Hi, I'm trying to finish the designing stages before I build my custom concrete tank. I plan on the inside dimensions being 8ft long x 3ft wide (may possibly go 5ft wide) and 5.5ft tall. I will have two viewing windows in the front that will be 4ft by 3ft and have a one foot concrete pillar seperating them. The windows will be set into a lip from the inside of the tank with 3 inch angle iron as extra support. The biggest concern obviously will be the glass thickness. I plan on going 3 in thick acrylic for extra safety. Also I've read that having a "closed top" or "framed top" will help support the tank and minimize bowing. I was wondering if i pour a 6"x6" or a 4"x4" pillar connecting the front to the back on both sides and in the center where the pillar seperating the windows will be will be adequate enough to help support the tank enough. this will be my first build of a custom tank, although I will have help from friends with several years experience working with concrete. I want to make sure I cover ever angle and have all the bugs worked out before I build the tank and have a disaster happen. Also after the tank is poured is it best to let the concrete cure then place the glass in or should the glass be placed in once the concrete has dried enough to support the weight of it and then filled with water to finish curing. Will take any advice I can get. Thanks
1000+ gal concrete aquarium final concerns
- Thread starter brandonhovis
- Start date
if i go to 5 ft wide how much, if at all, will it affect the glass thickness since its the width and not the heighth
Not at all. It's the height that commands thicker glass. You can go as wide as you want. When I do my monster tank in a few years it will be very wide and long but not too tall so I don't need to spend big $ on the glass panels.
I once saw this program on the Hover Dam and they said that if the water in the dam was seven feet wide or 300 miles long it would press the same amount of pressure on the walls of the dam pushing foward though the dam itself. Such as if the tank was three wide or 15 feet wide it would excert the same amount of water pressure going side to side on the windows of the tank.
But the depth of the fish tank the deeper it is the higher the pressure on the sides and bottom of it.
But the depth of the fish tank the deeper it is the higher the pressure on the sides and bottom of it.
alright thanks everyone. and what about forming it. would it be alright to pur all the concrete and set the 3 in angle iron where the windows will be and let it set and cure for a few months then put the glass in or should the glass be put in shortly after the concrete begins to set up and fill with water and let it cure under water?
It should be allowed to dry for over a few months to cure. Most house hold cement can not dry underwater.
Here is a big story on a member who built a 2500 gallon cement fish tank in his basement.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23529
Here is a big story on a member who built a 2500 gallon cement fish tank in his basement.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23529