Hey, Gary!
Have you checked out some of the construction info at Monster Fish keepers?
I registered years ago, forgot my password info and just had to rejoin.

Also, take a look at the link below! :~)
It's one of the smaller tanks out there.

Frank Zijlmans has a 26,417 gal one!!
33 foot wide and 20 foot depth and the water height is 5,5 foot.

I'm still tossing around the idea of incorporating the largest tank that I can into my 'still in planning stages' greenhouse!
I can use it to stabilise/help warm things in addition to already planned for heatsinks.

I probably still have tons of files/links on building monster tanks.
(Checking a few of them...well, many are outdated.)
They've all been pushed to the backburner with the greenhouse planning taking a higher priority.
I might go back to tropicals again, in this case.
I love my natives, but few things are more gorgeous than a huge tank filled with 100's of Cardinal tetras or a school of true Altum angels!
Hmmm...but I do like the Wild Red Spotted Green Discus and I really miss my Scleropages jardini and...
Scott

Here is a link that might be useful: Ted's Outdoor 2400 Gallon Big Fish Aquarium

Hi
Thanks for the suggestions .I suspect those are the only sites I'll find any info.lol Obviusly the selection of materials would be most important and the only reason I'm considering this is from getting the glass for free lol
I suspect those two pieces of glass would cost at least 300 bucks each?? I've built tanks in the past but generally have found it cheaper to buy especially used.
Building a tank this size and kept outdoors is obviously a lot more complicated .
Have you seen the site with the 50,000 gallon aquarium?? lol. can't imagine what he spent. 3 inch thick glass panes covering 20 feet!!!.
Guess I'll try those sites . I MUST do this right the first time!!! Thanks again gary

Gary: I wouldn't use pressboard anywhere near water. The least bit of moisture will cause it to swell and start to crumble.

Marine ply is the way to go, with 2 x 4's for support. Line the interior with vinyl panels glued to the ply, seal the joints with silicone, and as long as the joints are well suppored, it will be as watertight as any commercially made glass tank.

That 3/4" thick glass probably would hold, presuming you keep the tank dimensions in line with it; long and not too deep front to back, but if the doors were used in a commercial building, it's likely to be safety glass.

No clue as to how you can get the glass out of the frames, but if/when you do, a concrete block base would seem the safest to hold it all. Matter of fact, if you laid out a concrete block base then filled it with screenings and packed them down, it might give the tank botton a lot of extra support.

Just make sure the whole thing is absolutely dead level before you fill it. I've taken to laying a piece of thick styrofoam under all of my tanks over 55 gal. and it's amazing how well they settle down to a perfect level.

But it's still true, that haunting eBay listings for good used will often result in a lot of big tank for relatively few bucks. I scored 2- 130's for $90.00 each recently. One needed resealing, but that was easy.

(I have a batch of young Wakin wintering in one of them in my greenhouse, on their way to becomming handheld pets.)

"...the site with the 50,000 gallon aquarium??"

Is that the one up in Canada?
If so, I remember it from a year or so ago.
I haven't looked at any of this in a while.
I think that the last time I got obsessed was last Jan.
Must be something about winter! ;~)

Around that same time, I was drooling over one on Aquabid.
It was about 10,000 gal and had been used for shows in Vegas.
I figured that if I could bleach it enough(Ewww!Who knows what's been going on in it? I don't need a crab tank!), it would've been worth the drive to pick up!

There's never anything good on eBay out my way!:~(
Although L.A. or S.D. have a few things, all of the good used large tanks are out in both of your areas.

