Building a tank...

Anyone have any tips on what one would need/do when building a custom tank?
Materials to use and sealant advice would be great. I'm looking to contruct
a tank that is about 300Gs...

Sean

Pretty serious tank...Acrylic or glass? Neither is really hard to
work with.

There are some good online resources with glass and acrylic thickness
calculators on them to give a guide on thickness according to height
and width and such....Acrylics tend to have the top euro bracing when
they get up that large...

If dealing with glass then just some good silicone sealant is all
thats required for assembly once it cut, Acrylic is going to need what
referred to as solvent to make the joints. Weldon or IPS are two
typical manufacturers for this solvent, and what you will probably
need is Weldon (or IPS equiv) #4 and Weldon #16. Weldon #4 is a water
thin solvent that is wicked / flowed into the joints. Its necessary to
hold the panels apart with pins or other shims or wires so it can have
some setup time, then pull those pins and let it settle into the
softened acrylic. YOu also need a good way to cut the acrylic....such
as a table saw and carbide tipped blade, and also a means to smooth
the edges prior to solvent welding them, which is usually a router and
carbide cutter, or a planer will also work...Scraps of plywood or PVC
pipe and fittings are handy to make into jigs to hold panels in place
while either solvent welding or applying silicone. Any ideas on your
dimensions and choice of materials? If acrylic make sure to use cell
cast only, not extruded acrylic. If glass, have you considered low
iron glass....called Starfire.....Its clear as water..Regular glass is
not as clear as yu think it is. Acrylic is actually clearer than
standard glass, and Starfire is even clearer....May not be too much of
an issue but its still something to consider if going glass.

I made a 320 gal acrylic already, or should say started on it late
last year, but its not yet finished.....


On Fri, 27 Jan 2006 00:37:36 GMT, "Sean"
wrote:
Anyone have any tips on what one would need/do when building a custom tank?
Materials to use and sealant advice would be great. I'm looking to contruct
a tank that is about 300Gs...

Sean


--
\\\|///
( @ @ )
-----------oOOo(_)oOOo---------------


oooO
---------( )----Oooo----------------
\ ( ( )
\_) ) /
(_/
The original frugal ponder ! Koi-ahoi mates....

"Sean" wrote in message
...
Anyone have any tips on what one would need/do when building a custom
tank? Materials to use and sealant advice would be great. I'm looking
to contruct a tank that is about 300Gs...

Sean

For that size, you might be thinking of going with a plywood tank. This
means only one piece of glass or acrylic and no jigs to hold things
together. It also means some carpentry and sealing, so it depends on
what you're comfortable with. I have links on my site (hopefully not
all are outdated, else let me know and I'll shake some more out of my
bookmarks).
--
www.NetMax.tk

I would like for it to be acrylic as it is much stronger and about half the
weight of glass. I was thinking about building a tank about 8 feet long and
about 4 feet deep (front to back) by about 5 feet high (floor to ceiling).
This may be well beyond 300Gs, I don't know (that's why I was asking about
the thickness calcs and stuff). Basically the tank is gonna be the main
reason for a room in my house. It is being used for nothing else now so why
not up the house's value ... Thanks for the info on the sealants and
blades. Any links to thickness calcs for acrylic would be great and also
water weight calcs...I'm not having much luck myself.

Sean


"Roy" wrote in message
...
Pretty serious tank...Acrylic or glass? Neither is really hard to
work with.

There are some good online resources with glass and acrylic thickness
calculators on them to give a guide on thickness according to height
and width and such....Acrylics tend to have the top euro bracing when
they get up that large...

If dealing with glass then just some good silicone sealant is all
thats required for assembly once it cut, Acrylic is going to need what
referred to as solvent to make the joints. Weldon or IPS are two
typical manufacturers for this solvent, and what you will probably
need is Weldon (or IPS equiv) #4 and Weldon #16. Weldon #4 is a water
thin solvent that is wicked / flowed into the joints. Its necessary to
hold the panels apart with pins or other shims or wires so it can have
some setup time, then pull those pins and let it settle into the
softened acrylic. YOu also need a good way to cut the acrylic....such
as a table saw and carbide tipped blade, and also a means to smooth
the edges prior to solvent welding them, which is usually a router and
carbide cutter, or a planer will also work...Scraps of plywood or PVC
pipe and fittings are handy to make into jigs to hold panels in place
while either solvent welding or applying silicone. Any ideas on your
dimensions and choice of materials? If acrylic make sure to use cell
cast only, not extruded acrylic. If glass, have you considered low
iron glass....called Starfire.....Its clear as water..Regular glass is
not as clear as yu think it is. Acrylic is actually clearer than
standard glass, and Starfire is even clearer....May not be too much of
an issue but its still something to consider if going glass.

