14 replies to this topic

[Jamil]

Hey guys, me and my step dad are planning to build a massive tank/pond, I'm going to have a concrete base for a 3x3m shed, the shed will be insulated and thinking in putting a 2000W room heater and an air con in the shed, fully wired properly by my cousin (who's an electrician).

Pond size will hopefully be 9x5x4 (edited from 11ft to 9ft ) sizes aren't confirmed until we get the building side of the tank/pond sorted, I need help with the walls of the pond, what should I use? at the front will be two 10 or 12mm panels (I will try to confirm tonight or tomorrow that's when i should be getting glass.) the panels wont be near the bottom were all the pressure is because they are only 750mm high, they will be closer to the top and need to find a way to support the glass and fix it too the cement.

I'm thinking concrete walls with LOADS of steel inside lol, but Is this the right way to go? what's the best way to go using concrete or something similar? Í've been doing a bit of research but have found nothing as I am using Ask because my Google doesn't work

the pond won't probably start till Christmas or after Christmas, but during Christmas I've got my granddad over from England who is a brickie he might be able to help me a bit with the pond construction but I'll let him tell me what to do so he can just chill

Would It be best to have the heater rigged to a thermostat that's in the pond so It heats the shed till the water is the right temp or will this use too much electricity. Help on heating would be appreciated too

anyway any opinions on the build and heating of this tank/pond would be greatly appreciated

Jamil.

Edited by Jamil, 15 November 2011 - 10:54 PM.

[Jamil]

anyone know how I could build a large concrete tank? and what to seal it with and also what to use to heat 4000L of water?


Jamil.

[simmoman]

Hi Jamil

Sounds like your going to build our dreams, would definately love to see it when finished. Re building it you might want to talk to a concreater as I was going to have a 3000lt outside pond built and he told me how it would be done. I know the aquarium shops heat the room as it would cost a fortune to heat all the water in the tanks. My understanding is a jager/eheim 300w heater works on a tank up to 1000lt but what you plan to do is a different league. Maybe some of the breeders on line can give you an idea about cost in heating a room and what energy to use.

What fish are you planning to put in it?

[Jamil]

cheers mate, I'll have a word with some concreters, I'm probably going to have a pair of Pbass in there for a bit then maybe move on to rays and other TB's

Jamil.

[SIXFOOTLONG]

http://www.perthcich...x...otlong&st=0

[mtchye]

Hi mate,

For a concrete pond the best way to do it is to use one or two layers of brick for the structure, with a rendered interior that you can then fibreglass. This way you can also build in a window with enough planning.

For filtration I would suggest jumping on to the aus koi forum and checking out the setups there. A bottom drain would save you a giant amount of maintenance when combined with a something like a static k1 pre filter.

For heating I would use a thermostatically triggered solar pool heater, you can array the heating tubing on the roof of your shed.

There are a few pond builders in the WA koi club and they will and can provide some excellent advice. HTH

[brado]

hey bud im a brickie willing to lend my services free of charge for such an awesome project! my advice would be double skin brickwork rendered internally as suggested
the bonus with brickwork is that you could bed your glass in between the two skins making it a "little" bit easier to seal
im only up the road from you so if you need help dont hesitate to contact me mate
if you did want to use concrete it wouldnt be hard to form it up....
Brad

Edited by brado, 22 November 2011 - 08:05 AM.

[Riggers]

Good on ya brado for offering your time to help out another fish enthusiast

[AquaWA]

Hi mate,

I built a similar pond (only smaller) about 10 years ago that is still leak free today (touch wood)

As others have suggested I built it out of brick and rendered it with Bondall Silasec mixed into the cement for water proofing. I double bricked the front so I could slide the 5 foot front glass panel into position to make it easier to seal. I have tried numerous ways of heating it but the cheapest most efficient way is with a small pool solar heater. The pond is about 2500L.

The photo I attached isn't the greatest but i think you get the idea.

Kyle.

Attached Files

•  DSCN0157.JPG   756.52KB   129 downloads

[Peckoltia]

Not sure if I have mentioned it but monsterfishkeepers.com is probably the best place to start looking for some more ideas. There are lots of big tank builds on there, including a few failed ones which is also worth a read to know what to try avoid.

Best of luck,

Alex

[brado]

kyle that pond is awesome!!!
Thanks rigger im always happy to lend a hand for a good cause mate

[simmoman]

What a great response you guys. Can I suggest that an instruction on how to do this be pinned to our site with progress photo's and costs for the future wanna be large tank builders.

Would be totally interested in photo updates when he gets going with it.


Peter

[Jamil]

wow, so many replies haha.

Thanks heaps Brado, I've PM'd you about it, I really appreciate it.

I've got to wait to get rid of the old shed and all my fry, then I can out down a concrete base for the shed,

Then I've got to go to England for 4 weeks after Christmas

so pond probably won't be started until early February,

Might be able to start earlier, just depends how things go from now till then.

Jamil.

[dave06]

Look into buying an aquaponics tub (above ground round pond - www.rapidplastics.com.au) - Im looking into buying one of these, insulating it and building a timber frame / decking around it, to hold insulation in place and make it look neat.

With a lid / inside a shed would help keep it at a more regulated temp and you could probably use the method you suggested. Just saves alot of building and the price would probly be comparable. I have a few ponds (limestone) - I have ongoing issues with keeping them sealed. They work perfect but after a couple of years the sealer kind of peels away and water leaks thru the limestone.

Goodluck Jamil & keep us posted on your project.