Building 1600 Gallon Bioshock Themed Octopus Tank

I received the last of my fiberglass resin today so will probably be finishing that up this weekend. To answer your question Erica, I used OSB on the inside since it absorbs much more resin than plywood. I wanted to turn the osb into a barrier in itself before i even applied the fiberglass. I am covering the outside of the tank in 3/4 plywood utilizing a sandwhich effect with the 2 x 4s and adding extra support. The entire tank inside and outside will be covered in marine paint. Im taking extra care and 4 layers of fiberglass to make sure not a single drop of water touches bare wood. Hope that answers some of your thoughts!
 
Keep at it KrazyK, I can't wait to see the end result. Please keep posting, if you stopped now I would forever be wondering. You need to run a web cam when you are filling it.
 
Scottedontknow said:
But trolling is okay? What happened to people keeping negative pointless comments to themselves?

This is his thread and he's doing something a lot of people want to see complete and want to see him successful. Just saying if some people don't like what someone's doing they should keep it to themselves....
Click to expand...

I want to see this succeed. I love oddly designed tanks. The stacked 2x4 construction is a fatal flaw. It WILL fail. It could have been designed differently and would have lasted for many, many years. The "negativity" isn't pointless. If this was in his home, it would be one thing, but it looks like it is in a business from the pictures. If that is the case, the general public is at risk. These warnings are FAR from pointless.

Nothing I have said or anyone else has said can be categorized as "trolling".
 
Its in my basement Mark. I know it will succeed and have taken everyone elses views accordingly. I reinforced it in several ways due to what people have recomended on here so im very appreciative to them. I just dont appreciate rudeness on my "crayon drawings" or that ill somehow go to jail for insurance fraud. Offer advice not harsh criticism! Now to go fiberglass!
 
krazyk148 said:
I received the last of my fiberglass resin today so will probably be finishing that up this weekend. To answer your question Erica, I used OSB on the inside since it absorbs much more resin than plywood. I wanted to turn the osb into a barrier in itself before i even applied the fiberglass. I am covering the outside of the tank in 3/4 plywood utilizing a sandwhich effect with the 2 x 4s and adding extra support. The entire tank inside and outside will be covered in marine paint. Im taking extra care and 4 layers of fiberglass to make sure not a single drop of water touches bare wood. Hope that answers some of your thoughts!
Click to expand...


It was my thoughts as well on the osb's ability to absorb the adhesive/resin. People are so used to conventional they cant see the Structural integrity in stacked lumber.. As i said above i am curious about deflection .

Time will tell I am assuming..
 
Also, out of curiosity, how are you going to get into that tank to clean it all the way to the bottom? Most of the magnetic scrub brush kinda suck when the glass/plexiglass is too thick and you'd be forever chasing your scrub end when it came loose and floated away. And scrubbing the glass with one of those if you're using plexiglass will leave scratches. Not to mention the part that will be fiberglassed.
Forget cleaning it. How are you going to paint/seal the inside? Or do anything to seal the glass windows when the glass is in place. I'm having a break down just trying to imagine getting in that thing...then getting out. I hope you're really tall and super skinny!!!
No seriously though---I realize none of that is important as the actual build, but some people do over look the maintenance aspect of a tank then when they get done it's like...d*mn...

Anyhow...good luck. I'm intrigued that's for sure.
 
A failure can be one of the greatest learning experiences in life..

I'm demanding a video be shot the whole time this tank is being filled up..
I so want to hear all the creaking/cracking and just watch it..
I'd be stuck on that screen and couldn't look away..

So please.. youtube it man..
 
haha there is a "manhole" sized opening on the one side for me to climb in and out of if needed. Im 6'5" so it shouldnt be too much of an issue. The entire top has removable acrylic panels as well. Besides the refugium which im hoping will cut down on some of the excess, Believe it or not an rc submarine can go along way when fitted with different tools. lol I actually some growth around the tank itself since it will add age and character to the theme. I will film it when i start the water process.
 
So are you going to include any "little sisters" or "big daddys" in or around the tank to further the theme? I just went back and looked and the theater sign and it fits perfect with the theme.
 
Are you sure you want an octopus in that tank? I'd think fish would be challenging enough. Plus an octo is going to hide most of the time which will make it very difficult to see. Not to mention feeding it will be a huge challenge. I know you said you're going to wrap that center brick post to seal it off. How are you going to make it blend in with the setup after it's wrapped? Are you going to put any kind of texture on it?
I really hope this works. I don't know enough about engineering to comment on the structural integrity. I mean, it seems like it should work, but I've seen tanks professionally built that didn't so who knows. I really hope it does though. I'm not a fan of tanks like this. It's just a personal preference. I really like pieces of the ocean. I know lots of people love them though. As long as you're please that's all that matters. But again on that octo, I really hope you reconsider. Just because they are so dang hard to keep in a traditional tank that's been designed to accommodate the animal specifically.
Good Luck!
 
Im on the lookout for a big daddy or some other bioshock themed items but making sure they are fish safe has been a challenge. To answer your question crayola, the support beam will be painted to look like the individual bricks under it. Im using green and black as my marine paints so I will more than likely paint the column green and outline each brick in black. Ive had a few octopus's in the past and have loved caring for them. This will be the first time i have an LPO though (large Pacific octopus). Honestly they arent hard to feed at all and the past few i have had were incredibly active as long as you give them toys, etc.
 
I can also stock with similar sized fish (grouper, lionfish, puffer) mostly predators. Eventually i will like to go reef but since octopus have short lives I planned on starting as a fish only system.
 
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2613462
Here is a thread of a guy feeding his Common Atlantic Octopus. I have known a few people with Octopus and they said the worst part of having one as a pet is they are escape artist and they have a short life span. Never seen anyone with a Pacific Octopus before, Ive seen 2 spot, common atlantic, and a fish store had a blue ring up for grabs once. If you do get one you will have to post plenty of videos of it.
 
Yeah i designed the top panels to lock into place so that the octopus has no place to escape. The overflow has to utilize drill holes instead of slots due to this.
 
I hope this tank is a success, but the concerns of many members who have posted in here are legitimate. You're dealing with 6 1/2 tons of water 6-7 feet deep. Thinking this will work because you saw someone use the same construction method on a tank that's only a couple feet deep is risky. A 1M square foot warehouse and a 1M square foot high rise have quite different engineering concerns. Same goes for a broad, shallow tank vs. a tall, narrow tank. This is a project I definitely would have hired an engineer to review prior to building.
 
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