DIY Metal Framed Tank?!?

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V

verruckt

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 3, 2010
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Tennessee
ok, first off, this will be my first DIY tank. i have noticed that alot of people who build out of plywood are concerned with whether the whole thing will hold up or not. what i'm wanting to do (since im a metal fabricator by heart ne ways) is take 3" x 1/8" angle bar to build the main frame (top, bottom, and side bracings) wish i had a picture to use just as an example. just think of it as a metal framed box. 6' long, 3.5' wide 3.5' tall. (if anyone knows about how many gallons that will be plz lemme know. after its all welded up drill small holes every 3" or so to bolt 3/4" plywood for the sides and back. still not sure what i want to use for the bottom. either plywood or a 1/2" sheet of steel (will figure that out @ some point i guess - remember, this project is in the design phase, not building phase yet) once everything is bolted up, or welded, up all nice and neat. then im wanting to go threw, and do about 3 layers or fiberglass mat on the whole inside, and outside. for one, i want to protect the metal and welds from any elements it might face, for 2 to water proof the whole thing inside and out, and three, just a little more strenght for the hell of it. then i have to figure out if i want to use glass or plexyglass. :confused: probably 3/8" either way.

im pretty sure everything will be water tight, and the strenght of the hole thing will never be an issue. my onlyother concern is the weight of it all, when finished, trimmed, and full of water and fish. i want to put it upstairs in my house but may have to put it down here in the den since it has a concrete foundation. last thing i need is thousands of pounds of water and stuff crashing threw the floor.


well, thats my half-ass plan for now, im always up for suggestions in this, like i said before this will be my FIRST DIY tank.

i will try to draw up a general idea in my CAD program soon and post it.

if anyone has pictures of something like this post em up or email pics, suggestions, etc.. to verrucktownezu@hotmail.com put subject as "MFK metal tank" - i get alot of spam mail and delete stuff if i dont know what it is.

THANKS
:headbang2VERRUCKT:headbang2
 
http://s916.photobucket.com/albums/ad10/verrucktownezu/

here are some "rough draft" pics i did. they show a pretty general idea to what im talking about on above post.
tank1.jpg
 
tank4.jpg



keep in mind that all this will be welded, and bolted or riveted together...and covered in 3-4 layers of fiberglass inside and out. . everything inside the tank will be flush - couldn't do it in that program i used....well probably could but not worth fighting with it.
 
my dad had this same idea when i talked to him about building my 300g ply tank. let me know how it goes. you might be trend setter
 
Being a sheetmetal worker/fabrictor myself for many a year i will be making the base frame and frame for my 9 ft x 4.5ft x32" high and maybe lining with ply then having a glassfibre chap to come and line it for me.
Il be using 2"x1" 3mm wall box section for mine as i doubt that angle will be strong enough on your design and will definitely bow.

All my tank frames have been made by myself from 30x30 x3mm wall box section but as the new one will be considerably bigger ive gone bigger on the box and maybe use 50 x30 if i can get it cheap enough.
I will have the main four corners and bottom and top and then brace it every 8" on the bottom back and sides and then two or more likely 3 support bars bolted front to back once the glass is in.
look forward to seeing how yours goes as i think you will be finished yours before i even start ours as weve got to build the extension first lol.
Just thought id give you a bit of info ,hope it helps mate.

I think you need to rethink the angle though buddy but keep us posted .

cheers steve
 
Sounds like a good idea. On some plywood builds on I've seen on the reef forums people have laminated angle iron into the top bracing of the front for extra rigidity. Same sort of idea, but in that case the iron is working with a lot of additional wood bracing, not supporting the top all by itself. I think your plan is a good start but would be improved by adding an additional wood eurobrace around the top edge so the metal isn't doing all the work. You might also want to add some metal ribs running up and down the plywood faces to prevent them from bowing out.

Also, 3/8" thick glass will not be suitable for a tank those dimensions. You probably want at least 3/4", maybe more. If you wanted to do acrylic I'm not sure of thickness, but you're probably looking at around 1.25".
 
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