12x4 Plywood garage build thread

mscamp02

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 13, 2011
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Mt. Sterling KY

That is the stuff. I've seen several builds use it and I know fishdog used it as well and has had his running since 2011. I've actually been copying a ton of his build and he has been extremely helpful with some of the aspects of my build.

I ordered one gallon of PT6 Dark blue and one gallon of PT10 Black. If you go to order it make sure you call them because there is a glitch in their system that will not allow you to place it online because there is an issue with their website. I havent decided how I am painting it yet, all blue, all black or blue back black bottom.



I'll post an update in a bit but I have completed all of the body filler and will begin sanding here shortly. Hopefully tonight I will begin fiberglass work.
 

mscamp02

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 13, 2011
604
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Mt. Sterling KY
Assuming you can seal it well, any moisture barrier should do the job. But for something like this I would recommend 3mil visqueen. The wood floor stuff will work too, just has padding for the floor and open cells to let moisture dissipate underneath. But I would think aquarium and need both sides. Last thing you want to do is have all of the moisture and mold rot your awesome DIY project down the road.

Same reason I've used 2.5 pints of polyurethane on my stand canopy that I'm building for a 120 (4x2x2 32 tall stand/14 tall canopy)
I already laid down what I had so I'm pretty much stuck with it now because it is one heavy beast however I've fixed the seal on the garage so no more water should be coming in and (it never made it all the way back to where the tank sits which is why I went with only 12' instead of 16'. As of right now I'm pretty confident I will get a good seal with the epoxy and my only concern will be the window.
 

blindkiller85

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 22, 2013
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Orlando, FL
Sounds about like any other plywood tank. Wish you the best and glad to hear you fixed the seal and did something. Subscribed.
 
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mscamp02

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 13, 2011
604
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Mt. Sterling KY
I got some work done recently but now I have to go back to work after a long break off so progress will slow down a bit but as it sits now I have everything filled with rage gold filler, sanded and now set up with fiberglass in desperate need of some sanding. And because I put to much on it is going to take a long time to get down back to normal.

I started building the two lids but there is currently nothing to show but a frame, hopefully I will get those done soon as well.

panels fitted and screwed in.


Filler before being sanded


fiberglass before any sanding


fiberglass laid over the seams


Sump area
 

mscamp02

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 13, 2011
604
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Mt. Sterling KY
Spent quite a bit of time sanding everything down and laid in the last layer of fiberglass resin before heading to work so I will focus on sanding down that last layer tomorrow for a smoother finish.

I did get in my pentair epoxy but now I need to figure out how to plumb/cut everything out of the sides of the upper part of the tank. I may try to go ahead and paint soon then just put down additional coats over where I decide to cut for plumbing, exhaust and heater.

I did get a few of the goodies in today so I can begin mocking up some things fairly soon. To start I will be using one Jaebo 15000 pump since I have had great reliability and performance out of my 12000 on my other tank for the price. Also shown is an Atmor 3K instant tankless heater that will be tied to a temp controller which will turn it when needed but water will be split off of the pump and constantly flow through the heater regulated by a ball valve to insure I don't send to much pressure through.



I'm still waiting on my exhaust fan to come in and I already have the small personal heater that will be used to heat the air above the water level.
 

KAWAMIKIE

Candiru
MFK Member
Feb 17, 2010
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The fiberglass bondo you used will not give you much if any at all reinforcement.
Fiberglass mat and epoxy or polyester resin would be a better choice if you are trying to reinforce the corners. You would need to use several layers of fiberglass to gain strength.
 

mscamp02

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 13, 2011
604
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Mt. Sterling KY
The fiberglass bondo you used will not give you much if any at all reinforcement.
Fiberglass mat and epoxy or polyester resin would be a better choice if you are trying to reinforce the corners. You would need to use several layers of fiberglass to gain strength.
The main goal of the the bondo/fiberglass is not to add strength but to verify no gaps are present to make a good seam only. The bracing behind the plywood is where the strength is because with any form of fiberglass you have very little flex so strength is not the focus of fiberglass in this application.

The purpose of using matting is to make a solid seam from one panel to the other so when the epoxy is applied there are no gaps. Several builds on here have been successful without using any form of fiberglass and only using body filler or wood filler to seal the screw holes/corners.

But time will tell how well the tank holds water in the end and hopefully I can get a few good years out of it. My only concern though will be the seam around the glass window.
 

Jmart159

Piranha
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Jul 13, 2009
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Wow, this looks great! I'm glad to see another Kentuckian with the passion. I look forward to watching this tank as it takes form.
 

mscamp02

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 13, 2011
604
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Mt. Sterling KY
well I've spent a ton of time sanding and laying down additional coat of resin to help smooth everything out and now I have put down my first coat of epoxy, I'm waiting on it to dry and then I will apply an additional coat. Its about a 4 hour cure time. I still have to do a ton of external painting with the epoxy but I wanted to wait to make sure I had enough and before extending out onto the frame a bit.

Only material I am lacking now is my glass and lights, I have purchased all of the plumbing, heating, external sheeting, and exhaust fan so hopefully once I get this cured completely progress will pick up quickly.

While I wait on it to cure over the next week I will finish the two hoods.



 
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mscamp02

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 13, 2011
604
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Mt. Sterling KY
Second coat is complete and I am feeling confident based on the final look and feel that it will definitely have a good seal. Stupid me didn't think about the remaining epoxy hardening in the can so I have ordered a can of pond armor this go around for the inside of the hoods (went with pond armor simply because I could order it from amazon.com and get it significantly faster).

I have one hood skinned and insulated but now just need to run wood filler in between the seems, paint it when the epoxy comes in and then latch it down to my hood. The second one is framed out and has the acrylic panels on but I still need to skin it.

Probably can't see from the pictures but there is an acrylic panel on the inside and outside of it to hopefully help keep a bit more heat by creating a double pane window.



I have the front glass ordered as well, I missed out on glasscages.com recent shipment to louisville and don't want to wait till February so I ordered one local for about 80 dollars more, it will save nearly 4 hours of driving though so I think it is a good trade off. I should have the glass in next week which means hopefully in 1.5-2 weeks I am water testing.
 
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