If you are going to be using Sweetwater or Pond Armor you will not need to fiberglass around the viewing window frame unless that something you just feel trhe need to do. I was saying that when using LR (liquid rubber) you need to put fiberglass resin around the viewing window because LR does not stick to silicone or glass so you need a material to bridge the LR and silicone.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT....
- Thread starter ronp327
- Start date
I got you. to tell you the truth i don't even think i'm that far yet..LOL
so much running thru my head to think about...baby steps i guess.
so much running thru my head to think about...baby steps i guess.
You can't go 5' deep with 1" acrylic regardless of whether the windows are 36" tall. It can ONLY be 36" deep with 1" acrylic.
nolapete;4336985; said:
yes that was wishfull thinking.
i have already got my price on the 2 sheets of 2x8x2" cast.
quite a bit more but it is what it is right!
nolapete;4336985; said:
You could, if the 36" windows were at the top of the tank, and you had 24" of plywood below the window right? The pressure to use in the thickness calculation I think is the pressure at the bottom of the window, not the bottom of the tank.
Not that you'd really want to do that, but I think I am going to have a small section of plywood at the bottom of my my window (when I finish the million page honey-do list and can start working on projects *i* want to work on) so i don't have to stare at the cross-section of substrate.
ronp327;4307158; said:Hey everyone,
I have been talking to Pete a little about a build that i am thinking of doing and i thought i would get some ideas.
First off if i can pull off the space in the basement i want to build something along these lines.
24' long x 12' wide x 5' tall ( yeah i'm crazy)
Crazy in the best way though! 24' x 12' x 5' = 288" x 144" x 60" = 2,488,320 cubic inches of water volume. 2,488,320 cu. in. divided by 231 = 10,772 U.S. Gallons of water volume. This is insanely intense stupid crazy. The best kind!
i want 2 viewing windows both in the front that are 3' tall x 8' long
i would space them 2 foot off each side with a 4 foot gap in the middle and 6 inches off the bottom of the tank..(not the actual floor)
o.k here is where you come in.
i'm still planing integrity of the structure so please input.
second i'm going to use cell cast acrylic ( will 1" do the job?)
No, I don't believe 1 inch will work. Your viewing window being 3 ft. in height, 1.5 inches thick is good. Anything greater than 3 ft. in height I'd go 2.0 inches thick.
You mentioned later in your thread you were going to downsize a bit. 22 ft. x 8 ft. x 6 ft. = 264 inches x 96 inches x 72 inches = 1,824,768 cubic inches in water volume. Divide 1,824,768 cu. in. by 231= 7,900 US Gallons in water volume. 231 is a "constant" number used when calculating cubic inches into US Gallons. That's a but load of water to hold back. Multiply that by 8.5 lbs. per gallon = 67,145.14286 lbs of water weight. Just a few ounces of weight there wouldn't you say? hahaha.
i think i will use pond coat like Pete. I don't know about how or why Pete did this so I am not going to reply to this.
3/4 inch plywood on everything
Excellent idea. 1/2 is too thin. 3/4" 5 ply may be okay to use, but 7 or 9 ply plywood is better. 7 or 9 ply is stronger plywood as well.
framing still not determined
As for your framing, I would use Pressure Treated 2x6 for plates against the floor surface for moisture and dry rotting. Nominal 2x6 for bottom and top plates and studs spaced 10" O.C. for verticle framimg and support of the 3/4" plywood walls. Nothing more or less.
o.k debate here.. should i fiberglass the whole thing first or not?
before the pond coat of coarse.
I would frame with 2x6 as mentioned above, glue and screw my 3/4' plywood in place, glue and screw in backerboard a.k.a. concrete board, tape and pond armour all joints and corners of backerboard, fiberglass around the viewing window frames ONLY, make holes for plumbing (filtration and possibly circulation), pond armour all backerboard surfaces, joint and seams (edging up to the fibreglass carefully), let dry. Apply a second coat of pond armour, let dry. Install all plumbing and heating fixtures and devices, windows, and then leak test. Not only for windows, joints and seams but plumbing leaks as well. If leak tests proves absolutely no leaks, then proceed to the end, finish it up, sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
keep in mind these dimensions could change alot if i can't pull out the space but i would still like to stay around 5,000 gal.
If you plan on staying around 5,000 US Gallons, I think you may want to recalculate you dimmensions.
The formula which I have ALWAYS used is:
L x W x H (in inches) = water volume in cubic inches. Take your Cu. Inches and divide by 231 = water volume in US Gallons.
If the end volume comes out beyond the decimal point (i.e. 7,899.428571), round up to the nearest gallon (i.e. 7,900). Even if your calculations come to 7,899.5 gallons always round up to the closest gallon. I makes it easier to use a whole number when doing calculations for pipe plumbing diameter size and for calculating the size of pump(s) needed for your tank.
thanks in advance for your input.
now fire away!!!!
Godd luck and hope you have much success with your build.
~ David
