DIY 1,650 Gal Tank HOLDS WATER!!

thered

thered

Member
I cannot believe you are doing pretty much the same thing I am going to do... basement, wall, pool table, drywall, except mine will be a measley 958g. I have a couple of questions I hope you don't mind answering. What type of skimmer will you get (one big one or a few)? How thick is your glass and where did you get your diy info?
 
novice150

novice150

Member
Ok, got alot of pics up, and I'll have more soon. When you click on the link and the page comes up, click on pictures. There are two pages of pics as well. They show the process from day one, up to yesterday. I dont have descriptions on many of them yet, but I will soon.
Also, I will post later tonight with the cost of the project. I have to gather up all my receipts and add it all up:)
Hope this link works.
click here
 
novice150

novice150

Member
The Red:
Right on. If you like DIY you'll have blast! I did:)
Trust me, I don't mind answering questions. I cant stop talking bout my tank.:D My wife will tell you that.
I plan to use only one skimmer. A big one. Its a life guard, and its 6' tall 12" in dia.
The window is acrylic, and its 1 5/8 thick. I ordered 1 1/2, but it came in measuring 1.626 thick.:) Fine with me.:D I got it from Professional Plastics here in Den. My company buys alot of plastic from them, so I got a good deal.
My DIY info came from many, many places. Ranging from here, to --, Mr4000, Garf, and anything else that turned up on a search engine. I came up with the final design and plans myself. I basically combined everything I learned, and added my own touch. I couldnt find any info on building wood/fiberglass tanks this big, so I figured I'd just try to over engineer the heck out of it. They way I saw it was it's like building a boat, but inside out:)
 
novice150

novice150

Member
Costs were as follows.
Wood (4x4's and plywood): $597
Acrylic window: $750
2 Part Epoxy: $175
Fiberglass Cloth and Epoxy: $382
Tools and supplies for fiberglass: $45
Silicone: $120
Lag screws, washers, wood screws: $216
Liquid Nails: $15
Drill Bits and Spade Drills: $25
Kilz Paint & Masonry Sealant: $57
Paint Brushes & Rollers: $66
Sand Paper: $35
Latex Gloves: $18
PVC jacks built to hold window in place while curing: $56
Trip to the ER for stiches after I drove a cordless phillips head screw driver through my finger: $50 Copay :mad:
Building you own shark tank: Priceless:)
Well, not really. $2,607
Sounds like alot until you consider a tank this size will cost you about $13,000 professionally made, all acrylic.
Of course my wife says: Yeah, but your not done yet.:)
 
novice150

novice150

Member
Sure, I used it to cover all surfaces of every piece of wood. That way, any water ever gets past the fiber glass and two part epoxy, there's somthing protecting the wood.
 
surfnturf

surfnturf

Member
HOLY CRAP!!!!!
Nice job man, I hope you put up a website and share the details of the project with us. That really takes guts and ambition to do something like that, kudos.
 
tbone

tbone

Member
NOVICE your tank is too cool, I hope to do the same soon, I would love to milk all the info I can from you ..... KUDOS.
 
nyfisherman

nyfisherman

Member
YOUR WHOLE TANK BESIDES THE FRONT WINDOW IS MADE OF PLYWOOD COVED ON THE INSIDE WITH FIBERGLASS THEN EPOXIED AND OR PAINTED? THE OUT SIDE IS REIFORCED WITH 4X4'S? TANK LOOKS GREAT!
YOU KNOW LAST WEEKEND I CAUGHT A 34" BONNETHEAD AND DOZENS OF FOOT LONG SANDBAR SHARKS OFF THE SHORE IN SC
 
slowest is fastest

slowest is fastest

Member
FWIW there is a LFS on Hamilton Ave. in Cincinnati, OH that built a 10,000 gal tank out of concrete block, plywood and what looks like a rubber pond liner. I only mention them because they put two Black Tip Reef Sharks in the tank. You might be able to talk someone from Cincinnati into looking in the yellow pages for their name and number. They have the "10,000 gallon shark tank" in their ad.
SiF
 
novice150

novice150

Member
Surfnturf, ineedhelpnow, and Tbone: MelbourneFL (Paul) was nice enough to set up a page for me on his website. Feel free to check it out.
click here
When you get to the main page, click on friends. :)
NYFisherman: Yeah, that about sums it up:D I wish I lived close enough to the ocean to catch my own sharks!! Especially a Bonnethead!!
Slowest is Fastest: Thanks for the info, I will look into it! :)
 
surfnturf

surfnturf

Member
SWEET!
Good luck with the little one and the sharks! Not really sure which is more work, baby or the tank, but you gotta love both. I must admit, after looking at your pics I'm getting that itch that I got reading GARF's pages (I won't go as big as you did though, even though it'd be awesome to go diving in my own creation). Great Job!
 
surfnturf

surfnturf

Member
Java,
nice looking tank! What did you use for the final coat on the inside of the tank? I've looked into a huge number of coatings and only found a few that were food grade and held up to saltwater(boku bucks). Any wisdom you can lend would be most appreciated.
 
javatech

javatech

Member
the paint was a paint made for water tanks so it's safe for the fish. the paint i got was gray so i put in a 45mil pond liner and it also protect's the paint from rock's and what ever could hit it
 
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