Matt's 5000ltr Display

[d3hree]

tbh I would still want to use the fibreglass and resin for the structural strength that they bring. Essentially the plywood is just the carcass and is no where near as strong as the fibreglass. So the internal finishing whether it is glass or pvc would be to protect the resin from fish and wear and tear and as such could be fastened to the fibreglass with silicone.
If there were more threads showing how to do the pvc lining I would be more comfortable using it on my tank, as yet i havent been able to find good enough reference for how it is done or what structural integrity the pvc lining brings.
There is a tank pointed out to me earlier in this thread but it was concrete lined with pvc rather than a wooden frame.
Going with the fibreglass and resin I am standing on the shoulders of giants rather than pioneering a "different" method.

 

[reeffer1983]

This is an awesome build!! I'm really looking forward to seeing more.

 

[kentrob11]

If you can hold off about 8 months I'll do the pioneering part for you If a wood frame is done properly it would easily be stronger than even several layers of fiberglass. As far as attaching the pvc sheet to the plywood, you would use a standard industrial adhesive to attach it then you would use a plastic welder to weld every seam. The pvc tank would we strong and waterproof therefore the type of adhesive would be inconsequential...

 

[Angler02]

Thanks Angler, nice stand! Are the uprights 2x6?

I like the idea of the pvc lining I too have read horror stories of fish eating through the resin, urchins too. I also have concerns of scraping coraline off of the resin over years will that also weaken it?
I looked into the pvc idea when it was mentioned earlier but I could only find it avaliable in grey in the sizes i want.
I did have an idea of lining the inside of the tank with glass so that I could happily scrape away any algae build up and the fish can pick at it all they want.
Because the glass wont be load bearing aslong as i get it flush to the walls I thought it would be ok. 10 x 5 sheets of float glass that are 6mm thick are drastically cheaper than inch thick glass.

Thanks the uprights are 2x4s, and when I was done you could park a car on that stand.

 

[aquaticac]

Woooww great another tread of the year to folow and have a fun

Congrats

 

[ksed]

Royal Exclusiv Hot welds the joints on the PVC. Special tools required.

 

[d3hree]

would this be a diy job?...or are there firms in USA that would come and do it for you?
I am struggling to find anyone here in the UK to ask about the pvc lining let alone getting someone to come and do it.

 

[ksed]

It's an extremely rare and uncommon item, but does exist.

 

[reefman86]

your tank is amazing good job.

 

[dave.m]

I have found several sites that show you what the tools are and how to do it (welding PVC). There is mention in some of them of automotive applications. There are also references to water storage tanks made with PVC sheet. If you don't want to do the PVC welding part of the work yourself, those two fields might provide some leads for pros in your area.

Dave.M

 

[d3hree]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for this. Could you pm me the sites so I can have a look. I have a tank lining company phoning me later so I can see what they say too.
Thanks again Dave.

 

[James404]

Amazing build so far, I will be tagging along.

 

[Moort82]

Hi Matt, glad its still progressing albeit slowly. Can't wait for it to be finished as i know what a perfectionist you are.

Ad

 

[Borge]

Welding pvc isnt that hard...
Contact the nearest building entrepreneur and ask about it, commonly done ( with softer vinylester) on floors.
We are doing it with the same sort of tools at work.
If feeling fancy, PVC is very well heat welded with acrylic. To make a cool front glass seam

 

[d3hree]

Hi Matt, glad its still progressing albeit slowly. Can't wait for it to be finished as i know what a perfectionist you are.

Ad

Thanks Ad, hope you are well mate.

Welding pvc isnt that hard...
Contact the nearest building entrepreneur and ask about it, commonly done ( with softer vinylester) on floors.
We are doing it with the same sort of tools at work.
If feeling fancy, PVC is very well heat welded with acrylic. To make a cool front glass seam

Thanks Borge
I have pretty much decided to go down the fibreglass route now. I contacted a UK firm and pointed them to this thread so they could get an idea of what I was looking for. As luck would have it they are in the middle of building a new website and have agreed to do it for me in exchange for me drawing them some illustrations for their new site!...it doesnt come better than that!

 

[fireball198]

i just mostly lurk on this site but here is a link. the 1st one is the tool the second one is it use.
http://www.louzampini.com/Handheld-Hot-Air-Plastic-Welders-s/25.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0AAR13gkxE

 

[Borge]

Thanks Ad, hope you are well mate.



Thanks Borge
I have pretty much decided to go down the fibreglass route now. I contacted a UK firm and pointed them to this thread so they could get an idea of what I was looking for. As luck would have it they are in the middle of building a new website and have agreed to do it for me in exchange for me drawing them some illustrations for their new site!...it doesnt come better than that!

Of course you are going to use fiberglass. I wouldnt do it any other way. Problem is the creatures within. Add a 2mm PVC sheet on the inside wall. Glue it with the same resin used on the fibers and rest assured that it will hold the urchins from grazing through to the open fibers and ruin your tank

 

[mynameisjoe]

Love the design of your future setup. you are definitely gonna enjoy having a separate fish room. DIYing the display tank will prolly save you half the price of buying one prefabbed. will be following this build.

 

[rpresto@hotmail]

on those first 3 pictures I thought Is this a piece of art or a plumbing diagram:bounce1::crazy1:

 

[d3hree]

i just mostly lurk on this site but here is a link. the 1st one is the tool the second one is it use.

Thanks fireball198. Interesting videos.

Of course you are going to use fiberglass. I wouldnt do it any other way. Problem is the creatures within. Add a 2mm PVC sheet on the inside wall. Glue it with the same resin used on the fibers and rest assured that it will hold the urchins from grazing through to the open fibers and ruin your tank

Thanks Borge. I have read some horror stories about Urchins chewing through the resin, even a large angel I think in a public display chewed through the resin and caused the tank some issues. I have a long spined urchin (the size of a football, sorry, soccer ball) in my current tank. i can safely say that he will NOT be going in the new tank. He is a bulldozer and can smell curing epoxy putty on new corals. I can almost hear him laughing as he kicks them off the rock! With him in the new tank I would constantly be diving picking up corals from the sand bed.
I had thought about lining the tank with glass/acrylic to avoid the issues you mention. It is something I will address when the tank has been fibreglassed.

Love the design of your future setup. you are definitely gonna enjoy having a separate fish room. DIYing the display tank will prolly save you half the price of buying one prefabbed. will be following this build.

Thanks mynameisjoe. I have been planning this build for a couple of years. The first idea was a 10ft x 3ft tall x 4ft front to back. I had a range of quotes for this tank in 19mm glass with a double base. They averaged at about £4000, $6,494.69 USD.

I then decided to go 4ft deep and quotes for glass tanks this size averaged at about £12,000, $19,484.96 USD.

Then I discovered the fibreglassing method and approached a company who install public aquariums. They quoted me £12,000, $19,484.96 USD for a fibreglass tank.

The tank is now 10ft x 52" tall x 52" front to back, so its larger than the tanks I previously got quotes for. I estimate that the tank itself will cost approximately £2000, $3,248.10 USD and that will include a 25mm thick low iron viewing pane ( that doesnt include any man hours involved in the DIY). Lots cheaper but with tanks these size the equipment costs usually top out that actual tank costs anyway but my thinking is that I will have an extra £10k budget for stocking that I wouldnt have had if I had gone down the route of a glass tank.