hello i have completed all the wood parts of my tank and find myself asking the same question. my tank is 144 x 30 x30 ish and will hold roughly 420 gallons. I will be housing salt water in it and find my self overwhelmed by all the info and choices. any help would be apreciated. this build will not flex it is so over built. i was thinking fiberglass then a two part epoxy paint but i keep second guessing my self
I way over built my tank too, there was no flex. The problem with wood is that the ply itself will shrink and swell with temperature and humidity changes. These minute changes over time will cause Pond Shield to chip, crack and peel with age. My build lasted about 3 years, a lot less than the 25 years the manufacturer says. If you do use any type of epoxy, I would recommend using fiberglass cloth embedded within the epoxy over the entire tank (not just at the seams). If you want to use Pond Shield, I strongly recommend talking to Butch at Pond Armor to see what his current recommendations are for use of the product on wood.
Currently I am in the process of tearing down my tank, and will build my next version on the same site. My reseach into the same question has me wondering too. I was getting excited about using Sanitred, but then found some people on the web who had some problems with bubbling and peeling. Then I found some other draw backs with the product, and I think now Im going to use a 45mil. pond liner. I still have to find the best way to attach the acrylic windows to the liner.
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