How Thick?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
kntrygrl4lyfe;1331148; said:
No I wouldnt fill it to the tip top. I was probably going to have a half a foot to a foot at the top that was going to be a wood frame. Im going to fill it to the top of the glass though.

I was wanting to put the filtering system under it if I could.

What would I have to do with the floor? Its cement right now.
Click to expand...

Pretty much the same question John asked. I drilled into my slab down 6-8" to see how thick the slab was. I asked around, talked to a structural engineer, heard a bunch of different opinions, threw most of the suggestions out the window and poured an additional 4" slab on top of the existing slab for a total floor slab thickness of about a foot.

My tank sat full for a while with no visible stress to the surrounding existing structure. All that said though, you might have different soil compaction, slab density etc. Mine is also against an exterior wall, vs. in the middle of a room or anything so it's got a footer under it to help.

There are a lot of variables, and this whole project isn't something that there is a set of instructions for. There is no "cookie cutter" 1200-5000 gallon tank design. You basically have to use judgment and make an educated guess as to what will work. Most important, is to think it out thoroughly. A structural engineer or consultant may help a bit if they've got any experience with things like this, but they're hard to come by.

Listen to John's advice, and others on the forum and elsewhere who have been through a similar project. Don't take the word of people who haven't attempted anything like this too serious.
 
Yeah, that's what I was going to do, just go with what we feel would be better. I just wanted to know the thickness of the wood mainly. I didnt want to get something to thin. Thanks everyone for the replys, Im going to have to keep ya'll updated when I start getting everything. Im so excited about this.
 
Good luck with your project. I'm trying to sort out all the details to do something similar.
 
St. Pete
 
ok so Ive gotten a few different things on the glass, someone mentioned plexi glass to me today. Would this work as well? will it be clear to look through?
 
reading this with interest as i'm starting a project similar, i am using concrete block to build a 9 x4x4' tank with full window at the front, its located in the garage on a concrete base so not sure if i plan to raisit or have it floor level, not sure about the sealer(whats available over here) but look forward to reading progress/plans
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom