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Time to update everyone about my HUGE project

39K views 150 replies 38 participants last post by  TNprogrammer 
#1 ·
I was planing on a few 1000g tanks, i have the glass and the materials but just can not commit to a tank that i will never be able to move.

So my main tank was going to be a very small 220g that i will make a background for and get running sometime this spring at the latest.

But i have a habit of changing my mind and just going CRAZY :)

i just spent 2 weeks sealing with 12 gallons of Drylock and i need 8 more LOL i have a pump test running and good water movement.

I got 20 4 foot by 6 foot glass all sealed in and water tight OHHHH MY !! that and 3 2 1/2 foot by 12 foot long skylights just giving me tons of light.

I am still working on a rock wall it is 8 feet tall !!!
 
#7 ·
ok before everyone gets crazy, i did not say it was a tank LOL.

it will have water and fish, plus lots and lots of finches.

yes thats right birds.

it is a 12 wide by 16 foot long by 20 foot high atrium, i will have a waterfall on one end running into a indoor pond. Gallonage is not figured out yet as i am still looking for a used hard pond liner.

the whole room was sealed so i can have a irrigation system that makes it RAIN on my indoor jungle. I still have to add a powered vent and finish the sealing, waterfall is half done.

the room never gets below 65 degrees even on the coldest nights, and it has air conditioning for the summer so it does not cook.

not sure what my stocking will be, they have to be able to deal with the colder temps part of the year. it also depends on how big the pond is. i would like something around 800-1000g this could allow me to have some good sized fish. if i go with a pond liner, i will go 3-4 feet deep so i can add some nice reed plants maybe even some water lily's but i am not sure if i have enough light for them.

filtration will be a pond canister hidden under a bench.

a few construction pics, the atrium is in the middle of my house and can be seen from almost every room.


 
#11 ·
tunerX said:
That was a horrible joke :(

I should have known something was different since your last tank had fiberglass and epoxy, while this one was only drylock.
well in truth this is still a huge project, with almost 200 sqf in play and it being the heart of the house. if i mess it up there will be no play to hide from it LOL.

even with my very first big tank, i was thinking more about a total environment then just a glass cage. I really loved it when a fern started to grow on my log in the tank, it added an upper space to the tank that was just as cool.

what i would like is a huge pond with the waterfall and small bench i can sit on and watch the fish. the walls will be safe to let vines grow on, i know they can as the old owner had them up all the walls. he removed them just before he put the house on the market, i can still see all the places they were stuck to on the walls. i added mirror panels to the skylight surrounds so i get more light into the space.

So vines and ferns on the walls, tall plants with birds flying around and a fish pond at my feet.

still way cool
 
#13 ·
true, 65 would be the very coldest the room air would get. the water should stay warmer, as it gets over 70 inside in the day. my electric bills are already very high, so i did not want to heat a large pond.

but i could keep it over 70 without costing to much, the pump can keep the temp up a little also.

the type of fish i get has to look cool from above as i will not have a window

PS and when did the site start using avatars? i just added my insane pic as a avatar :)
 
#16 ·
well if i was really crazy i could remove all the plants, dig the dirt out 3 feet. i would have to remove and cut the front windows, the side start 3 feet off of the ground level. then i could fill the whole thing with 6 feet of water, i just have to find a good swimming pool liner.

but i have enough foundation problems as it is so digging a hole in the middle of my house is not going to help. also i am not sure if the windows post could hold the extra water pressure.

but i like the plants, so i have to limit the size of the pond.
 
#18 ·
just started to do the cement work on the waterfalls, man does hydro stop dry FAST





waterfall is made from some bins i got from wallmart and i then screwed and glued them to the wall. the wall was sealed with drylock, so it can get wet.

i set up a temp bucket on the bottom and the pump so i could adjust the angle the buckets pour.

i will replace this with the pond if it is the hard kind, or if i go with a pond liner i may just put the pond liner into the bucket and use it as a step to the pond.
the pond will be flush with the ground if i use a liner so it will need go into the bucket then overflow into the pond.
 
#19 ·
chefkeith said:
I'm surprized. Well it ain't a tank. It's an exhibit. Very cool.

my 1st though is that something like this might make a perfect biotope for brackish fish, such as mudskippers, archers, and anableps. Only if you could replicate the tide too.

Here's a website that has many inspiring ideas-
http://www.greenchapter.com/portfolio.php
i needed to get this room done before i mess with any new tanks, it was going to just be a simple atrium but i could not help putting fish into it. :lol:
 
#20 ·
so what was the room before you started? i mean did you put up the walls and the glass or was that already there?

and is the waterfall going to be like a wall waterfall like those expensive things you can buy, or like a niagra falls type water fall where the waters in the air.
 
#21 ·
there was a atrium there already but it was in disrepair, it had lots of rot and the glass was almost falling out. i had to reset the glass and do all the repairs, then i sealed ALL the exposed wood with drylock. i even sealed all the way up to the skylights, when i am finished i can just take a hose and spray everything down. the atrium has water, electric, air conditioning, heat and a drain in the middle that goes to the curb.

the water fall is a 3rd option, it starts with a bucket that is tipped towards another and that one goes into the next. i have 4 buckets on the wall, so the water goes back and fourth till it falls into the pond or last bucket on the ground then overflows into the pond.

i used Greatfoam to make the rock shapes, i am covering that with water proof hydo stop cement. the hydro stop is used to make pond waterfalls and it expands as it cures. not sure what i will do after that, i may seal over with drylock tinted if the cement does not look good. i plan on putting ferns and other plants on the falls growing into the buckets. it would be cool if i can get moss and ferns growing over the cement.
 
#23 ·
Hey Lomax this is really cool... One thing that immediatley jumped into my mind would be to have an iguana or a turtle or two living in there! When I was down in the Mayan Riviera last year there were iguana's EVERYWHERE! Having one in an atrium with some C/A cichlids would be like having your own little section of Mexico/Guatemala/Belize/Honduras right in your own home!
 
#24 ·
i am not sure an iguana would mix well with the finches, i think i would end up with one fat iguana. i am not sure even the fish would survive an iguana, turtles would be safe for the birds but not a great mix for most fish.

other problem is i can keep the water temp up but i do not want to have to get a extra heater just for that room. i keep the heat off or very low even during winter, temps can get to mid 60`s for the air but much higher for the water if i have a deep pond.

besides i have tons of cameleons already in the atrium, well they are in the HOUSE generally. here in Houston they are all over and it is hard to keep them out of the house, they run from the 2 inch tan colored ones to a 6 inch green ones.

as for moss, i have not seen any around here. it can get very dry so most moss will die off, i will have to look near the bayous.
 
#26 ·
I guess it will turn in a beatifull ecosistem, it does have potencial, the green area , water fall, the pond, fish, birds, camaleons, the ligthning will play a very important roll at nigth, i wonder how do you deal not to handle the proyect but handle the wife with a proyect like that :D :D
i guess i nedd some tips for that :-? :-?
 
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