henward Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 to make this footprint? out of fibreglass? wood? concrete even? just wondering:D dreaming but good banter none the less. i am told 15mm is fine, 19mm is better for 15mm, its about $5400, 19mm is $8000 just for the tank ideas? lets throw some juice around peeps!! YEAH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
si_sphinx Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Timber framed, ply, fibreglass, paint would be my preferred option for a tank that big but a reinforced concrete block tank would be even better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 timber, ply, f.glass, pond liner paint (check it fish safe, most are when cured/dry) and a single sheet of perspex/acrylic. (glass gets $$$ in large sheets, and also persp/acr less likely to go "Ping! Smash! Splash!" PM Livingart, he made an awesome tank like this, and I'm sure he will have reccomendations and things that he has learnt through doing it that would be benificial/ time saving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted December 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 acrylic is very cost effective, EXTREMELY in fact. just owndering how to avoid scratches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 acrylic is very cost effective, EXTREMELY in fact. just owndering how to avoid scratches. Carefully... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted December 3, 2011 Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 A few years ago I built a medium sized tank a little bigger than this. It was 3000mm long, 1000mm wide and 1200mm tall with a 950mm viewing window. The bottom 200mm was just the base so the internal height was actually only 1000mm. This meant the gravel level was at the bottom of the glass. It was made from 75 x 75 x 6 RHS steel for the corner uprights, 200 x 100 x 6 RHS for the base and 100 x 50 x 6 RHS for the top rim. 25 x 10 flat was welded flush with the edge of the RHS to form a lip for 38mm plywood for the sides, bottom and back of the tank. This was made by gluing 2 x 19mm building ply together. The ply was held into the steel frame with no-more-nails and a few screws. The base also had several front to back 75 x 75 x 6 RHS supports so the plywood bottom was well supported. This then had 2 layers of chop-strand fiberglass + polyester resin (epoxy is not waterproof). It was finished off with a matte black gel-coat suitable for polyester resins. The front glass was 19mm and was the single biggest cost at exactly $1000 inc GST. This was a special deal from a local glass shop who happened to have a suitably sized offcut of 19mm glass left over from the Napier Airport upgrade. All the steel came from the local scrap metal merchant and a mate and cost less than $100 The plywood came from some crates we got delivered to work so $0. The fiberglass was done by a mate for $400 including materials. The paint for the steel frame cost $75 The silicone glue primer and silicone for the front glass cost $240 All up including a few extras not listed here the total build cost was approx $2000 for a 3000L tank. It was also seismically rated for a pretty big quake - important for Napier... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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