building a 1000 gal concrete block monster tank

[TheFishGuy]

One thing I can suggest is a fail safe, when my 800 leaked I had nothing and spent the day driving around in a blizzard finding something that would hold a few tons of water.... It ended up being a pond liner and some 2x6's. Thank God the leak was slow.... So make sure when your fish get big that you have something as back up... All I've got to say is I'm glad I put a floor drain in my tank, emptied 800 gallions in under 7 minutes. Yes, I timed it ,I'm good like that. lol I remember thinking "Man I hope i never have to use this" when I was installing th drain and testing it... lol

And I'd have to agree, better to find a leak now then a year later like I did......

 

[wizzin]

No filling tonight. The sanitred is still tacky. I'm not going to take any chances. I'll fill it tomorrow night.

TFG, I hear ya. I've got a swimming pool for backup. Well, a kiddy pool. Is your tank back to 100%?

It was a friggin pin hole. More like the head of a pin, but still. I thought this stuff was supposed to soak into the concrete and create a water stop that penetrated up to 2 inches. From what I'm seeing, it's about like painting concrete with a good latex paint. I get the impression that's about all sanitred (permaflex) is. It smells like latex paint, acts like latex paint, and looks like latex paint.

I have to say, that I'm a little upset with it now. The pin hole that let water seep through should've never let water through. Oh well, I just finished going over every square inch of the interior and put a big glob of permaflex on anything that even resembled a pin hole. I'm confident now that it's 100% sealed.

I somewhat wish I would've tried pond armor... So, the new filling should be tomorrow around 9:00pm EST. I'll take pics.

 

[numbers]

Anticipation is a b!tch.

With all the warnings of over-engineering in previous posts, do you feel that globbing on too much perma in certain areas might have an adverse effect?

The only situation I could think of is when the current forms in the filled tank that those globbed areas will hold stronger than the non-globbed areas and maybe form some bubbles in the weaker areas. I hate to suggest another delay but maybe another layer of the stuff around the entire inside wouldn't hurt (or would THAT be over-engineering?)

 

[Pumpkinate]

It was a friggin pin hole. More like the head of a pin, but still. I thought this stuff was supposed to soak into the concrete and create a water stop that penetrated up to 2 inches. From what I'm seeing, it's about like painting concrete with a good latex paint. I get the impression that's about all sanitred (permaflex) is. It smells like latex paint, acts like latex paint, and looks like latex paint.

Wizzin, before you get upset with the tiny leak... I recently had a 500 litre all glass tank rupture, one of the silicone seams came apart after 8 years... half a ton of water on the floor and fish floundering about on the gravel! At least with your tank (and my upcoming concrete tank) that sort of catastrophic event is essentially out of the question because there is no sealer in tension.

I asked you a while back about your experience with the Sanitred... you don't sound as happy with it now. I would be interested to know what your final opinion will be when the tank is finally completed and filled. I'll ask you again down the track. I'm still to decide between the Sanitred and epoxy.

Regards, Steve

 

[jem454]

Sorry to hear about the leak, its too late but maybe you could have dryloked, then sanitred? Just in case anyones interested like TFG said Im still a firm believer in drylok. My 600 is still going strong after 5 months. Its very durable and i cant see the drylok ever leaking unless there is too much flex in the tank causing it to crack. Anyhow I had a leak on my first fill.(sillicone seem popped from the 42" water pressure.) Dont let it discourage you. All will be well.

 

[Lan]

make it lot of cement on that leak!!

 

[wizzin]

Anticipation is a b!tch.

With all the warnings of over-engineering in previous posts, do you feel that globbing on too much perma in certain areas might have an adverse effect?

The only situation I could think of is when the current forms in the filled tank that those globbed areas will hold stronger than the non-globbed areas and maybe form some bubbles in the weaker areas. I hate to suggest another delay but maybe another layer of the stuff around the entire inside wouldn't hurt (or would THAT be over-engineering?)

I'm not worried about the adhesion of the sanitred to the concrete, I'll ask for a full refund if that happens. It's more of an issue of making sure there is a solid coating with no pin holes than an adhesion issue.

Wizzin, before you get upset with the tiny leak... I recently had a 500 litre all glass tank rupture, one of the silicone seams came apart after 8 years... half a ton of water on the floor and fish floundering about on the gravel! At least with your tank (and my upcoming concrete tank) that sort of catastrophic event is essentially out of the question because there is no sealer in tension.

I asked you a while back about your experience with the Sanitred... you don't sound as happy with it now. I would be interested to know what your final opinion will be when the tank is finally completed and filled. I'll ask you again down the track. I'm still to decide between the Sanitred and epoxy.

Regards, Steve

Yeah, it's early, and that's what test fills are for. I do have to say that sanitred is pretty easy to work with, and it does hold stronger than anything else I've seen.

Sorry to hear about the leak, its too late but maybe you could have dryloked, then sanitred? Just in case anyones interested like TFG said Im still a firm believer in drylok. My 600 is still going strong after 5 months. Its very durable and i cant see the drylok ever leaking unless there is too much flex in the tank causing it to crack. Anyhow I had a leak on my first fill.(sillicone seem popped from the 42" water pressure.) Dont let it discourage you. All will be well.

I asked about that. Sanitred actually says no way. They want their product to bond to the concrete, not another sealer. I'm sure drylok is good stuff, but I called them about this project and they suggested I didn't use drylok for it.

Honestly, in hind site, I should have parged the entire interior with about a 2 inch layer of concrete. That would've created a much more solid surface for the sanitred to bond to.

 

[Cleod99]

Wizzin You I Agree With You, You Should Of Parged The Inside, Not Only Will It Make The Tank Stronger, But The Outlook Finish Will Look Great Nice And Smooth. Not To Mention It Probably Would Of Covered The Pin Hole.

Can't Wait To See Updates On The Fill.

 

[wizzin]

Wizzin You I Agree With You, You Should Of Parged The Inside, Not Only Will It Make The Tank Stronger, But The Outlook Finish Will Look Great Nice And Smooth. Not To Mention It Probably Would Of Covered The Pin Hole.

Can't Wait To See Updates On The Fill.

As far as looks, the entire back and ends will be covered with a background. Essentially blue foam and great stuff foam shaped to look like a river bank, then parged in a thin layer of concrete and painted. It will be siliconed to the tank walls. That will take care of the "look". I didn't parge it because I was concerned about a thin layer of concrete cracking. If that happens, the entire tank fails.

 

[Cleod99]

How Might It Crack If You Painted The Tank In Rubberized Sealent