Just have an issue i've been thinking about recently. I'm building an 8'x4'x4' pond style thing for my rays and catfish. It totals out to 1000 gallons. I'm wondering if 2x4s will hold the pressure of 4 tons of water or if i should scrap the whole build and go with 2x6s(i already have the lumber cut and ready to go). Its just a basic rectangular "pond" with 4x4s on the corners and i was planning to use carriage bolts to anchor the walls to the 4x4s. Will 2x4s be good enough? thanks for the input.
Structural Integrity questions
- Thread starter Reincarnated
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There is a 1000+ gal build using only 2X4, somewhere on here, that was started a few years ago. Last I read, it was holding just fine.
Excellent, i thought it would be fine but figured i would check. I will go ahead and build it this weekend then. Thank you.
Plywood, 2x4's, fiberglass, and rubber epoxy work great. There are some builds on here that don't even use 2x4s and they hold just fine.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...f-DIY-plywood-tanks-(Load-Warning)-(1-Viewing)
greenterra has an amazing build that doesn't use 2x4's at all.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...3-Plywood-fiberglass-and-800-gallons-of-water
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...f-DIY-plywood-tanks-(Load-Warning)-(1-Viewing)
greenterra has an amazing build that doesn't use 2x4's at all.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...3-Plywood-fiberglass-and-800-gallons-of-water
I would build it like a house wall not sure if you intended to or not but insulate inbetween studs and plywood front and back
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Thanks for the links. I have cruised the DIY section a lot over the years just havent had much time lately. I appreciate it.
Thanks for the idea. I am planning on building it like a house with walls and insulating it. Im doing 2x4s with 4x4s on the corners. 3/4" Oak hardwood is the plywood im using on the inside, its finished on both sides. Very nice quality plywood. I havent decided what type of insulation to use but i will sheet the outside with some cheap plywood to hold the insulation in. Im not building it to be a show tank, more to serve a purpose. The swimming pool doesnt hold heat(the concrete floor just sucks all the heat out) and im trying to cut my electric bill down. My 16" male Azul has already died and i dont want anymore to die. I may post pics of the build but im not sure. Thanks again.
Got a few pics to post
just a basic 2x4 wall essentially which i am going to build the tank on as a deck to keep it off the ground im fighting the concrete for heat with my pool hence the new build. i have a bunch more bracing to add in this is just what i got together today. I may go with some board insulation under the thing as well. My boss has a bunch he said i can have so what the heck may as well and it will keep the bottom warmer too.
just some of the lumber that is cut up and ready to go. i should have it totally built tomorrow and all i will need is to order a pond liner.
this is just a pic of the oak plywood i got for the build at 55 bucks a sheet. I decided to build the "pond" around the plywood so i dont waste any since its so expensive. 8x4x4
I will be building the filter, sump style which will be around 3 to 4 feet long, off the end off the tank where the reservoir is in that pic but it will be above the reservoir and will flow back into the tank like a waterfall. Figure it will be a good way to aerate the water and the pump(s) will be at the other end so it will have a "river" style current. The rays and cats love strong current so im thinking of upgrading from one 1250gph pump to two. I have found that you dont need a fancy filter i have less than 200 bucks into mine filtering 1000 gallons and it keeps the water crystal clear and its just a simple 50 dollar canister attached to a 1250gph pump so adding the sump for the waterfall effect will be sweet. I may set up a drip system with this as well since the reservoir is right there and the sump from the basement about ten feet away ill just run a drip to the basement sump and then a freshwater drip from the hot water heater. I figure 90 degree drip at 4gph should do the trick. I almost dont feel like 96gallon per day is enough water change so i may up the flow to 6 or 8gph but ill start with 4gph for now and see what happens. I am thinking of going with a 1000watt titanium heater instead of the 4 300watt ones i have now. Ill post pics of the finished structure tomorrow. Wont be totally finished because i dont have any insulation yet or the plywood for the outside of the tank yet but the major part of the structure will be done.
just a basic 2x4 wall essentially which i am going to build the tank on as a deck to keep it off the ground im fighting the concrete for heat with my pool hence the new build. i have a bunch more bracing to add in this is just what i got together today. I may go with some board insulation under the thing as well. My boss has a bunch he said i can have so what the heck may as well and it will keep the bottom warmer too.
