700 gallon ply wood.....need some ideas please

[scalesandfins]

ok well here is the story. i have a 300 gallon right now housing my rtc tsn jardini and 2 florida gar. the rtc is about 2ft long (little less) and i have a few fish in a growout tank right now. but i have come to realize that the fish i have in the growout will out grow that tank and still be small enough to be eaten by the rtc. so i started planning to build a garage pond that is 48x96x36. priced out everyhin for it and it can be comepletely finished for about 100 bucks. (maybe less)
so here are a few questions i really would like answers to
1) i am planning on having my friend fiber glass the inside bc he works for a pool manufacturing company. so what thickness ply would i need and how much will the fiber glass support the tank? will i need as many braces as i would with just ply and rubber, if not how many would you suggest?
2) i am thinkin of adding a acrylic side to it, so in the future i can use it as a tank inside my house. what thickness acrylic would i need and if i glue the acrylic in place and have them glass over the edges on the inside how much support will that add to the acrylic?
3) do you have any suggestions that might help me in any way

thanks

 

[alexpie001]

put a thin sheet of glass over either side of the acrylic so it dosent get scratched

 

[scalesandfins]

i think that would cuase more problems. i would rather just be carefull of scartching the acrylic

 

[scalesandfins]

wow, i love MFK! so ****ing helpful!!
i can really see how people want to talk fish!!

 

[kevinfleming21]

hahahahahahaha

 

[scalesandfins]

hello??? anyone?? anyone at all???

 

[BigDaddyK]

1) i am planning on having my friend fiber glass the inside bc he works for a pool manufacturing company. so what thickness ply would i need and how much will the fiber glass support the tank? will i need as many braces as i would with just ply and rubber, if not how many would you suggest?

If you are building a tank that size IMO you need to use 2x4 bracing. 3/4 Ply should be plenty if it's just skinning the wall built of 2x4's

2) i am thinkin of adding a acrylic side to it, so in the future i can use it as a tank inside my house. what thickness acrylic would i need and if i glue the acrylic in place and have them glass over the edges on the inside how much support will that add to the acrylic?

You need to supply more info here.. how tall is the window going to be?

3) do you have any suggestions that might help me in any way

Take your time with the work... realize that the end result is more important than just reaching the end... you'll have leaks and issues galore if you rush this.

 

[scalesandfins]

it will have 2x4 bracing, i was wondering how much the fiber glass would support the wood and how close the 2x4s would need to be?
i would have the window be almost the full front of the tank/pond. with a rim to support the acrylic. i might do a metal rim to be extra safe.
i am taking plenty of time. this will not be built for at least 4 months. thats why i posted on here to get as much help and ideas as possible. but it doesnt look like im goin to get much.
i do appreciate your help tho.