[Rayne]

I'm planning on starting a big tank project in a few months and pretty excited about it. I've been thinking about stocking a 240G 8' show tank with Haps or Mbuna. Building my own real rock background, DIY stand/canopy, DIY UGJ and maybe even a DIY sump if I can wrap my head around the mechanics of the build a little more.

I'm going to have to try to do this as cheap as possible for a monster tank build so I think acrylic is out of the question. Plus I don't think siliconing real rock to a beautiful silicone tank would be the wisest idea. So I think I'm going to go with a glass tank. My question is does anyone know where would be a good place to find a large tank this size? Living in Prince George my options are rather limited as far as a LFS.

 

[gimlid]

In the Lower Mainland King Ed has a bout the best prices, maybe like 1300$ for a 240 with stand.
May be worth the trip to you, hard to say with fuel prices these days though.

 

[Aquaman]

I would hesitate in putting rocks onto the back glass.Tanks are constructed in a way that doing so could cause the panel to break. The least of your problems would be if it "shelled a portion of the glass from the bottom edge.This would happen when the highest portion of the edge of the glass ( run your hand up the edge of tanks to see what I mean ) touches the bottom pane due to the weight of the rocks.There is very very little silicone between the bottom edges of the glass to the lower pane that it sits on ( even less than the sides as the weight of the glass pushes more of it out ) .If it shells out a piece big enough it could cause the tank to crack at that spot causing you more grief than you want.
Most of the pressure is out wards on the glass not really down.The quality of tank you would need ....one where the glass has been sanded and polished square and true on all four sides ( not only the ones you see ) would cost an arm and a leg

This is just my opinion as it happened to me ....heard a ting! and found out later the bottom shelled off due to the glass touching the bottom ( I had wood set across and set a 80 lb rock on it while taking it out )
Go for strofoam background. Will also make it easier to move in the future.
Sorry for the long post .....

 

[gimlid]

Trust Bill he knows his tanks and glass.

 

[onefishtwofish]

it may also void any warranty.

 

[taureandragon76]

The best way and cheapest way to get a big tank is to build one outta plywood. With this you don't have to worry about your rock wall. There are a couple of threads here on building one. Or you can DIY your own rock wall without using real rock

DIY - Aquarium Background
Here is another link to build a rock one with caves which is great for cichlids
Do It Yourself Aquarium Projects
Here is a link for the plywood tank build. Just go to the DIY pages at the menu on the left
GARF.ORG - The reef aquarium place

As long as you can using a saw and drill building one is quite easy.

 

[2wheelsx2]

You can also build a rock wall that is not attached to the glass, but to egg crate (light diffuser). DIY Aquarium Background and Caves

 

[Smiladon]

The whole concept of plywood tank blows me away...forgive my ignorance, but I thought wood absorbs water...so how does it really work with plywood?

 

[2wheelsx2]

You have to coat it. If you look at Jay_leask's thread, he has it step by step I believe.

 

[Rayne]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

Aquaman, you bring up some good points that I hadn't considered before. I have been admiring fmueller's background that he had constructed in the same way. It looks amazing and has been up and running for a few years without issue. I might send him a PM and ask him what the thinks about this.

I thought about making a styrofoam background since they don't seem all THAT involved. I just would prefer a natural stone background instead. Might have to rethink that though if a real stone background isn't going to work.

I'm not really into the whole plywood tank idea either. Just don't think I'd ever feel comfortable and be able to trust it.

Thanks for the tip on King Ed's. I wonder if they'd ship..

 

[Mferko]

JL aquatics also has good prices you should compare the two maybe?

 

[luckyfind]

Rayne try pm fish4fun (Ray) a member on here. He has some godd prices on tks.
Laurence

 

[Morainy]

There's a sponsor there, Gills 'n Fins, who specializes in 3D aquarium backgrounds. I haven't seen them, but I assume that they wouldn't be heavy enough to damage your tank. You can look in the sponsor's section.

 

[Rastapus]

It is very difficult to ship aquariums, most carriers don't want to touch it. You will likely have to make the drive.....

 

[fkshiu]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

Aquaman, you bring up some good points that I hadn't considered before. I have been admiring fmueller's background that he had constructed in the same way. It looks amazing and has been up and running for a few years without issue. I might send him a PM and ask him what the thinks about this.

I thought about making a styrofoam background since they don't seem all THAT involved. I just would prefer a natural stone background instead. Might have to rethink that though if a real stone background isn't going to work.

I'm not really into the whole plywood tank idea either. Just don't think I'd ever feel comfortable and be able to trust it.

Thanks for the tip on King Ed's. I wonder if they'd ship..

You trust being in a boat don't you? Because a plywood tank is essentially an inside-out boat with the fibreglass coating on the inside keeping in the water and the plywood on the outside. There are a lot of threads out there outlining plywood builds including one excellent one here on BCA before the crash.

The cost of renting a truck to transport an aquarium to PG will be much cheaper than finding a company that will agree to ship it without you paying for insurance through the nose.

 

[2wheelsx2]

Nah, it's not as bad as that Franklin. When there was Paul's Aquarium, I bought a 55 gallon and had them throw it on the Greyhound to Fraser Lake. It cost me an extra $40 I believe. After, the aquaria are shipped to the shops the same way.

 

[Rayne]

I've read countless plywood tank build threads both here and on other sites and I guess it just doesn't appeal to me. I don't know, I just would never fell 100% comfortable with it. I wouldn't be confident in my workmanship since I've never attempted it before.

I would be very surprised if the cost of getting a big tank shipped up here would be more than it costs for me to get down to Van, rent a truck, pay gas, insurance, food, etc. and drive it up here. I think if that was the case I'd rather try to arrange my LFS to get one.

I was more hoping that I could find someone that knew a good Canadian manufacturer, and deal with them directly. Kinda like Glasscages or Tenecor in the US.

 

[luckyfind]

Like I said try Ray. Tanks are made in Calgary.To ship 3 x 60 gal tanks to Kelowna from Calgary was going to be $100.00 if I remember correctly. Worth a try anyways.

 

[taureandragon76]

I think I would trust a plywood tank more than glass, if built well and sealed properly it would never be a problem

 

[slivermaster08]

I'm actually looking for a tank around that magnitude for next year after I do some more research on marine aquariums. So far I've found that J&L, Ocean Aquatics and King Ed's are the only places down in the Lower Mainland who order in tanks of that size. If you post on Canreef I know of a few marine aquarists in PG who have tanks 120 gal+ so you might be able to ask them where and how they got theirs up to PG.