Decided to give plywood a shot

[islander671]

Was in the DIY mood last weekend. cut and assembled saturday afternoon, coated and sealed sunday, second coat on monday. had glass cut tuesday, installed glass and intake out output valves tuesday night. wednesday and today will let dry. friday fill it with water..and hope hope hope that it will hold and not leak. heheh..im not gonna start the stand canopy and filtration until i know it will hold water.

[guppy]

Good luck.

[thamunsta]

looks nice so far

[FUB]

WOw, your really got a big work shop to play with:)

[repair]

Lookin good.

[bosshawg]

hope everything turns out alright lookingood so far

[islander671]

Thanks all. filled her up late thursday night, succesfully held water until saturday afternoon. At which point i recieved some very helpful advice from a fellow member (thanks lem). Drained the tank at added another layer of epoxy with fiberglass fabric to reinforce the lining and prevent it from cracking while transporting the tank. am now waiting for it to cure in a few days and add one final layer.

[rayman45]

looks good

looks like u have a workshop :)

[islander671]

looks good

looks like u have a workshop :)

thanks. i used to build custom boxes and do automtoive audio work before i joined the military and i still have all my woodworking tools. ive foundthat building an aquarium is alot like building a sub box.

i saw on another post you were gonna try a plywood box too. any luck with it?

[rayman45]

i was going to
but not worth it for such a small tank.
i wanted to try a small tank like 2 foot cube.

[reefman]

i am plannig to build one too as soon as i buy a house (hopefully this year) I'm thinking about a 6'by4'by2' aprox 375 gal my wife already said i can do it, can't wait :headbang2

[islander671]

i am plannig to build one too as soon as i buy a house (hopefully this year) I'm thinking about a 6'by4'by2' aprox 375 gal my wife already said i can do it, can't wait :headbang2

Good luck! Fun project!

[reefman]

seems like it would be and seems pretty easy to build I'm a little scared though thats a lot of water

[WckedMidas]

how much ya got involved so far?
would ya like to build one thats like 4 foot by 30 inch by lik 18 tall?if so how much

[viciouspisces]

very nice tank! wow I wish I had a workshop like that.I recently attempted to build a 6'X4'x2' tank (my husband wanted to kill me for building in the living room-had alot of problems a tiny leak by the front panel (when id fill it half full )-very frustrating problem!-ended up putting a pond liner inside the whole thing.I think having the right tools and patience really pays off ,maybe ill attempt to fix mine one day -or try again .Awesome job onthat tank tho :thumbsup:

[islander671]

very nice tank! wow I wish I had a workshop like that.I recently attempted to build a 6'X4'x2' tank (my husband wanted to kill me for building in the living room-had alot of problems a tiny leak by the front panel (when id fill it half full )-very frustrating problem!-ended up putting a pond liner inside the whole thing.I think having the right tools and patience really pays off ,maybe ill attempt to fix mine one day -or try again .Awesome job onthat tank tho :thumbsup:

Thank you! i really wish i had the time to finish it completley though, still have to build the stand, hood, and filter system, but with my wife due anyday now i think i might just put the whole thing on hold for awhile.
out of curiosity what did you use to seal you wood? i found that several layers of 2 part epoxy and fiberglass works well. no leaks yet. been holding water for a few weeks now.
Good luck on your next attempt, 6X4X2 is quite a tank!
oh and yes, the right tools does really pay off. even if you only have to use them once.

[viciouspisces]

out of curiosity what did you use to seal you wood? i found that several layers of 2 part epoxy and fiberglass works well. no leaks yet. been holding water for a few weeks now.
Good luck on your next attempt, 6X4X2 is quite a tank!
oh and yes, the right tools does really pay off. even if you only have to use them once.
i used 3 layers of fiberglass (way thicker in the corners tho) and 2 part epoxy and 1/2" acylic sheet for the front (maybe not thick enough).Where i messed up I think was i used a jigsaw w/ a broken hand and my wood was not 100% straight maybe.I dunno ,honestly ,I let myself get pressured to finish the dang thing and kinda got sloppy.Mine makes a nice pond ,but not what i wanted.Maybe Ill try professionally cut glass next time (wanting a 300g).If yours hasnt leaked after a few weeks ,imo sounds like your good to go :thumbsup:

[islander671]

i used 3 layers of fiberglass (way thicker in the corners tho) and 2 part epoxy and 1/2" acylic sheet for the front (maybe not thick enough).Where i messed up I think was i used a jigsaw w/ a broken hand and my wood was not 100% straight maybe.I dunno ,honestly ,I let myself get pressured to finish the dang thing and kinda got sloppy.Mine makes a nice pond ,but not what i wanted.Maybe Ill try professionally cut glass next time (wanting a 300g).If yours hasnt leaked after a few weeks ,imo sounds like your good to go :thumbsup:

Were you ever able to pinpoint the leak?
yea i hate when i get started on something and feel rushed to finish. i had my glass cut proffesionally and it wasnt to costly. all in all i only paid for the glass, epoxy and silicone. i already had everything else (wood i scrounged from work) so even if i do spring a leak it wont set me back too much.

[viciouspisces]

Were you ever able to pinpoint the leak?
yea i hate when i get started on something and feel rushed to finish. i had my glass cut proffesionally and it wasnt to costly. all in all i only paid for the glass, epoxy and silicone. i already had everything else (wood i scrounged from work) so even if i do spring a leak it wont set me back too much.
well kinda ,it was leaking from somewhere between the viewing panel and getting under the fiberglass and coming out in a corner of the tank .Id seal it off again (using marine silicone, fiberglass ) and then for some reason itd be fine till half full then a tiny leak would start in the corner.Had to be the pressure of the water was somehow causing a tiny shift in the viewing panel when Id fill .

[islander671]

well kinda ,it was leaking from somewhere between the viewing panel and getting under the fiberglass and coming out in a corner of the tank .Id seal it off again (using marine silicone, fiberglass ) and then for some reason itd be fine till half full then a tiny leak would start in the corner.Had to be the pressure of the water was somehow causing a tiny shift in the viewing panel when Id fill .

hey i have an idea that im experimenting with right now on a 35 shallow long that im building. if it works out maybe you can try it on your next attempt. im just waiting on the silicon to dry so i can do a water test. :thumbsup:

[wism_chan]

Very creative Bro....keep it up....
hope you'll have a nice looking tank very soon....