3,000 Gallon Indoor/Outdoor Aquarium DIY Build

[Mike N]

 

[nicksharrow]

how thick is that glass panel outside!

I.5 inches..he says it when he is outside

 

[CCK_8814]

Where in southern MI are you? I’d love to see this in person if you’re on my side of the state!

 

[ReeferWolf]

Awesome build and fantastic looking tank. Love the idea and only 2 real concerns I have about doing something like this myself. That is getting approval from the condo board, and this far North winter frequently gets to -30 or so (C of course) so heating might be a concern. Lovely design though, nicely done.

 

[guts11]

How big of a heater you have on that thing!?

 

[samnaz]

Haha Thank you! He is an American Bully, named Bronx, we rescued a few years ago, he is about 5 years old now, but still acts like a puppy! Even though he can be a terror, making chew toys of just about anything he can find, he is such a sweetheart. We have always had huskies before, so he is pretty much just a lazy meatball compared to them.

-Clearly, he is very spoiled

Thank you! I really appreciate that



Yep, that is exactly it! Through the steel L frame, passing through the viewing panel that does not have threads into the acrylic frame that does have threads



We just used stainless steel bolts. The internal acrylic frame/brace was not completely drilled through, thus keeping the bolts non-exposed to the water. We had to thread tap the acrylic frame to allow for the bolts to get a firm bite, otherwise there was too much torque and would snap the heads.

Wow this entire build is on another level. Not only is the tank construction nuts, the plants and landscaping is incredible as well. I have to say though, the white rescue bully just might be my favorite part (I’ve got a white pitty and she’s my world). Love the photo of the reef with the snowy background, surreal and beautiful. Fellow SE Michigander here too... if you ever get sick of scraping that glass I’m happy to help ;-)

 

[CEReefer]

Wow, this is so cool!! How do you deal with the temperature difference from outside? Is it a double glass?

 

[Blknovass]

Dam! That is awesome wish I had the room to do something like that.

 

[JR Bodyman]

Hey guys, new member here, but I have been addicted to the hobby for 14 years now. Over the years my dad and I have built several tanks, the most notable a 600 gallon and 2000 gallon tank and have encountered many things that work and even more things that don't haha. A couple of years ago we were doing some major renovations to the backyard and we decided that an aquarium that can be viewed from both outside and inside would really take the yard to the next level. I have been meaning to create a build thread for some time now so I am finally going to put together a thread from the very start of the project to where it sits today.

I wont bury the lead any more, here are some recent pictures of the tank

-inside view

-outside view

I also made a video that kind of takes you behind the scenes lol


The actual tank's dimensions are about 9 feet by 9 feet and about 54 inches deep

I am still scrounging up and attempting to get all the photos and details in chronological order of the build, but I will be posting shortly. Hopefully this build can inspire others to build even bigger and better tanks!

That is unbelievable! Love the video. Thanks for sharing!

 

[SebastianReefer]

AWSOME I love the video of the whole deal

 

[Katrina71]

Only sunlight for lighting?

 

[biocubeboy]

This is amazing the tangs are beautiful!!

 

[TheWildWillauers]

Sorry guys! Been super busy lately along with working on a better/cleaner lighting system and tank netting. Hopefully will be done soon!

Very cool build. I showed my wife your set up and said "see honey, there are guys crazier than me"...lol. Great memories for you and your father too. Keep the projects going.

LOL there is always someone out there crazier, right!? It is amazing how intense people's systems can be, I have seen a few on youtube that make this one look like a little fish bowl haha. But yes, the memories of these projects together will always be something I will cherish and I am so incredibly thankful to share them together.

WOW love the fish selection. Snow and Heat...that's a challenge

Thank you! It really is a challenge, surprisingly the winter is easy, the summers seem to be my biggest challenge. Thankfully it is starting to get back to more moderate temperatures, we had nearly a month straight of 90 degree days with no clouds.

Beyond impressed with you and your dads skills! Good stuff

drooling with envy

WOW EPIC TANK!!

This is an awesome build and tank!

Very well done!

That is just amazing!

Dam! That is awesome wish I had the room to do something like that.

That is unbelievable! Love the video. Thanks for sharing!

AWSOME I love the video of the whole deal

This is amazing the tangs are beautiful!!

What a cool build. Love the landscaping in the yard as well.

Thank you all!! I truly appreciate the kind words!

@TheWildWillauers dude your tank is GORGEOUS. Have you tried doing coral or would that just be wayyyy to difficult to maintain. Either way it’s gorgeous. I am from Los Angeles but have family there in Detroit so I’m definitely going to hit u up when I’m in the area haha and hopefully you’ll be ok if we come take a look lol. I feel like you should make another one and then start charging admission lol. Anywho...beautiful tank and keep it up

I appreciate it! I actually haven't tried coral yet and I am not sure if I ever will in this system. I think there are a lot more variables that would be harder to control for corals which I feel require far more consistency, especially with seasonal lighting and temperature changes. I am curious how maybe a hardier species would do in this system, although many of the fish (angels/triggers/parrot) may not even allow for it very long lol

WOW! that is fabulous and a real labour of love by the looks of it! Inspiring!

Thank you! It truly is, takes up a lot of time and energy, but something about this hobby keeps us coming back for more.

