4300 Gallon Plywood Build (3600+ Take 2)

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Hi, im planning on building a 1000 gallon freshwater fish tank. i have done a little research but not found anything on building an aquarium with just glass or acrylic. I have heard that polycorbonate glass is much stronger than acrylic but its difficult to put together. Can i use this kind of glass? If i can what would be the thickness? Do the sides have to be the same thickness as the front? What do i use to bond this type of glass? If you cant answer my questions please point me in the right direction.
 
hey Clyde there are many great tank builds along the lines you are looking for here in the DIY section. if you use the search feature you should find what your looking for ands when your ready to build start a thread and there anre many on here to give you advice. good luck
 
TheFishGuy;4135421; said:
Dumb Question #2, Why so tall? Six foot seems a bit unnecessary to me. I'm not being a jerk, it is a serious question...
Click to expand...

Not a dumb question.

I originally had planned to build the tank 4.5' deep and have it similar to yours and Rich's raised from the floor. When I changed my design to what it is now, I noticed that there wasn't much of the floor hidden from sight when I looked down through the window opening. My friend Jack's 125K and 107K tanks both had depth above/below the viewing windows for the divers to hide. I talked with Ken about my idea and we decided to build from the floor instead of on a platform. The base of the tank is much more solid and I don't have to worry about anything collapsing under it. All I did was drop the floor 18" and gained about 700 gallons capacity. That's why it went from 3600 to 4300 gallons.
 
Ok, Good enough answer for me :) I wanted to take my tank to the floor too after the very first leak, but decided not to due to lack of time and the need to getting holding water asap... My next tank will go to the floor... I really like this build and I hope you know that I'm just messin with you about the pictures... When we meet in November at the O.C.A. Extravaganza you'll understand that 90% of what I say can't be taken seriously... I'm a contractor, it's in my nature... One more queston then I'll stop bothering you and sit back and wait for it to be full of water...

How thick is the concrete floor the tank sits on? I'm pretty sure you've answered this before, but again, it's a massive thread and time is limited, and the sun is in my eyes and my shoes are untied... :)

Thanks for sharing Pete :)
 
The slab was originally whatever the norm is for an attached garage. I think that's 4.5" - 5.5" depending on who you talk to. I added another 4.5" on top of it to raise it to the level of the rest of the slab for the house which if I remember right is 9". I'd have to measure. So, it's 9-10" under the tank.

I don't take anything you say seriously J unless you're talking about tanks or fish.
 
I am also a contractor. I drive heavy plant machinery building foundations drains anything in the ground. 9 inches of concrete sounds about right only that I would have suggested using REBAR mesh to reinforce it. The weight of water will give a massive constant down force. If the slab is supported by a good stone foundation all will be well. Can't wait to see it full! Good luck bud!
 
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