New Concrete Tank Build - planning and research stage

[Egon]

I wouldn't mess with any type of metal frame. Do you know of any free program I could use to draw the way I would do it to show you.

So the acrylic would be sealed right to the cement?

Alrighty then. Let me know when you need a hand at anything man, always willing to help out. We can recruit Mike and a couple cases of beer and break out the hammers!

It's going to be a couple "phases". First will be the garage with a super thick slab and rebar poking out of the ground for future walls. This will happen next April after tax season.

The following year, hopefully, will be the tank build.

Of course this is all pending approval by the city to extend my current garage. I'm not going to mention the in door pond part.

As long as the contractors pour your garage floor properly (im assuming its a floating slab) then there wouldn't be an issues with the strength of the floor. I personally would want to throw on a few layers so some kind of sealer so I can choose the background colour and to be sure it never leaked. that way you could also do it in two pours and not worry about seams leaking. I would plan out the walls for the tank while pouring the garage floor and have rebar installed through the floor and in place to hold the aquarium walls better should you choose to do it that way. I do garage floors 6" thick and 12" thick around the parameter (about 12" wide) with proper rebar and wire mesh (or fibermesh in the concrete and that will hold dump trucks just fine. No way your aquarium will be an issue

Sent from my GT-I9100M using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

So "floating slab" is good? Got it. My largest area of concern is the floor. I don't want the slab to crack or somehow sink under the weight of the tank causing the whole garage to lean/tilt. The more info you send my way the better. I need some of the vocabulary to understand and ask intelligent questions. Also more info on the foundation. I understand about footers and support needed under the walls of the garage but what about footers under the walls of the tank. How about under the tank? Would that need to be thicker than the rest of the slab? or should the whole slab be thicker than an average garage floor?

Thanks everyone for your help and questions.

 

[AdzyHany]

Floating slab means no footings. As long as the contractors dig all of the top soil out and back fill with A-gravel and plate pack it, you will be good. floating slabs aren't better, however if done properly you won't have an issue. Make sure to stock around while they are pouring and listen to the concrete crew talking about the cement they are using. The cement companys that we use tend to send the wrong mix a lot. if the concrete sets up too fast it can crack (that does not mean your floor will break or sink, but a floor shouldn't crack in the first few years) if you are still thinking you would want to spend a little more to have a stronger floor, the ready mix company will have different mixes and they might have something stronger then what they might send if you don't ask. I just poured a garage this morning and im just waiting for it to set so I can put a finish on it lol. I can't think of any more advice off the top of my head. Any more questions just ask here or pm me. Ill be checking this thread out every once and a while

Sent from my GT-I9100M using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[Egon]

AdzyHany thanks for your response. I'm concerned about the floor cracking part. What if it cracks under the tank portion of the slab? I was thinking the garage floor would be the bottom of the tank. I would have the floor pored with the rebar sticking out where the walls of the tank would be pored next. Should I have the bottom of the tank pored on top of the slab so the tank is actually separate from the garage?

I got a guy coming out next week for a quote on just the garage (not talking about the fish tank yet) I need plans sent to the city for approval to see if I can even put a garage in or not?

 

[Andyroo]

Pop into the local pool-makers and ask a few questions- they have a bunch of options for sealing large areas of concrete. In this economy you might be able to strike an off-season bargain as well.
It's Arizona, so look into solar water-heaters- they'll work fine approaching freezing so long as the sun is shining.
Or Geothermal? Or if money is an issue just black irrigation pipe snaking over your roof.
Also look into solar pool-pumps. Maybe pressure-filter in the day and air-drive in the night... i write this down and it sounds stupid, particularly as these pump systems are really costly.
I love the idea of in-substrate heating.

Have you thought about doing a greenhouse-wall/atrium and heating the whole space? It'd be a bit hot&humid for the car & lawnmower, but you'd get some lovely tomatoes on Christmas morning breakfast: "Only two things that money can't buy, and that's true love and home-grown termaters" -Guy Clark

Subscribed.

 

[AdzyHany]

You can order waterproof concrete from some cement companies but I wouldn't trust it. Id build the garage as any other. Then once you want to do your fish tank, drill holes and sledge hammer rebar into the holes for the walls of type tank then pour the walls. Id do it all in regular concrete then seal it with liquid rubber or epoxy after. That way cracks won't effect it.

Sent from my GT-I9100M using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[Egon]

Right on! Thanks. I was hoping I would get some one with concrete experience to say that. I didn't want to wait 6 months or a year with rebar sticking out of the floor and also be committed to a specific size tank. After the garage is built I can really get in there and plan for the tank.

Edit: Typical thickness on the floor? or should I ask for the floor to be thicker than typical?

 

[PGill]

Hey Egon I played around with that google sketch a little bit but I didn't have much luck. On the tanks that I built we formed a depression all the way around the window blockout for the acrylic to sit in. I didn't install the window itself but yes it was sealed to the concrete after it was coated. There's lots of concrete epoxys available, google concrete counter tops and you should be able to find lots of products. If it was me I would have the garage floor built with an extra footing where the walls will be then when the time comes poor a floating slab on top with the wall rebar sticking out. If you did it this way you could do one monolithic poor and do the walls and bottom all at once.

 

[AdzyHany]

The outside parameter will be very thick but as for the center of the floor, 4" is fine but if you feel like your ever going to store a backhoe of 18 wheeler then go 6". Ill post a picture of a floating slab garage I did this morning (yes I took a picture of it just to post on here lol)

Sent from my GT-I9100M using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[AdzyHany]

Once that last form was up, we bent rebar and laid it around the deep parameter and tied it all together and laid wire down for the rest of the floor. If you want even stronger floor, ditch the wire and get fibermesh concrete
Sent from my GT-I9100M using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[AdzyHany]

Who ever is doing the concrete will know how much rebar you need and how it needs to be laid. When they are pouring, make sure they lift the wire and rebar up into the concrete so its not just under the concrete.

Sent from my GT-I9100M using MonsterAquariaNetwork App