Swimming pool into reef tank

[Sgtomko]

Has anyone ever converted their inground swimming pool into a reef tank?

 

[Curtswearing]

You could swim in Mr. 10,000's tank. (no longer running)

You can also swim in Reefzilla. I went to Kevin Carpenter's house and saw this one personally.

There's also a guy who put an acrylic window in the swimming pool which was shared by a very large reef tank. I.e., you could see the reef tank from the living room or you could also see it while underwater in the pool.

There's also a guy constructing a 17,000 gallon tank in the basement of the house he's building.

 

[soyadrink]

I have read something on Reef Central where this guy converted a 25000 gallon pool into a shark reef but the post was really small. It sounds like a great idea, you'd have to come up with some ideas with how to filter and clean a pool that size. It'd probably be realllllyyy expensive although you probably wouldnt have to pay for a tank as you already have the pool...

I hope some1 has something more interesting to say than me
I'll be sticking to this thread, see how it turns out

 

[Sgtomko]

17,000 gallons in his basement? that's huge, just like a pool.

I wan't a large tank to do coral propagation and maybe some fish in. I'm thinking of just putting a green house like structure over my inground to use for temperature control.

Then just large protein skimmers for filtration. With a low bio-load, and minimal water changes, it shoudln't be too hard to keep the pool pretty clean and constant (I'm thinking?)

I wonder if swimming in it would be an issue? Just make sure no one pees in it right?

 

[Curtswearing]

I built 3 separate 3000 gallon ponds to quarantine corals. (I.e., duplication....if one pond got infested, the other two were backup). But I certainly didn't want to swim in them. LOL

 

[Sgtomko]

Curtswearing,
What kind of construction did you use on the ponds? Cement, or liners or?

 

[Curtswearing]

17,000 gallons in his basement? that's huge, just like a pool.

I wan't a large tank to do coral propagation and maybe some fish in. I'm thinking of just putting a green house like structure over my inground to use for temperature control.

Then just large protein skimmers for filtration. With a low bio-load, and minimal water changes, it shoudln't be too hard to keep the pool pretty clean and constant (I'm thinking?)

I wonder if swimming in it would be an issue? Just make sure no one pees in it right?

PM Steven Pro on his coral greenhouse. He can give you a lot of pointers. Anthony Calfo has an article or two on the subject. I think they are on Wet Web Media. If you change your mind and want to go with an indoor set up in a warehouse. (Necessary because of our cold winters), feel free to PM me.

 

[Curtswearing]

Curtswearing,
What kind of construction did you use on the ponds? Cement, or liners or?

Cinderblocks filled with supporting rods and sand. Also, sand on the bottom (over the concrete floor of the warehouse). Then a very thick pond liner was draped over the walls, down the outsides of the cinderblocks, and then secured to the floor. You have to be extremely cautious in how you fold the liner in the corners or you can spring a leak there. If you decide to go to something like this, send me a PM and I can give you more details.

 

[morgan]

have often thought of it
and u would have to swim in it

 

[mmn_usn]

No lotions, oils or makeup. The Pacific Island Club in Guam has a swim through aquarium. No corals, just fish and clams. They pump the water from the ocean to the pool/aquarium and then it just returns straight to the ocean. I don't see why you couldn't turn a pool into a tank... I say "GO FOR IT!"

 

[Sgtomko]

Thanks for the thoughts guys. curts, i heard marine organisms burrow thought liners? you didn't have any issues with this?

 

[BCT182]

Isnt reefzilla the 17k tank? He never finished it..... I guess he had some sort of a break down after a relationship fell apart.

You could swim in Mr. 10,000's tank. (no longer running)

You can also swim in Reefzilla. I went to Kevin Carpenter's house and saw this one personally.

There's also a guy who put an acrylic window in the swimming pool which was shared by a very large reef tank. I.e., you could see the reef tank from the living room or you could also see it while underwater in the pool.

There's also a guy constructing a 17,000 gallon tank in the basement of the house he's building.

 

[aquariumdebacle]

I set up a small "kiddie" pool that I bought for ~$10 for a quarenttine system. Les sent me some tangs and I have a downdraft skimmer with some live rock and powerheads for circultation. Works fine but the bioload is not that great because the tangs are small.

 

[JasonD]

Here is a post I made on another site (about a greenhouse tank I have been working on). I don't have any updates. I will probably start going again on the project in the early Spring:

I purchased a house with a greenhouse on the property. It is fully functional. It is 12x15 (180 sq ft). It has a 3ft high x 10" thick cement foundation, dirt floor with poured cement walkways, wired with a fan, powered vents, old electric heaters, thermostat running the heaters and vents, outlets, lighting… It is made with aluminum framing and 1/8" single pane glass. It was probably constructed in the late 70's. It is in amazing condition.

I have read that anything under 600 sq ft is not worth it. I am currently at a crossroad. Whether I want to move fwd and further invest in my greenhouse project or just keep my overstocked tank in the house.

In the summer:
I am located in Seattle. Temperature are pretty mild. We get a few days in the 90's and a few day in the 20's. My greenhouse tops out about 130 degrees inside with no fans, venting, or shading. It maxes out about 110 degrees with one fan going and the door open. I have been testing water temperature between 65 and 90 degrees this summer. I was going to add 4 additional fans, one to bring air in, one to bring air out, and two to run air across the top the tank. I order a Aqua Logic Digital Temperature Controller to power the fans when the temperature would get above 80. Once I commit to doing this, I am going to order a ChromatiNet Blue 70% shade cloth.

In the winter:
I was thinking about the lining the greenhouse with greenhouse bubble wrap, clear bubbles on all sides except the North Face. I was going to put reflective bubble wrap on the North. The bubble wrap suppose to cut heating cost by 45%. I was planning on doing as little heating as possible to keep the cost down. The thought is to heat the tank water and not the greenhouse (or very little). I built the first frag tank like a cooler. It is 96"x48"x16" I built it out of 5/8th plywood, lined with Styrofoam insulation, and sealed with 40 mil thick firestone rubber liner. The tank would be self contained with no sump or plumbing. I was going to start with just one tank and build two addition 120"x24x"16" tanks later. I was also thinking of hanging two 250 watt halides (currently over livestock) to run a few hours a day in the winter to provide additional lighting and heat.

 

[JasonD]

tagging along...

 

[Sgtomko]

Nice that you have a place with a greenhouse already. I like the bubble wrap; I hadn't heard of that.

 

[Curtswearing]

Thanks for the thoughts guys. curts, i heard marine organisms burrow thought liners? you didn't have any issues with this?

Nope, I even housed long-spine urchins in there.