LARGE Fish Tank on the cheap!!!!!

[stubbytheplecostomus]

I'm currently in the midst of a project which i hope to document for other DIY'ers , over the next few weeks i will be constructing a 170+ gallon tank as cheaply as possible, i plan on DIY'ing every aspect of the aquarium to the finished product, including dual fluidized bed filters, a whirl pool styled detritus remover, six T-8 bulb light hood, driftwood & decorations, not to mention the tank itself and the stand for it!

Background---
I decided i needed a big tank, Sharky and Stubby my bala and plecostomus have quickly outgrown their current 40 gal breeder that they share with three Gouramis a full grown angel, and a seldom seen peacock eel. I looked at many options, unfortunately the 35 dollar 55 gallon tank i bought at a MAS auction is currently home for 4 anoles, and the three other tanks i have laying around (yes i have tanks just laying around) are not large enough for the two monsters. I figure for my Bala to live a happily ever after life i'll need space for two more balas of his 8-9 inch size, as well as i really want to keep an arowana and a tiger shovel nose catfish! so i knew i needed at least 150+ gallons to make my dreams come true!

The Plan---
Based loosely on GARF's plans for building a plywood tank i set forth to home depot and purchased a 4x8 sheet of 3/4 plywood. I had them cut it down to two 6x2 boards, these two boards will become the bottom and back wall of the tank i also purchased 2 1x4's and a 2'x2' piece of 3/4 plywood. i used these to frame off the front of the tank. notice how i had two 2x2 pieces of plywood left over from the original 4x8; i used these for the two sides. I constructed the front first, i cut the extra 2x2 piece of plywood into two 1x2's. i then screwed a 2 foot length of 1"x4" flush with one side of a 1x2 together, then i took another 2 foot strip and screwed it half on and half off the other side of the 1x2, i repeated this opposite on the other side. i finally connected the two front pieces together with another 1x4 across the top. the over lapping edges of the two sides create a 2x4 window in the front of the tank. the rest is fairly straight forward as i just screwed the sides together to form a box!

i know it may be confusing but hopefully the pictures will clear it up, you can see the how the slot for the window will work in the last picture

this next weekend i will water proof the frame, insert the acrylic window and clean up the outside look of the tank.

total so far 36 dollars

[Lady Hobbs]

How in the world can you waterproof wood?

[stubbytheplecostomus]

aaah yes there are several ways, i haven't decided which way i will do it yet i guess you'll have to wait and see.

[Lady Hobbs]

Possibly some fiberglass or something but I don't believe just using wood will work.

[ChromeLibrarian]

Actually, there is no reason wood would not work, as I have seen plywood fresh water tanks. They are lined with polyester-fiberglass.

In fact, take a look at this site.

Wooden fish tank (http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/panis/frankpanis3000.htm)

This guy built a 3000L (just under 800 gallon) aquarium out of plywood, using a house window for the viewing area. He's planning to build a 4000L tank (over 1000 gallons).

If I was doing it, this is how I would do it.

[Lady Hobbs]

Did I not just say fiberglass? LOL

[ChromeLibrarian]

Actually, after doing some more looking around, I think I would skip the fiberglass, and go with a high-grade marine epoxy resin.

[genitor]

Cool. First person on this site i've seen doing a plywood tank.
I plan to do one sometime in the future. Looking good so far except why didn't you let the viewing window span the entire length of the tank? A frame of about 4 inches right around would have been adequate.

[stubbytheplecostomus]

the reason why the the window is only 2x4 feet is because i can only find thick enough acrylic in that size, so i decided to work with what i could find locally. also i think it will add a new dimension of depth to the aquarium, not being able to see the sides creates the illusion of an endless tank!

the two ways i plan on waterproofing the tank are going to be either an epoxy resin or with pond liner. I'm still looking for a good source of epoxy resin locally.

[Rue]

Plywood tanks are surprisingly popular among the DIY group! Both FW and Marine...many are just painted, but fibreglass is certainly an option...just a lot more work...

Looking forward to following along with your build!:c3:

[Rue]

...btw...you look good all boxed up...:ezpi_wink1:

[Lady Hobbs]

Aren't there types of paint that are kind of rubberized to help with waterproofing? I know some use waterproofing paints for basement walls? Epoxy would have to be used over the top tho.

This is going to be a very interesting thread. Take lots of pictures as you go! You may end up getting a whole bunch of folks building one.

[genitor]

Check out monsterfishkeepers.com, there's a lot of technical information in their diy section especially for plywood tanks. They would be able to help you with type of expoxy to use and cheapest place to get it etc.. What type of filtration are you planning? I would go with a diy wet dry.

