Building a 1500 Gallon plywood & glass tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
if you have room to lengthen the sump as apposed to heighten it, it will save a bit of material, if thats a concern. also, bio media in wet dry conditions are much more effective than in submerged conditions, just a thought on getting rid of the brute.
having the cleat plastic hood will be great, but then you have to deal with the disgusting algae problem that inevitably builds up on the underside of the hood. you could fix that algae problem with a double paned hood, use two layers of the plastic spaced about an inch apart, it will work just like a double paned window at reducing or even eliminating the condensation. also, you could tilt the hood one way or the other so the codensed water flows to one end and drips back into the tank. that algae scrubber that went big a while back would probably be worth looking into as well. just a few thoughts on taking some hours of the daily maintenance on this
]v[onster

i really like nolapete's idea of building a "slip-in" addition if you stick with the vertical expansion. i couldn't really tell which way he was going with it but putting the rim on the outside will make it easier to seal.

can't wait to see the progress!
 
LOL, it will take the same amount of material to add the same amount of capacity to the sump regardless of whether you go vertical or horizontal. A sq. ft. of water takes up 144 inches whether it's 12x12 or 1x144.

It's very clear as to how my design is if you read the text. The overlap is on the inside. The extended height sits on top of the existing sump wall.
 
surface area yes, but not volume. a cube can hold more volume than a rectangle and a sphere more than a cube, so by adding length to a rectangle, via a cube, you will use less material to get the same added volume, vs. adding a rectangular addition to the top. thats why any liquid mass tries to seek a shape as close to a sphere as possible.
add another dimension to you calcs since we're dealing with volume and not area :)
 
MyFishEatYourFish;2911800; said:
surface area yes, but not volume. a cube can hold more volume than a rectangle and a sphere more than a cube, so by adding length to a rectangle, via a cube, you will use less material to get the same added volume, vs. adding a rectangular addition to the top. thats why any liquid mass tries to seek a shape as close to a sphere as possible.
add another dimension to you calcs since we're dealing with volume and not area :)
Click to expand...

umm, is that new math? Any given volume has the same surface area regardless of shape. A US gallon of water is approx. 231 cubic inches regardless of shape.
 
nolapete;2911945; said:
umm, is that new math? Any given volume has the same surface area regardless of shape. A US gallon of water is approx. 231 cubic inches regardless of shape.
Click to expand...

You're mixing up surface area with volume pete. a square foot is 144 square inches. A cubic foot is 1728 cubic inches. A one cubic foot cube has 864 square inches of surface area, a one cubic foot sphere has 696 square inches of surface area, and various cuboid rectangles will have different surface areas depending on their aspect ratios.
 
MyFishEatYourFish;2911649; said:
if you have room to lengthen the sump as apposed to heighten it, it will save a bit of material, if thats a concern. also, bio media in wet dry conditions are much more effective than in submerged conditions, just a thought on getting rid of the brute.
having the cleat plastic hood will be great, but then you have to deal with the disgusting algae problem that inevitably builds up on the underside of the hood. you could fix that algae problem with a double paned hood, use two layers of the plastic spaced about an inch apart, it will work just like a double paned window at reducing or even eliminating the condensation. also, you could tilt the hood one way or the other so the codensed water flows to one end and drips back into the tank. that algae scrubber that went big a while back would probably be worth looking into as well. just a few thoughts on taking some hours of the daily maintenance on this
]v[onster

i really like nolapete's idea of building a "slip-in" addition if you stick with the vertical expansion. i couldn't really tell which way he was going with it but putting the rim on the outside will make it easier to seal.

can't wait to see the progress!
Click to expand...
Brilliant ideas really :)
 
Lol Bass...

My only option for expantion is upwards..

With 3/4 ply and some internal bracing at what point should I be concerned with outter wall support?

I am at 24" high now if I go another 18 that brings me to 42", should I push it and just go another 24" tall?

Keep in mind the inside dividers are also 3/4 ply and attached to walls with sub floor adhesive and screws. The pond armor keeps that from leaking.

My initial thoughts are to just stick with another 18" and don't go much higher than that.

BTW: This will all be completed by this Sunday.
 
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