My 650g plywood tank also Wetsuit

[sashimimaster]

Sure the tank is up and running well. Fixed the leaks. Lesson learned is put a heavy bead of silicone between the side of the glass and the bottom. It's better to err on too much silicone rather than too little. Another note is I don't think the GE I silicone is as good as aquarium grade. The GE I faded color a little bit and I think turned slightly brittle. Not enough to break down but just in case I coated all the joints with additional aquarium silicone.

So the tank has been cycled and with fish in it for over 2 months now. I haven't moved my Aro and Armatus in yet. That's going to be next week. For now I've just got a bunch of tin foil barbs which are loving the space and current. My next issue to tackle is the driftwood that doesn't want to sink. I bought it from the driftwood store and they probably just cut it from old trees found in the woods. So it's going to be a while before it sinks. I don't want to tie any weights to it because it won't look good. Maybe I'll take it out and drill it full of holes to be more porous.

 

[sashimimaster]

Here's a latest picture. You can see my floating driftwood and where it pulled away from the side.


After it's running for a few more months I'll finish the siding with drywall and make cabinet doors to cover the base.

 

[peacock madness]

looks good.. and love this build as a whole (problems and all) seems we appreciate it more when we stress over it more lol. so no more atf's? and what is/will be the stock list? saw u mention the barbs, arrow, and such but just currious on it still

 

[sashimimaster]

Oh, there will definitely be ATF's. They're still growing out. At this point they would just be a snack for the the Aro and Armatus.

And yes, it definitely is a sense of satisfaction to be able to overcome problems and difficulties. The key is to stick with it and solve the problems. Not everyone builds big tanks every day but with all the great info on here hopefully there's less of a learning curve for people to try and build their own.

Another note is that my walls are totally unsupported other than fiberglass and 3/4" plywood. There are cross beams at the top but otherwise it's just plywood and glass. The water depth is about 28" and there is no flex in there whatsoever.

 

[wow_it_esploded]

How did you end up resolving the flow issues?

 

[stempy]

Have you thought about just screwing it to a piece of slate? It's how I do mine as the slate is easily hidden under the sand.

 

[sashimimaster]

How did you end up resolving the flow issues?

The flow issues disappeared when the water level was higher than the intake. It seems as soon as the water level was raised above the intake the flow increased greatly. So now I can adjust the flow with my valves and balancing it between my algae scrubber and the sump.

 

[sashimimaster]

Have you thought about just screwing it to a piece of slate? It's how I do mine as the slate is easily hidden under the sand.

Umm yeah but I'd have to find a massive piece of slate. Besides the driftwood is a half stump so it's like 3' high by 4' wide. I've tried drilling out the inside of the stump so there's less wood but it still floats. I've since taken it out so I'm planning on hollowing it out and filling it with gravel or sand.

 

[michael30.06]

Very impressive, and braver than I would have been with the glass corner.
What a view!

 

[sashimimaster]

So this pool is over 30" high and it's sturdy enough to hold water. Also much bigger than 700 gallons. You can't say those supports are anywhere near as strong as 3/4" plywood with 4 layers of fiberglass. A water container doesn't need to be built with 2x4 framing and bulletproof concrete reinforcement. Most tanks are waaay overbuilt because people are afraid of the potential disaster of something breaking in their house. However, if the tank is built right the only small potential for error is in the sealing of the tank and the worst that can happen is small leaks which can be repaired.

Frankly I've had more problems with my sumps than the tank. I made an algae scrubber built into the sump which I didn't design as well as I should have and I had to make some design changes after the fact. But the tank is solid and trouble free.

So thanks for the compliment but really it's not that difficult.