Someone has to know how public aquariums build their aquariums?

[JaysLittleOcean]

My wife and I just took a trip to Boston and while we were away we were away we stopped at the New England Aquarium. Well let's just say the aquarium bug is back in full swing and I have one burning question that will end up making my dream of a massive aquarium come true. How are these massive aquariums that are not 100% plastic, glass or a mixture of both materials built? Each display was huge! But I could only see a single pane of Acrylic used, even on the reef displays. Is their some sort of epoxy that is safe to used even for the reef? Any drawbacks? I definitely need to know!

[Timfish]

Steel or concrete frames with silicone or rubber gaskets. Water pressure holds the panels in place. I've built a 1100 gallon tank with plywood and a rubber liner and held an acrylic panel to one side with nylon bolts and used silicone along with the rubber liner to create a water tight seal.

[CrayolaViolence]

Check out the 50,000 gallon aquarium in a hotel in Bangkok. Build thread on the large aquarium forum. There are several SUPER HUGE tanks on there. One is like a 35,000 IN HOME aquarium.

There are some mind-blowing set ups on that forum.

[JaysLittleOcean]

Originally Posted by Timfish

Steel or concrete frames with silicone or rubber gaskets. Water pressure holds the panels in place. I've built a 1100 gallon tank with plywood and a rubber liner and held an acrylic panel to one side with nylon bolts and used silicone along with the rubber liner to create a water tight seal.

So was the rubber liner used to waterproof the rest of the aquarium from the plywood construction? Or was epoxy used? I am looking to go big downstairs and I want to ensure longevity of the build as well as to prevent leaching of chemicals.

[JaysLittleOcean]

Originally Posted by CrayolaViolence

Check out the 50,000 gallon aquarium in a hotel in Bangkok. Build thread on the large aquarium forum. There are several SUPER HUGE tanks on there. One is like a 35,000 IN HOME aquarium.

There are some mind-blowing set ups on that forum.

I will definitely have to check that out. A 35,000 gallon home aquarium sounds amazing!

[PsymonStark]

I thought that they used multiple layers of acrylic sheets


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[JaysLittleOcean]

Originally Posted by PsymonStark

I thought that they used multiple layers of acrylic sheets


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This aquarium display was almost 5 stories tall so I am guessing some type of protective layer was used since it only looks like concrete and the panels for viewing comprised the entire aquarium.

[victor_c3]

Do some reading about a product called "pond armor". It's a paintable waterproofing agent that will bond to concrete, wood, and steel when the surfaces are prepared properly.

I'm planning on starting construction on a 9' x 3' x 4.5' tall plywood tank within the next few weeks and I intend to use pond armor to waterproof the tank.

[d-man]

My 145"x32x43" tank is a plywood build. I used BlueMax as my sealer. Bonded the glass front panel to the BlueMax using silicone. Simple build, and fun. Except when the silicone began to try when I was doing it myself since my buddies caulking gun broke 30secs after starting the sealing process

[JaysLittleOcean]

Originally Posted by d-man

My 145"x32x43" tank is a plywood build. I used BlueMax as my sealer. Bonded the glass front panel to the BlueMax using silicone. Simple build, and fun. Except when the silicone began to try when I was doing it myself since my buddies caulking gun broke 30secs after starting the sealing process

How long has your aquarium been running for?

[rum3002576]

that would be awesome

Originally Posted by JaysLittleOcean

I will definitely have to check that out. A 35,000 gallon home aquarium sounds amazing!

[victor_c3]

Originally Posted by d-man

My 145"x32x43" tank is a plywood build. I used BlueMax as my sealer. Bonded the glass front panel to the BlueMax using silicone. Simple build, and fun. Except when the silicone began to try when I was doing it myself since my buddies caulking gun broke 30secs after starting the sealing process

How many coats did you apply? Did you have to sand or prep the previous layers before adding additional coats?

[JaysLittleOcean]

Originally Posted by victor_c3

How many coats did you apply? Did you have to sand or prep the previous layers before adding additional coats?

+1 on this question.

[Digitalelectric]

Cement, rebar, acrylic super panes, seals. Somewhere out there is a how they built it of the Georgia aquarium.

