concrete tank?
- Thread starter nellahtes
- Start date
dweakl01
In Memoriam
See if you can find any contact info on the web for Richard Harkin. He has a 2000 gallon tank at his house that is poured concrete, with like 2 x 8' wide glass viewing panels. I've never seen it in person, but I saw a presentation he gave about it. Its pretty damn impressive.
does anyone know of a how to article? im really considering going concrete and need to read as much as possible on it. or someone who builds these types of tanks? just so you know the tank im thinking on doing is roughly 1800 gallons in the display...if all goes well. so keep the info coming please.
RichConley
New member
How about Gunite? I'm not really sure what it is, but I know they use it in inground pools.
MayoBoy
Movin' on Up
You can seal it with black plaster, Pebble-tec (or any of the other pool surfaces). It would give you a fairly natural looking surface but it has to be applied by a specialist.
You could also use a vinyl liner - have a pool company A-B it for you and they'll make you a custom sized liner for your application. It just won't look very natural.
I'd stay away from paint personally. It doesn't last in a pool more than a few years and would probably fail even faster in a tank.
Depending upon your budget, you could have a pool company put in a shotcrete shell and do the pebble finish. Don't forget to add in inlets/outlets/skimmer etc. and stay away from brass faceplates and fittings.
You could also use a vinyl liner - have a pool company A-B it for you and they'll make you a custom sized liner for your application. It just won't look very natural.
I'd stay away from paint personally. It doesn't last in a pool more than a few years and would probably fail even faster in a tank.
Depending upon your budget, you could have a pool company put in a shotcrete shell and do the pebble finish. Don't forget to add in inlets/outlets/skimmer etc. and stay away from brass faceplates and fittings.
Sani-Tred works exceptionally well at waterproofing a concrete or concrete block tank. Folks in the ornamental koi world use it all the time to water proof their concrete ponds etc, I use it to water proof 3 large sized burial vaualts and one 1000 gal septic tank I use to keep Koi in. It does not peel or chip and stays where put, and if it does ever get damaged its easy to patch.
Another item thats seeing a ot of use is the 2 part system such as used for spraying in truck liner beds.....The bed liner material is a polyurethane which does not do exceptionally well when subjected to being submerged in water for long periods of time, but they also have a different formulation made of spray on urea, that looks just like the spray inliner material does, and its made for use in and under water. It goes by various names such as Gatorguard, POnd Guard, or simply spray on urea coating.Unfortunately it has to be applied with a special application machine but there is a ot of places around that do it..Sani tred can be done with commonly available tools.
Another item thats seeing a ot of use is the 2 part system such as used for spraying in truck liner beds.....The bed liner material is a polyurethane which does not do exceptionally well when subjected to being submerged in water for long periods of time, but they also have a different formulation made of spray on urea, that looks just like the spray inliner material does, and its made for use in and under water. It goes by various names such as Gatorguard, POnd Guard, or simply spray on urea coating.Unfortunately it has to be applied with a special application machine but there is a ot of places around that do it..Sani tred can be done with commonly available tools.
heres an idea.
build the tank out of thin acrylic. (save for the viewing panel)
plumb it all
put up forms just like a house foundation around the tank.
then pour concrete all around and under it.
solves all the problems I can think of. except if you wanted to add a hole...
on the plus side you could preplum it with more holes than you could ever possibly need. the concrete shouldnt care. and the acrylic is seam free and solid as a rock.(albiet heavy as one)
build the tank out of thin acrylic. (save for the viewing panel)
plumb it all
put up forms just like a house foundation around the tank.
then pour concrete all around and under it.
solves all the problems I can think of. except if you wanted to add a hole...
on the plus side you could preplum it with more holes than you could ever possibly need. the concrete shouldnt care. and the acrylic is seam free and solid as a rock.(albiet heavy as one)
brandonberry
New member
Coming from a guy that has outdoor ponds as well as a reef tank, don't use vinyl pool liners. They are thin and animals will create holes in them. The thick 45mil EPDM is what most pond people swear by. Tetra even makes a rubber tape that can be used to bond cut pieces together. Some people use silicone, but I am not sure how good of a bond that forms. I would research this first. EPDM is also used as a roofing material on the flat roofed type buildings such as strip malls. You would probably get your best answers about bonding it together from a contractor that works with it on a daily basis. BTW, I've seen some good deals on EPDM on Ebay. That is where I got mine.
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
Gunite is the brand name of a catylized concrete product that is sprayed through a high pressure nozzle. It is used to coat formworks that are covered by wire mesh. It is expensive and useless for this type of project. The product is great in areas where forms can not be set and poured or iregular contours need to be followed.
Shotcrete is another similar process, as is mandaseal. We use a lot of it in the mining and tunneling industries to create concrete tunnels without formwork.
Sadly I have played with way to much of this stuff over the years.
Bean
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
That is because nobody uses the good stuff in their pools
Could you imagine coating the inside of your concrete pool with $200 a gallon epoxy paint, several layers thick?The other issue is adhesion and cleanliness of a project as big as a swimming pool. A small 1800 gallon tank is different.
If you think poured concrete has a tendency to crack, good grief shotcrete is a million times more prone to cracking and stress faults.
A properly poured concrete tank will not crack. If it does crack, it will likely be during the initial curing. Cracks that are a result of curing can be easily fixed with crack injection epoxies made by SEKA or half a dozen other companies.
Concrete tanks are made and used everyday all over the world. You will see them on farms, septic systems, chemical sites, sea world, your local water authority, factories, car washes, food plants....
Bean
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
Most "rubber roofs" are now bonded by a robotic seam welder. the same process is used for landfill, flyash and other waste liners and covers. It simply heats the two pieces and presses them together.
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
Not to be arguementative, but I have sprayed or injected millions of pounds of polyurethane. RHINO liners are the lower end of the "spray in" truck liner foodchain (for many reasons not imprtant here). The best "spray in" truck liner is a product called LineX (for many reasons). It is sprayed using heated lines and does not sag when applied, its flexural and compressive strenght are much better than that of RHINO.
In any case 2-part polyurethanes are all the same basic compound. Diisocyanate is mixed 50/50 with Polyol. This causes a polymerization that creates plastic. The Polyol is partly what dictates the composition of the end product. It may be hard plastic (lineX), Soft plastic (rhino), lightweight foam (seat cushions or spa insulation) or anything in between. Moisture causes the product to foam during the curing process and can be used to tailer the final product.
Polyurethanes are either Hydrophobic or Hydrophilic. The former repels water, the later wicks water. Most 2-part formulations are hydrophobic, chemically inert, and dimensionaly stable (with regards to an application such as a tank liner). 2-part urethanes stick to just about everything except PVC and are one of the most durable substances that can be sprayed on.
So in a nutshell, some polys may not be suited well for underwater use, but most are perfect for the job. The products such as RHINO that are shot cold are simply not as durable as the products that are shot hot. However they do not break down under water. They are UV sensative (that is why BLACK OR DARK DYE is added to the bed liner systems) The UV inhibitor that RHINO uses may have problems if it is immersed permanently, though I know the LineX and other products do not have this problem.
All 2-part polyurethane systems need special application tools to be applied. In our case the material would need to be heated and pumped at a fairly high pressure through a small nozzle. The heat prevents the material from sagging when it makes surface contact and the high pressure makes a fine droplet size to create a smoother surface.
If anybody is serious about sourcing a polyurethane company to line their large tank, I can give them contact information for one of the largest poly blenders in the business.
Bean