[stubbytheplecostomus]

well i'm pretty sure i'm going to go with pond liner, it is considerably cheaper then the epoxy (which i found out a lot of people use to water proof wood boats) the epoxy is abour 65-100 dollars per gallon depending on the source and quality, pond liner should run around 40 for the thick quality pvc stuff. not to mention that if i used the epoxy i'd also have to fill in imperfections with body filler which would run another 10 bucks for bondo.

Filtration is going to be top notch, dual fluidized bed filters (which can be easily constructed from pvc) and a whirlpool designed centrifugal force detritus and other matter remover (made from a plastic bucket and pvc) as well as your everyday normal filter stuff like aquarium floss for removing small particles and maybe just maybe i will DIY a UV filter... just maybe if i have the time....

I really hope that i can get this project in around 200 dollars!

[Zerileous]

sounds awesome! best of luck and keep us updated.

[ChromeLibrarian]

not to mention that if i used the epoxy i'd also have to fill in imperfections with body filler which would run another 10 bucks for bondo.


Ummm...why would you need to fill in imperfections. The epoxy will fill in any imperfection just fine on it's own. As far as pond liner, I am not sure of the method used to waterproof a wooden box, with an opening on the front and the top, with a pond liner. How do you seal it where the viewing area is?

[stubbytheplecostomus]

the answer to question 1 is, GARF says so in their how to build a plywood tank? they've made more tanks then i have so i'll take there word on it
the answer to question 2 is, i'm not sure yet, i've seen many indoor koi ponds made like this none with a window in the side. i might silicone the liner to the edges of the window (which will be covered from view by the side beams)... i'll need to experiment alittle.

[salman]

You would be better off buying a used tank. You will be working your ass off and then once you put the water in, you will get a leak or something and you will start hating yourself.

[genitor]

I think it will turn out great and so what if it turns costing a little more than a used tank, at least you will have the DIY pride!!

[ChromeLibrarian]

1 is, GARF says so in their how to build a plywood tank? they've made more tanks then i have so i'll take there word on it

They may have built tanks, but I work with all sorts of wood, including plywood, and epoxy regularly, and I cannot for the life of me see the sense in adding bondo to do something that you can do just as well with plain old epoxy. It's adding an extra step for no reason. Especially as you would put a coat of epoxy on anyway.

I can see using a pond liner for a standard pond configuration. I just don't see any way to reliably seal the pond liner around the front "window".

[Drumachine09]

Hmmm, so i CAN get that 400 gallon tank i want!

[stubbytheplecostomus]

yeah well i have read a bunch of stories of people building 500 gallon tanks and spending a 1000 dollars on it! i am determined to do this the cheapest way possible!!!!

[Drumachine09]

yeah well i have read a bunch of stories of people building 500 gallon tanks and spending a 1000 dollars on it! i am determined to do this the cheapest way possible!!!!



I just skimmed through the meat and taters of your first post, but i didnt see a total size of the tank. Have you calculated the gallons yet?


I like the endless tank idea too!




EDIT: Also, where did you get the plans for a fluidized bed filter?

[stubbytheplecostomus]

170aprox. gallons, six feet long two feet wide and two feet high

[Lady Hobbs]

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/literature/Pegasus_Wood_Project.html

Here's an article about building a wooden tank.

[Drumachine09]

170aprox. gallons, six feet long two feet wide and two feet high



I just ran the dimensions through the calculator, and it turns out its something lik 179.94, so its closer to 180 gallons. Thats never a bad thing!

[salman]

It would be really cool if you took pictures of every stage and then make a slide show on photobucket and show us your accomplishment. :)

[Lady Hobbs]

I got just the idea to waterproof that box. Use a pool liner.

[stubbytheplecostomus]

Drummachine --- i don't have any plans for the fluidized bed filters i'm just going to wing them! the concept is simple, a long cylinder filled with 2/3 sand, and a tube that enters the bottom and a tube that leaves out the top, the tube on the bottom is for the inlet once water is pumped through it will create liquefaction or Quicksand, the out let leaves through the top but it will curve over into another cylinder, this is to catch any sand that made it out of the main cylinder, then the water will enter into the primary sump system.

the benefits to a fluidized bed filter are; The sand contains many thousands of times more surface area then a sponge, allowing more beneficial algae to grow then is possible with normal systems. Since the sand is moving it also tends to clean itself, no need to replace the sponges or filter pads, once algae builds up to much on a piece of sand it will probably be rubbed off!