[tkeracer619]

Remember the tank is the cheapest part

[JaysLittleOcean]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

Remember the tank is the cheapest part

I am not concerned about the cost. I am concerned with the construction and ability to live in my home with 4 children. Unfortunately I am not interested in demo of half the house to bring in 120 inch panes of acrylic/glass when their are other methods of construction available.

[Timfish]

Originally Posted by JaysLittleOcean

So was the rubber liner used to waterproof the rest of the aquarium from the plywood construction? Or was epoxy used? I am looking to go big downstairs and I want to ensure longevity of the build as well as to prevent leaching of chemicals.

I didn't use any epoxy on the plywood just a 40 mil EPDM rubber roofing liner. EPDM rubber liners for ponds are more plyable if you're interested in going that way.

[d-man]

It's been up since nov 1st/2015

I bought a 5g bucket and did enough coats to utilize about 4g of it. They recommended I buy 3gs of the paint but I wanted to be safe and add more. No sanding needed between coats, however this is not an epoxy, so it's not glass smooth like epoxy would have been.
I went this route because I needed to move it into my house around corners and such. I was worried that the rigidity of epoxy would possibly crack while there was some possible flexion.
My old 800g tank I built on spot and used epoxy and that was smooth finish

Both types have their pros and cons

[JaysLittleOcean]

Originally Posted by Timfish

I didn't use any epoxy on the plywood just a 40 mil EPDM rubber roofing liner. EPDM rubber liners for ponds are more plyable if you're interested in going that way.

That's an interesting method for the inside of the aquarium. How long has it been running and how long do you think the liner will last against saltwater?

[JaysLittleOcean]

Originally Posted by d-man

It's been up since nov 1st/2015

I bought a 5g bucket and did enough coats to utilize about 4g of it. They recommended I buy 3gs of the paint but I wanted to be safe and add more. No sanding needed between coats, however this is not an epoxy, so it's not glass smooth like epoxy would have been.
I went this route because I needed to move it into my house around corners and such. I was worried that the rigidity of epoxy would possibly crack while there was some possible flexion.
My old 800g tank I built on spot and used epoxy and that was smooth finish

Both types have their pros and cons

Do you notice any leaching of chemicals or hair algae? I remember reading a few articles stating that people had increased hair algae in their plywood aquarium builds.

[karimwassef]

Public aquariums are usually concrete and acrylic. The concrete is sealed like a pool with hydraulic cement or another water stop. These concrete walls can be 6-8 feet thick.

The acrylic panels are usually cast to size and can be up to two feet thick (whale enclosures for example). They're seated with rubber.

These are billion dollar tanks... not intended for personal consumption.

However, the techniques can be scaled with concrete blocks, glass panels, plywood and epoxy.

My future build is a hybrid plywood/glass at 1500gals.

But here are my heroes:

https://youtu.be/kke9LJ0sWKU
https://youtu.be/0vtoiHaE_d4
https://youtu.be/-lM_y42bBis



Eli has his own thread on reefcentral and answers any questions you may have

[taricha]

Went on a behind the scenes tour of GA aquarium with school group. They talked about how when it came time to fuse the layers for the panes, a Japanese company would do it, but the condition was that no one else was allowed on the work site while they did their secret process. The aquarium people have no clue how their panes were made :-)

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[Joe0813]

watch tanked and how they build some of there huge tanks

[JaysLittleOcean]

Originally Posted by karimwassef

Public aquariums are usually concrete and acrylic. The concrete is sealed like a pool with hydraulic cement or another water stop. These concrete walls can be 6-8 feet thick.

The acrylic panels are usually cast to size and can be up to two feet thick (whale enclosures for example). They're seated with rubber.

These are billion dollar tanks... not intended for personal consumption.

However, the techniques can be scaled with concrete blocks, glass panels, plywood and epoxy.

My future build is a hybrid plywood/glass at 1500gals.

But here are my heroes:

https://youtu.be/kke9LJ0sWKU
https://youtu.be/0vtoiHaE_d4
https://youtu.be/-lM_y42bBis



Eli has his own thread on reefcentral and answers any questions you may have

These aquariums are amazing! I just need to understand which combination of waterproofing I want to use.

[locito277]

Originally Posted by JaysLittleOcean

These aquariums are amazing! I just need to understand which combination of waterproofing I want to use.

This looks like it could be fun :-)


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