500 gal basic ideas and Q's in reguards to woodworking and fiberglass.

MonsterMinis

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 28, 2009
6,048
9
0
Wisconsin
nolapete you and the others just convinced me that my idea of going with a stacked lumber build is the design I'm looking for.. I've helped finish a basement, build a deck, and other handy-man type jobs around the house.. but the thought of working with fiberglass.. and in general building something that will hold a few hundred gallons of water in the house has been positively terrifying. lol I'm looking at building a 6'foot LxW and 24"-30" high "pond" in my basment w/ a 2' by 6' "wet/dry" that will run along the top and hold bins of plants. Both the tank and "FW refugium" will be made w/ 2x4s useing the stacked method.

1) Where can I find some info/videos of fiber glassing/coating ect? I'm still abit blurry on this and want to avoid a pondliner unless absolutely neccisary.

2) we will be moving in the next 1-2yrs and after measureing the doorways this was the largest size I could build and still get it threw the door, or am I missing something?

3) I plan on utilizing a "pond" type filter set-up using a pre-filter sponge on the input and plumbing it into the bottom of the wet/dry. Useing the stacked method shown.. I was thinking of useing a larger board ( like a 2x6)on the bottom and drilling evenly threw it to avoid "open spaces" laying the boards at the short way ( ie lots of 2' boards) or would one solid base board work? I don't want the bottom to fall out.. lol and I have no problems with "over-building" my first DIY project.

The tank will be houseing some gar , spiney eels, and retic rays.

I've been reading alot on here for the last few years and finally have a good idea of what I need, and what my fish will need.
 

nolapete

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 1, 2007
2,726
9
38
New Orleans, LA
Rest assured, you don't need to fiberglass the entire tank, but only the seams and corners. Max ACR available on Ebay is the only coating you'll need. You can topcoat it with Sweetwater epoxy paint if you don't want to see the wood through the coating, but it's not necessary.

All the information you need on using Max ACR is in JohnG's 7'x12' build. I'd recommend you read that build a few times, read his other build, and VLDesign's build. My build is a bit lengthy, but you can skim through it as well.

I'd suggest you use JohnG's floor design. There's no need to go with 2x6s on a build under 36" tall. I'd only suggest considering going with 2x6s if you were going to go up to 48" high, but over that I'd insist on 2x6s.

The only thing they didn't do that I did was use Liquid Nails Heavy Duty Construction adhesive between the boards.

The cutout spaces are worth the effort, especially since it gives you some flexibility later on for plumbing in other filtration. Flexpvc.com is where you'll want to get your bulkheads from. When you're ready to purchase, I can point out the type that I used.

In regard to moving, you could build to fit the door or you can use an idea I was tossing around early in my build for the exact same reason. It'll take more effort, but it will work.

Your floor would be assembled in much the same way as JohnG's build, except that you'll need 3/8" to 1/2" threaded rods the approximately 6"-8" longer than your tank height. I'd go 1 per foot of tank wall around the perimeter of the floor.

Your tank will be made up of 5 pieces; the four walls and the floor.

Each of your walls will be assembled separate from the floor. The same way that the boards for a box joint box are done. Each wall will have holes through all the 2x4's the height of the tank, so the threaded rod can slide through. You'll have to jack up the floor on each side to slide the rod through and attach the nuts, washers, and lock washers. Boring out the hold 3/4" depth with 1" bit would allow you to countersink the fasteners.

Once assembled and tightened down, you can proceed with fiberglassing the inside seams and coating the tank with Max ACR as in a normal build.

When you're ready to move, you use a grinder to cut through the seams, unbolt the walls, disassemble the tank, move to new location, sand the seams, reassemble, fiberglass the seams, coat the seams, wait to cure, fill!

This is out the top of my head, but it's what I'd do and I think it can work very well. You could drive some 3" deck screws around the perimeter near the floor on the outside for extra strength, but I don't think it's necessary.

Also, even if you don't use the take apart method, you'll likely not be able to move the 6'x6' tank due to sheer weight without a lot of manpower. Another thing, there's no difference in the pressure on the walls for a tank 6'x6'x30" or 100 miles x 100 miles x 30" due to the hydrostatic paradox, so go as big as you can fit and afford.

I'd suggest you use whatever length you can fit 2x4s. In example, if you can fit 8'x9', just build an 8'x8' tank because 8' lumber is standard. If you can fit 8'x10' then you can use 8' and 10' 2x4s without having to cut them except for your cutouts. It'll make your life so much easier. I would have gone with 8'x12' if I had someone to clue me in.
 

sross

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 18, 2011
251
0
16
Ohio
You should take a look at the link in my sig. I built my tank to be taken apart. I've had it up for 7 months. I didn't use any fiber glass in the corners. but I did use it on all of the surfaces. Mostly to make sure I can't drive a rock into the finish and for insurance. I just put plenty of silicone in the corners. Never once have I had any signs of leaking or coming apart. I used bolts and lag screws in every other spot at the base and all corners every 6 to 8 inches. The bolt and lag screws hold the corners and sides together so well that there is no chance they can come apart. Because all corners are held so tightly, the silicone cant give in to the pressure. I used uscomposite marine epoxy and 3 layers of fiberglass. On top of that I used 4 coats of sweetwater. My tank is 86 inches long, 33 inches wide and 33 inch water level.
 
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