My new 2600 gallon plywood tank project

Ocean Railroader

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jul 31, 2010
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Richmond VA
This looks cool I'm really going to be watching this in that I might be building something like this out of cinder blocks if i get my own place.
 

VLDesign

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Mar 20, 2007
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1,843
IL
Ok here we go...

Lumber has been ordered and will be delivered on May 23rd.

After much internal conflict I have decided that I am changing my design a bit from the one I did on the 1500 gallon tank.

First change is it will now be 28' long and will contain a 3' section used for a build in sump area to house the heat coil and maybe some form of filtration. 25' will still be available to the fish and the other 3' will be beind a false wall that I will install after I leak test the main tank.

Next, I will be using the same shell (Everything on 10" centers) but will only be using a single layer of 3/4" plywood and not be using the concrete board. It's a pain in the ass to work with and prep (Acid wash/etch) and I am not 100% convinced it's even needed. So, unless I can be convinced otherwise I think I am skipping this layer. I will also use bondo to cover up the screw heads, seams, and other imperfections in the plywood. Will also be using bondo to create fillet joints on the walls and floors.

Next change is the top bracing. I will be using angled cross bracing on the sides and braces every 4 feet. These braces will be 4x4s and will lay out like this:
/ | | | | | | \
\ | | | | | | /

This will provide a nice place to convert to an overhead pathway when needed which is somehing I don't have now on the current 1500.

The stand will remain the same and look like this
|----------------------------|
|----------------------------|
|----------------------------|

Remaining timeline (Really rough estimate):
Will be ordering the pond armor this week.

After the shell is complete (2 weeks?) and I get a better feel of the viewing windows I will order the acrylic and DOW sealant.

Then apply the pond armor (1 week?)

Install windows & let cure (1 week?)

Leak test (2 days)

Fully Drain (1 day)

Plumbing (1 day)

Some sort of background? (undecided and not sure yet what I am doing)

Substrate, sump area install (4 days)
 
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