DIY ~700-900G tank idea
- Thread starter bridgenewb
- Start date
UPDATE:
I have overhauled the design in a few ways: (see pic below)
-Opted to have the turtle area above the main tank to remove the wasted space and increasing the water volume to the full 670 gal
-Removed the waterfall incase I decide to put a CO2 system (thanks fishguy306)
Now it's down to the more fine tuning points, hopefully some of you can help me with this again
When i was drawing this up I stacked 2 2x4s along the bottom to be screwed into the plywood base to make a lip for the glass to be push against by the water and to make additional sealing surface using silicone. Since the force will be horizontal and equally distributed across the whole lip all that stress would be sheer stress on the screws & glue holding the 2x4s to the plywood, not the wood itself, so should i not be able to get away with 2x2s? this would allow for another 4 inches in width in my tank!
Also do i actually need to stack 2 2x4s (or 2x2s) to make 3" of sealing surface in addition to the 3/4" where the glass sits on the base? I figure i should be able to get away with just one (1.5").
Once i get these questions answered and my design updated i can start planning out plumbing! Already got 2 pages of notes typed out lol
Thanks everyone on their input!
Side note: I got the glass and the metal stand priced out: 19mm glass is $29 CAD/sq. ft (1.5" acrylic was almost double) and a custom metal base made from plain steel unpainted will run me 300-350. so whole thing will run me 4.5-5k I'm thinking.
I have overhauled the design in a few ways: (see pic below)
-Opted to have the turtle area above the main tank to remove the wasted space and increasing the water volume to the full 670 gal
-Removed the waterfall incase I decide to put a CO2 system (thanks fishguy306)
Now it's down to the more fine tuning points, hopefully some of you can help me with this again
When i was drawing this up I stacked 2 2x4s along the bottom to be screwed into the plywood base to make a lip for the glass to be push against by the water and to make additional sealing surface using silicone. Since the force will be horizontal and equally distributed across the whole lip all that stress would be sheer stress on the screws & glue holding the 2x4s to the plywood, not the wood itself, so should i not be able to get away with 2x2s? this would allow for another 4 inches in width in my tank!
Also do i actually need to stack 2 2x4s (or 2x2s) to make 3" of sealing surface in addition to the 3/4" where the glass sits on the base? I figure i should be able to get away with just one (1.5").
Once i get these questions answered and my design updated i can start planning out plumbing! Already got 2 pages of notes typed out lol
Thanks everyone on their input!
Side note: I got the glass and the metal stand priced out: 19mm glass is $29 CAD/sq. ft (1.5" acrylic was almost double) and a custom metal base made from plain steel unpainted will run me 300-350. so whole thing will run me 4.5-5k I'm thinking.
I dont know why, but it glitched and put my reply to post on page two so here it is again: (if someone knows a mod send one this way!)
UPDATE:
I have overhauled the design in a few ways: (see pic below)
-Opted to have the turtle area above the main tank to remove the wasted space and increasing the water volume to the full 670 gal
-Removed the waterfall incase I decide to put a CO2 system (thanks fishguy306)
Now it's down to the more fine tuning points, hopefully some of you can help me with this again
When i was drawing this up I stacked 2 2x4s along the bottom to be screwed into the plywood base to make a lip for the glass to be push against by the water and to make additional sealing surface using silicone. Since the force will be horizontal and equally distributed across the whole lip all that stress would be sheer stress on the screws & glue holding the 2x4s to the plywood, not the wood itself, so should i not be able to get away with 2x2s? this would allow for another 4 inches in width in my tank!
Also do i actually need to stack 2 2x4s (or 2x2s) to make 3" of sealing surface in addition to the 3/4" where the glass sits on the base? I figure i should be able to get away with just one (1.5").
Once i get these questions answered and my design updated i can start planning out plumbing! Already got 2 pages of notes typed out lol
Thanks everyone on their input!
Side note: I got the glass and the metal stand priced out: 19mm glass is $29 CAD/sq. ft (1.5" acrylic was almost double) and a custom metal base made from plain steel unpainted will run me 300-350. so whole thing will run me 4.5-5k I'm thinking.
UPDATE:
I have overhauled the design in a few ways: (see pic below)
-Opted to have the turtle area above the main tank to remove the wasted space and increasing the water volume to the full 670 gal
-Removed the waterfall incase I decide to put a CO2 system (thanks fishguy306)
Now it's down to the more fine tuning points, hopefully some of you can help me with this again
When i was drawing this up I stacked 2 2x4s along the bottom to be screwed into the plywood base to make a lip for the glass to be push against by the water and to make additional sealing surface using silicone. Since the force will be horizontal and equally distributed across the whole lip all that stress would be sheer stress on the screws & glue holding the 2x4s to the plywood, not the wood itself, so should i not be able to get away with 2x2s? this would allow for another 4 inches in width in my tank!
