Starting tank build.

[The stig]

Hi everybody.

I am starting a tank buil soon to house a some large south american fish.

The tank will be 8 foot (L) x 4 foot (W) x 3 foot (H),

I will be using wood as the main base for the tank then fiber glassing it, ive seen a member on here with the same idea.

Ive made some drawings on my laptop to show you what it will be like when finshed (please there not the best and i am clueless on computers)
i will attach these to this post.

I will be needing to buying the fillters , im not sure what to use as the stand for this im thinking bricks of some sort.

I am still thinking of what to stock it with , but this is not on my mind that much at this moment im more botherd about building the tank, and ideas for stock would be great , i will be buying the wood in about 1 weeks time then i will start the build , the only reason ive posted earl is that im after help and advice before i start as i dont want to mess things and then not being able to fix them.

Also any good types of fillering pads that i could use ,sponges ,ect... would be help full .

I will be useing metal braces what are a "L" shape to hold the sides of the wood togeather with screws aswell and some strong glue i just to lay carpets down with then i will be needing to get the fiber glass from some where , im thinking about building the tank first then worry about the fillteration builing for the tank.

Well anyway any advice is welcome,
Meany thanks
Dave and Katt.

 

[The stig]

Almost forgot ,
What size wood would you reocmmend to hold the weight of this ?

And i would think this tank to last atleast 15 years so any advice would be great.

Thanks
Dave.

 

[greenterra]

Almost forgot ,
What size wood would you reocmmend to hold the weight of this ?

And i would think this tank to last atleast 15 years so any advice would be great.

Thanks
Dave.

For this reason I would suggest Bote Cote or West Systems Epoxy.
http://boatcraft.com.au/botecote.html
http://www.westsystem.com/ss/

Both are great products but I find Bote Cote a little easier to work with and a little more forgiving in the mix ratio. It is also free of Amine blush. I don't know your location but both can be purchased internationally and online.

Also, I dont know if you have ever used it but Google Sketchup is a great free program to use for designing your project in 3D. http://sketchup.google.com/
Hope this helps some.

 

[The stig]

For this reason I would suggest Bote Cote or West Systems Epoxy.
http://boatcraft.com.au/botecote.html
http://www.westsystem.com/ss/

Both are great products but I find Bote Cote a little easier to work with and a little more forgiving in the mix ratio. It is also free of Amine blush. I don't know your location but both can be purchased internationally and online.

Also, I dont know if you have ever used it but Google Sketchup is a great free program to use for designing your project in 3D. http://sketchup.google.com/
Hope this helps some.

Thanks for the info mate , ive pm'd you , we've talked ill come to your for questions lol .

And im in the UK , i should be abel to find some of that stuff just going to be working on the base for the tank very soon , so ill leave these for a whille but aslong as its good stuff ill be happy with it .

And ive got a freind whos getting me my wood from his work place so i will be cheap, should be a good deal on that im looking to pay around £100-£200 for this stuff, there will be a lot of it .

Im going for some pices that are
10 or so x 36" (L) x 10" (W) x 10"(D) THse will be the main structure or the tank like yours was built.
20 or so x 36" (L) x 8" (W) x 8" (D) these will be around the main bits to make it even stronger.
50 or so x 48" (L) x 4 (W) x 4" (D)these will be around the main pieces, like small supports but lots of them, i have the picture in my head , thats all what matters at this moment also i will build the main part of the tank just the main 4 conections and then post a picture to see how its going.

ive got a lot of work buddy that can help me with this if i buy them a beer lol.

hopfeuly beacuse im crap at explaing , the pictures when ive started will help.

im going to find out where to get the glass from aswell ive heard of a good shop around my area (5 milles away) , that dose glass so i will get them to do mine , ill be looking for something thick like 1 inch (mabey a little less).

and illl try that site twomorrow as i havent the time at this moment , i will be making a place in the garage for this build , so i will sort that out in the day twomorrow.

I need to go out and buy a saw yet lol , i would have much chance of sucseding with out it , also some screws and nails , ive got a hammer and screw driver got glue and electric screw drive , just need some "L" shaped metal bars and the wood and i will be off building.

thanks anyway.
Dave

PS>>... any other info would be great buy any one eles .

 

[The stig]

Right the wood is orderd , just waiting for it all to be cut to sizes , and to make sure i have everything right then i will start the build and get some pictures up.
Thanks
Dave.