500 ltr plywood tank project

[Shilo]

It's been 6 years since my last aquarium but now I find myself with a bare area in a camping ground reception that is crying out for one! The plan is to have a native stream biotope which I think will be more interesting for both NZ and overseas guests then tropical etc.

The tank will be plywood / fibreglass not because of budget (it will work out more expensive then glass) but simply because I think it will be a fun project. It will be 155cm long and 60cm wide, since that is the largest I can go before it restricts access to get behind the reception counter. I haven't firmed up the height yet so at this moment guessing around the 500ltr mark give or take 50ltr's.

Will keep adding posts to this topic as each stage is completed.

[Adrienne]

Sounds like a good project. We all love plenty of photos

[hovmoller]

Sounds like a good project. We all love plenty of photos

+1 :gpo2:

[David R]

:iag:

Are you going for a simple ply box coated in fibreglass, or are you going to frame it with timber first?

[Shilo]

Its only a 500ltr so simple box. The ply I have is 18mm and I will euro brace or similar to stop it bowing, my problem is the restricted area I have because the thicker the walls (like if it was framed) the less internal area the tank will have and I want to maximise this. I don't believe in just using epoxy to waterproof the ply (too likely to crack or de-laminate) like a lot of people do so I will be putting down 2 or 3 layers of glass cloth. This should help stiffen things up as well as stopping any potential epoxy failure.

Stand frame finished. Screwed and glued and all verticals are doubled up for strength. Next is to line it & make doors, still undecided to go for a stain / varnish finish or a paint job. Will see how good a job I do of lining - if its a botch up then I will paint.

Edited September 6, 2015 by Shilo

[#!CrunchBang]

Uarujoey on youtube is doing a series on building a plywood tank at the moment.

[Shilo]

Yeah, I've been following his videos - great timing with the ply tank ones! :thup:

[Shilo]

Bit of a change to the stand. Decided to put in more cross pieces on the top to help spread the weight of the tank and since I may decide to put a sump in the stand one day did the same to the base. Much happier with it now. The bit of wood on top is all that is left of 24m.

Edited September 6, 2015 by Shilo

[David R]

Looking good!! 18mm ply should be fine so log as you don't go crazy tall with it. Looking forward to seeing it progress.

[Shilo]

Because of the cut plan of the 2 sheets of 1200 x 2400 ply I'm now thinking of 55cm (2x60cm less waste), so fairly low and my planned 500ltr now becomes only a 430ltr.

Stand is now lined with thin ply and door openings cut out. Put a floor on the bottom made from a recycled bookshelf, looks ugly but will only be seen if the doors open. Left the back unlined to allow easy access to the wall behind for plumbing and power cords etc. Trip to Te Awamutu tomorrow for mouldings to try to beautify it, problem with living an hours drive from the nearest hardware store - I have to stop work on the project for a few days if I don't have something.

[Shilo]

Progress Report.

Apart from paint or varnish the stand is 99% finished. Just have to get some stronger catches for the doors - not going to have handles on them as this will just encourage kids to open them, instead I will lever them open. The magnetic catches I originally got are too weak. By the way I'm not worried about my kids cause I don't have any but I sell ice creams from the camp office and during the summer when 20+ kids all decide they need ice cream at the same time nothing is safe from the infestation :facepalm:

Also cut out some of the ply for the tank so I can get a fair idea of the final size. Will need a step ladder to reach the bottom but that's good because again it will be kid proof.

Gap between tank and window is deliberate as I need an extra 15cm for the overflow, will cap this off so it can't be seen.

By the way, final capacity will be 483.6 litres.

Edited September 6, 2015 by Shilo

[Shilo]

Still working on it. Stand stained and varnished and the tanks currently being glued & screwed together.

Edited September 6, 2015 by Shilo

[Shilo]

Woodwork on the tank is all done. Hoped to get away with not using a centre brace but even with the Euro brace around the top there was a slight amount of give when I pushed the edges apart so put a centre brace in. The top is only temporarily screwed as it will be glued once the glass panels are in.

