LadAShark

[language filter] your zoas are looking fine. You're an inspiration for every zoa grower.

That's some input that gives me hope! And that seems nice and cheap. Any idea how many watts it was?

Thanks! Funny thing is I'm getting into roundabout ways of getting the things I need, like importing low iron glass from china because it's much cheaper than buying glass here. But I still have a lot of research to do before I start.

Well, as I said earlier, I am extending my house, so I guess the price to plump it outside the house wouldn't be much, because the tank will be on a room bordering the outdoors. I'll have to look into that though, that sounds like a great idea! Especially since I was thinking of eventually moving on to turning this into an aquarium room, with multiple interconnected tanks, but that's besides the point, for now I'm just gonna focus on this first tank.

Ah. Hmm. Well, I know that's fair. I'm looking into pumps, and I've found multiple possible solutions, but it's going to take a lot of research and trial and error to settle it properly. Who knows? I might fail. But I'm sincerely hoping I succeed. And my goal won't be cheap. If I wanted cheap I'd be pursuing plywood. My goal is functional yet not overpriced.

Yeah, the main aquarium will be the main cost. After looking over what I can get, I wouldn't be surprised if I could build this aquarium for 5,000 dollars if I was smart about it. The only thing that I will actually outright buy from a dealer is the protein skimmer, as I don't have any way to show that mine would work. I'll be updating you guys over time as to how it goes. For now, however, don't hold your breath, as I still need to get the room where it will be held constructed ;P

Yeah, sort of this ;P Though I'm not broke, but still, I like to save as much as possible without comrpomising. I am willing to use roundabout methods to reach my goals.

Yeah I bet. I know I'm a bit crazy for going for the 1000 ;P But just the back untempered is a possibility since that is the case.

I see. Guess I'll have to stick to regular, less known aquarium pumps.

Huh, that's actually pretty cool. I'll take that into consideration. Note to all of you: this is NOT a short term project. I am NOT trying to have it up and started jn a week or two. This is a 1-2 year project in my opinion. I will start building the tank in 3-4 months after my house gets some rooms added.

I'm not surprised, and 10k is a number I was expecting. Let's just say I'm plotting something atm, and I'll have to do some investigation to see if it will work. If it does I might even be able to get away with the tank for even cheaper than that, without comromising the quality of the tank whatsoever. I assure you money is not a problem. I'm just a cheapskate, I'd rather build it cheaper regardless. Saving money is part of the fun for me.

I guess. My point was I just wanted to see how many people there were out there that had a big tank ;P As for me? I've already found something of a solution... I think I can actually build it pretty cheap if I get some bulk low iron tempered glass... I don't know at the moment, but this isn't a building thread, it's a headcount.

Sounds good. I'll have to see it sometime ;P

Your name explains everything.

5k for the core tank, filtration, skimmer, and just basic equipment, no stand, live rock, or critters included. I can settle the flow at 20,000 gph for $600 so far, so I am pretty certain it's not impossible if I can somehow get the glass panes without a huge cost. As I said though, my dream is 5k, actually though I hope to get it setup for 10k. This thread isn't about my tank though! This is about everyone else's tanks! No need to nitpick at my wishful thinking!

I know it won't happen. That's my target. rather than saying "oh I want to build this aquarium, let me empty my pocket!," I instead aim at something that would be very hard to accomplish and attempt it. The biggest issue would be actually getting a tank of that size (just the glass/acryllic). I'm sure if I wait long enough, though, I might be able to find something cheap enough.

Murphy's law...

Lol. I do like having money, guys. I can barely justify spending 10k on an aquarium... Please don't tempt me...

I think I decided on a pump. Or rather, 4-8 of them, haha. https://www.amazon.com/Cobalt-Aquatics-Flow-Wave-Aquarium/dp/B00E4GB8I4 2500 or so gph from a single pump, for $67.44, it is 80 watts, which is very little compared to most of what is out there, and the reviews say it creates basically no noise. I think I will put somewhere between 4-8 of them (as I said before) into my tank along the back. The people who tested it say that it's good for up to 4 feet of aquarium, and, coindentally, my tank is going to be 8' long, 4' wide, 4' tall, so I can place them in a number of ways to maximize my flow.

I understand your concerns, and I am by no means frustrated nor bothered by that. If it becomes unmanageable I am perhaps willing to downsize, though I would hate to do so. I am aware of what it takes to cleanup after sharks, for that I intend to (1) get a cleanup crew that can't be easily consumed by them, like queen conches. (2) run a sand filtration system that cleans the water by pumping it through sand. Once enough waste collects in the system, I turn off the flow through the system, and flush it with some fresh water straight into my sewers. (3) Protein skimmers, most likely DIY if I can find a really effective system for it. I mean "cheap" and "frugal" in relative terms. There's a lot of things that one pays for just because of shipping, human effort, and branding. I think the only real unavoidable cost of building the tank is the glass. As for your setup, I might be interested in the future, currently, I'm going to pursue this idea of mine for a while longer and see if it's feasible. My goal is to get it done for $5,000 dollars, not including fish stock. But I'm willing to tolerate up to and maybe a little above $10,000 dollars. So when I say "cheap," I mean it relative to the $100,000 one thousand gallon tank ;P

For those of us who have, or are attemptig larger tanks, why don't/can't we use pond pumps? Sure, some of them are freshwater only, but there are many that would work both in salt and fresh water! It seems like a much cheaper alternative to going and dropping a huge amount of money otherwise. I's not like I'm against spending money where it's needed, but why spend it when doing so isn't necessary?

http://m.marinedepot.com/products/em1237/ecotech-marine-vortech-mp60wqd-propeller-pump-w-wireless-quietdrive-driver FOUR of these things? That comes to 2700 dollars! I mean, that's doable, but seems a bit exaggerated for water flow. There are 5000 GPH pumps for ponds you can easily find for like 30-40 bucks, and if those don't do, I could just get a 370 dollar 20,000 gph pump. I'm sure there are alternatives to the mp60wqd. If a single one took care of my job I'd be ok with it, but 4 seems a bit... off. Woops somehow double posted... Sorry.

http://m.marinedepot.com/products/em1237/ecotech-marine-vortech-mp60wqd-propeller-pump-w-wireless-quietdrive-driver FOUR of these things? That comes to 2700 dollars! I mean, that's doable, but seems a bit exaggerated for water flow. There are 5000 GPH pumps for ponds you can easily find for like 30-40 bucks, and if those don't do, I could just get an ice eater, which is used in saltwater by oyster farmers, and in freshwater for koi ponds.

I see. No, I wasn't really offended about the tank size to pricething so much as the fact that he implied that I'm rich and that's why I'm building such a huge tank. Can't I just like big tanks? I completely understand that 5k is a VERY small estimate for a tank. Do note, however, that it's not going to be heavy on invertibrates or corals, seeing as that it is going to have 3 sharks, a couple eels, a harlequin, and a dragon wrasse. The reason my estimates are low is because I donmt see myself buying many or any corals for the tank, as such I won't need as stringent controls on most water paraemeters. The fish would cost me around 1000-1500 dollars though. 2000 is a fair estimate for my water critters not including liverock and live sand. I enjoy it BECAUSE it's difficult, not because it costs a lot haha. My lower estimate for the tank setup is actually 8000 dollars. My hopeful DIY setup is $5000. If I can get it low I'll be happy. But I worked software so I do have the income to support it, without being rich in particular lol.

Those look great! Wonder how I could set one of those up without making it too conspicuous... My aquariroom is going to be around 16'x16'x8'. Do you happen to have any guides or links handy to making one?