500 Gal Steel Tank - Suggestions Please

[DannyR]

Hi everyone,

New to these forums, and was hoping to get some opinions on how plumb a DIY tank project Ive been working on for the past 6 months. Ive attached a few pictures, it is a steel welded tank which i will be coating with a 2 part water tank enamel.

The tank is 10'Lx3'Hx2.5'

I am thinking it would be best to drill 3 holes. in the back of the tank, having my returns on the sides of the tank and a central overflow to my sump.

I am very new to saltwater and any input would be greatly appreciated. I want to take the time to do this right the first time =)

Thanks,
Dan

[motorslave]

Interesting project! Welcome to TRT!
I havent seen a steal tank before this will be a cool build.
There are many thing to consider when designing the plumbing. Flow through sump, rock locations in relation to flow origins, do you want a CLS ( I would say for sure with a tank that large) The returns will be a small part of your flow. You will want to keep flow through as much of the tank as possible. It doesnt have to he typhoon strength but you need flow to keep things moving along.
What are the plans for the sump, return pump, skimmer atc. and how are you going to do the overflows?

[crvz]

Hey Dan, welcome to TRT! This is a unique material for a tank, what are you doing for corrosion protection. Very interested to see this come together!

There are a lot of options for flow in the tank, a lot of which may depend on the tank's final location, how you plan to aquascape, and what you plan on keeping in it. Can you describe that a little more?

[Sndwave80]

Hello and Welcome to TRT. My thoughts are put as many inlets/ outlets as possible to ensure you have enough flow. This will also decrease the number of powerheads/pumps in the tank to clutter it up. But it looks good!

[Loverotties]

Welcome to TRT!

[DannyR]

I will be "rust proofing" with a 2 part Epoxy enamel applied directly after sand blasting the tank. This epoxy is specificaly designed for steel potible water tanks, and is rated for salt water as well.

My stand will be the full ten feet long and 3 feet high in which I was hoping to build a sump/refu tank that would be approx 100 gal 4'x2'x2'

I would like to save the other half of the stand for an RODI and auto top off switch and any other equipment i have yet to realize i need. =)

If anyone could help me design the most efficient layout
for my equipment under the stand I would really appreciate it. ( how to tie the RODI / auto top off back into my sump tank )

I want the tank to be right flush against the wall it will sit in front of so the plumbing ect will not be visible from the side. This means all my plumbing must go through the bottom of the inside of the tank.

I am not 100% on what exact fish I want to keep in it yet, but I do know that I want a reef and fish tank, with the live rock taking care of most of my filtration.

I'm thinking the easiest way to internally hide all of the plumbing would be to have 2 bulk heads centrally located in the back of the tank, which i can hide behind a curved piece of plexi which would act as my overflow but allow me to bring a peice of pvc up behind it for my return ( which im thinking of doing similar to the attached image I found on these forms) I like the idea of a ring of power heads which i can hide in the 2 inches of angle Iron trim I will have.

Does this seem feasable to the resident experts?

Thanks,
Dan

[motorslave]

3 feet tall for the stand isnt going to be very high. I had a low stand before and it made viewing kind of a pain unless you were sitting on the couch. Now the tank is higher and much more njoyable. Also, the more space in the stand the better for working and plumbing. Youd be amazd at how crowded it will get under there by the time you have all the equipment in place.
One thing to start working out is skimmer and flow through sump. You dont want the flow through the sump to be more than the processing capability of the skimmer (gallons per hour) and you will definately need to invest in a very good skimmer for a tank this size.
The diagram you posted looks like a good return system. It wont provide the flow you need for the whole tank though. You will want power heads of a CLS for this.

[DannyR]

So ten coats of Enamel later its starting to look more like something that will hold water =)



These are the 2" drain for my overflow and return system.


This is the stand which will have some nice cabinet doors bolted to it


Dan

[jenglish]

just along for the ride , its looking less like a garage shelf and more like an aquarium every post!

[crvz]

great progress, keep it coming!

[aquawolf]

Very interesting build and I am along for the ride to see how it turns out. I wish you continued success with it.

[DannyR]

I am just ordering up my 2 pieces of glass, is there any reason the corner shouldn't be Mitered ? I have never seen a large tank with mitered corners but I cant see why it would be a problem.

The glass is 3/4" low iron

[lagrew]

Originally Posted by DannyR

I am just ordering up my 2 pieces of glass, is there any reason the corner shouldn't be Mitered ? I have never seen a large tank with mitered corners but I cant see why it would be a problem.

The glass is 3/4" low iron

Not for your build that I can tell since you have a frame all the way around it, as for mitered on a regular tank it all has to do with adhesion and the forces acting on that adhesion as to why they are not mitered.

[Jasonanatal]

Awesome idea. I'm tagging along.