My idea for a DIY plywood aquarium

coolkeith

Candiru
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Nov 1, 2005
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By 2 layers do you mean staggering the bonds? e.g. , the bonded side in front on the bottom layer, and the second layer having the bond in the back? And where can I buy MAX BOND THIXOTROPIC?
You just stagger the joints. For a footprint of 8' x 5', the top layer could be (2) 4'x5' pieces. While on the bottom you could have (3) 32" x 5' pieces or (2) 8' x 30" pieces.

They sell MAX BOND, along with MAX ACR on Ebay.
 

Big Fish Freak

Gambusia
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Oct 24, 2014
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You just stagger the joints. For a footprint of 8' x 5', the top layer could be (2) 4'x5' pieces. While on the bottom you could have (3) 32" x 5' pieces or (2) 8' x 30" pieces.

They sell MAX BOND, along with MAX ACR on Ebay.

That's what I thought, but sometimes what you think you thought isn't really what you think you thought it was...haha
I may look into this MAX ACR and MAX BOND, seems like it's a lot cheaper..
 

Big Fish Freak

Gambusia
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If you don't like to use MS Paint try Google Sketch Up. It's a poor mans AutoCad. It works great and simple to learn. I used it to design and plan my tanks and lots of other projects.

View attachment 1044932
good idea there, never knew it existed..I will be playing around with that later..


would it be best to glue both of the pieces together before putting the rest of the tank together, or should i put it together, get it all set up, and then let the weight of the tank seal the two bottom panels together
 

sashimimaster

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Mar 7, 2010
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I'd glue the pieces together first and plan for some settling after the tank is full. Just make sure the joints are well connected. One thing I would recommend is stay away from OSB. I used floor OSB with tongue and groove for the bottom thinking it would fit together better. But OSB is way too flexible and I could feel it flex when I stepped in the tank. I fiberglassed it anyway but I just don't think OSB is a good material to make a tank with. I do however like MDF. It's freaking heavy but if it's waterproofed will retain dimensional stability better.
 

Big Fish Freak

Gambusia
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Oct 24, 2014
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I'd glue the pieces together first and plan for some settling after the tank is full. Just make sure the joints are well connected. One thing I would recommend is stay away from OSB. I used floor OSB with tongue and groove for the bottom thinking it would fit together better. But OSB is way too flexible and I could feel it flex when I stepped in the tank. I fiberglassed it anyway but I just don't think OSB is a good material to make a tank with. I do however like MDF. It's freaking heavy but if it's waterproofed will retain dimensional stability better.
you think if I was to fiberglass both inside and out of the seam with a few coats I could use just one sheet of ply for the bottom? Otherwise I'm gonna need some seriously long screws (probably even lag bolts) to secure both layers to all 4 sides of the tank..
 

Big Fish Freak

Gambusia
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Oct 24, 2014
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I did see your build..I will go back and check it again to see..I have never worked with fiberglass before..
I have seen videos where they use the liquid rubber/epoxy to adhere the fiberglass..is that okay or is that asking for trouble?
 
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