I made a 320 gal acrylic already, or should say started on it late
last year, but its not yet finished.....


On Fri, 27 Jan 2006 00:37:36 GMT, "Sean"
wrote:
Anyone have any tips on what one would need/do when building a custom
tank?
Materials to use and sealant advice would be great. I'm looking to
contruct
a tank that is about 300Gs...

Sean


--
\\\|///
( @ @ )
-----------oOOo(_)oOOo---------------


oooO
---------( )----Oooo----------------
\ ( ( )
\_) ) /
(_/
The original frugal ponder ! Koi-ahoi mates....

"Sean" wrote in message
...
I would like for it to be acrylic as it is much stronger and about half the
weight of glass. I was thinking about building a tank about 8 feet long
and about 4 feet deep (front to back) by about 5 feet high (floor to
ceiling). This may be well beyond 300Gs, I don't know (that's why I was
asking about the thickness calcs and stuff). Basically the tank is gonna
be the main reason for a room in my house. It is being used for nothing
else now so why not up the house's value ... Thanks for the info on the
sealants and blades. Any links to thickness calcs for acrylic would be
great and also water weight calcs...I'm not having much luck myself.

Sean


"Roy" wrote in message
...
Pretty serious tank...Acrylic or glass? Neither is really hard to
work with.

There are some good online resources with glass and acrylic thickness
calculators on them to give a guide on thickness according to height
and width and such....Acrylics tend to have the top euro bracing when
they get up that large...

If dealing with glass then just some good silicone sealant is all
thats required for assembly once it cut, Acrylic is going to need what
referred to as solvent to make the joints. Weldon or IPS are two
typical manufacturers for this solvent, and what you will probably
need is Weldon (or IPS equiv) #4 and Weldon #16. Weldon #4 is a water
thin solvent that is wicked / flowed into the joints. Its necessary to
hold the panels apart with pins or other shims or wires so it can have
some setup time, then pull those pins and let it settle into the
softened acrylic. YOu also need a good way to cut the acrylic....such
as a table saw and carbide tipped blade, and also a means to smooth
the edges prior to solvent welding them, which is usually a router and
carbide cutter, or a planer will also work...Scraps of plywood or PVC
pipe and fittings are handy to make into jigs to hold panels in place
while either solvent welding or applying silicone. Any ideas on your
dimensions and choice of materials? If acrylic make sure to use cell
cast only, not extruded acrylic. If glass, have you considered low
iron glass....called Starfire.....Its clear as water..Regular glass is
not as clear as yu think it is. Acrylic is actually clearer than
standard glass, and Starfire is even clearer....May not be too much of
an issue but its still something to consider if going glass.

I made a 320 gal acrylic already, or should say started on it late
last year, but its not yet finished.....

Sorry, top posted.

Sean

On Fri, 27 Jan 2006 04:39:31 GMT, "Sean"
wrote:

I would like for it to be acrylic as it is much stronger and about half the
weight of glass. I was thinking about building a tank about 8 feet long and
about 4 feet deep (front to back) by about 5 feet high (floor to ceiling).
This may be well beyond 300Gs, I don't know (that's why I was asking about
the thickness calcs and stuff). Basically the tank is gonna be the main
reason for a room in my house. It is being used for nothing else now so why
not up the house's value ... Thanks for the info on the sealants and
blades. Any links to thickness calcs for acrylic would be great and also
water weight calcs...I'm not having much luck myself.

Sean


I make that to be about 1735 gallons

I generally guess about 10 pounds per gallon to account for water,
tank, substrate, whatever else is in there.
some reading:


http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/diytanksrefugiums/

http://www.duboisi.com/diy/diyglossary.htm

I make that to be about 1735 gallons

I generally guess about 10 pounds per gallon to account for water,
tank, substrate, whatever else is in there.
some reading:


http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/diytanksrefugiums/

http://www.duboisi.com/diy/diyglossary.htm

Thanks for the links...a lot of useful info found there. How did you come
to the amount of 1735 gallons? Is there a formula you used or are you just
familiar with tanks of this size?

Sean

I calculate just under 1200 gal. (1196)

At 10 lbs per gallon (which may be low considering all the complimentary
equipment and supplies) that would be 12000lbs over a footprint of 32sqft.
This is 375 lbs per sqft. That's a lot of weight and unless you're on a
concrete slab basement, I would seriously consider some shoring up.