Also do i actually need to stack 2 2x4s (or 2x2s) to make 3" of sealing surface in addition to the 3/4" where the glass sits on the base? I figure i should be able to get away with just one (1.5").
Once i get these questions answered and my design updated i can start planning out plumbing! Already got 2 pages of notes typed out lol
Thanks everyone on their input!
Side note: I got the glass and the metal stand priced out: 19mm glass is $29 CAD/sq. ft (1.5" acrylic was almost double) and a custom metal base made from plain steel unpainted will run me 300-350. so whole thing will run me 4.5-5k I'm thinking.
My biggest concern with using smaller lumber is just cracking it when attaching it to the base. If you can get the 2x2 attached crack free You should be fine I imagine, so long as it is very secure to the plywood. Keep in mind, at least in the US, not sure about canada, lumber is not the dims it is sold as, so a 2x4 is actually 1.5x3.5. Your 2x2 will only be 1.5x1.5. And to be honest after writing that, that small would make me nervous. I'd forgo the extra 3" you'd get and go with the 2x4.
I would imagine you could get away with one row across the bottom to hold the window, however since you dont want breaks in the support for the window I would do two rows high, that way where you are butting a couple 2x4s together you can put another solid one across the top of it, lessening the chance of a weak spot. Yeah it will be 1.5" less of window space, but in my mind I'd rather do that than risk it. Again, it would probably be fine but I like to take the better safe than sorry approach.
I would imagine you could get away with one row across the bottom to hold the window, however since you dont want breaks in the support for the window I would do two rows high, that way where you are butting a couple 2x4s together you can put another solid one across the top of it, lessening the chance of a weak spot. Yeah it will be 1.5" less of window space, but in my mind I'd rather do that than risk it. Again, it would probably be fine but I like to take the better safe than sorry approach.
Everything will be predrilled to greatly reduce the risk of cracking and yes, I am aware of carpenter (true) dimensions. i've decided to go with 3x3 (2.5x1.5 actual) for along the bottom of the window and the rest of the structure will be 2x3s spaced every 4" vertically. Reasoning is because 2x2s and 2x3s only have a $0.50/ft difference yet 2x3s and 2x4s have a $1.05/ft. Wierd.
NEXT QUESTION! (lol)
I've started debating the value of turtles, I really like the unique aspect of having a turtle log with their own viewing window. BUT as I narrow down the list of fish I want I'm worried for the turtle's safety (ie their little arms and heads), keep in mind I will be putting in adult RESs ~9-10" long so they wont be outsized by any means. My new fish list is now looking like this:
1 Sailfin Pleco
1-2 Australian Lungfish
5 Bala Sharks
1 Glass knifefish
1 Datnoid
1 Arowanna
Which, if any, of these fish would be a threat to the turtles?
NEXT QUESTION! (lol)
I've started debating the value of turtles, I really like the unique aspect of having a turtle log with their own viewing window. BUT as I narrow down the list of fish I want I'm worried for the turtle's safety (ie their little arms and heads), keep in mind I will be putting in adult RESs ~9-10" long so they wont be outsized by any means. My new fish list is now looking like this:
1 Sailfin Pleco
1-2 Australian Lungfish
5 Bala Sharks
1 Glass knifefish
1 Datnoid
1 Arowanna
Which, if any, of these fish would be a threat to the turtles?
Honestly I think you are actually going about that backwards. What fish will be safe from the turtle is a better question. And honestly, very few. IMO you are crazy to put a $400 lungfish in with a turtle. Eventually that turtle will take a bit and may or may not kill the fish. Fish and turtles are a dangerous mix
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Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Yeah, the more i look at it the more I rather have the fish than the turtles i was just hoping since the fish are monsters/minimonsters they would be okay.
I used concrete blocks and rsj for my base, it's only 200 odd gal but it gives full span underneath. Loads of working space! I'm interested in these mixed media builds so I'm following so I can learn the bonding process etc.
(heres my stand)
https://flic.kr/p/gtvmnD
steels will come in all sizes, you should find something you can use!
blocks, steels (sand/cement) works out about the same cost as timber.
(heres my stand)
https://flic.kr/p/gtvmnD
steels will come in all sizes, you should find something you can use!
blocks, steels (sand/cement) works out about the same cost as timber.
Alas, my build will not start till the coming fall/winter as we are first redoing my whole lower floor which is bigger than it sounds cause we will be putting in a below grade walk-out, custom shelving, new flooring and refaceing our fireplace. Though when i do finally get to the tank I will be sure to post everything step by step.
PS newest itteration of the tank design has it up to 800 gallons because i decided to run it along the wall to save on usable floor space and save on glass.
PS newest itteration of the tank design has it up to 800 gallons because i decided to run it along the wall to save on usable floor space and save on glass.
