Da Kine wrote:
I'm in the Miami area and need to make a tank for under a v-berth.
Does anyone know of a place
that makes tanks for less then $300?

Go to metal fab place that supplies the restaurant business.
I had one 25 gal and one 45 gal water tank fabricated. Using 316L SS.
Restaurants are very cost conscious and want their stuff to look good
too. Do not go to a marine welder. You'll get ripped off.

Do not forget the baffles and other "proper" tank stuff.

I once worked at an experimental oyster hatchery that also conducted
bioassays to determine the suitability of different materials for use
in hatchery and sensitive water systems. Oysters are very sensitive
creatures when developing and therefore made excellent indicators.

Aluminum...............? uggg, heavy metals mean Alzheimer city

Polyester fiberglass takes a long time to leach out the bad stuff. But
will wash clean after a few months of continuous flushing. Even many
FDA plastics approved for potable water systems is a bit toxic for
oysters. Copper is instant death to oysters.

Take a hint from our bivalve mollusk
buddies.............................USE 316L

Or if you're really cheep...................... get lots of 2L bottles.
very storable, cheep, versital, and extreamily safe becsue your water
supply is "compartmentalized" into 2L containers not a single 45 gallon
tank.
Aquatic Bob

i thought about SS first but thought that it would be so heavy ..
maybe I'm thnking too much. If i want to go with about 45 gal. tank,
how thick do you think I should get on the metal? There is a place near
me that I can buy the 316 on the cheap but welders are few and far.

Thanks

the thickness of the stainless can be kept fairly thin ... if you
install lots of baffles and internal supports.
the achilles heel in stainless tanks is the quality of the welds.
Welding creates a heat affected zone that is more vulnerable to attack
by chlorides and is also more vulnerable to fatigue. The least amount
of welding will create the stronger (chemical-wise) tank.

In article . com, Da
Kine wrote:

i thought about SS first but thought that it would be so heavy ..
maybe I'm thnking too much. If i want to go with about 45 gal. tank,
how thick do you think I should get on the metal? There is a place near
me that I can buy the 316 on the cheap but welders are few and far.

Thanks

I was thinking that too. I think I will get one big sheet and then fold
it twice. I will have 2 welds on the fat end and one on the thin end
plus 3 at the top where I don't think it will matter much.

I just called Simmons Stainless in Miami today to get their thoughts
and they said the same thing you just did.

THanks