DIY Monster Fish Tank

Parka said:
I'm no fan of those water wasting machines.
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To clarify, I am a fan of pressure washers for the right application. But I see some of my neighbors literally spending HOURS washing their driveways and sidewalks. And my neighbor directly across from me, he was even washing the friggin street the other day! No thanks!
 
Good Friday Morning, Friends!

Well, it's about time, I say I say! I will start cutting wood today to begin building the tank stand. I estimate the stand will take one week to ten days to complete.

And the tank itself, I'm thinking another 4 to 6 weeks until it's ready to be filled.

I think I will give progress reports on every Fish Tank Friday! Unless I get all excited about something and then I will just bust right and let it be known! HOORAY for FISH TANK FRIDAY'S!

One more thing Kind Dummies an Lovers... :director:I need my Project Manager on this project, it's very urgent, do I make myself clear @Bayou Tiger ?

@Bayou Tiger , you are needed by many, myself included!:llama:
 
Something I should mention though and it might be very disappointing to some but I have serious constraints to deal with, it's called the doorway and it is only 32" wide. I think it would be a colossal mistake to make the tank too big to fit through the door just so I can have the size I'd prefer to have.

I guess 'monster tank' is a relative term but now it looks like my tank will just be a baby monster tank, topping out around 350 gallons.

The -inside- dimensions will be 96" long, 30" tall and 26" front to back.

Another constraint is that Bunny tole me in no uncertain terms that she won't lift a finger to help me with this build. I been really good at figuring out how to do difficult shit by myself though and so I will do what needs to be done to see this thing to completion. I still have six sheets of plywood in the garage that I need to get to the basement. I absolutely need help with that.
 
Parka said:
Man alive, did it ever feel good to fire up my saws yesterday!

The Guide Bear is back in his element, Hear Me ROAR!
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run away sacha baron cohen GIF
 
outofyourmind said:
Maybe see if a 36" door would fit in it's place.
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Hey wait a minute! I hope you are joking! Because that would be at least 2 grand (hired out) to re-frame the wall, add a longer header and re-work the siding and trim on the outside. Hells bells, a new door is about $500 alone. Ideally, a set of double doors would be the ticket.
 
Now this thing might look gnarly now but it is square and will support the weight of 2 or three of my tanks. I still need to put some braces across the top and bottom and then I will purdy it all up by wrapping it in plywood and with the 4 doors across the front, it will look very similar to the cabinets in my living room.
roughed in.jpg
So including the 4 corners there are nine vertical supports and each one is capable of supporting about 800 pounds=7,200 pounds.
I estimate the filled tank to weigh no more than 3,200 pounds so it should be good to go.
with doors.jpg
Not a great pic but this is how it will look with the doors on. The doors basically steal the show... until the tank is tanking its ass off, hear me roar!
 
Parka said:
Now this thing might look gnarly now but it is square and will support the weight of 2 or three of my tanks. I still need to put some braces across the top and bottom and then I will purdy it all up by wrapping it in plywood and with the 4 doors across the front, it will look very similar to the cabinets in my living room.
View attachment 47164
So including the 4 corners there are nine vertical supports and each one is capable of supporting about 800 pounds=7,200 pounds.
I estimate the filled tank to weigh no more than 3,200 pounds so it should be good to go.
View attachment 47165
Not a great pic but this is how it will look with the doors on. The doors basically steal the show... until the tank is tanking its ass off, hear me roar!
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Thats pretty stout framing. Like you said, I would have a couple cross braces in there too, but vertical support is done.
 
Peter Gozintite said:
Thats pretty stout framing. Like you said, I would have a couple cross braces in there too, but vertical support is done.
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I just responded with a posts suggesting he add 45 degree gussets made of 3/4" plywood at the corners to hold it square, but then erased it after I re-read his comment and noticed he planned to wrap it all with plywood. That will accomplish the same thing so it looks like it will be sturdy and sound once completed.
 
tank stand.JPG

Ideally, the 2-2x4 (vert.) on back and front should line up and the 2x4s on T&B I called for should nail into them.
 
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Bayou Tiger said:
View attachment 47184

Ideally, the 2-2x4 (vert.) on back and front should line up and the 2,4s on T&B I called for should nail into them.
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Edit: I would remove the vertical 2x4 at the door opng.

The benefit of having two doors there is lost with the center post in the way. That center posts is not needed. Put a strip of wood about an inch wide attached to back of one door and it will not have a gap beteween doors when they are closed. You just have to remember to close door with strip first.

But if you remove the center post look at the room you'll have access to once both doors are fully opened. Just a suggestion. My designer's mind is kicking in....


tank stand2.JPG
 
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Parka said:
So including the 4 corners there are nine vertical supports and each one is capable of supporting about 800 pounds=7,200 pounds.
I estimate the filled tank to weigh no more than 3,200 pounds so it should be good to go.
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Yeah those 9 look to actually be double 2x4s nailed together so it's a bit of over-kill.

You could have used half as many. Each 2x4 can support a dead load of 1,000 pounds at 8 feet vertical length. If shorter it will not deflect as much and support even more. You really went overboard (haha) with doubling them.

Just an FYI:
Water weighs 8.33/gal.). 1,000 gal tank of water would weigh 8,330 lbs.
18 vert. 2x4s will will support 18,000 lbs.
 
Bayou Tiger said:
Edit: I would remove the vertical 2x4 at the door opng.

The benefit of having two doors there is lost with the center post in the way. That center posts is not needed. Put a strip of wood about an inch wide attached to back of one door and it will not have a gap beteween doors when they are closed. You just have to remember to close door with strip first.

But if you remove the center post look at the room you'll have access to once both doors are fully opened. Just a suggestion. My designer's mind is kicking in....


View attachment 47187
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Are you using Bluebeam to make those notes?
 
Bayou Tiger said:
planned to wrap it all with plywood.
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And I'm pretty sure the plywood will tremendously increase load capacity too. I'm in a jam though, with all my plywood in the garage and not in the basement where I need it. I will probably end up setting up my cut table in the driveway and then still need help to carry the cut pieces to the labor dungeon.

So @Bayou Tiger , I'm following a youtube tutorial for this build, some Canadian guy named Joey something or other. So I'm following his design modified to my dimensions. And I sure appreciate you stepping up in your Project Manager role!:yes:

This is how it looks now after I put the bottom and top braces in. This thing is ready right now to hold the tank, my gawd, what a behemoth little structure! Not a single nail! Every single joint- glued screwed and tattooed!
Sturdy x several grillion..jpg
 
Bayou Tiger said:
Edit: I would remove the vertical 2x4 at the door opng.

The benefit of having two doors there is lost with the center post in the way. That center posts is not needed. Put a strip of wood about an inch wide attached to back of one door and it will not have a gap beteween doors when they are closed. You just have to remember to close door with strip first.

But if you remove the center post look at the room you'll have access to once both doors are fully opened. Just a suggestion. My designer's mind is kicking in....


View attachment 47187
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But it will have four doors, not two. I really like the idea of a recessed piece of ply for the top, however, this beast won't need a top. The bottom of the tank will be two pieces thick of plywood and it will set on the stand as is. That's how Joey did his!
 
So today I think I will get the doors painted and also take my clumsy scooter out and about to the stores and stuff, it's gonna be a beautiful day, wall to wall sunshine! I'm ahead of the curve right now and if my plywood was in the basement this thing could be complete by Wednesday. See ya later alligator, in a while crocodile, not too soon fat racoon!:laugh:
 
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