Fish Tank OOPS

We tested the fish tank after installing it in the greenhouse.  It failed when the water was just beginning to drain.  My son repaired the tear and erected concrete forms around the perimeter of the platform.  Then he put the mended fish tank in place and began to slowly fill it with water, pouring concrete into the space between the form and the fish tank at the same rate as it filled with water.  As a result, the outer concrete shell fits like a glove to the inner tank and there is no visible bulging or distortion from concrete or water.  He stopped at 16" since the upper 1/3 of the tank receives far less pressure than the bottom 2/3.This is a closeup of the interior, showing one of the tension rods and the 1" gluing strip along the bottom.  So far the tank has proven to be sturdy and water-tight.
Here are pictures of the inside insulation of my greenhouse with the ends of the legs of the tables that will support my grow tanks.  I daubed on silicone to form waterproof sleeves 2" up the legs.

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Diversion into Chickens

A week ago one of my daughters asked what she should do with her extra chickens.  Her municipality allows a family to keep eight chickens.  She had expected some die off of the chicks she raised, but all of them survived, leaving her with twelve chickens.  I volunteered to adopt the four excess chickens.  Some family members suggested that I look into the idea of a chicken tractors.  This is essentially a portable chicken coop that can be moved around the yard, providing many of the benefits of free range chickens without the need for lining the entire yard with chicken wire and setting up a video surveillance and slingshots to keep varmints like dogs, cats, and coyotes from disturbing the hens.  I had some 1" mesh vinyl fencing on hand and after browsing the internet I came up with the design that resulted in the structure shown above.  The roof is made of 1/2" corrugated plastic sheet which can be bent at a nice angle when the inside surface is cut through several cells.  I used 2" wide poplar planks coated with polyacrylic for the structure other than the floor beams which are in contact with the ground.  I had some square aluminum tubing on hand and used that for the floor beams.  Nesting boxes and roosting poles are hidden under the roof.  I had planned to put in ramps but the chickens quickly demonstrated a willingness to jump the less than 30" distance to the upper story of their cozy new home.

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