Poured Concrete Tank

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Dylema

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 28, 2010
31
0
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Adelaide, Australia
Hi Guys, This is really just a curiosity question I don't think I will make it myself but Has anyone made a poured reinforced concrete tank? here in Australia there are often very large concrete tanks on farms to hold bore water so I am sure it is quite possible. What are the pros and cons of poured concrete compared to ply-wood, fiberglass or concrete block tanks?

Dylan
 
Depending on local material costs they might cost a bit more to build but they will last forever. The larger the tank the more cost effective concrete becomes.

The thing that gets most people is if you just do a pond style you can do it cheap. But your looking down at the fish through the water surface. So not as satasfiing. If you add a window and do it deeper the glass will probably cost a ton for the size thickness you will need.


There have been many successful block or concrete builds. Just gotta seal the concrete and waterproof it with a fish safe materiel. Been done. Just google it or search here on MFK.
 
Thanks. I have had a look at some concrete block Koi ponds and that seems very doable but none with a window. They all seem to use thick reinforced concrete bases then blocks then waterproofing with fiberglass or other resins. I haven't seen any fully poured tanks. I would imagine that it would be stronger to have reinforced concrete walls too but maybe not necessary. Any thoughts?

Dylan
 
I plan to do something like this when I get my own place I have looked into the cost of aylic and found that a eight foot wide four foot tall sheet of two inch aylic goes for under $1400
 
There was a gentleman from Spain or Portugal with several poured concrete tanks. No windows. Pond style with only plants as primary filtration. You couldn't really see the fish till you pulled them out to go into standard glass aquariums indoors or to sell to others but they had AMAZING colors. But thats mostly due to his light plant thing going on then the tank itself.

Long story short. They work. Just seal them. Concrete is one of the easiest things to seal. Drylok is a good example and it's available at Ace hardware, Home Depot, Lowes.
 
Make sure you coat/seal the concrete. If not, it will allow lime and calcium to leach back into your water, messing with pH.

Also, over time, concrete pools can shift if not built right, causing them to crack.
 
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