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big tank


simy696

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yep i want bigger at that stage.    but thinking of doing something different mainly due to my skills set and hoping it may turn out cheaper. 

seen  pondarmor in the usa seems pretty good also seen it used with ply wood base.   im thinking again due to my skills why not compressed board used for upstair bathrooms as an example.  basically concrete sheeting lined then with the pondarmor or similar product if in aus.    in theory a tank wall to wall could be made out of the compressed board and just have a glass front for viewing.    any thoughts   at planning stage   winter project if can get past planning stage.

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figured out compressed board would be about 160$ a sheet  2 sheets required. imported pond armor 160$   plus a sheet of glass for front  would be about 200$

ply wood sheets are quiet a bit cheaper at 32$ a sheet .

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you will need a metal 'cage' or frame to support the plywood (ideally structutal plywood for strength), otherwise your plywood will bow...  from memory an aussie guy by the name of greenterra put plans up of his build, but he used all-timber supports & fibreglass.

as for $200 for a glass pane, i can't see a big enough pane to cover a 'wall to wall' tank for $200 - i could be wrong.

also, from MFKs, some of these pondarmor tanks have sprung leaks, and a friend of mine reckons this is because the plywood walls bowed or flexed causing cracks ???

 

what you want to do is possible, but from what im told you have to use stuff like sikaflex along all the corners for waterproofing prior to applying 3-4 good coats of pondarmor or liquid rubber.

 

disclaimer: im not a builder nor have i build anything in my life, so take all these information with caution

 

 

 

 

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There is a lot of work and procedures involved with making it structurally sound.

Best to cut that all out completely,,,, my 4 x ray pens are 3.8m x 1.8m x 0.700m high.

I used 12mm thick MDF particle board with chipboard screws on the corner but joints,,,,, these constructions were very flimsy and the corners would pull apart if lifted incorrectly,,,,, this did not bother me at all, as I'm a bit of a natural for structural integrity guess work.

Took them straight into a Fiberglas mob and got them fully Fiberglas wraped inside and out,,,, I then had it gel coated which is the same treatment on the finishing of a boat hull,,, and you can choose from many colors,,, I chose white.

Fiberglass is extremely strong and has a slight degree of flex in the sense of a good strength type of flex,,, instead of breaking it will flex slightly,,,, and use 70x19mm jarrah exactly in the same way as bracing the top of a glass tank,,, the Fiberglas wraps around all that.   Trust me dude, EXTREMELY strong.

Finish your job of with twinwall polycarbonate lids which will help reduce power consumption a lot.

 

whatever you decide I hope you go ahead with it and document it on here.   :thumb

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  • 2 months later...

I'm building 5000L tanks if that interests you or anyone. Deep tank with 1.5m front viewing panel. Powder coated steel frame, water proofed marine ply and 40mm acrylic viewing panel. Made small/light enough to transport.

 

 

 

 

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Yeah I think so to,,, bang some pics up fish dance,, of course everyone would be interested,, that's why all log on, to hopefully see stuff like this...

fishdance,,,, are you keeping rays, or big fish ?   Or cichlids ?

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