Fiberglassing questions

[chriswf]

I've been talked into fiberglassing - along with using pond shield that I already purchased.

I have NOT bought the fiberglassing stuff yet. It's the only thing keeping from doing this project... So here's some questions.
Tank size: 84long x 28 tall x 40 wide.
Glass size: 72x24



#1: How many layers of fiberglass would one put in their tank?
I read somewhere that 1 would work. Is this true? Just put 1 cloth down, then put resin over the top of that and done?

#2: Any specific cloth to use? Home depot and auto parts stores carry the SAME stuff, but with different packaging. Both carry to types of different cloth:
Autozone Cloth:
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...glass-mat/_/N-260o?itemIdentifier=167007_0_0_
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...ass-cloth/_/N-260o?itemIdentifier=167006_0_0_
Home Depot Cloth:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Home-Solutions-9-sq-ft-Fiberglass-Mat-20129/202077814#.UVd8GjdMe3k
http://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Home-Solutions-9-sq-ft-Fiberglass-Cloth-20128/202077813#.UVd8GzdMe3k
I'm now seeing that there's a "mat and a "cloth" version of each. Regardless - BOTH are made by "BONDO".

#3: How much do these 1 gallon resin containers cover?
BOTH Autozone and Home Depot carry this (resin jelly):
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...sin-jelly/_/N-260o?itemIdentifier=265315_0_0_
Autozone carries this (not a jelly?):
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...ass-resin/_/N-260o?itemIdentifier=167022_0_0_


All stores carry 8sq ft fiberglass clothes. Nothing bigger it appears?
I need 55.22 sq feet of cloth (I think)
Sides: 40"x28" = 1120(sq inches) (x2) = 15.556 sq. ft
Back: 84"x28" = 2352(sq") = 16.33 sq ft
Bottom: 84"x40" = 3360(sq") = 23.33 sq ft
Plus a little extra for the front of the tank.

That's like 7 or 8 cloth pieces. I might even be able to find bigger sections. At 7$ from Home Depot, it's NOT really that bad to pay 49-55$ for cloth.
55$
Plus 42$ from autozone
or 35$ if I get this from Home Depot (though I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that you're not supposed to use Home Depots?):
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Home-Sol...Fiberglass-Resin-20124/202077791#.UVd8fzdMe3k

That's just right under 100$ for guaranteed protection.


With using just 1 gallon of the Resin, can I cover that 55 sq ft of cloth?
That's all I need right? Is just 1 fiberglass layer?

 

[chriswf]

Well anyone got a thread they can refer me to for detailed fiberglassing information? From what I'm seeing - not many fiberglass the entire thing.

 

[wheatgerm]

I didn't use and fiberglass cloth or matt on my 400.. idk how much its really needed. I put 3 layers of the sticky "cloth like" drywall tape on my joints and figured that atleast doubled my tinsel strength. Sorry I can't help with your original question. Just make sure of your going to be fiberglassing with poly based resins that you'll want to fully cover it with epoxy resin afterwards.

Sent from my MB860 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[chriswf]

My epoxy is pond Armor... I'll look into the tape idea too, thanks!

 

[the_deeb]

I used a fiberglass layer with west systems epoxy followed by pond armor on my paludarium build. You might want to check it out for more details. The pond armor was a little tricky to use because of its viscosity and I'm glad I had an additional waterproof layer underneath it to guarantee coverage.

If you're building a tank for the long term, particularly if you ever plan to move it and set it up again, I would absolutely fiberglass the whole thing. I've only ever applied it with epoxy (not fiberglass resin), but in that setting it provides an excellent waterproof barrier, impact/scratch resistance and better rigidity to the whole structure. After having played around with a couple of different waterproofing methods I would personally not build another plywood tank without fiberglassing it.

The cloth from home depot is pretty light weight, but I think you can get still get away with just a single layer for the surfaces since you're going to be putting pond armor over it. But I would do at least 2 or 3 overlapping layers in the corners/seams with a couple of inches overlap onto the sides. Lay down some sort of fillet first to get a nice radiused corner - it'll make it easier to lay down the cloth and not get any bubbles in the corners.

Hope that helps.

 

[hardwood07]

on top of the additional layer of protection against water. fiberglassing the interior of your tank will substantially strengthen it as well. one layer of cloth is all you need but you have to be sure to wet out the cloth properly. this means it will take multiple layer of resin to properly fill the gaps in the cloth. you want the final fiberglass layer to be perfectly smooth, no rough spots or dimples. also, an easy and super strong trick.... lay the fiberglass cloth on all the the large flat surfaces and leave the corners or the seams bare. only bring the cloth to the seam do not try to make the 90 degrees to the next surface. when this is finished you can lean the tank to whatever angle needed and fill the corners with straight fiberglass resin than let them cure. if you do this your tanks seams strength will be comparable to a weld. nothing stronger out there.

 

[auratum]

I built 3 tanks at once from plywood and fiberglassed the whole thing: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=190910

The largest tank was 400 gallons and was 8' x 4' x 22". These have been up and running for 2 years with no issues.

Not all fiberglass is created equal. You need to make sure you are using Epoxy Resin. The other resins are not waterproof and all they would do is give strength. If you use epoxy resin in gives strength and waterproof - same stuff they build boats out of. The only difference is for boats, they paint them when done because the epocy resin will break down when exposed to the sun so the paint provides the top coat to protect from the sun (and makes it look pretty).

What I was coached to do is build your box out of wood. Make sure you fill your corners so you don't have sharp bends. These are filled with the same epoxy resin that you mix with saw dust. Make sure you fill all holes/cracks with the same stuff. I would recommend you sand it smooth so the glass lays flat on the wood. Once you are prepped and ready to go, you whet the whole surface with resin. While it is still tacky, you lay the cloth (pre-cut to fit) on top and then put another coat of resin to fully whet the glass. It will go from white to clear. Make sure you don't have air bubbles - make sure these are squeezed out as you spread the resin. After this gets tacky, I added a third coat of resin. I added color to the top layer to help make sure I could see I coated everything. I did some sanding inbetween to clean-up rough spots from my lack of skill. If you are using no-blush epoxy resin, you don't need to clean or sand between layers.

I bought my epoxy from Progressive Epoxy Resins and would recommend their basic no-blush material: http://www.epoxyproducts.com/noblush.html If you have a few days their web site has tons of information. It is a great product at a great price.

For glass cloth, I used 9.6 oz cloth and also used 8 oz cloth tape (6" wide roll) for extra corner reinforcement.

Hope this helps.
Patrick