There was a guy that made great 500 gallonish Mbuna tanks out of concrete.
You have to make sure that they're pretty much where you want them, of course! ;~)

Scott

Birdwidow

The base material I was considering is Hardi_board. A mixture of portland cement and fiber glass beads. I wouldn't use press board to make a birdhouse. Lol It comes
in 4x8 sheets in several thicknesses. Supposedly it has 3 times the strength of comparable plywood. The great aspect in this case is it will not absorb water. Of course would not be waterproof on the inside but should help the outside ..Should only require a coat of acylic paint. No layers to be concerned about. I've heard several plans on the treating the inside .like you mentiond ,using rubber pond liner, and two part marine epoxy. I think I'll post to several who have done it each way and compare. No hurrry .This obviously is not a weekend job.
As you mentioned it must be absolutely level but what concerns me would be shifting over time.. That's the purpose of the concrete apron. Barring earthquake it would never get out of level lol. Not sure if it's necessary. Think I would also build the stand directly into the framework. Would be nice to have a material strong enough that the space underneath could be used, Filtration ,sump,
beer or whatnot lol. Another thing that concerns me would be wind and therefore waves. Shifting a lot of weight.
My neighbor is checking on tensile strength ratings for glass but i checked my 150 and it's only 1/2 inch and 27 inches deep. I would like to have at least 30 inches of depth. But would be tough to reach the bottom.
Scott Just google "50,000 gallon aquarium." has been set up for several years. He also has a "MINI tank of 15,000 gallons lol i skimmed the construction mostly for the cost. Can't imagine what 3 inch glass would cost.
seems to me that the 8 inch stuff at the Georgia aquarium cost 250 bucks per square!! Imagine the cost of delivery and installation lol thanks everybody gary

Oh. Concrete fiberboard. That's different. Sorry. I misunderstood.

The fiberglass I was talking about comes in 4 x 8 ft. panels and is used to line refrigerated rooms, showers, dairy rooms, ect.

Our local HC carries it in 2 different thicknesses, but if it were used only as a liner against a solid surface, the thin would work just fine; about @ $10.00 per sheet. Just cut to fit, smear on liquid glue and seal the joints. Of course, if you want a color other than white, I guess you would have to paint.

Yeah!
That's the one!
I remember drooling over it last year.

The thing that I liked about Frank Zijlmans tank, was that the frame was built out of steel shipping containers.
I have more than a few of them around here! ;~)

There were already four of 'em.
Two with a tall storage unit built between and the others as storage/work spaces.
A fifth one came today and another will be here on Monday!
I don't know if you remember my musings at the GH forum, but I'm still trying to plan out a gh using some of those.
I could just take out a wall, do the rest of the prep work and have a huge tank built into the whole thing!! ;~)
Talk about a nice heat sink!
Much better than a concrete pond!:~)

Scott

Birdwidow
Do you have a name for that product?? With the hardiboard walls and that as a liner Sounds like it would not only be waterproof but maybe have some insulation value,
The marine epoxy works but is very expensive and requires a lot of prep work,not to mention the smell lol.
With all that glass I would think the heat loos or gain would be terrific So insulation would be great.
Two years ago i added heaters to my 1000 gallon pond
a total of 2400 watts. Had no problem keeping the temp at whatever I set but the low has only been 37 and then only for 3 hours. Not much of a test.lol. I thought in severe weather I could always use bubble wrap.
Scott I'm doing something similar in my 12 x25 shadehouse. I wanted to have a waterfall so used a 150 gallon aquarium as the reservoir. A simple 150 watt heater has kept it warm and overheating has not been the problem I feared. This has worked well as it not only powers the waterfall ,gives me a place to grow water plants ,fish and does not have to be hidden. How it will work as a semi-hydroponic system remains a mystery as well as how effective it is as an air heater. Obviosly since I'm keeping plants and fish in it I can't put it in full sun.
Algae has not been near the problem I'd feared nor has the runoff from the marsh area. The plants are controlling the nutrients even added fertilizer. I made the waterfall from painted expanding foam. So far it's working well except for a leak somewhere so can't run the waterfall 24/7
but I think this would be way too much humidity anyway.
Goodluck with your project gary

Not to be a chronic high-jacker, but...

What do y'all think of these?
{{gwi:379976}}
Granted side panes would be more difficult, but not really needed.
It'd be interesting for ray's, large catfish, Arowanas/Arapaima Gigas(If you could prevent jumping!).
Since we're doing a lot of cleanup/roofing, I have one of these sitting in my yard right now.