Next on the list is to stain the inside, I will do this as an alternative to tinting the epoxy and using a spirit based stain will mean the epoxy still soaks into the wood well. Oil based would be a very different story. Will also make the overflow box tomorrow. Have decided to use a Herbie type overflow instead of the Bean animal one because it will be a tight squeeze with 3 pipes in there compared to only 2. Unless there is a reason to go for the bean animal type?

Edited September 6, 2015 by Shilo

[SanityChelle]

Looking great! I'm loving keeping up with this project.

[David R]

Herbie will be fine, the third pipe on the bean_animal one is just for a back-up. I have two 50mm drains running [sort of] Herbie style, which gives me nearly double the capacity needed which is fail-safe enough for me. With my tank it's very unlikely anything large enough to completely block a 50mm drain could get into the overflow.

[Shilo]

Time for another progress Report:

Inside of the tank has been stained then a sealer coat of epoxy applied. After that a layer of 200g fibreglass cloth and 3 more layers of epoxy. No way it should ever leak apart from the 2 big holes in the side where I'm currently trying to source some glass to fill in. No bare wood anywhere, if its not epoxyed on the inside its painted with primer + 3 coats of enamel on the outside. Overflow attached to the end and drilled then sealed to take the fittings. I had got 2X 32mm bulkheads but they are the type used for alkathene pipe and the inside diameter looks too small so will go up to 40mm.

Next part of the project is making the tank cover.

Edited September 6, 2015 by Shilo

[kiwiraka]

:gopo: :spop:

[Shilo]

Tank cover framed out. The angled front will have a hinged top and lighting (probably simple led strips) will go along the centre brace. The rear 3rd will have removable inserts because I want to have some plants growing out of the top with their roots in the tank.

In keeping with the native biotope theme, does anybody have any recommendations on a native that can handle permanently submerged roots? Must be low light and I would prefer a leafy type plant instead of sedge / grass like. Thinking of http://www.terrain.net.nz/friends-of-te-henui-group/new-plant-page/parataniwha.html but open to suggestions.

Edited September 6, 2015 by Shilo

[Bishop]

Love to see a tank from start to finish.

That stand looks like my old ones in the sense that it could probably hold a bus. Best be safe than sorry though eh.

looks good

[Shilo]

Canopy all finished (apart from lights and wiring).

Still waiting for the glass so next stage is either the 3D background or the sump room.

Edited September 6, 2015 by Shilo

[kiwiraka]

Looking forward to seeing this tank finished and stocked, is a nice setup :spop:

[Silverdollarboy2]

:thup: !drool: looking great :cophot:

[gligor]

:gpo2: Looks awesome. Keep up the good work!

[Shilo]

Sump room.

Wasn't going to do much to the room itself but after I cleared out all the fishing & kayaking gear I realised that for my own sanity that orange colour just had to go. Don't know if the colour would of effected the fishes health any but it certainly would have effected mine :sick:

So stripped out all the shelving and desk then hit it with a brush and roller. Also took the opportunity remove the old carpet and waterproof the floor with some 2 pot epoxy paint I had laying around. The green tape marks where the sump is going. It should work out to be around 150 litres (half that operational and half for power outage overflow), a trickle filter will be the main filtration method in it.

Edited September 6, 2015 by Shilo

[Shilo]

Sump ended up much larger then I thought (I just used left over materials from the tank). Total capacity of the sump is 225 ltr but since I want room for power outage overflow and the above water media in the wet/dry I will only fill it up to 140 ltr's. This means the whole system will be running on 620 ltrs.

Sump is only in there to try for size as I still have to glass the corners and give it another couple of coats of epoxy.

Also got the plumber to tap into the house mains and run a water supply into the room (tap under the window). Found out that although the local water is from a spring it still has to be chlorinated because it is stored. Was thinking about using rain water but even if I put in 2x 200ltr barrels it will only last 20 days and a summer drought can be longer. Because of this I will have to fit a carbon filter to the tap before running pipes from it for the automatic water change system - Bugger.

Have ordered a Jebao DCT4000 to move the water, hopefully it will be enough for 5+ times turnover as there is a 1m head and I will be T'ing it off so half the return flows through the chiller before entering the tank. Haven't got a plan for the system so most of what I'm doing is just researched guess work. At least with the Jebao I can turn down or increase the flow with out having to use power sapping restrictions like valves.

Edited September 6, 2015 by Shilo