I am thinking of doing a reef tank outside

[orionduck]

I am thinking of doing a reef tank out where my newly built deck is.,... anyone have experience ,.. my main question is during the winter month,.. it is freezing ,.. is it gonna kill my coral? anyone have experience with this?

 

[afboundguy]

I would think if it were outside exposed to the elements in the winter it would either kill everything or cost and ungodly amount of money buying a ton of heaters and powering them...

Regardless of the winter season I would be hesitant to put a tank outside with the rain being acidic and full of other pollutants... It might be doable if you enclosed your deck to be like a sun room but other than that I would save your money...

 

[Bill Nye]

I would think if it were outside exposed to the elements in the winter it would either kill everything or cost and ungodly amount of money buying a ton of heaters and powering them...

Regardless of the winter season I would be hesitant to put a tank outside with the rain being acidic and full of other pollutants... It might be doable if you enclosed your deck to be like a sun room but other than that I would save your money...

new england is the wrong place for an outdoor tank unless you are planning on a green house.

 

[Behrmon]

Yeah no.

 

[Liam]

beautiful deck though

 

[peach]

really cool idea, but i can't see it working

 

[Edward]

I'd say its very possible, if you have the cash

 

[Aquadiva]

I'm confused.... is the 400 gallon sump inside, or outside?
If it's inside, I'm assuming it's already heated. You'll just need enough turnover to keep the temperature constant in the 20 gallon outside.

If the sump is outside also, you're gonna need a lot of heaters. ::

What are you gonna do when it snows?

btw.. what is that decking material? looks awesome. Nevermind, found the other thread....!!

 

[Behrmon]

I would think there are a lot of natural elements here that would work against it unless it were totally closed off?

 

[Doherty]

Very cool Idea but......... way to many ways for this to go very wrong. I would think that during the winter months the amount of turnover needed to keep that 20g up to temp it would be like a tsunami in there, forget about using any substrate it would be a big sand storm.

Beautiful deck BTW!

 

[JayM]

I would think there are a lot of natural elements here that would work against it unless it were totally closed off?

like when a bird poops in it and gives you a nitrate spike for the ages.

nice concept, but bad idea.

I'd get about 15 coats of cuprinol or deck sealer on that cherry, or it's going to crack and check

 

[Jim Tansey]

Looks nice now but I'm afraid its a poor choice for a deck material, no place for rain or snow to drain 50 coats of deck sealer will not help, hope I'm wrong.

Jim

 

[KSC]

I think the only way to salvage all that work on the deck is to run either a router or a skill saw between each row of boards, leaving at least a 3/16" gap between them. The poly finish will most likely flake off by next spring, then you could sand,clean and oil it.

 

[Bruno]

He owns his own hard wood floor company I think he thaught about everything first ( regarding his floor)

 

[STiTCH87]

I'm gonna suggest you stray away from that idea. It would be unique, but far too expensive and not worth it. You'd have to have the tank fully enclosed and rain would get in through any ventilation for the lighting. So it's really not doable unless you build into into a doghouse type of thing but even then, weathering from outside will discolour glass overtime and the heating are one thing as others said.

But just as bad as heating, think about summertime. A 95 degree day, outside with a tank outside, it would be a nightmare keeping that water under 82 degrees. I'd say just put one indoors where people can see it more and enjoy it more. Cheaper, less hassle, just better.

 

[abaralnek]

how about making a fish room with a inwall tank on the deck?

 

[orionduck]

Well --------- 1st thing 1st ... I don't want to BE mean BUT i am gonna use a damsel to beta test this----- I will built this from my concept,. the sump is gonna be inside the house,.. I have alot of idea for the 20 gallon,. ,.. if i built a roof for it.. it will take away the sun light,. if I don't built a roof,. I have to use a light inside the house.... .... the 20 gallon turnover ,.. it won't kill it much.. I will find a solution to this matter....

 

[orionduck]

If the brazilian cherry fail --- I wil do another layer of brazilian cherry that would bring it to 1 1/2 inch thinkness.... trust me .... 1 1/2 thinkess you think the water would dare to get absorb it... plus even at pressure treated wood .. it is closed to 3 dollar per square feet for pressure treated wood,,.. ----- whereas brazilian cherry is only 3.59 per square foot -----

and on top of everything I willl tell you.... within a few year from now how it all went!!!

 

[orionduck]

the polyurthane, it will last forever.. you can't poly it during the daylight because the sunlight will kill the bonding process,.. you have to poly it during the afternoon when the sun is gone... --- poly cover wood itself,. even if u apply 50 sealer to finish over it or finish over it and you can't do a good job it is hopeless ... how do I know? because I got nothing else better to do in life than try and learn.. ---


P.s I don't want to be mean but I will beta test a damsel to see if the system work---- and I have about 80% that it will ---- ) this is gonna be DIY soon ...

 

[orionduck]

And I do this for fun and the learning experience,... my labor are freee.... you can ask your flooring installer or sander to apply 50 sealer over the wood or to install it for that matter.,,.. ....So far the poly are working just great----