Do it yourself

You know there is an easy way to settle all these hydraulic engineering questions..... buy the kid a textbook in hydraulic engineering and a few weeks later... ask him!

I would frown on the 'too many angle cuts' for cross bracing,,,, how many rolls of paper towel you going to use in mopping up glass, fish, moldy rug while paying legal fees to fight a charge of child endangerment brought by a vengeful spouse who wants custody?

How many neighbors going to siddle up to you at a BBQ and offer you some "handyman" work when they are busy laughing at the waterfall flowing out your front porch?

Quote: Fleastiff

How many neighbors going to siddle up to you at a BBQ and offer you some "handyman" work when they are busy laughing at the waterfall flowing out your front porch?

Face ain't going to be around if it breaks, he'll be downriver somewhere.

; )

LOL, Well if that happens half the posters will fly in from Vegas to toss him a life ring...or a half off coupon for one.

Quote: rxwine

Face ain't going to be around if it breaks, he'll be downriver somewhere.

; )

If it breaks, I'll likely be in my basement. Along with an exterior wall and probably part of my roof XD

Quote: Fleastiff

LOL, Well if that happens half the posters will fly in from Vegas to toss him a life ring...or a half off coupon for one.

That was worth a belly laugh. Thanks =)

In other news... wtf is you alls problem?! Just gonna sit there and let me do all this? What, EB's schadenfreude rubbing off? ;)

I suppose a had what Buzz would call a "lucid moment". Or maybe I just realized this thing is gonna weigh as much as my truck and race car put together, all on a footprint smaller than either. But damn... I should be making this thing out of steel. Lord knows I'd have it all cut and welded already if I could afford the material.

Forget the cables, forget the brackets. I need to go way bigger.

I need boxes, not a box. Basically, I'm thinking something like 8 - 2' x 2' x 2' cubes to make 1 - 8' x 4' x 2' box, all of which have cross bracing to soak this massive load. I'll have to lose at least two of those cross braces to make room for doors and entry so I can use the space, but... I dunno. Maybe I had a nightmare and the residual stuck with me. But my original plan, right now, seems idiotic if not completely retarded.

I gotta press pause for a bit and do some research. Hopefully it doesn't come down to actually making 8 boxes as that's a lot of time and material. But I need to familiarize myself with some advanced carpentry before I go any further, unless one of y'all are a structural engineer and want to work for me for free =p

Be back soon...

Would you get any strength using fiberglass repair kits in it somehow. Fiberglass cracks but as long as it doesn't receive a blow and stays intact it's strong.

Note fiberglass pool construction.

I've worked with fiberglass on a free form basis.

Quote: rxwine

Would you get any strength using fiberglass repair kits in it somehow. Fiberglass cracks but as long as it doesn't receive a blow and stays intact it's strong.

Note fiberglass pool construction.

I've worked with fiberglass on a free form basis.

I'm using fibreglass on the floor of the interior of the tank. The waterproofing epoxy is a bit delicate and, if I do it right, will only be 10 - 15 mils thick. Since there will be rocks on the bottom (some of which are large), I'm doing the fibreglass before the epoxy to ensure none of those rocks poke through it. Additionally, I thought it would help any sag from the tremendous weight, and hopefully reduce the likelihood of my seams pulling apart.

As far as using it as a strengthening device for the stand, nah. Way out of my element with that one, and that would be one hell of a lot of glass needed to cover this thing. It was already more than $50 for just one side of the floor =/

Quote: Face

In other news... wtf is you alls problem?! Just gonna sit there and let me do all this?

I figure if you are going to learn this lesson really well, it is going to need to hurt. After a parents 3rd child, they actually start encouraging them, to run with sharp objects : )

Quote:

But damn... I should be making this thing out of steel. Lord knows I'd have it all cut and welded already if I could afford the material.

Quit paying retail. There are 38 prices for everything, just like auto parts. Buy it using a company name, even if you just made it up.

I will wager, that at least 75% of what you need for that tank is laying around as forgotten dreams in people's yards. Find the art within you, you already have the passion.


What is the point of driving to 500 peoples homes per day, if you are just going to do it for wages? Think of it as a giant outlet store, where you can get anything you need for .10 on the dollar, they are just warehousing it for you. "The pleasure ain't the killing, but the hunt" [Hobo Jim]

It may be that someday Face will have TWO great items to display. An aquarium of gadzillion gallons and a separate display of the base he originally thought would support it. Each will be worth a separate toast to hard work and common sense.

Could you incorporate the heavy duty steel shelving they sell at Costco (for less than $200)? The legs and cross beams are designed to lock together when the weight is applied. I don't know what the load rating is, but they are pretty beefy.

Happened to run across the following post regarding aquarium load and floor design by an engineer. Seems like it might be a good resource for you during the redesign of the aquarium. A little long but full of good stuff.


FLOOR DESIGN