1 gallon of water occupies 231 cubic inches. Granted the entire volume
would not be water. Gravel and rock would take up volume as well, however,
they have a higher density than water and would weigh more per unit area.

If you're considering a multiple side viewing of the tank, you might do
better to have it custom built by a reputable company. A tank that size
would be very expensive but they may even have warranties.

Fishman


"Sean" wrote in message
...
I would like for it to be acrylic as it is much stronger and about half
the
weight of glass. I was thinking about building a tank about 8 feet long
and
about 4 feet deep (front to back) by about 5 feet high (floor to ceiling).
This may be well beyond 300Gs, I don't know (that's why I was asking about
the thickness calcs and stuff). Basically the tank is gonna be the main
reason for a room in my house. It is being used for nothing else now so
why
not up the house's value ... Thanks for the info on the sealants and
blades. Any links to thickness calcs for acrylic would be great and also
water weight calcs...I'm not having much luck myself.

Sean


"Roy" wrote in message
...
Pretty serious tank...Acrylic or glass? Neither is really hard to
work with.

There are some good online resources with glass and acrylic thickness
calculators on them to give a guide on thickness according to height
and width and such....Acrylics tend to have the top euro bracing when
they get up that large...

If dealing with glass then just some good silicone sealant is all
thats required for assembly once it cut, Acrylic is going to need what
referred to as solvent to make the joints. Weldon or IPS are two
typical manufacturers for this solvent, and what you will probably
need is Weldon (or IPS equiv) #4 and Weldon #16. Weldon #4 is a water
thin solvent that is wicked / flowed into the joints. Its necessary to
hold the panels apart with pins or other shims or wires so it can have
some setup time, then pull those pins and let it settle into the
softened acrylic. YOu also need a good way to cut the acrylic....such
as a table saw and carbide tipped blade, and also a means to smooth
the edges prior to solvent welding them, which is usually a router and
carbide cutter, or a planer will also work...Scraps of plywood or PVC
pipe and fittings are handy to make into jigs to hold panels in place
while either solvent welding or applying silicone. Any ideas on your
dimensions and choice of materials? If acrylic make sure to use cell
cast only, not extruded acrylic. If glass, have you considered low
iron glass....called Starfire.....Its clear as water..Regular glass is
not as clear as yu think it is. Acrylic is actually clearer than
standard glass, and Starfire is even clearer....May not be too much of
an issue but its still something to consider if going glass.

I made a 320 gal acrylic already, or should say started on it late
last year, but its not yet finished.....


On Fri, 27 Jan 2006 00:37:36 GMT, "Sean"
wrote:
Anyone have any tips on what one would need/do when building a custom
tank?
Materials to use and sealant advice would be great. I'm looking to
contruct
a tank that is about 300Gs...

Sean


--
\\\|///
( @ @ )
-----------oOOo(_)oOOo---------------


oooO
---------( )----Oooo----------------
\ ( ( )
\_) ) /
(_/
The original frugal ponder ! Koi-ahoi mates....

On Fri, 27 Jan 2006 07:24:09 GMT, "Sean"
wrote:


I make that to be about 1735 gallons

I generally guess about 10 pounds per gallon to account for water,
tank, substrate, whatever else is in there.
some reading:


http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/diytanksrefugiums/

http://www.duboisi.com/diy/diyglossary.htm

Thanks for the links...a lot of useful info found there. How did you come
to the amount of 1735 gallons? Is there a formula you used or are you just
familiar with tanks of this size?

Sean



dimentions (which I forgot now)

in feet, 8X5X4=160

times 7.48 gallons per cubic foot= 1196

must have hit the wrong key on the calculator the first time.
a different number this time

Anyway, the dimentions times 7.48 gives gallons.

Or convert everything to inches, multiply it out, then divide by 231
to get gallons.

"Charles" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 27 Jan 2006 07:24:09 GMT, "Sean"
wrote:


I make that to be about 1735 gallons

I generally guess about 10 pounds per gallon to account for water,
tank, substrate, whatever else is in there.
some reading:


http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/diytanksrefugiums/

http://www.duboisi.com/diy/diyglossary.htm

Thanks for the links...a lot of useful info found there. How did you come
to the amount of 1735 gallons? Is there a formula you used or are you
just
familiar with tanks of this size?

Sean



dimentions (which I forgot now)

in feet, 8X5X4=160

times 7.48 gallons per cubic foot= 1196

must have hit the wrong key on the calculator the first time.
a different number this time

Anyway, the dimentions times 7.48 gives gallons.

Or convert everything to inches, multiply it out, then divide by 231
to get gallons.

Great thanks...been a great help.

Sean