It's been a while since I've posted!
I'm just finishing up a 1700 gallon Amazonian exhibit at work, and until I begin the final stocking, I wanted a growout tank at my house to begin raising up some rays in. Since ill be moving in a year or so, and the pond will be in my basement, there was no sense in making something sexy and elaborate, it just has to be functional! The frame is also composed of 4 main side panels screwed together with Timberlok lag screws, so it's easy to disassemble. The outer dimensions are 93" by 55" by 25" high. Also, to save money, I made the entire frame out of scrap 2 by 4's I had in my garage. As far as the pond itself, I only had to purchase 2 - 1/2" plywood sheets, liner, screws, and 2 sheets of 1" plus 1 sheet of 1/2" foam insulation. (1/2" was doubled up to create a 1" piece for a side of the pond, saving me from having to buy a more expensive 1" sheet and having more waste.) The insulation is to protect the liner from any sharp imperfections in the wood but mainly to save money heating it. The pond has no bottom and sits directly on the vinyl tile which is on a cold concrete slab. Thankfully the pond is in my old snake breeeding room (snakes now at a separate facility) and the walls and ceiling are well insulated. As far as humidity problems with an open top pond go, I have my dehumidifier set up from when the reptiles were in there, and it drains directly into the slop sink in the room. I'm working on filtration and plumbing now!
I'm just finishing up a 1700 gallon Amazonian exhibit at work, and until I begin the final stocking, I wanted a growout tank at my house to begin raising up some rays in. Since ill be moving in a year or so, and the pond will be in my basement, there was no sense in making something sexy and elaborate, it just has to be functional! The frame is also composed of 4 main side panels screwed together with Timberlok lag screws, so it's easy to disassemble. The outer dimensions are 93" by 55" by 25" high. Also, to save money, I made the entire frame out of scrap 2 by 4's I had in my garage. As far as the pond itself, I only had to purchase 2 - 1/2" plywood sheets, liner, screws, and 2 sheets of 1" plus 1 sheet of 1/2" foam insulation. (1/2" was doubled up to create a 1" piece for a side of the pond, saving me from having to buy a more expensive 1" sheet and having more waste.) The insulation is to protect the liner from any sharp imperfections in the wood but mainly to save money heating it. The pond has no bottom and sits directly on the vinyl tile which is on a cold concrete slab. Thankfully the pond is in my old snake breeeding room (snakes now at a separate facility) and the walls and ceiling are well insulated. As far as humidity problems with an open top pond go, I have my dehumidifier set up from when the reptiles were in there, and it drains directly into the slop sink in the room. I'm working on filtration and plumbing now!
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