Alright so I’m not sure if this the right place for this thread, but I’d really appreciate all your wisdoms as this is the first time I’ve done something like this.
OK so first off, the background of this project. My house has an enclosed deck that is walled off by glass on two sides, and the house wall on the third (please see photo). This space (internal) is 3m (10’) long and 1.4m (4’ 7”) wide. I’ve decided to reclaim this space from the spiders, turning it into a tranquil space with a raised goldfish tank/pond, with a seating area alongside so that I can relax in the evenings! As part of this build I will add a side viewing window so that I can view the fish from my bedroom window - which is halfway along the house wall. I’m pretty competent with DIY and building (experience with house renovations, building sheds etc), but have never built a tank like this.
I have two limiting factors in this project, the first being the weight of the tank – which I will easily remedy by adding two more concreted piles to support the deck under the tank. The second is the width of the space. My current plan is to have a 2.4m (8’) long by 600mm (2’) wide tank up against the outer edge, with a 600mm space for a DIY filter setup at the end (see hand drawn plan). The height depends on the construction materials I choose.
My first question is what should I build it out of? I could go the tried and tested 75x50 (3x2s) frame covered in plywood, but I have some other options that would be a lot cheaper for me (and would put less pressure on my marriage- my wife doesn’t have the same ‘vision’ as me and focusses more on the bank balance). I have a number of lengths of 200x50 tongue and groove retaining timber that I made my raised garden beds from. If I braced this twice (@800mm) along the length, would it take the pressure? Another option would be using 200x100 hardwood sleepers, however this would eat up 200mm of my limited 1400mm width just in timber (opposed to 100mm for the T&G).
Both of these build materials would add approx. 200mm height per ‘level’ (200 for the sleepers and 180 for the T&G), so with that in mind what height should I go to? 600mm (540mm T&G) or 800mm (720mm T&G)? This decision will make the biggest impact on tank volume really - will it make much difference to stocking numbers with goldfish?
My third question is about making it water tight. I’m thinking I’ll probably use a pond liner as this is the most cost effective method I can find, but I’m weighing up between double walled PVC liners and the more expensive EPDM liners. The PVC are “UV treated”, and it will get exposed to less UV light than an outdoor pond, so will the EPDM give me much realised benefit?
If I go with the T&G build I will likely make the glass viewing panel 800mm long so that it fits into the middle ‘third’ created by the bracing. If I go with either of the other two options I could use any length I wanted. I will likely have the glass start about 200mm up from the bottom of the tank so that I can keep the fish in if it leaks etc. Do you think I’ll regret not have the viewing window longer than a third of the tank length? I see it as another way of keeping costs down. If the glass goes to the top of the tank do I need to brace the glass on the top edge? Would you suggest capping it with wood/aluminium?
My final questions are around a DIY filter. I plan on making a bottom-up filter using a plastic container with a ‘waterfall’ outlet pipe back into the tank. Would a 50l container filled with bird netting/scrubbies/foam and whatever media I have left from my aquariums be enough for this tank with, say 10 shubunkins? If the tank is 1,000 to 1,200 litres should I be looking for a 3-4,000 litre pump?
I’ve also seen enough in forums to consider using a bottom drain on the tank too, even if I don’t use it for the pump/filtration.
There are a lot of questions here that I’d really appreciate some guidance with. Once I start building I will definitely do a build/progress post, I can’t wait to look out my bedroom window and see goldfish floating about lit up by LEDs, and above them the amazing view of the harbour! To be honest I'd rather keep more interesting fish, but I'm not sure the temperature would be constant enough.
OK so first off, the background of this project. My house has an enclosed deck that is walled off by glass on two sides, and the house wall on the third (please see photo). This space (internal) is 3m (10’) long and 1.4m (4’ 7”) wide. I’ve decided to reclaim this space from the spiders, turning it into a tranquil space with a raised goldfish tank/pond, with a seating area alongside so that I can relax in the evenings! As part of this build I will add a side viewing window so that I can view the fish from my bedroom window - which is halfway along the house wall. I’m pretty competent with DIY and building (experience with house renovations, building sheds etc), but have never built a tank like this.
I have two limiting factors in this project, the first being the weight of the tank – which I will easily remedy by adding two more concreted piles to support the deck under the tank. The second is the width of the space. My current plan is to have a 2.4m (8’) long by 600mm (2’) wide tank up against the outer edge, with a 600mm space for a DIY filter setup at the end (see hand drawn plan). The height depends on the construction materials I choose.
My first question is what should I build it out of? I could go the tried and tested 75x50 (3x2s) frame covered in plywood, but I have some other options that would be a lot cheaper for me (and would put less pressure on my marriage- my wife doesn’t have the same ‘vision’ as me and focusses more on the bank balance). I have a number of lengths of 200x50 tongue and groove retaining timber that I made my raised garden beds from. If I braced this twice (@800mm) along the length, would it take the pressure? Another option would be using 200x100 hardwood sleepers, however this would eat up 200mm of my limited 1400mm width just in timber (opposed to 100mm for the T&G).
Both of these build materials would add approx. 200mm height per ‘level’ (200 for the sleepers and 180 for the T&G), so with that in mind what height should I go to? 600mm (540mm T&G) or 800mm (720mm T&G)? This decision will make the biggest impact on tank volume really - will it make much difference to stocking numbers with goldfish?
My third question is about making it water tight. I’m thinking I’ll probably use a pond liner as this is the most cost effective method I can find, but I’m weighing up between double walled PVC liners and the more expensive EPDM liners. The PVC are “UV treated”, and it will get exposed to less UV light than an outdoor pond, so will the EPDM give me much realised benefit?
If I go with the T&G build I will likely make the glass viewing panel 800mm long so that it fits into the middle ‘third’ created by the bracing. If I go with either of the other two options I could use any length I wanted. I will likely have the glass start about 200mm up from the bottom of the tank so that I can keep the fish in if it leaks etc. Do you think I’ll regret not have the viewing window longer than a third of the tank length? I see it as another way of keeping costs down. If the glass goes to the top of the tank do I need to brace the glass on the top edge? Would you suggest capping it with wood/aluminium?
My final questions are around a DIY filter. I plan on making a bottom-up filter using a plastic container with a ‘waterfall’ outlet pipe back into the tank. Would a 50l container filled with bird netting/scrubbies/foam and whatever media I have left from my aquariums be enough for this tank with, say 10 shubunkins? If the tank is 1,000 to 1,200 litres should I be looking for a 3-4,000 litre pump?
I’ve also seen enough in forums to consider using a bottom drain on the tank too, even if I don’t use it for the pump/filtration.
There are a lot of questions here that I’d really appreciate some guidance with. Once I start building I will definitely do a build/progress post, I can’t wait to look out my bedroom window and see goldfish floating about lit up by LEDs, and above them the amazing view of the harbour! To be honest I'd rather keep more interesting fish, but I'm not sure the temperature would be constant enough.
