Going to build BIG tank. Need volunteers.

[MarkS]

I am in the process of designing a large plywood tank. It will measure 96" long x 48" deep x 30" high. This works out to 598 gallons. I would go 48" high, but I could not get it in or out of my house, not to mention lighting.

Anyway, it will be a standard plywood tank with a glass front. This thing will be stocked as a reef, and everything, short of the pumps, will be DIY.

This tank is going in a large den that serves as my bedroom / apartment. I plan on using it as a room divider.

It will take me a few months to get all of the supplies, but I will need help with construction. The best I could do for payment is free food and drinks. I would give frags, but that is the whole point of this. :D

If anyone is interested, please reply here. I am changing my e-mail address in a few months and will lose any e-mails (can't transfer from WebTV to computer).

Further design details will come as I think of them.

Thanks,
Mark

[Tim Marvin]

Don't forget the tank weight will be over 2.5 tons full. I hope this will be upstairs. And you are going to have to do some serious re-enforcement. Think it through completely or you may be very unhappy.

[Chris]

Cool... is this going to be one of your future aqua farm tanks Mark?

I'll lend a hand when you're ready. I'd like to see firsthand how to contruct a plywood tank.

8)

[captexas]

Mark -
Keep us up to date on when you are going to start your project. I would love to help out (I'm off weekends). I would like to build my own tank (or 2) in a few years. Would be good experience to see how it's done first hand.

The other Chris :grin:

[Tim Marvin]

You may want to laminate the plywood with fiberglass after it is finished, and I'm not sure, but you'll probably need the wood to be at least 1 inch thick or maybe more. There is a lot of constant force on a tank that size so you'll want to be certain the joints are over built! You may find all the materials to strengthen it may end up costing as much as if you just build it out of 1 inch acrylic. You could build it from acrylic in one day.

[utmachete]

Well I don't exactly understand how you are planning to do this. If you have already done this and it didn't spill out all over your house well thats great but I just have a real bad feeling about the whole thing. I have never build a tank that large. the largest tank I have built was the 180 gallons which I'm selling so I can build another.
By no means do I consider myself an expert but I really think that you would be better of building it out of acrylic or just going and buying a huge tub from tractor supply.

I could build this tank for you out of acrylic, or for a little profit I could get the acrylic for you cut to the right dimensions and point you in the right direction on how to build it. I don't think that I would want a plywood tank personally even if it didn't leak it would eventually. If you go to any of the public aquariums you will see that almost all of the large tanks built today are built out of acrylic. Silicon and wood do not bond well, wood + water = wood rot, wood 600 gallon tank means a wet floor and lots of dead fish.

Send me an email and I can give you some economical ideas on how to do this without making your room a reef tank. I'm a DIY guy myself so I understand.
billmahaffey@mail.utexas.edu

[dow]

Well, here's one that's similar, although it's glass. Article includes details of the installation as well.

600 Gallon Tank (http://www.fishdomain.com/tank_month_dec99.shtml)

[TexasState]

Plywood tank are waterproof. I've seen some pretty large, butt ugly LR tank in Houston that are made of plywood. Don't ask me how long they last. There's a fish store guy up in south Austin who's talking about building Plywood tank over his bed chamber. I haven't seen any plywood tank incorporated with acrylic b4. I've seen cement and glass tank at Fish Land in Houston. It's a green slime tank. They removed the MH from the ceiling, and the green slime is still growing. The ceiling above the tank is bowing down and look like it's going to disintegrate and fall down at any moment.

Just an introduction in case you don't know yet. Mark is a DIY God He probably have more DIY experience then all of us combined. So, I'm sure he'll pull it off just fine. But if you're going to make this into a room divider, I would've at least make two sides viewable. Maybe you should talk z28power out of his 720 gallon Acrylic tank so you don't have to upgrade later.
http://www.z28pwr.com/images/720_tanks.jpg

[MarkS]

I am still working the plans in my head.

I will use standard 3/4" oak plywood. The front will be a triple laminate. The center layer will frame the 3/4" glass and will be sandwiched between two layers of plywood.

I am considering laminating two sheets of plywood for the rest of it, but I am not sure it would make a whole lot of difference. 3/4" plywood is about as strong as 3/4" acrylic, which is the recommened minimum thickness for a tank this size.

Only the inside corners will have fiberglass. I am going to stain the outside, so it must remain on the inside. Putting fiberglass on any other part would be a waste of money and time. Only the corners need the reinforcment. I'll probably go 1/4" thick.

The inside will be coated with two gallons of epoxy from Aquatic Ecosystems. The two gallons will be different colors to ensure coverage, with the last coats being dark blue. This will add a nice natural look.

The top brace will be a double laminate of 3/4" plywood with two large openings cut out. I plan on leaving a 6" rim. This should leave plenty of access space and should not interfere with lighting.

All of the edges will be coated with high strength construction adhesive before assembly. The edges will then be screwed together with 4" long marine grade deck screws.

I am more than satisfied that this will work. In the end, it wil be just as strong as a glass or acrylic aquarium, but much lighter when empty.

This monster is going on a concrete slab. Wouldn't think about putting this on a second floor even if I had one.

Thanks for the kind words, Vpham97, but I would hardly call myself a DIY God! I just like tinkering. :D

Thanks,
Mark

Oh yeah, the aqua farm idea is over. I got too many good replies against it. Everyone just made too much sense. I would hate to spend the money required and not even break even. Money is just too tight (you'll see when you see the house I am renting! Yuck!). Fun idea, but not realistic for me. This tank will be just that, a fish tank.

[Jeff Post]

This sounds like an interesting experience. If I am available I would be happy to help just for the fun of it.

[XXX]

I know I'm new and I don't know if your around San Antonio, But I would love to help! - Alex

[Chris]

Welcome to the group Alex. :beer:

[z28pwr]

If you added an oversize mooray eel and a whole lot of algae to that tank, you have Alamo Aquatics... :twisted: :lol3:

Gene

Gene, you are correct, my tank is just like the one at Alamo with the EEL but trust me having it in a living room makes the tank look much more impressive.

MarkS, I don't know how much money you estimate your tank will cost but like Vpham97 said if you're interested in a larger aquarium let me know we could work something out.

Tank Info:

http://www.maast.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=phpBB2&file=viewtopic& t=296

[OrionN]

Many reef invertebrates burrowed into things. They can't burrow into glass or acrylic but wood will leak because of this problem even if the structure of the tank is fine. This is just something to think about. I hate to clean up and take down a thriving 600 g tank that I may spend ten of thousands on because of a hole in the tank. If you really think about it, the cost of the tank in compare to the total cost is not too much. If you cannot afford to get a tank, you probably will not afford to up keep this tank. Believe me, I know from keeping my 450 g tank.
I have a friend who used to have a large home build wood tank. If you really want to talk to him send me an email and I see if I can dig his email address up for you.
Minh

[MarkS]

Thanks for the info, Minh.

However, one thing to keep in mind is that the wood is not going to be in contact with the water. The gallon of epoxy that I am going to use will cover an area several times bigger than the inside of the tank to a thickness of 6 mils. I am going to use two gallons and possibly a third. The epoxy layer will be between 1/8" and 1/4" thick. Epoxy is a resin like acrylic and just as hard once dry. I don't foresee this as being a problem.

Thanks,
Mark

[Henry]

Hey Mark, I new to this group but would be willing to help w/the tank if needed. Just let me know a timeframe. I generally have days off.
Henry