also, the original poster asked about water changes. I touched on that with the large aquarium I know of. And FWIW, he is using pool filters as well as regular aquarium filtration like a protein skimmer and a fuge. But he doesn't like to run them all the time, I think he said it introduces silicates.

 

[salt phish]

you could build a SUPER dome with retractable top to regulate the pool temps...woodlnads is a nice are I use to live ooff of FM 1960 and 45 for a short while.....

 

[gormetlady]

Salt pish -- do you still live in the greater houston area? The replies from all of you are great. Really appreciating your help!

 

[dr. evil]

i would think with the natural sunlight and temp. fluctuations you would have one heck of an algea problem.

 

[joesalmi]

that is just crazy you really wouldn't be able to enjoy anything. and everyone that ever came over would think that youw ere crazy. what about rain or snow? what about if something dies? HAHA that would be a day job not a hobby. Save you money and buy something like this http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/index.aspx

 

[maeistero]

:thinking: i'm pretty sure you probably have a sliding glass door facing your pool outside. take it out, put in a huge indoor tank with one outside face. this way you can save money on temperature, use a simple curtain or awning for the algae and sip cocktails in your hot tub while looking at it under actinics at night. i think i had a dream about that one time...

 

[mag395]

I think it would only be possible if you lived on an intercoastal canal or the ocean itself. Then, it might be possible to just treat the large natural body of water as an enormous sump.
I live on an intercoastal canal in south florida and was considering setting up an outdoor tank. I would pump water from the canal into the tank and the overflows would take it out. My dad wants to use it to put in fish he catches out of the canal. The fish would be their temporarily of course. Anyone think this would work?

 

[mbrennan]

With the amount of herbicides, pestisides and fertilizers that people in south Florida put on their lawns it probably not be adviseable. Generally when the canals are dredged the spoil is considered hazardous waste and must be disposed of as such. The spoil will contain large amounts of asbestos, cadmium, oil and grease as well as other byproducts as a result of stormwater runoff from roofs, sidewalks, patios, driveways, roads and other impervious surfaces. I wouldn't use canal water for an aquarium let alone eat anything that comes out of it. I should know I'm a stormwater manager from a community in Florida.

 

[saltn00b]

i get first dibs to dive it!

 

[emmitt]

Originally Posted by mag395
I think it would only be possible if you lived on an intercoastal canal or the ocean itself. Then, it might be possible to just treat the large natural body of water as an enormous sump.
I live on an intercoastal canal in south florida and was considering setting up an outdoor tank. I would pump water from the canal into the tank and the overflows would take it out. My dad wants to use it to put in fish he catches out of the canal. The fish would be their temporarily of course. Anyone think this would work?
Ive spent almost my whole life on the S.F. canals and have just 1 question:Have you ever been in the canals??? That is the most disgusting water i can imagine. I wouldnt let my dog go in there. Take a glass of water from there and just look at it!! YUCH. I wouldnt put 1 drop of that slop in my tank and if you pumped a tank full of it , it would be just as dark and dirty as the canals here. If you really wanna puke, have the water tested or look at it under a microscope.

 

[maxalmon]

What was that Bio-Project a few years back that had a huge sealed off dome with a rianforest, savana, marsh and even had a huge inground reef that was larger than the the one your talking about. This was a project to see if they could make a self contained bio-system that would sustain life, the spent like hundreds of millions and it toally failed due to some kinda bacteria. Might be a place to start and see if they have any info posted about how they started the reef system and how well it survived.

 

[maxalmon]

Here it is, this is Bio11. Bio1 was the one I ws talking about.
http://www.pbs.org/opb/intimatestran...ere/index.html

 

[murph]

Its a long thread and I will admit to laziness in saying I did not read through the whole thing so if I am repeating something forgive me.
It can be summed up in a few words. Fresh water intrusion. Its going to rain and sometimes rain alot. You just cant keep the levels right under these circumstances.
If you want to start spending that kind of money and don't mind not being able to see your charges from the side through glass look into setting up a lagoon system as large as the space indoors will allow. One of the LFS in my town runs one and they are quite spectacular.
I think its Bang Guy who is the expert on these types of setups and probably would be glad to help you out with some info.

 

[timdaddie]

I think that this is crazy, but if you want to waste money. Hear might be a way to cool it naturally. If you dig into the earth far enough the temperature of the earth gets colder, and usually stays about the same temperature. This is why the drinking water in most houses is on the cool side. You could dig down run "a mile" of piping under the ground. I would think that the bigger the diameter, and more pipe under ground the better. Then pump water though it. With a big enough pump this may help out with the circulation of your sea world. If you could get this done I'm sure we all would like to see it. "I just wish I had your money". LOL

 

[wattsupdoc]

Regulating the temp is not difficult at all. Just digs about 1000(estimate) fott of trench about 4 ft deep and youll have a steady 60 degree water temp year round. Now heat with a heater in the winter and wallah!

Set your circulating pumps up on a thermostat and it'll cool in the summer. Larger volumes of water are easier to maintain than smaller right? Sounds like it'll work to me. Initial cost yes but 1000's monthly I donth know. Wouldnt think it would cost that much more than your allready paying to have the pool. Chlorine, pumps, clarifier, stabilizer, test daily> Might even be easier????

JMO

 

[wattsupdoc]

Dont have enough room for the trenches? Just dig big pits, coil you pipe spialling downward thyen back up and out and over to the next pit. (Ground source heat).Also solar water heaters work great if you could afford to have one built big enough, even if it just supplemented your heating costs al ittle in the winter it.d be a help. (yes they work in the winter too!) All you need then is your same cirulating pump. Pool pumps dont cost that much to opperate and you have at least a couple bid guys now. Couldnt tell you if you can get enough flow with em or not but someone here could.

 

[emmitt]

How exactly is a trench 1000 feet long and 4 feet deep going to stay 60 degrees in the middle of a Texas summer????? Thats going to be quite a piping job.
Easier and cheaper to maintain than a pool??? That is insane! It costs less than $40 dollars a month to keep a pool maintained. You couldnt maintain a 300 gallon aquarium for that much less a 30,000 gallon one.

 

[emmitt]

Might be easier and cheaper to maintain than a pool???
You can maintain a pool for $40 a month. You cant maintain a 300 gallon aqaurium inside for that much less a30,000 gallon outdoors one. Not do-able without UNLIMITED $.
Never heard of a pool pump that could give 15-20x turnover while pumping up and down pits of huge coils of pipes either or 1000 foot trenches.

 

[wattsupdoc]

Salt water and concret mix OK

Might want to seal it real good with something non toxic or maybe a liner.

Fill it up with regular rock and a few 1000lbs or so of Base rock and some LR and let it seed! Air borne contaminates hmm....

They make some great products today that will house that pretty well. Maybe a greenhouse like thing

. You could probably plant some palms in there if you wanted to!

I say go for it and when you do let me know and I'll come down there and install some fiber optic lighting in it.I.ll be awesome night diving in that with ya!

I'll get my gear ready!