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Civ-E question
- Thread starter ~Flighty~
- Start date
testhead1313
Here's lookin' at you
When I lived in Milwaukee, I use to go to a LFS named Aqua Exhibits. They have a 4000 gallon concrete block shark tank that housed some nurse sharks and a 6' long green moray that grew too quickly (or someone brought them in, I can't remember). Anyhow, it was a low block wall (I believe it came to my thighs roughly 3 ft.?) that was free standing in the middle of the store under the rows of tanks (free standing meaning all four walls were unsupported by another wall... sorry for the poor description, I'm not an engineer). If you are still set on the cinderblock wall, you might want to contact them and ask how they did theirs. Here's a link. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Chris
Chris
jacqur
This is why I don't surf.
Cindy,
I think it sounds like a crazy idea. And by crazy I mean insane, warped, disturbed, etc. But that is none of my business. Cinder blocks are more than strong enough if installed properly. Figure a lot of areas of the country use ciinder blocks for house foundations. The entire weight of the house is supported by the cinder blocks - compression forces, but also the earth and hydrostatic pressure of the ground water is restrained. These walls can be 40' long or more and 8' high. Your project is tiny by comparison.
So - the cinder blocks are no problem - but as mentioned earlier, the problem in my opinion is anchoring them to the basement floor. I assume you have a poured concrete floor - probably 3"-4" thick.
I would suggest speaking to someone regarding anchoring to the floor. Probably drilling epoxy anchors or drilling rebar with expandable collars of some sort.
One more thought - for the material cost associated with this project + the time invested (My guess - $250 materials and 10 hrs. install plus some sort of water stop membrane or several coats of epoxy paint) why not just by a large rubbermaid sump. Another idea would be to order a custom pond membrane to fit your dimensions and build the tank out of studs and plywood. Much easier to anchor to the existing floor and walls.
Aquatic Ecosystems sells pond liners of various sizes and custom made ones. They have a website - I'm not sure what it is but should be easy to find.
I'm looking at a catalog now w/ 10' x 15' 45 mil EPDM liners for $125.
They also have a 30"h x 70" diameter round 450 gal tank for $400.
Might be easier in the long run.
I think it sounds like a crazy idea. And by crazy I mean insane, warped, disturbed, etc. But that is none of my business. Cinder blocks are more than strong enough if installed properly. Figure a lot of areas of the country use ciinder blocks for house foundations. The entire weight of the house is supported by the cinder blocks - compression forces, but also the earth and hydrostatic pressure of the ground water is restrained. These walls can be 40' long or more and 8' high. Your project is tiny by comparison.
So - the cinder blocks are no problem - but as mentioned earlier, the problem in my opinion is anchoring them to the basement floor. I assume you have a poured concrete floor - probably 3"-4" thick.
I would suggest speaking to someone regarding anchoring to the floor. Probably drilling epoxy anchors or drilling rebar with expandable collars of some sort.
One more thought - for the material cost associated with this project + the time invested (My guess - $250 materials and 10 hrs. install plus some sort of water stop membrane or several coats of epoxy paint) why not just by a large rubbermaid sump. Another idea would be to order a custom pond membrane to fit your dimensions and build the tank out of studs and plywood. Much easier to anchor to the existing floor and walls.
Aquatic Ecosystems sells pond liners of various sizes and custom made ones. They have a website - I'm not sure what it is but should be easy to find.
I'm looking at a catalog now w/ 10' x 15' 45 mil EPDM liners for $125.
They also have a 30"h x 70" diameter round 450 gal tank for $400.
Might be easier in the long run.
OP
OP
~Flighty~
Now with more baby
I agree %100, totally disturbed, but don't tell me I wouldn't be the envy of many of the other disturbed people reading this 
A large tank would be the best and what I originally had envisioned, but the problem is getting it through the door (38"). That and the cost and shipping is pretty steep. Believe me, I've poured over the various websites for that stuff and there are few workable options. Best would be a 400 g rectangular closed tank designed to fit through doors. Pricey and expensive to ship. I don't really want to do multiple reservoirs because of the plumbing and associated risk of failure and flood. If I'm going to go through the expense and time of a project like this I really am looking for adding 600g+. You just can't get anything that holds that much into the room unless you construct it yourself (except for a pickup truck reservoir that would cost over $1500 - waaaaay too much)
I have to admit I just like the idea of a masonry project and think I would have a lot of satisfaction seeing that done. It would fit the room nicely and with the lid closed it will be just a place to put fish stuff on. I don't know much about constructing the wall correctly, but intuitively I was thinking that making a fillet around the inside with cement (don't know the correct terminology, but I mean making the inside bottom rounded) and then painting with the waterproofing material would help with the problem of shear force between the floor and wall. I really don't know anything about anchoring it to the floor and walls, but this is a hobby to learn new things, right?
A large tank would be the best and what I originally had envisioned, but the problem is getting it through the door (38"). That and the cost and shipping is pretty steep. Believe me, I've poured over the various websites for that stuff and there are few workable options. Best would be a 400 g rectangular closed tank designed to fit through doors. Pricey and expensive to ship. I don't really want to do multiple reservoirs because of the plumbing and associated risk of failure and flood. If I'm going to go through the expense and time of a project like this I really am looking for adding 600g+. You just can't get anything that holds that much into the room unless you construct it yourself (except for a pickup truck reservoir that would cost over $1500 - waaaaay too much)
I have to admit I just like the idea of a masonry project and think I would have a lot of satisfaction seeing that done. It would fit the room nicely and with the lid closed it will be just a place to put fish stuff on. I don't know much about constructing the wall correctly, but intuitively I was thinking that making a fillet around the inside with cement (don't know the correct terminology, but I mean making the inside bottom rounded) and then painting with the waterproofing material would help with the problem of shear force between the floor and wall. I really don't know anything about anchoring it to the floor and walls, but this is a hobby to learn new things, right?
PRTA79
Non-member
block wall
i think its a great idea , tieing the block to the floor isnt a problem ,you just need a hammer drill , i pour alot inertia pads and chemical containment walls in commercial buildings , and we always dowel into the floor or footing ,I would recommend using a liner ,in case the floor were to crack ,and i would definately recomend you dowel into the floor
i think its a great idea , tieing the block to the floor isnt a problem ,you just need a hammer drill , i pour alot inertia pads and chemical containment walls in commercial buildings , and we always dowel into the floor or footing ,I would recommend using a liner ,in case the floor were to crack ,and i would definately recomend you dowel into the floor
Hey Flighty,Check out this link http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/4083/cid/1176
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