Building a 1500 Gallon plywood & glass tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
VLDesign;2912373; said:
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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:headbang2 Go 24" just use good adhesion and carpentry you will never regret going bigger.
 
MyFishEatYourFish;2911649; said:
bio media in wet dry conditions are much more effective than in submerged conditions, just a thought on getting rid of the brute.
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Lol, I was just talking about this a few weeks ago with someone...

I couldn't get a clear definitive answer on this when I first made the move to scrubbies, so I split the difference. Half of the 2k scrubbies went into a wet/dry the other half went into a fully submerged environment.

With this new setup and sump 90% of the media will be above the average water level while running and thus still remain wet/dry while the remaining media will always remain under water.

My thinking on the wet/dry now is if there is a power outage then the media is far better off under water (Which it will be in the new sump) vs dry as in the garbage can.

Still not sure which way is best or not so I will continue to do both.
 
cvermeulen;2912001; said:
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.
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length x height x width / 231 = approx. US gallon capacity. I am not mixing things up. 231 cubic inches = volume of 1 US gallon.

My point was that extending the length of the tank would not take any less materials than adding the same capacity to the height. It's all about apples to apples.

A 90 gallon tank is a 90 gallon tank no matter what the LxWxH you use to achieve it.
 
Fella's let's not get so highstrung if someone doesn't agree with you.:chillpill: VL will decide what advice he wishes to use or not. This was a great string until the bickering began.
 
nolapete;2912849; said:
length x height x width / 231 = approx. US gallon capacity. I am not mixing things up. 231 cubic inches = volume of 1 US gallon.

My point was that extending the length of the tank would not take any less materials than adding the same capacity to the height. It's all about apples to apples.

A 90 gallon tank is a 90 gallon tank no matter what the LxWxH you use to achieve it.
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Yeah, you're mostly correct, but originally you said:

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.
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Maybe that was a typo, I was just pointing out that a given volume does NOT actually have the same surface area regardless of shape. It has the same volume regardless of shape (of course, the volume being the same was the original assumption.)

My point being that depending on the dimensions, the volume may be the same, but the amount of material required (surface area) changes with the dimensions.

Anyways, hijack over. ihavegills - I'm not sure if you were talking to me or not there, but I'm not bickering with Pete, I thought we were having a pretty reasonable conversation actually.
 
nolapete;2914836; said:
Yay! for pointless posts ihavegills.

So, is the tank heated up yet? We need pics of you going for a swim. Just no skinny dipping! Well, unless your wife wants to. LOL
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:ROFL:

thanks cvermeulen.
pete imagine a gallon of water spilled on the floor, there's still a gallon, but it has way more surface area now than it did in the jug.

i agree that this is a valuable discussion that will benefit everyone who reads it, as long as we don't take it too far.

i like the idea of going higher, just cause of the extra wiggle room and time between top offs. all support should go on the outside of the joint between the new sump and the old, it will make it much easier to seel.

thats the great thing about bacteria, they are very hardy and can survive quite an array of temporarily harsh conditions. a power outage, if less than a day, probably wouldn't even make a noticable difference and if it is more than a day they would quickly recover all the media. don't worry about the bacteria in your wet dry, they'll be fine.

sorry, i don't know how to do multiple quotes :(
 
Another great thread ruined by people who think thier knowledge is far superior to everyone else's.

That's OK I still enjoyed it.

Thanks Rich. Hats off to you..... This will remain one of the best build threads I've ever experienced here on MFK. And I'm glad I could help fund it in a way....LOL

Maybe next time you should just have one of our super experienced fellow hobbyists design it all for you....... (wink wink)

Can't wait to see one of my flapjacks enjoying life in a properly sized tank. ;)

See you soon.......
 
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