Fish Room Redux - 3600+ Gallon Plywood Tank Build

[nolapete]

Two reasons:

1) starfire even 1.25 at 48"x96" would be well over $2000, VLDesigns was $1750 if I remember correctly.

2) the 2" 48"x96" cell cast acrylic is cheaper, thicker (virually no chance of flexing), and weighs less than the glass would. (the acrylic weighs about 485 lbs.)

 

[nolapete]

Got wood! LOL Went to Lowe's and picked up lumber to do the front wall. Ken from SELAS is coming over in the morning to help build it out.

If you ever doubted that I'm actually going to do this, you won't tomorrow night.

 

[nolapete]

Today's progress.

Inset frame for acrylic window
Cutout for header, frame, and front reinforcing.

Later this week we're finishing the front wall.

 

[moosipher]

WOOOOT!! Updateryness... wiz zee peeks! Senor Pete, you spoil us...
Nice to see some forward motion.. thanks for sharing

 

[cvermeulen]

What size is your frame? Do you really need 3? of overlap all the way around? Seems like a waste of window space to me.

 

[nolapete]

It's 4'x8'. If it was only 3', I'd go with 1.5. I suppose I could have put a 2x4 and a 1x4 instead of 2 2x4s. I was going to go with a 4x4, initially.

 

[Bderick67]

Lookin' good

 

[Issack]

looking good man.!

 

[cvermeulen]

It's 4'x8'. If it was only 3', I'd go with 1.5. I suppose I could have put a 2x4 and a 1x4 instead of 2 2x4s. I was going to go with a 4x4, initially.

Yeah but... what I was getting at I guess is that the overlap really doesn't do anything extra. The 3.5" width of the 2x4 joined to the larger 2x6 or 2x8 that forms your outer frame is what takes the load. That shear joint is loaded up by the acrylic pressing on it - adding another 2x4 on top of the first one doesn't make it any stronger. I don't know if you have time to make any changes now, but getting rid of one of those layers of lumber will buy you another 3" of viewable area.

 

[nolapete]

The outer is 2x6 (for clarification). The acrylic sits inside the lip not on the outside of it. The 2x4(s) take all the outward pressure. Do you think that one 2x4 layer would be sufficient to do that? Or did you think that the acrylic just butts up against the 2x6 and 2x4s on the backside like everyone else's tanks?