Food For Thought

[ercnan]

Food for thought and opinions welcomed.
Been doing some thinking folks. Yeah, it hurts too.
Lets hear opinions on a couple options.
Firstly, my stepson flew the coop a few weeks back and his former bedroom in the basement is open for use (currently just used for storage of excess "sh..tuff")
Secondly, a plywood tank is the first thought, and to cut costs even further (think working poor here ) thoughts of using the current 125 front and back glass have entered my brain, small though it may be.
So, having said that, here are the 2 options I came up with in my feeble thought processes.
1.) a 6x4 box using the 2 125 glasses on both sides for viewing, with tubes for filters on the ends (think room divider).
2.) an L shaped tank with the 2 125 glasses joined in the inside corner, 4 ft deep (front to back) and positioned in a corner of the room. Or an L shape on my forehead may be more suitable.

Option 2 would obviously be the larger in terms of gallons, but would be more costly and take up more space.
Excuse my limited artistic and design skills, but here's a rough (very) idea that is most assuredly NOT to scale.
The height would be the same as a 125 so the glass thickness will be enough, but the other wood dimensions would be actually bigger to provide a "gluing" surface for the glass. The inside corner in the L shape would be a simple siliconed joint at the glass intersection supported at top and bottom by wodden frames instead of plastic.
Construction methods would be borrowed from wooden boat building techniques (i.e. stitch and glue/fiberglass and resin composite "sandwich")
Basically glued,screwed, and sealed with epoxy, drylock, etc.

Photobucket is currently down, so later I'll post a crude drawing of the ideas to give a better visual.

 

[ercnan]

Crude drawing.

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[Mystix212]

You'd get better use out of the L design. When you think of it, you'd have 12ft of territory as opposed to a single 6ft, deep tank. How would it cost more than the 6x4?
Option 2 gives you over 500 gallons, whereas option 1 only allows you to have 250G.

 

[ercnan]

You'd get better use out of the L design. When you think of it, you'd have 12ft of territory as opposed to a single 6ft, deep tank. How would it cost more than the 6x4?
Option 2 gives you over 500 gallons, whereas option 1 only allows you to have 250G.

Well, it would cost more for the "L" because it would require 2 1/2 sheets of wood for the bottom, and 1 1/2 sheets for the back, the cutoffs from the bottom can be used for the sides or ends in this case. Not to mention the extra framing lumber to support it on a stand, a canopy, and exterior materiels and equipment for both.
The viewing panes will be 6 feet each, but the floor space would be 4x10 on one leg, and 4x6 on the other.
Whereas the 4x6 tank would only need one sheet for the botom, and again, use the cutoff for the sides or ends. Plus less of everything else to support it.
How do figure only 12 feet with the L ?
I figured 16 linear. 10 feet on one leg, and 6 on the other.
Or 64 square feet. 4x10=40, and 4x6=24.
The garf site estimates 878g's at 22" height for the "L", and 329 for the box.
The "L" with hold more than 2.5 times the volume of the box, so I can only assume it will take more than 2.5 times the structure to support it.
I think cost could easily be triple for the "L" as opposed to the box.

 

[basslover34]

Give yourself the Step-son is gone gift that you want Go Big but take your time in getting it done... no need to incure that type of expense quickly

I've been thinking about doing something big to but using a 55 for the glass .... I've come to the conclusion that I need to just wait till i come across the right deal on something larger or else i know I'll just build another one later....that is what would make the cost jump ... at least for me LOL

 

[Wolf3101]

I understand working poor but IMO your better off in the long run using the space to the greatest advantage. By that, I'm talking about starting the tank you WANT rather than what you can afford AT THE MOMENT. Take it slow and worry about the glass pannels when you have the rest finished. A built in unit like your talking about should be AT LEAST 1000 to 1200 gallons to make it worth doing in the first place.

It's also nice when you can take advantage of whole sheets of plywood...(hint hint)

 

[ercnan]

Give yourself the Step-son is gone gift that you want Go Big but take your time in getting it done... no need to incure that type of expense quickly

I've been thinking about doing something big to but using a 55 for the glass .... I've come to the conclusion that I need to just wait till i come across the right deal on something larger or else i know I'll just build another one later....that is what would make the cost jump ... at least for me LOL

LOL, Thanks basslover.
The gift has already been received. Quiet, no bumpin', humpin', jumpin', "music" reverberating (bouncin'?) through the house from downstairs.
I'm not in hurry to build this monster aside from the fact that if he decides to come back, right now I just have to move the stored stuff elsewhere, if the space is filled with un-movable Aquarium, he's SOL.
Better get off here and go buy some wood huh ?

 

[ercnan]

I understand working poor but IMO your better off in the long run using the space to the greatest advantage. By that, I'm talking about starting the tank you WANT rather than what you can afford AT THE MOMENT. Take it slow and worry about the glass pannels when you have the rest finished. A built in unit like your talking about should be AT LEAST 1000 to 1200 gallons to make it worth doing in the first place.

Thanks Wolf, and I agree. I'm not going to rush really, just trying to look ahead some. A smaller tank would be faster, cheaper, and easier, but would it satisfy me ? For a little while I guess, then I'd be thinking, "Damn I could have built a bigger tank in here."
The room is only roughly 12x12, so building this "L" shape would take up just about 2/3rd's of the space. Only room left for a chair, foot rest, beer rest (table), and laptop.

 

[Wolf3101]

This is MONSTER fishkeepers DUDE....start thinking in terms of the ENTIRE room bieng the tank...give that kid a REAL hint.... Leave a strip along the back for servacing...if your gonna be a Bear....be a GRIzzzzzzly

 

[basslover34]

LOL, Thanks basslover.
The gift has already been received. Quiet, no bumpin', humpin', jumpin', "music" reverberating (bouncin'?) through the house from downstairs.
I'm not in hurry to build this monster aside from the fact that if he decides to come back, right now I just have to move the stored stuff elsewhere, if the space is filled with un-movable Aquarium, he's SOL.
Better get off here and go buy some wood huh ?

LMAO Well as my dad used to say ... pitter patter get at er!