Can you go into more detail how you made installed the acrylic windows.

I will check my old photos to see if there's more that I can post to help illustrate how we did it.

A lot of hard work went into this. I am glad it turned out so well. This is great inspiration.

Thank you! I really hope this project can give others the inspiration to go even further!

This is our Reef Of The Day!

Woah, I am honored, thank you! Just don't let anyone know there's no coral in there hahaha

Amazing build! Looks like you thought of tons of things! My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw that UV sterilizer!

Haha thank you! I was really taken aback by the size of this thing too when it came it. I was not expecting it to be so big

Where in southern MI are you? I’d love to see this in person if you’re on my side of the state!

We're in Washington Township!

Awesome build and fantastic looking tank. Love the idea and only 2 real concerns I have about doing something like this myself. That is getting approval from the condo board, and this far North winter frequently gets to -30 or so (C of course) so heating might be a concern. Lovely design though, nicely done.

Haha, yeah approval may be a tricky hurdle! We don't get quite that cold down here, just a couple nights in the dead of winter will it get near that, but I am surprised how well it stays warm in there even on the coldest nights.

How big of a heater you have on that thing!?

Surprisingly, just a single 1000watt heater!

Wow this entire build is on another level. Not only is the tank construction nuts, the plants and landscaping is incredible as well. I have to say though, the white rescue bully just might be my favorite part (I’ve got a white pitty and she’s my world). Love the photo of the reef with the snowy background, surreal and beautiful. Fellow SE Michigander here too... if you ever get sick of scraping that glass I’m happy to help ;-)

I really appreciate it!! And I don't blame ya, pitties/bullies have quickly become my favorite breed since having him! They have such a goofy and lovable personality. Looks like lots of Michiganders here! We'll have this glass cleaned in no time

Wow, this is so cool!! How do you deal with the temperature difference from outside? Is it a double glass?

Thank you! The greenhouse covering is double walled which does help with temperature differences. In the winter, the room stays very consistently warm, usually hovers in the 60s without any supplemental heat other than the tank itself. The summer is actually the biggest pain in the butt, which I am currently trying to tackle via better air circulation and shade.

Only sunlight for lighting?

For the most part! When we aren't viewing the tank, I usually have the LED lighting off

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I LOVE this reef!!

 

[Reef Recked]

This tank is EPIC. and now i gave a new goal , thanks for posting appreciate all the hard work youve put into it!!

 

[TheWildWillauers]

I LOVE this reef!!

This tank is EPIC. and now i gave a new goal , thanks for posting appreciate all the hard work youve put into it!!

Thanks for the encouragement guys! I really appreciate it!

I hope everyone has been having a nice holiday season! It's been a whirlwind these past few months, and haven't had time to post progress between a million other projects, vet school etc etc. Over the summer we built a more sleek tank cover and lighting system with old aluminum fencing we had and have just now found some time to put the finishing touches on the lights. We originally designed the system to be able to be pulled up by hand, but the angles were just too sharp making it extremely heavy to operate. We had an actuator laying around from another project that we were able to incorporate making it way easier.

still way more zipties than I'd like to be using lol, but it's functionally much better than the previous setup. The design allows for the whole system to be swung towards the edge of the tank giving access to each light. The previous setup was much more cumbersome; anytime I needed to get to a light I would have to lay a ladder across the tank and shimmy over the tank to reach the light. This new setup also clears the rafters from any attachments which will let us incorporate a shade cloth on the inside rather than having tarps thrown about on the outside lol

Now that it's winter, I have placed this clear plastic covering over the netting to combat humidity which causes too much condensation on the inside of the roof. Seems to help quite a bit, although not as clean looking.

Here's a fun little montage of the cover and lighting build that might help paint a better picture





We had a white Christmas this year!

 

[Reefacist]

Thanks for the encouragement guys! I really appreciate it!

I hope everyone has been having a nice holiday season! It's been a whirlwind these past few months, and haven't had time to post progress between a million other projects, vet school etc etc. Over the summer we built a more sleek tank cover and lighting system with old aluminum fencing we had and have just now found some time to put the finishing touches on the lights. We originally designed the system to be able to be pulled up by hand, but the angles were just too sharp making it extremely heavy to operate. We had an actuator laying around from another project that we were able to incorporate making it way easier.

still way more zipties than I'd like to be using lol, but it's functionally much better than the previous setup. The design allows for the whole system to be swung towards the edge of the tank giving access to each light. The previous setup was much more cumbersome; anytime I needed to get to a light I would have to lay a ladder across the tank and shimmy over the tank to reach the light. This new setup also clears the rafters from any attachments which will let us incorporate a shade cloth on the inside rather than having tarps thrown about on the outside lol

Now that it's winter, I have placed this clear plastic covering over the netting to combat humidity which causes too much condensation on the inside of the roof. Seems to help quite a bit, although not as clean looking.

Here's a fun little montage of the cover and lighting build that might help paint a better picture





We had a white Christmas this year!

Gorgeous

 

[thewire]

I’m afraid to ask the cost lol

 

[lavoisier]

Thanks for the update.

 

[Cabinetman]

Looks awesome. It must cost you a small fortune to keep this up to temperature lol.