Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 10:37 am Re: Wood Frame and Pond liner.
I agree customs tanks just cost too much for the size you want (800 gal ). In the thousands… 2000CAD is cheap but a very lite weight tank , more like $4000 and up for a good one ! Then the shipping…
Myself have been using for over 27 years Rubbermaid polyethylene stock tanks indoors and in the past also outdoors. Not one ever leaked.
Wood type are good if done correct. Better like DIY projects , lots of homework needed , time and good plans. Must read SDS’s on materials used for safety.
Those cheap preformed plastic at big box stores like home depot are just too thin and yes will crack even with a frame built. Many manufactures have different types , do homework. Some are polyethylene , fiberglass , structural foam and then some seamless then others not.
Note on liner’s. Your 14.5 is very thin to me for the pressure of an 800 gallon tank. I would not use a 14.5 mil for a pond liner. The way turtles like to dig around then the decorations , rocks even rooted plant could cause puncturing. Most good pond liners are 45 mil. Then they have different materials used. Like ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM ). Some Polyvinylchloride and other a high density polyethylene (HDPE ) then some a butyl rubber type.
Canada is one of the largest agricultural producers around. Check farm supply stores , tractor stores … in Ontario for heavy duty farm stock tanks like Rubbermaid ones. The seamless polyethylene type. Some supply stores have very large sizes for cattle. Several hundred gallons and some in the thousands of gallons. Use several price trackers for sales and some even offer free shipping with a sale. A little creativity on the outside of them can make the look great and they have a much wider footprint than a glass 12” or 18” wide glass tank , more can be offered for a turtle. I use a clearance bamboo window shade for Piggley stock tank on the outside of it in my home.
Yes most comes with a drain bulkhead ( high quality type ) just use the plug given with most all instead of adding a drain , I use teflon tape on the plug and never had a leak.