just some of the lumber that is cut up and ready to go. i should have it totally built tomorrow and all i will need is to order a pond liner.
this is just a pic of the oak plywood i got for the build at 55 bucks a sheet. I decided to build the "pond" around the plywood so i dont waste any since its so expensive. 8x4x4
I will be building the filter, sump style which will be around 3 to 4 feet long, off the end off the tank where the reservoir is in that pic but it will be above the reservoir and will flow back into the tank like a waterfall. Figure it will be a good way to aerate the water and the pump(s) will be at the other end so it will have a "river" style current. The rays and cats love strong current so im thinking of upgrading from one 1250gph pump to two. I have found that you dont need a fancy filter i have less than 200 bucks into mine filtering 1000 gallons and it keeps the water crystal clear and its just a simple 50 dollar canister attached to a 1250gph pump so adding the sump for the waterfall effect will be sweet. I may set up a drip system with this as well since the reservoir is right there and the sump from the basement about ten feet away ill just run a drip to the basement sump and then a freshwater drip from the hot water heater. I figure 90 degree drip at 4gph should do the trick. I almost dont feel like 96gallon per day is enough water change so i may up the flow to 6 or 8gph but ill start with 4gph for now and see what happens. I am thinking of going with a 1000watt titanium heater instead of the 4 300watt ones i have now. Ill post pics of the finished structure tomorrow. Wont be totally finished because i dont have any insulation yet or the plywood for the outside of the tank yet but the major part of the structure will be done.
Well i got the structure built yesterday. I was way too beat yesterday to post pics but here is the progress
just for a size reference im 6'5 i wasnt expecting it to be this big, guess i didnt realize just how tall 4 foot was cant wait to get this done the fish are going to love it especially my pacu
flipping it over was a bear it got real heavy and the room isnt very big
Today i will set it on its base and get the plywood in. All i need to do now is order a pond liner and get it installed and build the filtration which is going to be trickier than originally planned given the size of the room i wasnt planning on it being almost to the ceiling but i will make it work.
just for a size reference im 6'5 i wasnt expecting it to be this big, guess i didnt realize just how tall 4 foot was cant wait to get this done the fish are going to love it especially my pacu
flipping it over was a bear it got real heavy and the room isnt very big
Today i will set it on its base and get the plywood in. All i need to do now is order a pond liner and get it installed and build the filtration which is going to be trickier than originally planned given the size of the room i wasnt planning on it being almost to the ceiling but i will make it work.
I was thinking about a viewing window but its more to be functional than see the fish. Im going to put white sand in the bottom or some thing that will allow the fish to be seen.
The fish going in it are:
22" male Motoro sp "Orange Flower Peru" from Rapps
22" female Marbled Motoro from Rapps
25" Red Belly Pacu
28" Clown Knife
32" +/- RTC/TSN
30"+/- Redtail Catfish x 2
14"+ Dovii i believe its a male from Rapps
14"+ female Azul Peacock Bass (my 16" male died the other day) wild caught sexed pair from Rapps
12"+ Albino Oscar
12"+ Tiger Oscar
16"+ Florida Gar
18"+ regular plecos x 5
and for total randomness an 8" kissing gourami (future feeder) they ate the other one
I only count 17 on that list so i feel like im missing some, thought there was around 20 in the pool.
The fish going in it are:
22" male Motoro sp "Orange Flower Peru" from Rapps
22" female Marbled Motoro from Rapps
25" Red Belly Pacu
28" Clown Knife
32" +/- RTC/TSN
30"+/- Redtail Catfish x 2
14"+ Dovii i believe its a male from Rapps
14"+ female Azul Peacock Bass (my 16" male died the other day) wild caught sexed pair from Rapps
12"+ Albino Oscar
12"+ Tiger Oscar
16"+ Florida Gar
18"+ regular plecos x 5
and for total randomness an 8" kissing gourami (future feeder) they ate the other one
I only count 17 on that list so i feel like im missing some, thought there was around 20 in the pool.