550g DIY (cinderblock hybrid)

[aussie240]

hey guys i know it sounds a little crazy right? dream big and make everyday count towards your dream and one day it will happen. ive been planning a big build for a very long time now since i have no longer my 240. i really want to go all diy style with the tank and stand because of the room i'm limited to go out buy a pre-fab tank and just install which would be nice, the doorway is just to tight i cant do it and wont be able to turn the tank once in the room because im going for depth around 48" so its going to be a diy project and some serious brainstorming to make this possible. so my question is can i use cinderblock (400x200x200mm) and core fill it and use rio rods too.

im playing with the idea of using cinder for the main shell of the tank and using 2.5in thick acrylic for the front panel with no bracing, i think open top tanks look great you plus can get your hands in there without the fuss of a canopy, less uv blockage from light, more cooling and different viewing angle too but theres a few downsides, risk of animals jumping out and evaporation. so im going open top
because i will be using the sun as the main source of light for coral growth and have a large halide that will be used for the main display for viewing and feed time.

the main concept behind all of this project is to prove you can have a monster reef tank with out the huge power and water bills, if you can get free power and water why not utilize it, so having the whole setup run on solar energy with a large fork lift battery to store the power is essential, the whole roof of the fish room is going to be clear sheets to let the sun in and grow the corals, the free water is going to be rainwater collected and filtered for salt mix and ato, even though im only 15mins away from collecting clean natural sea water off the caloundra coast its to risky and not worth it.

there's so much of the build i can diy and save eg.. base-rock freeform structures too making all the fitout and cabinetry to style the room.

Am i crazy taking on this project or just follow my dreams and make this happen

 

[Sacohen]

Sounds like a plan.
As far as using Cinder Blocks for the shell it can be done.
I used to work for a Reef Shop in Ft. Lauderdale where their lower tanks that held the live rock for sale was made out of Cinder Blocks.
It was obviously treated to prevent water seepage.

 

[AlexG]

This sounds like a fun build. I have seen cinder block tanks before. The ones I saw were typically low to the ground, shallow, like an indoor pond. The only limitation I would see potentially is the height of the tank. Do you have dimensions for the tank yet? I would only be worried about how a cinder block wall with re-enforcement would handle the lateral load of water pushing against it but I think that concern depends on the dimensions of the display tank. I have been building my DIY setup now for a little over two years and it has been a lot of fun. I used plywood for my DIY tank construction though. I am interested to see your power setup.

 

[aussie240]

This sounds like a fun build. I have seen cinder block tanks before. The ones I saw were typically low to the ground, shallow, like an indoor pond. The only limitation I would see potentially is the height of the tank. Do you have dimensions for the tank yet? I would only be worried about how a cinder block wall with re-enforcement would handle the lateral load of water pushing against it but I think that concern depends on the dimensions of the display tank. I have been building my DIY setup now for a little over two years and it has been a lot of fun. I used plywood for my DIY tank construction though. I am interested to see your power setup.

hey alex thanks for the input. i only just stumbled upon your youtube channel and great to see some one finally doing big diy saltwater tanks. im still in planning stage for the build but should be happening before the end of the year. for the time being ive been collecting equipment and just picked up a vectra L1 for the circulation pump and heaps of base rock too. i wish i could use ply wood but the room im putting it in wont work. it sux becouse i make wooden boxes for the last 10 years (cabinet maker) and have a whole workshop at my disposal inc CNC. the dimensions are 3000x1000x700 high and going for 50mm thick acrylic brace less, will this work? thanks again

 

[aussie240]

 

[aussie240]

Vectra and base rock picked up today

 

[AlexG]

hey alex thanks for the input. i only just stumbled upon your youtube channel and great to see some one finally doing big diy saltwater tanks. im still in planning stage for the build but should be happening before the end of the year. for the time being ive been collecting equipment and just picked up a vectra L1 for the circulation pump and heaps of base rock too. i wish i could use ply wood but the room im putting it in wont work. it sux becouse i make wooden boxes for the last 10 years (cabinet maker) and have a whole workshop at my disposal inc CNC. the dimensions are 3000x1000x700 high and going for 50mm thick acrylic brace less, will this work? thanks again

I think acrylic thickness is good I calculate that to ~1.96in thick which should be plenty for the viewing panel with a height of 700mm. As for the cinder block construction on the tank I calculated ~27.5 inches high in my conversion from 700mm to inches and to be honest I don't have personal experience with cinder block construction tanks. I know that a pure cement tank reinforced with re-bar would work with the correct cement PSI rating. My concern with cinder blocks is even with them filled with cement and re-bar how much of a difference in strength on lateral loading is there between cinder block construction vs a full on poured cement tank. While I want to say it would work I would also want to see if someone else has done something similar before with success. Unless you want to play the part of first time tester of a new construction method but I am sure it has been done before its just a matter of finding someone with well documented setups. I know for the big DIY tanks monster fish keepers was a great source for me as there are a lot of DIY fresh water hobbyists that build crazy large tanks. I think the hardest part of DIY tanks is finding someone that shares methods of construction in detail along with the challenges they have faced along the way to getting a DIY tank online.

That is some nice looking base rock. Need to take some closeup pictures. Is that rock from the ocean or a quarry/mine?

 

[sheldonjjessup]

What's the YouTube channel?

 

[AlexG]

What's the YouTube channel?

AlexGs Aquarium https://www.youtube.com/user/algawura2

 

[aussie240]

I think acrylic thickness is good I calculate that to ~1.96in thick which should be plenty for the viewing panel with a height of 700mm. As for the cinder block construction on the tank I calculated ~27.5 inches high in my conversion from 700mm to inches and to be honest I don't have personal experience with cinder block construction tanks. I know that a pure cement tank reinforced with re-bar would work with the correct cement PSI rating. My concern with cinder blocks is even with them filled with cement and re-bar how much of a difference in strength on lateral loading is there between cinder block construction vs a full on poured cement tank. While I want to say it would work I would also want to see if someone else has done something similar before with success. Unless you want to play the part of first time tester of a new construction method but I am sure it has been done before its just a matter of finding someone with well documented setups. I know for the big DIY tanks monster fish keepers was a great source for me as there are a lot of DIY fresh water hobbyists that build crazy large tanks. I think the hardest part of DIY tanks is finding someone that shares methods of construction in detail along with the challenges they have faced along the way to getting a DIY tank online.

That is some nice looking base rock. Need to take some closeup pictures. Is that rock from the ocean or a quarry/mine?

thanks alex for the info on the pressure, ive been watching some of your videos and decided to give building a ply tank like yourself, ive decided not to go cinder and acrylic anymore because of the cost and worrie dabout the seal with the acrylic panel. plus it will take alot longer if i do that way as i have no experience in brick laying but i am however a cabinetmaker, so im thinking big plytank with 12mm starfire pane ?
i will take some pics tomorrow of the rock yes its real base rock that i got off a guy i bought the nyos skimmer off. he has about 400kgs of it so i got half and have abit more thats still live in a mates breeding system

 

[aussie240]

heres some pics of the bunker, i cleaned it out today ans should be able to slide a 12ftx3x2.5 down the side wall rather than build the extra deep back wall tank i had planned


back wall


right wall


left wall


roof

 

[aussie240]

quick sketchup ive done for the room, what do you guys think.
im ditching the cinder and just making it from ply now because its alot easier and i can built it quicker
tank size will be 3400x750x725