Concrete block tank build

[Ron pugh]

Hey everyone. I just thought I would post up an idea. My wife has given the ok to move forward with my large tank build. I have a room in my basement that has a wall with a huge double window. Outside is a large 4" thick concrete pad. 9' x ? Quite long..lol It's the underside of a large upper deck.. I want to enclose a large portion of it and build my aquarium there and go thru the wall where the large windows are now. I will be drilling the holes to epoxy the rebar into the pad. I will dry stack the blocks and fill the cores solid. I'm going to seal with pond armor and put a surface bond cement on the entire outside. I'm going to use the safety factor and lay 2 courses of block before I build the window frame. This way even if the window completely failed I would still have 16" of water in the footprint of the tank. Overall size plan is either 8' or 10' long 4' wide and 4' tall..
Water will not be all the way to the top but just to keep the rows simple it comes out to that. I'm going to use Starfire low iron glass but not sure on size just yet. Probably 8'x3'x3/4" as far as filtration I have a 200 something gallon white tote to build a filter or i could just block in a built in filter on the rear of the tank. I will have outside drains and a water source to do a drip system. I will post some pics of my area tonight. If anyone wants to give any advice on a concrete setup please do..thanks in advance.

 

[takagari]

there are a few threads on the concrete blocks already, hell you could build that out of plywood and 2x4 framing as well and save yourself the head ache of the cement etc.
Sounds fun, I assume you live in a warm climate area?

 

[Ron pugh]

No not really I live in virginia..I'm going to frame out a room and insulate it. Plus I have an hvac duct close by that I might tap into so I can control the temp in the room. I realize I could do plywood but just not sold on the waterproof ability and long term of plywood. Concrete will hold water for a long time without issues and way stronger than wood...IMHO no offense to all the diy plywood builds...just not sure that's the route I want to take..lol

 

[Ron pugh]

This is the outside with the windows

 

[Ron pugh]

 

[Drstrangelove]

One concern I'd have is the concrete pad since it appears to me that you intend to use that as the base of the tank.

It wasn't laid with the plan of it being used that way and it's been exposed to the atmosphere (rain, sun, snow) for some period of time. It might be fine...it should be fine. But I'd want to think about it or ask questions.

The other issue is the wood over hang. I'd at least want that sealed (due to all the expected moisture) or worst case replaced.

Those are not deal breakers and may not even be big issues. (Some people start with no pad and no overhang.) Just thoughts on the project.

Still sounds great and quite doable. Good luck and looking forward to hearing how it goes.

 

[Ron pugh]

One concern I'd have is the concrete pad since it appears to me that you intend to use that as the base of the tank.

It wasn't laid with the plan of it being used that way and it's been exposed to the atmosphere (rain, sun, snow) for some period of time. It might be fine...it should be fine. But I'd want to think about it or ask questions.

The other issue is the wood over hang. I'd at least want that sealed (due to all the expected moisture) or worst case replaced.

Those are not deal breakers and may not even be big issues. (Some people start with no pad and no overhang.) Just thoughts on the project.

Still sounds great and quite doable. Good luck and looking forward to hearing how it goes.

Well I am going to build a closed in room to put the tank in and it will have a sealed roof over it. Haven't decided on the exact method on the ceiling just yet. The concrete pad is thick and been in place for a long time and settled if it's going to. No cracks to fix or worry about. With the pond armor coating over it I think it should be ok. I'm hoping anyway.

 

[Ron pugh]

Oh and the overhang is the upper deck on the house covered with trex decking.

 

[CarpCharacin]

Well I am going to build a closed in room to put the tank in and it will have a sealed roof over it. Haven't decided on the exact method on the ceiling just yet. The concrete pad is thick and been in place for a long time and settled if it's going to. No cracks to fix or worry about. With the pond armor coating over it I think it should be ok. I'm hoping anyway.

It should be fine if it is coated with pond armour.

 

[Ron pugh]

Thanks...thats what I was thinking anyway. The pond armor seems to be pretty good stuff for concrete.