Plywood tank?

CarpCharacin

Probation Member
Probation Member
Sep 20, 2014
1,521
577
135
Salt Lake City
I am going to be building a shed for my fish tanks. At first, i was considering getting a shipping container, but I decided that a shed was a better choice. I am going to build the shed after I finish the chicken coop and after I finish the pond and install a UV. In the shed, i want to build a plywood tank that is at least 300 gallons. I am kind of confused on how i seal the inside. I want to use pentair epoxy and fiberglass, but what kind of fiberglass do I use and do I fiberglass the entire tank, or just the seams?
 

Fish Tank Travis

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Feb 28, 2016
3,277
2,157
164
36
Dayton, OH
I would keep an eye out on Craigslist and your local classifieds for a good used 300ish gal aquarium. I think you will do better with that than a plywood one.
 

CarpCharacin

Probation Member
Probation Member
Sep 20, 2014
1,521
577
135
Salt Lake City
I would keep an eye out on Craigslist and your local classifieds for a good used 300ish gal aquarium. I think you will do better with that than a plywood one.
I have been watching craigslist and KSL for nearly 2 years and no good aquariums around 300 gallons have came up. I have decided that i want to build one.
 

Fish Tank Travis

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Feb 28, 2016
3,277
2,157
164
36
Dayton, OH
Ok, cool.

I wish I could help more but I don't have much knowledge about plywood builds. I do know that the king of DIY has a nice set of videos detailing his 370 gal plywood build though. You should definitely check that out, if you haven't already.
 

EighthNotch

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 21, 2016
42
15
8
33
Does anyone know about fiberglassing the inside?
Joey (kingofdiy on youtube) has a video series on how he built a 370ish gallon. He used a 2 part epoxy to waterproof it and 3M cloth only on the seams.

Just some food for thought: he also built a 240ish gallon tank a long time ago using liquid rubber for waterproofing, nothing on the seams, and has held up just fine.
 

CarpCharacin

Probation Member
Probation Member
Sep 20, 2014
1,521
577
135
Salt Lake City
I want to use pentair epoxy. At first, I wanted to use pond armour, but it is really expensive and I read that the pentair epoxy is stronger.
 

tomojsg

Redtail Catfish
MFK Member
Apr 21, 2011
2,536
752
150
大韓民國 (서울) Korea
pentair is fine and just fiber glass the seams.
there lot of diy posts here you should look around
and see what people like to use.
 

Niners4952

Candiru
MFK Member
Jan 17, 2016
333
78
46
41
pond armor is a little pricey but your still building a large fish tank fairly cheap, its real easy to work with and you don't need fiberglass, just get fiberglass mat or cloth and use the pond shield to secure it, watch Joeys video. Also I would not build a plywood tank that small since for not much more you can double it, I built my 600 for about $600 not including glass with pond shield
 

ShanerBock888

Aimara
MFK Member
Apr 9, 2016
949
1,111
129
Warwick, NY
+1 what niners said. Go bigger for a fraction of the cost. If you're building a plywood tank and you want it to last, don't be choosing an epoxy because it's cheaper. Choose it because it works well. Pond armor is incredibly effective, and incredibly easy to use, even for someone who's never held a paint brush. It's foolproof, which is a very good quality when you need a flawless result (like you do here - any flaw is a leak). You'll save yourself maybe $40 bucks by going cheaper.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store