Doug's 250, now 300, in wall build

[Gti_Leo]

there are concret builds but those are in the thousands of gallon range, for this purpous its over kill.

greg i never said anything about acrylic leaking, i said it bows and scratches easily and over time it can begin to yellow depending on the quality. acrylic is **** near indistructable but the joints are another thing. i've heard stories where the joints have come appart dumping 800 gallons of water on someones floor.

pond liner also comes in various thicknesses ranging from 10 mil to 40 mil and is not just a thin layer of plastic. i have a pond in my back yard that is a few hundred gallons and has been through 7 winters and summers and has had people, rocks, stones, dogs fall in and had a racoon try to catch my fish and drown in it and has yet to leak. my dad even pressure washes it with a gas washer every year and its still good as the day we installed it

 

[Tomchong22]

If you think about it why not go overkill? Lol. If you want something that is going to last forever without having to brake it down. In the event that, there is a possibility of a ripped liner. I know it might be overkill but then again it would be one heck of a home tank and you could also design in a overflow system much like. Pool. If you really want to get in-depth you could plumb PVC in the walls of the tank for powerheads, kind of like those jets you see in a pool, put a wavemaker on them and you are golden.

 

[Gti_Leo]

you can do a coast to coast overflow that sits on the outside of the tank

 

[mr_X]

i work for a concrete company. that's the first thing they said "why don't you just build forms and pump concrete in and your done..."
i am questioning the slab under this tank as it is. i've been pouring concrete slabs for 8 years and have seen a lot of corners cut. i'd have to take a core sample of this floor before i would consider a concrete tank on it.
besides that, i would not be opposed to it.
this is going to be my last tank. i don't mind if it's crazy huge. how do you hang power heads in a tank that size? magnets won't hold through 6" of crete...lol.
as for pond liner, yes, some of that stuff is super thick and durable.
another friend of mine build a plywood sump years ago with a single viewing pane. the same thing i want to do but on a smaller scale. he used plastic sheeting to seal the tank. he glued it to the wood and caulked the edges. as far as i know it's been up for years without issues.
i've emailed him about it.

 

[mr_X]

btw, glass cages sells the tank i want. it's called a 500-8 wide. it's $2669.00 without starphire or a single hole drilled...

 

[Tomchong22]

this is something i just drew up really quick in paint. nothing to extensive but gets the point across.
and as for the power heads, this is what you would do, take a external pump and plumb pvc through the concrete and connect them to pool jets. inside of the tank.(same concept as a whirlpool tub or hot tub) you could do two external water pumps, one on each side of the tank. this would give you plenty of water current in the water.

 

[Gti_Leo]

yeah for power heads you can always do a closed looped pump system and suck water in with a 5000gph pump and plum varios pipes to different locations to push water, or you could attach the magnests to the forms and poor around and just seal over top of it

 

[FTMMWS]

btw, glass cages sells the tank i want. it's called a 500-8 wide. it's $2669.00 without starphire or a single hole drilled...

FWIW ,this would be my route(save and wait) ...or even keep your eye on CL again..The time and work and all the little stuff that always comes up in a big build like this could all be avoided and you could get "the tank" you want in time
Wheres the fun in that you say,,well the fun is getting a nice factory built tank and peace of mind...JMO

This place has mega sized tanks too
Fish Tanks For Sale, Custom Aquariums, Large Fish Tank Specials

 

[kurtyboh]

attatche pieces of metal to the cement and hang the ph's from them

 

[Gti_Leo]

Compilation of DIY plywood tanks (Load Warning))

here you go, a link from monster fish keepers of all the plywood tanks people have built. if you take your time and do things right and donb't take short cuts things can work out pretty smoothly

 

[Mike-words]

Could you not "line" the inside with thin acrylic and still use the ply for support. Most of the cost of the acrylic is caused when you go thicker. Might be an idea. It may be easier to seal and last longer.

 

[Gti_Leo]

i was thinkign that also but you'll still need the front pAnel thick when ther viewing is

 

[kurtyboh]

I think thats a really good idea, http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...googlebase-_-D30X-_-202038054&locStoreNum=121, 2 sheets will cover it with some leftover.

 

[Mike-words]

Well yeah you would still need a heavy viewing pain

 

[mr_X]

i was just talking about this to someone. i know a guy who built a sump this way. he used wood, and had a single viewing pane. he covered the wood with plastic sheeting and caulked the edges. i emailed him to find out if he ever had issues with it.
i would still use a piece of starphire glass for the front pane.

 

[Gregcoyote]

All of these ideas look good to me. I am not debating the ways of building big tanks, there are many, including concrete and metals. I had a 500 gallon freshwater plywood tank for 10 years. It worked fine, but required far more maintenance than my more modern tanks. And by the time it was built, I am not sure I saved that much money. My concern was longevity.

The problem with using Fiberglas and polyester resins is that they don't produce a truly waterproof surface. Epoxy resins are different. Fiberglas is a layered product like plywood and water can seep into the layers (hydrolysis) causing blisters to form. If the blisters are allowed to grow, they can eventually penetrate the layers causing a leak. The blisters on watercraft are ground out and filled with epoxy putty generally. I have a 30 year old hull on my boat, so it has seen its share of blisters in fresh water, saltwater is even worse. It would still be better than a pond or pool Iiner as those can be torn. I am thinking about 500 pounds of live rock needing to be moved to fix that tiny hole that appeared in the bottom of the tank.

If I were building a really big tank, I would use reinforced concrete block and consider using a Linex coating like in truck beds (multiple layers). The only issue there is the front gaskets for the glass.

 

[Gti_Leo]

thats why you use an two part epoxy top coat on the fiberglass. i have a friend that worked a a chain of fish stores called big al's, you may have heard of it they also have an online shop, they have a few plywood/glass tanks that have been up and running for 20+ years and the only problem he had seen was once one of their tanks leaked at the silicone where the glass joinned the tank, which could happen even with a glass tank, it was plywood with 4 layers of fiberglass with 4-6 coats of two part epoxy on top

one thing i don't think many people get is that wood is one of the strongest building materials that can be used for anything, the onyl problem with wood is its hard to give it a strength rating because it is a natural material and is not really manufactured, all the manufacturing that goes along with wood is its cut and dried

 

[Gregcoyote]

Epoxy glass is much stronger as well, but expensive.
I have flown airplanes built out of wood, so no argument as to it's strength, but as you said, it is harder to quantify the actual strength as there are many grades of plywood. I guess, in my case, I like the fact that glass and acrylic are essentially completely saltwater resistant and when install properly will last virtually forever. I still can't agree that a plywood tank will last as long or longer than a glass tank will.

 

[Gti_Leo]

doesn't have to just be plywood, some build theirs out of solid 2x4s. there are some multi thousand gallons that are built by laying 2x4s flat and screwign them together

 

[Gregcoyote]

No doubt about it. If its built strong enough you could use bricks made from dried mud. It just needs a tough waterproof interior that doesn't degrade after years of pressure and saltwater. As well as various burrowing critters that can attack the sides and bottom. For tanks built into walls, what not? But my reef has 5 different angles I can view from without big seams obstructing view. So acrylic was the choice 20 years ago as glass then was too green in any thickness at all.

I was a hippie when I built the 500 gallon. It had a observation dome built into the middle of the tank when you could roll your chair up under the tank and stick your head in the bubble and watch the angel fish. But as a hippie, I didn't mind that the think was always leaking.