ANOTHER!!!!!!!!!!!! plywood tank idea.

jpedric

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 23, 2011
17
0
0
Chicago/South Suburbs
Hi. Im new to this but became very interested when I recently set up a 20 gallon tank for my daughter and mounted it into the wall. Now I am obsessed and daddy wants his own big-boy tank. I wat to do a 6x3x2.5 but there is no way i will ever afford it unless i build it. I like the plywood idea because i will be building this into a wall aslo. My only concern is the waterproofing so I thought of an idea that I have yet to find a post on. here it goes. first I would get my sheets of 3/4 plywood and laminate them with formica (like i was making a counter top. then I cut the wood to the dimensions needed (this way formica goes all the was to the edges of plywood. Then I build my box uing liquid nails then screws. I would now have a box that would be water tight. Then cut the hole for my viewing window and install glass with silicone. Then go back and run a nice fat bead of silicone down all the joints where the formica covered plywood sheets meet. formica come in all different colors (including fake marble) and is fairly inexpensive. It is also paintable incase you wanted to change the color. Anyone think this is a terrible idea? My theory is that it it a continious sheet so there are less areas taht could possibly leak. at least this way if it did leak you would know it was a seam and not wicking through the epoxy.
 

brightworks

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 10, 2008
7
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0
USA
Formica is actually pretty expensive. I make custom cabinets and buy it wholesale for $2/square foot. Not sure what HD or Lowes sells it for, but I don't think it is the right stuff in any case. Think about ABS plastic. You can get this from a plastic specialty shop for ~$30 and up per sheet - depending on thickness.
 

tjfish

Candiru
MFK Member
Oct 26, 2011
392
0
46
KC missouri
I think as stated the formica would bubble/leak over time. I lined a Sav monitor cage with it at one point and it seemed to be fine til i emptied the soil out one day and discovered that it had bubbled and started to seep under the water trough.
I ended up re doing that enclosure with what i believe is called tile board. Its kind of a pvc material (might actually be pvc) in sheet form and is textured, i know they use it to line shower walls sometimes. That suff might work, i know i had the monitor enclosure set up for about 2 years after switching to that and it had moist soil/sand mix in it the whole time as well as water spills and such from the trough. So this might be a better material to look into as long as theres not a downside i didnt know about.
 

nolapete

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 1, 2007
2,726
9
38
New Orleans, LA
This isn't the first time someone has thought of using formica, plexiglas, or ABS. They all have their flaws and reasons for not being used. Most can't withstand the immense water pressure without fracturing. While I'm not an advocate of the fiberglas and epoxy route, it would cost about the same and give you the greatest level of success.

FYI, just the cost of the acrylic/glass for the front of a 6x3x2.5' tank will be close to a 1/3 of the cost of an all glass aquarium from Glasscages considering you have to go with at the very least 3/4" glass to go 2.5' deep. The other materials will run you at least another 1/3 the cost of the tank. You get the idea I'm sure of where I'm going with this.

If you want to build a plywood tank for the satisfaction of doing it yourself, great, but if it's to save money anything under 500 gallons will be a marginal savings if any.
 

jpedric

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 23, 2011
17
0
0
Chicago/South Suburbs
Thanks for the input everyone. The Formica I was thinking about using was greatly discounted because it was an unpopular color. I had thought about using the abs sheets but didnt know that muck about it. I had figured the formica would work because once glued to the plywood (and corners sandwhiched between the plywood joints it wold then be just as ridgid as the ply wood but still have flex if the plywood was to bow any from the water pressure. I guess it was a good idea......if it was actually 100% water proof. I think i will move forward with my idea but substitute palstic sheeting for formica if i can find a good way to bond or laminate it to the plywood. As far as expense the cheapest glass tank i could find was over a grand and only god knows what it would cost to ship. I will be using 4 sheets of 3/4 plywood @ 30 bucks per sheet, the glass price i got was only 165 bucks but i may go a little smaller because i only have room for a 5 foot wide viewing area on the outside (den area) (plus i can do pvc bulk head and returns on the sides of the windows so they will be out of view then lets say 30 or so each for the abs sheets. thats about 405 bucks. then throw in lets say high side another 100 bucks worh of adhesives. i have all the tools and misc hardware already so im still under 1/2 what it would cost to buy a tank.......plus like you said half the satisfaction is knowing that i built it.
 

brightworks

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 10, 2008
7
0
0
USA
You can use 3m spray adhesive to bond abs sheet to plywood. The redily available 77 is probably fine. If you want the strongest posible bond, use the 90 (also pretty easy to find). Don't worry about pinching the abs in the seams - you will do better to have a good wood to wood joint with glue and screws. I like Titebond III. I think silicone will stick to abs, but you should try it and see. If not, look for a polyether (sylil terminated polyether - sometimes refered to as a hybrid silicone-polyurethane) sealant / adhesive. There are a few labled for aquarium use, but are very hard to come by (more comon in Europe). There are quite a few construction sealant / adhesives in this catagory (but not a HD/Lowes item). I think they will probably be ok as this type of adhesive is a "green" product (no solvents) and cures under water, but as usual, use at your own risk. I have contacted several companies reqarding this, but say aquarium or potable water and they clam up.

I encourage you to give this a try. I think it will work well for you, but be prepared for a bunch on nay sayers that will tell you only their way will work. Be a pioneer, this isn't as hard as people are making it.
 

jpedric

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 23, 2011
17
0
0
Chicago/South Suburbs
I built the ply wood box with 3/4 plywood and tons of screws and wood glued the joints. Reinforced the top with. 3 plywood strips......will post some pics soon. It seems solid but I'm going to reinforce the sides anyways when I put it in place and frame the wall around it. So for the lining I think I'm gunna use this stuff made by pol-wall made by pas-tex. Its food safe so non toxic for the fish and seals with silicone. I found it at menards for like 13 bucks for a 4x8 sheet. More to come
 
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