I was considering a custom built 600-750g tank with a whole tree stump as its central piece. Is it possible to build a tank with a steel plate instead of glass. Or is someone doing it now and was there any issues I should consider?
Very heavy weights in an aquarium
- Thread starter RyanScanner
- Start date
Ohio Fish Rescue is currently coating some steel plate aquariums to prevent rust. You might want to checkout a few of their latest videos on YouTube
Oh I can easily rust proof it like my hydrovac tanks I use for my business. I was thinking heat expansion shifting seals overtime or sikaflex not sticking or something I’m not thinking of.
I have no clue how any of that works but check out the videos and see what they’re doing. Hopefully it’ll give you some ideas?
I have seen a 250g tank built in thin sheet metal and powdercoated
This could probably work in a 750g tank
This could probably work in a 750g tank
I was thinking 5mm steel plate mounted on a steel frame and build the glass walls around the stump. This will be a long term project. I have to cut out the base and build a reinforced concrete plinth first. Just thinking of it now.
I don’t see the reason why you need to use steel for the tank.
Just reinforce the stand properly and it will stop any bow in glass or acrylic and then the weight is a non issue…leaks are only really caused by movement, under engineered or old silicone etc.
I may be wrong but I think you are trying to solve a problem that isn’t there if the stand is built to your needs.
Just reinforce the stand properly and it will stop any bow in glass or acrylic and then the weight is a non issue…leaks are only really caused by movement, under engineered or old silicone etc.
I may be wrong but I think you are trying to solve a problem that isn’t there if the stand is built to your needs.
I agree with
Berts46ers
above. Remember, once immersed, your tree stump will also weigh less. For example, if your wood weighs about 40 lb./cu. ft. (typical maple, oak) a 20 cu. ft. stump would weigh about 800 lbs., but would weigh only 175 lbs. immersed. Think of how wood floats and only sinks after becoming waterlogged, most woods are less dense than water. Now a huge rock would be a different story, 150 lbs/cu. ft. would not be uncommon. an 8.33 cu. ft. rock would weigh the same 800 lbs. dry, but still weigh 470 lbs. immersed. Its all about volume, mass and gravity. How about a 1 cu. ft. Pb (lead) block? At 708 lbs/cu. ft. it would still weigh 646 lbs. under water. Just for comparison, fresh water itself weighs 62.4 lbs./cu. ft., so if the weight of the tree stump at 40 lbs/cu. ft. were equally distributed on the floor of the tank, it would create a "light spot" exerting 1/3 less force on the tank than the water (62.4 lbs./cu. ft.) around it.
Berts46ers
above. Remember, once immersed, your tree stump will also weigh less. For example, if your wood weighs about 40 lb./cu. ft. (typical maple, oak) a 20 cu. ft. stump would weigh about 800 lbs., but would weigh only 175 lbs. immersed. Think of how wood floats and only sinks after becoming waterlogged, most woods are less dense than water. Now a huge rock would be a different story, 150 lbs/cu. ft. would not be uncommon. an 8.33 cu. ft. rock would weigh the same 800 lbs. dry, but still weigh 470 lbs. immersed. Its all about volume, mass and gravity. How about a 1 cu. ft. Pb (lead) block? At 708 lbs/cu. ft. it would still weigh 646 lbs. under water. Just for comparison, fresh water itself weighs 62.4 lbs./cu. ft., so if the weight of the tree stump at 40 lbs/cu. ft. were equally distributed on the floor of the tank, it would create a "light spot" exerting 1/3 less force on the tank than the water (62.4 lbs./cu. ft.) around it.
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Okay, now we're starting to get silly.I agree with
A new piece of wood thrown into a tank floats because its density is less than that of water. If we weight it or tie it down so that it sits on the bottom, then it has actually decreased the tank's overall weight by some amount, because we must remove an equivalent volume of water to keep from overflowing the tank.
An old waterlogged piece of wood that sinks to the bottom...obviously is denser than water. If it wasn't, it wouldn't sink. So wood itself...the actual material that makes up wood...must weigh more than an equivalent volume of water. The only reason wood usually floats is because its porous structure traps a huge amount of air which makes the overall density of a given piece of wood less than that of water. As the wood becomes waterlogged, the trapped air is gradually being replaced by water, until eventually the overall density of the wood piece exceeds that of water, causing it to sink.
If you could somehow compress a piece of wood tightly enough to remove all the air...it would sink immediately.
I agree with
Hmm