[Rue]

Have you read the posts at Monster Fish Rescue? Some of the tank build threads are really cool...I have no desire to ever build my own tank...but I'm fascinated by the process...lol...I spend a long time reading those threads...

Someone should compile them all and write a book...

[RobbieG]

This is my favorite wood tank

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Goad_Build_An_Aquarium.html

[Dave-id]

Good job, plywood tanks are cool!

if i used the epoxy i'd also have to fill in imperfections with body filler which would run another 10 bucks for bondo.

Sounds like you are leaning away from using epoxy anyway, but I thought I'd mention the only reasons for filling in surface imperfections would be aesthetic ones.
As a matter of fact, epoxy does not even stick all that well to bondo, and even polyester resin would not adhere to it anywhere near as well as raw wood.

I 'd be pretty leary of using pond liner or anything like that. Make sure you do your homework, and can find other people who have successfully done the exact same thing.
Keeping it as cheap as possible is a noble goal, but personally, I would strongly recomend sealing it with epoxy. The extra $60 or so is a fair chunk of your budget, but it would be money well spent. A leak in your tank is absolutely the worst possible thing that could happen to you. Silicone does not stick to wood, (I hope you're aware that it doesn't bond to acrylic either). Any tiny leaks around your window area could slowly leak water into the wood, and this would be absolutely disastrous. Especially since you might not be able to detect it. If the wood is properly sealed with epoxy, a tiny leak like that would not be able to get into the wood and destroy the entire tank. It would be reduced from a catastrophe to a mere annoyance.

I'd hate to see this project go sour on you, so please be really careful with whatever choices you make in regards to sealing your tank.

[stubbytheplecostomus]

i was able to waterproof the tank with pond liner, it worked out really nicely, i will get some pictures up sometime this week, i also built the skeleton of the stand. the seal between the acrylic and the pond liner is really ingenious, i created a deep grove to slide the acrylic sheet into, i laid the pond liner over the groove then slid the panel into the grove on top of it, this in itself was probably water tight as it was a super tight fit, but i further sealed it with silicone, total so far for a waterproof tank and the skeleton of the stand is around 150 dollars! at this point i wouldn't really have to continue but I'm going to make the tank a finished product by the time I'm through with it.

[Drumachine09]

Noice! Do you plan on staining the stand or tank?

[stubbytheplecostomus]

yeah i want to finish it with a cherry stain and probably will throw a few dollars at some finishing moldings, i also want to do a series of glass shelves in the stand as well as an under cabinet for the filter system. I also will do a full canopy complete with lights!

[Drumachine09]

yeah i want to finish it with a cherry stain and probably will throw a few dollars at some finishing moldings, i also want to do a series of glass shelves in the stand as well as an under cabinet for the filter system. I also will do a full canopy complete with lights!



Cool. Are you going to retro-fit the light fixtures, or are you going to just use stock ones?

[stubbytheplecostomus]

i'm going to use light fixtures from home depot, becuase its cheaper then buying all the parts seperatly and less work, you can get shop lamps which are two 48" t8's for 15 bucks and i plan on using 3, two bulbs will be actinic blacklights while the other four daylight balanced flourescents...

[Drumachine09]

i'm going to use light fixtures from home depot, becuase its cheaper then buying all the parts seperatly and less work, you can get shop lamps which are two 48" t8's for 15 bucks and i plan on using 3, two bulbs will be actinic blacklights while the other four daylight balanced flourescents...



Why black lights? All that will do is magnify every peice of gunk floating around in your tank that you dont see.


Or do you just mean regular actinic?

[stubbytheplecostomus]

they do the same thing, regular actinic are alot more expensive, both produce UV light beneficial to plants and coral, so they will be on with the regular lights and you won't be able to tell that they are on.

[Drumachine09]

they do the same thing, regular actinic are alot more expensive, both produce UV light beneficial to plants and coral, so they will be on with the regular lights and you won't be able to tell that they are on.


I think you are talkking about UVB lights. They have a bluish tone to them as well.

[stubbytheplecostomus]

all fluorescents produce UVA and UVB light, actinics are blue and have a high color temp. near the Ultra violet range, these produce more UV light, blacklights are almost all in the ultraviolet range past the visible spectrum of light thats why the are "black" you can't see what color they really are but you know there is light.
these are the full spectrum of light waves
radio wave-microwave-infared-visible spectrum-ultraviolet-xray-gamma

you can save money if you know a little physics

[ssmith3417]

Any update on the tank? I'm curious to know if the pond liner/acrylic panel joining that you did will hold water as I'm interested in doing the same.