My 1800 ltr project.

[fozzy_wozzy_woo]

Ok all,

Im going to tell you my project then ask for advice and suggestions.

At the moment i have several 50ltr tanks but would like to have one massive one. then use the 50ltr tanks a breeding tanks.

Plan,
I first started about building a large tank a few months ago and looked into the specs and found it was going to cost loads. so i have been thinking. The measurements of the tankis going to be in cm 266x61x100.(1622.6 ltr) I looked into making it with glass and acrylic. this would have ment that i needed 1.5cm thick glass or 1.2cm thick acrylic.
I went out this weekend to price it all up and found that just for the price of the Acrylic it would set me back around €1000. So this blew that idea out the window until I remeberd that some one talked about making a fish tank out of wood.
So what about this for an Idea.
Build the three sides and bottom with MDF 2cm thick then line the inside with a waterproofing pond sutible resin. Once the resin is cured, then with pond sealant glue lots of stones / fake corral looking stuff. Until you cant see the resin/wood. Once this is all done then the three sides and bottom would be totaly waterproof. and with the resin and it would be extra strong also. Then with the front all I would need to do is to make the same length as the back and cut a big window out of the front then on the inside get a peice of glass or acrylic the same size as the inside dimensions then seal it in. as well as the sealand the pressure of the water would also seal the glass to the wood. Also supporting struts made of glass inside the tank which would be glued from front to back. This way i would also be able to make a really good stand from the MDF. and a nice top. The filter system would be a wet/dry pond filter which can prossess 2000ltrs (€99 new) I was thinking of and self made system but it would cost alot more and it doesnt have a guarentee.

Please let me know your thoughts...

 

[CFC]

It all sounds ok though i would be more inclined to use 18mm marine plywood to make the tank, it costs a lot more than MDF but i would be a lot happier knowing that if a small leak occured the whole thing wasnt going to disintegrate into a soggy heap. If you go ahead with this plan please keep us informed as im sure lots of members including myself would be interested on how it all works out, ill be needing a 1800 litre tank or pond myself sometime in the future.

 

[fozzy_wozzy_woo]

ok i was thinking of that as well as the price of the wood isnt that much different.

 

[Great Lakes]

Definitely go with the Marine grade plwood.

I have been considering a tank building excercise myself. For purely a custom size situation.

I was thinking about the wood route too. But I am considering lining the inside with thin sheets of glass or plexiglass. Except for the front of course.

GL

 

[fozzy_wozzy_woo]

That is also a great idea..

I will look at that.
it also makes it a better water sealant than buying a resin to line the wood.

 

[ste2k3]

you could build it out of ply but breeze block and concrete may be better. have a look at this tank. I will be using this method on my future tank. not to keen on the blue paint though .

1000 gallon tank

This would take up a little more room but would be cheaper and stronger.

ste

 

[fozzy_wozzy_woo]

oh man.... just looking at that has changed my mind again...

 

[living_dead]

That guys tanks is incredable. Good luck with yours, post pics of proggress.

 

[fozzy_wozzy_woo]

well after doing all the mesurments and realising that i dont have a backroom i am going to do a mixture of both. part cement and wood.
because of the lack of wood i am going to make a single brick frame with wood, and one thin acrylic lining.

to help with the strength and lining of the tank i am going to line the whole tank on top of the the thin acrylic lining with tank sealant and stones to give a underware cliff effect.
because of doing this i am going to make the tank deeper.

on the inside of the wall im going ot make ledges with wells so i can have pants on them.

The only problem i can think now is how to clean the tank when it gets dirty.

I need advice on how to clean the tank if the bio sysytem isnt good enough. I will be changeing 10% of the water per week. But if I dont need to do this can some one please help with large tank cleaning.

Im going to start the project this week and i will keep a record of every thing on this post.

I dont have much money so it may take some time to complete especially when it comes to the glass and pump and plants.

but i will keep you all in touch

 

[ste2k3]

good luck.

ste

 

[fozzy_wozzy_woo]

OK,

I have been hunting around for the resins and all the stuff to make this and I was directed to a person who makes tanks which holds almost 100,000,000 litres.
So I grabbed him and went through my plan.

These are the tips he has given me.
1. For the size of the tank 300x100x110 I should first build a thin 10cm cement/brick outer for it. (Due to space I can’t use thicker bricks) (plus I am building this into three walls that are reinforced concrete). (I live in an apartment (ground floor))
2. Inject the wood with a waterproofing resin €38.50 per KG
3. Attach all pieces of wood with Epoxy lime €38.50 per 1.5kg. Then go over each joint and corner with the epoxy lime making sure you make a round finish with the resin.
4. Once this is dry sand it all down so it is smooth like a mirror.
5. Place on 1 layer of fibre glass over the whole inside of the tank €8.00 m2
6. Sand this all down so it is smooth then add another layer of fibreglass but with the weave in the opposite direction.
7. Sand this all down so it is like a mirror.
8. He made a suggestion that with all the spare fibreglass I should make out crops and ledges with wells in it so I can have plants half way up the wall. He also suggested getting small off cuts of PVC drain pipes and fibreglass these into the wall. This would then make a type of natural cave system so the fish that don’t like the light in the day could hide.
9. Once this is all sanded down and smooth I should then apply GT625 €22.50kg Dissolvent free coating resin / paint sorry but I don’t know the English word for this. (Fish friendly)
10. Once this is dry I should apply a second coating. It’s not a blue colour but a grey colour. So that is more natural.

 

[crimsontsavo]

( Aquarium Safe?)
Can't wait to see some pictures!