Here is a link that might be useful: Instant fish tank?

Gary:

The only name for those pnaels I can think of, would be "fiberglass liner panels." Check out any big box home center and you should find them, but they only come in white that I know of. At least that's the only color I've ever seen them in. Look in or near the section where the wall paneling is sold. But it's not the hardboard faced with plastic. It's solid vinyl, smooth and matte on one side, and shiny and textured on the other.

I can't say the panels alone would have much insulating value though. Their real value is in being totally waterproof and infinately cleanable. In fact, they are used in applications where really hot steam is used, such as the interior of refrigerated trucks that carry raw meat, that must be steam cleaned after every load.

However, if you wanted to insulate the tank, you could line the back, sides and bottom with insulating foam boards, then face it with the fiberglass. Type 250 foam is used under concrete floors, so would certainly hold up for the bottom, although you wouldn't need it for the back and sides.

The adheiseves now available make the above applications simple and again, you would need to seal only the seams, using the same 100% silicone you would in any other tank.

BTW: My clever husband came up with a technique to lay on a factory perfect seal, with straight edges. Blue tape. He runs the tape about 1/4" on either side of each inside joint, then lays on the sealant, smooths it, feathering out and onto the tape, then waits about 5 minutes for it to set up a bit, then peels off the tape. Perfect edges every time, with no sealant smeared on the glass where you don't want it.

Hi
Thanks very much for the info. Will check them out. Would cut the work by at least half and probably the cost also. Wish I knew who to ask about getting the hinge frames off. I can't find any screws so would assume they are siliconed in place. I could cut them off put would lose abut 8 inches of glass not to mention I would have to take them to a glass cutter. Can't imagine how they cut glass that thick ,not with my glass cutter I'm sure.lol
Scott Have no idea about those .Seems like a VERY low price?? Know anyone who's actually used them?? 8 mils seems awful thin for long term use.
I was just reading on Monster fish about a guy who just built his own tank and the window blew during the initial fill!! Please tell me that's not going to happen to me!! lol
Thanks again gary

Gary: If you frame and support the glass properly, including bracing front to back on top and bottom to prevent the least bowing, it won't happen to you.

If the metal really was fixed to the glass with silicone, you could try a heat gun and a razor- carefully. Very, very carefully. I've steam cleaned tanks and not harmed the silicone, but have felt it getting a bit soft where the steam really hit it hard. It firmed up again with no problem and nothing leaked, but that tells me it may be removable with more heat than produced by a home model steamer cleaner. (Euro-Pro)

Have you tried doing a websearch for some chemical that would soften or dissolve it? As least you wouldn't scratch up the glass and I can't imagine any chemical that would hurt it. Of course, I'm not a chemist either.

Birdwidow
Thanks for the vote of confidence !!.Did you note on the site that Scott gave above that the glass cracked??
I kind of liked his method ,using stacked 4x4's would give a lot of insulation value from both heat and cold.
Have ,so far, made no headway in removing the hinges. Checked with the glass co. and they want 80 bucks to cut them off besides having to haul them to the shop. They weigh at least 150 each. and stick out of my truck two feet.!!
. Can't even get a razor blade between the glass and metal
but can't find any silicone either.. However these are attached they were meant to stay lol. I thought they were aluminun but now suspect they're stainless. Certainly don't want to scratch the glass.
Anyway thanks to you both for the help. I think the Monster fish keeper site will give me a lot of help gary

Gary: If it IS stainless, have you thought about just leaving them on, and incorporating them into your design?

Hi
That's a good idea!! Know of anyway I could tell what kind of metal it is.?? I thought SS because it was so difficult to scratch even with a chisel. I'm guessing that even if it's aluminum it would not be particularly harmful especially for such a large volume of water.
Could cover them on the outside and really wouldn't be noticeable on the inside. They do have a ring on one side where the shaft for the hinge was attached.. Might be able to cut that off with a hacksaw.
I probably won't get started on this until after the holidays so will have some time to think about it. Thanks for the suggestions!!! gary