Building a steel tank?

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Elbling0

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Mar 6, 2013
253
3
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Silent Hill
Was wondering if it was possible to build a steel tank. I don't know too much about steel and haven't ever seen anyone make a tank from it.
But i'm guessing if you get steel sheets weld the inside and out, coat the inside with liquid rubber you could technically do it? Will silicone cure the acrylic onto the steel properely? What would be the best type of steel to use? It was just a thought. I'm guessing it would be 10 times heavier though. But would it be more pricey? If it's even possible. :nilly:
 
Yeah I was thinking you would have to brace and fibreglass the window. I do have a little welding experience but mostly brazing copper which isn't any help. I do know some welders in the trade though.
Say I could get galvanised for cheap and I have family in the acrylic business so thats not a problem how exactly would I go about building it it and how thick would the steel need to be? You wouldn't need to fibreglass the seams of the welds would you? What would I coat the inside with?
I was planning to start a tank for my Jack later this year. But i've still got a lot of time before he outgrows his home atm.
I was planning on something 2750Lx1200Hx1500W was planning on ply but thinking about steel now.
 
more like 100 times heavier.

I would think most people stay away from it due to weight, cost and potential to rust.
 
Anything is possible. Affordable and feasible are a different matter. But a 2part epoxy would definitely work. Thats all water towers are to my knowledge. Metal and epoxy. I don't think the metal will be an issue as you have to coat it anyway. So really its going to come down to the weight of the structure and what adheres to your choice of liner vs the acrylic. Just my .02
 
The weight won't be a problem because it will be in my garage with a concrete floor and will be with out a stand because it will be 4 feet high, if the grounds uneven or I run into any other problems I will probably go buy a few cinder blocks and some styrofoam and slap it on that. For the window I was thinking about siliconing it, bracing with wood then fibreglassing if that makes sense? Just not sure on how I will attach the wood to the metal yet.:duh: Also have to think about rust issues too. As for filtration I was thinking a 5x2x2 sump 4000LPH pump, bio balls, Matrix etc, probably 2 300W Jagers and probably 1-2 canisters at 2000LPH+ just keep it simple and clean, there is only going to be one fish occupying the tank so there's no need to overkill filtration, even though you can never have enough lol.. I am still leaning towards Plywood though, seems to be less expensive in the long run and there will be A LOT of welding,

Thanks for the link wellbaum!! Those are monster tanks! That guy definitely knows what he's doing especially when it comes to metal. and i'll definitely PM him if I run into any trouble.
 
Hmmmmm....hah...although i have done it and love steel over wood any day of the week i am not the first. I studied many other builds years ago and came up with my own. Johnptc made a steel framed polypropolene tank and there was another member who had an entire stainless steel tank made for 12 aros i believe. The advantage of stainless steel is no waterproofing needed as it is already chemical and water resistent. Downside of stainless is the high price. I use mild grade steel and the ability to coat it the first time with the right paint will make or break your build. I suggest chemical resistant epoxy paint in "devoe" brand but something similiar like a 2 part epoxy pond armour or other epoxy paint could also work. I made 3 metal framed tanks before my 650 build and they all pretty much rusted out almost immediatly. My metal builds that rusted were all painted with rustoleum brand paint. Complete junk for a near water application. A complete tank with steel sheet like you describe in mild steel is almost doomed from the start without proper prep work. It is very very hard to get anything to stick to steel and the whole inside would need to be grinded with a wire brush to prep the surface. Any bowing creates paint cracking so rubber paint may work best, def take the time to test some products it will do you well in the end. I also do airbrushing for a living so ive painted just about every type of surface out there and some products just dont work, dont get discuraged ur idea is very possible. Use what you have on hand and anything/material you can get your hands on at a cheap price. Goodluck!

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