5+ Years Up and Running Plywood Tank Club

gilberbt · Nov 11, 2011

The main reason I brought up this topic is that everything I have heard is that a well built DIY plywood tank should last as long as how often a glass tank needs resealed. However after reading up on these for the past year or so it appears that of the plywood tanks that actually do get completed and fish put in them a lot of them seem to not last that long or get torn down a year or 2 after being build because of leaking problems or the tank was fine but someone had to tear it down because they moved...

So my question is to everyone out there how many of you (or know someone) built a DIY plywood tank that have made it to the 5+ year mark without having to be gutted or rebuilt? If you have one that has been up and running for 5+ years can you post a link to that build or go into the mythology of that build (i.e. used fiberglass/epoxy/...) and the tank size?

I consider myself a Jack of enough trades to be able to build one of these and someday time permitting dive into building a monster plywood tank, I would just like someone to prove to me first that they can last more than 5 years.

Thanks!

Owain4 · Nov 11, 2011

A member of the local fish club here has a 130gallon plywood build that he has had for 15 years, he claims its the best tank he has ever had. its no monster but it sure is a nice tank

gilberbt · Nov 12, 2011

So... Only 1 known DIY plywood tank that made it past the 5 year mark? Any others? Not going to be a good argument for the wife to let me build one lol.

NWatson · Nov 12, 2011

A member here Greenterra has a monster DIY tank. It has not hit the 5 year mark though.....here is a link anyway.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...iberglass-and-800-gallons-of-water.&highlight=

Aquatic Aggression · Nov 12, 2011

Im interested in this topic myself. I would like to build something that can house true monsters but question the longevity of materials and it seems like the only time I've heard of people having issues with their plywood tanks they were pretty serious.

gilberbt · Nov 14, 2011

Maybe 5+ years was too ambitious as most of the builds on here are not that old. How about 3+ years?

Burko · Nov 14, 2011

This plywood sump has been running for 2 years...

My tanks have only been up and running for 1...

The1and only · Nov 15, 2011

Go over to Reef central and some other reef sights and you will see a lot of plywood tanks that have been running well over 5 years. I have seen some at least double that. I know it is not the same but I have seen wooden water tanks that I saw built on farms when I was a kid still in operation over 20 years later.

I would also like to add if you look around there a bunch of my brand new glass or acrylic tank failed threads within a short time of set up as well.

clekchau · Dec 3, 2011

The1and only said:
Go over to Reef central and some other reef sights and you will see a lot of plywood tanks that have been running well over 5 years. I have seen some at least double that. I know it is not the same but I have seen wooden water tanks that I saw built on farms when I was a kid still in operation over 20 years later.

I would also like to add if you look around there a bunch of my brand new glass or acrylic tank failed threads within a short time of set up as well.

i haven't seen too many big plywood tank builds on reef central, a few concrete. can you link me ?

Oddball · Dec 3, 2011

I'll have to see if I can find my thread on my 900 plywood tank. It ran for 17 years before I lost track of it. I built it in NJ in the mid-70s and moved it to several addresses in CA before selling it. It developed a few minor leaks here and there but, was overall a great tank for over a decade in my possession before I sold it to a lfs. At the time I built it, it was the 1st tank most people ever saw with a built-in (coated wood) weir and built-in gravity pre-filter chamber.