260 Gallon Plywood Build

[cypher1024]

Hey guys, I've been thinking about upgrading to a bigger tank for a while so I can get a silver arowana. After reading cvermeulen's 600 gallon build thread I've decided to have a go at a plywood build.

Basically it's just a smaller, cheaper (and slightly less cool) copy of his tank.

Here are some sketches of what I'm planning:

Internal bracing:

Inbuilt wet/dry filter:

The main skin is going to be 20mm (3/4") plywood, with 35mm x 55mm (2 x 3) bracing around the top of the tank, and under each window. The other corners will just have some 25mm radius moldings in them. I'm planning on fibreglassing over all of the corners at least and maybe the whole interior.


Is there anything that I should be doing differently? Any input would be greatly appreciated. The last thing I need is all that water all over my floor.

 

[Ken69]

Looks cool mate, what are you going to use to water proof it? I am subscribed.

Cheers,
Ken.

 

[cypher1024]

Thanks for your comment Ken.

I'm not really sure what we'll be using for waterproofing yet. At the moment we're thinking either gelcoat (if we fibreglass every surface), otherwise just epoxy paint.

 

[FSM]

It should be longer than that if you want a silver aro, 8 feet would be a lot better.

 

[MitchM]

Hi, I'm cypher's brother and will be helping with the build.
Can't wait to get started! I'm going to try and keep updates and pics up to date where possible..

 

[MitchM]

Can anyone advise if 2' height is too little for a silver aro, **hoping** to have some loaches in the tank with it..

 

[cypher1024]

It should be longer than that if you want a silver aro, 8 feet would be a lot better.

Yeah, I suppose 6' is really a little short for a fish that can grow up to 4' long. How does this look instead:

The measurements are the internal dimensions of the tank not including the filter section. I guess you could call it 'swimable water'.

Here's the filter section:

Thanks for the advice so far guys!