Hey guys I know I have been saying that I was going to do a monster tank for a long time now and I have finally found the motivation and money to do it. So first things first. This tank is designed primarily with my catfish in mind, and so that you know as soon as it's complete the stocklist will be.



1 RTC x TSN hybrid

1 RTC x Marble Hybrid

1 Albino Channel catfish

3 TSN

1(maybe two) RTC

1 common pleco

3 large oscars

1 Jaguar cichlid (male I think)



Future inhabitants

1 Piraiba (B.filamentosum)

1 Jau (Zungaro zungaro)

Possibly my Jurense also if it grows large enough. I have pics of a thirty incher in japan so hey it could happen. Also looking into getting other cats as well as any fish locally that people can no longer house or any that anyone wants to ship to me.



Now for the tank. It's being made of wood, and I am planning two large viewing windows in the front. I will do a cost write up of materials bought as I go along. I know I have some strange methods so just bare with me and watch it unfold. For now I am building the 2x4 skeleton. You'll see what I mean in the pics. So building materials so far are



$100.00 for 75-2"x4"x9'(I dont' know why they were 9', but hey I'm not complaining!!)



$21.00 for 3 large tubes of PL subfloor adhesive heavy duty.



$20.00 for two five pound boxes of deck screws 3"



$100.00 for one of the three pumps I will be running. It's rated at about 5100 GPH at 1' head.



Free-3/4 hp jacuzzi pump. Not sure I will be using this one full time. Thinking of wiring it to a timer and running it two times a day for an hour each time. Planning a reverse undergravel filter and thinking this could be timed to do that twice per day. I'll take anyone's personal expirience on reverse undergravel filters.



$35.00 various saw blades.



about another 20 2" x 4" for free.



So far total is $276 dollars. From this you can tell I still have a long way to go. My goal is to try and keep this build under $3000.00 total. Wanting to do something inovative with the lighting and plumbing. Lights I want to imbed into the walls of the tank. Kind of like fountain lights I guess. Since this is a catfish tank they will only be used really during picture taking, tank maintenance, and when showing off.(possible webcam shows).



I know everyone will say why not any taller, and the truth is I want to see my fish from above as well as from the side. I've had them in indoor ponds for a few years now and I think cats look great from above, but would like to see them from the side as well. Haven't decided totally on weather to do one window or two. Might do one big one and several smaller ones. The total height of the glass will need to be 36.5", and haven't decided on a length yet. I have to save to get the glass, but still have a long build ahead of me to do that. Right now I am working on finishing the floor, sides, and back wall. Still need to get plywood to skim the outside and inside. I am open to suggestions on how thick I need to go with it. 3/4" will eat a nice hole in my pockets. I can get .5" for half the price. I am thinking of doing that since I will coat both the inside and outside with it. There will also be 4 2" x 12" top braces spaced every 4' the ones closest to the sides will have two side by side. Wanting to cover most of the top with acryllic or glass for viewing down. Thinking of running an exaust fan from the tank outside that comes on automatically the same time as the reverse ugf. I'm trying to get it fairly sealed to do away with moisture issues, but still understand that gas exchanges still need to take place. Going to daisy chain 8-10 55 gal plastic barrels for the filter behind this. It will be a multistaged filter. First barrel will be totally filter floss, then several will be crammed with pot,scrubbers, and thinking of doing a de-nit filter in two of them. One will be left open for the pump, heaters, and extra media needs. The filtration idea is still rough, but a decent one I think.



So anyway here's the pics.