250g tank need help!!!!!!!!

[SwedishFish]

hey me and my dad want to make a 250g tank we need some tips and some places where we could get supplies for this (such as websites, stores, factories) My dad can get glass for a good price since he owns a business and can order glass cheaper than usual. First we plan on making the sides and the top regular aquarium glass and the bottom tempered for strength. We have most of it planned. But should we have a glass top and cut out holes for the filters heater etc.. or is there a place we can get a hood for 250g or somewhere around 250g ? your input would be great! :D

[TomFromStLouis]

A tank that size will need a stand. Are you going to make that? Seems to me that the skills needed to make a nice stand are the same as needed to make a hood. Visit AHSupply.com for light hood thoughts.

Or you could make a hinged glass top like you buy for smaller tanks (they have a plastic strip along the back which is easily cut for equipment access and a hinged glass front for human access).

Or you could suspend lights from above and have either no lid at all (unless you stock some jumpers) or the hinged glass lid. If the tank is close to 8' long, standard shop light flourescent fixtures come in that length and also in 4' lengths.

Whatever you decide, you'd better show us pictures so we can approve :) . So, whatchya gonna stock in it?

[SwedishFish]

we havent ordered any supplies yet i will try to get the info to you. what am i gonna put in it well first a Hi Fin Banded Shark i bought yesterday :) he is my 10g not adult only a juvenile not very big at all but cost me 15$ yikes expensive for a little guy. what else im gonna put in it im not for sure yet. any articles or books out there that tell u how to build your own aquarium?

[superjohnny]

250 gallons is a lot of water. You should definitely spend more time planning than building. Where will this be located? What's underneath the tank? If your house is old and you plan to put this on the second floor you might have a problem. I wouldn't put a tank that size on a floor made of anything but concrete on the ground level.

How are you going to filter it? Stock it? Plant it? What substrate? How much and what kind of lighting? What is your budget? A 250g tank is going to cost a whole lot of money if you want to do it right.

[TomFromStLouis]

http://www.thekrib.com/TankHardware/ is one place to start. I have read other sites that include pictures and more but cannot put my finger on them now. Surely a diligent internet search will provide tons of info.

http://saltaquarium.about.com/library/weekly/aa120897diyaq.htm is one quick find.

[SwedishFish]

to filter it i was planning on putting3 or so aquaclear 500's ?
not sure about light yet gravel from pet store will be its substrate and we are planning on putting some plants in there we could make it a smaller tank so it would be safer on the floors

[superjohnny]

Do you have any idea what you're getting into? Did you read any of those links Tom provided? Have you figured out what it will cost per month? Think about running 750-1,000 watts of light 12 hours a day and what the water bill would be for 250-400 gallons of water per month. Do you have any kind of budget?

If done right this project will cost a whole lot of money (think thousands... lots of thousands). Even if you have the glass or can get it cheap you still don't know how thick it has to be, how to support it, how to put it together and seal it. You'll have to find someone to build the tank. If done wrong you have 250 gallons of water in your living room. That means new carpet, new sub-floor, new furniture, new dry wall... you catch my drift? Do you know anyone with a tank that large? I think that'd be the first step... find a tank that big and figure out how they did it and go from there.

What's your time frame for building it? Where are you going to put it?

If you want a big tank I'd suggest going to www.tenecor.com. You can get a nice setup for around $3,000-$4,000.

[SwedishFish]

:( gee i didnt know it would cost that much .... i guess i will down grade awhole lot what about a 125g or is that the same case? or 100g 75g?

[brianfl]

A 125 is much easier to manage and much less costly. If you really want a big tank, I would suggest doing an indoor pond in the basement if you have one. It is much cheaper and easier to maintain.

[TomFromStLouis]

Let's not discourage someone from having a dream tank here. Water is pretty cheap. Besides, if SFish lives with his/her dad, it is dad's bill and will probably get absorbed without much notice. As to the electicity, same thing.

Now I am not saying that one should not run some numbers to get estimates on a project this size, but let's ENCOURAGE the fact finding, not talk down the project.

So. Our candy lover should research lighting needs, maybe visiting ahsupply.com after deciding on watts per gallon after deciding plant needs. If a heavily planted tank is desired (YES!) with high light plants (maybe), the electric bill will go up by X (a determinable number). Okay? Find out!

Now think about types of fish, stocking levels and water change schedule (discus will go through a lot more water than a school of 50 tetras). Price that and think.

The point is that finding cheap glass is cool but tackling a project this size takes a fair amount of thought and planning. Do the homework. Unfortunately we can be of limited help because most of us only dream of such a project. One of the great things about this hobby is the learning. There are sites where people discuss building a large tank and issues they come across. And the planning is fun too, so get on the internet and enjoy. Keep us posted!

[superjohnny]

Yea I did sound discouraging... that's not cool, sorry about that.

250g is friggin' huge though.

Here are some sites to check out:
www.bigalsonline.com <- supplies, filters etc
www.ahsupply.com <- lights
www.tenecor.com <- high quality, high $ tanks
someone posted a link to a site that custom builds tanks, I'll see if i can find it.
www.aquariumgarden.com www.aquabotanic.com <- for plants. The latter has a good forum as well.

If you have a public aquarium near where you live you may find someone there with knowlege of big tanks.

A great starter size for a fish tank is 55g. If you're new to the hobby you may want to start there and work your way up. It is an expensive hobby and most of the time your investment is never regained. If you like fish tanks it's worth it, but if you try to sell a bunch of equipment you'll generally lose a majority of your initial investment.

[TomFromStLouis]

Originally posted by superjohnny
Yea I did sound discouraging... that's not cool, sorry about that.

250g is friggin' huge though.


No problem Super. I understood completely why you posted what you did - it seems that Swedish may not have invested too much thinking into the whole idea. A wakeup call was needed.

Now, Swedish, do not get discouraged. Not yet anyway. You have not told us much about your experience level so we are assuming the worst. Just be aware that:

1 - 250g IS large. Large enough that structural issues on placement come into play etc.

2 - You probably can do this. Extra Large is not too different than Medium or Large (55g - 100g) except in terms of cost and space. Building a tank does not sound difficult; it is a big project though in more ways than one.

3 - EVERYONE here wants you to succeed. It is a good kind of jealousy we are going through. :)

Please tell us what you decide and keep asking/searching/learning.

[superjohnny]

http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=4006090712&f=5196060812&m=2966016423

Here is a thread going on at aquabotanic about a guy working on a 250g tank for his LFS. I would encourage you to get in touch with that person or that LFS. I'm sure they can give you all kinds of information on how they make it work, where they got the tank, operating costs etc. It can be done and it's a pretty amazing sight when it's done right.

[SwedishFish]

thanks guys :D sorry i hav eno tmuch to post right now but i will b elooking at these links and for my experience i have been fish keeping since summer 2000 :D so i got a rookie/amateur experience.