1300 Gallon Plywood Tank Build
- Thread starter djseverson@yahoo.com
- Start date
Thanks. Fish scattered in tanks throughout the house are saying the same thing. Oh.. So is my wife for that matter.
And not light either. Had a party of 10 to ensure safe handling, handoffs and rotations into the tank.
Funny, I have that same thread open to fully read. I need to catch up on reading.
I have also read the same thing about bluemax turning soft under water. How many coats did you have on your lids? I was hoping maybe, my thickness (12 coats) and curing time (overall 6 weeks to date) before sub merging would help against the water breakdown.
I saw one tank where the blue max was top coated with Krylon. I hate to do that if it isn't necessary. I talked with Ames, they even caution that the finish will degrade with UV exposure but didn't recommend top coating in this application. Has anyone tried top coating with a polyurethane? I would need to check on toxicity, but I believe it will stick to the rubber and should be available in a clear coat.
Still need to read that one I think. Another build with blue max said the secret to success was Chemlink M1, I also have a friend that has a blue max build using NP1 with an acrylic window was a sealer/adhesive (in a non fish application). I went the M1 route. I have sealed one window. it is a big gap that I had to fill. I have heard the goal is to create a gasket. My intention was to have about an 1/8th inch separation, but my glass is heavy and the blue max doesn't lend itself to sliding the glass. We couldn't move it cloaser to the window frame, so I have about a 1/4" gap between the tank and window that we filled with the M1. Looks like I was able to get about 1.5 to 2.5" wide "gasket" of sealer between the frame and glass. Pictures below. Anyone with experience sealing glass, let me know if I should be concerned with thickness, gap, adherence, etc. Thanks.
I went through 9 tubes (90oz total) to seal 1 window.
I used 4-5 coats on the lids. There made of 2x4 and have pretty much been wet for 10yrs now from condensation/splashing/bubblers. It has held up pretty well and will pull the wood right off in spots where it isnt always wet. The product does dry out completly and becomes tacky again after being wet. I think yours will hold up being coated 15 times and glad to see u went with the sealer/silicone recommended in other builds. It looks just like 3m5200 whice ive used to seal windows to epdm liner just fine. great work so far!
I don't think that your gonna have a problem with it being 1/4" rather then 1/8", it will just take more time to cure
Anyone have experience using polyurethane (spray can or brush) in fish tank applications? I have read several forums endorsing Krylon Fusion paints and Krylon Polyurethane Clear Coat, but they were older forum posts. There are lots of polyurethane products that had reviews not to use in submerged applications. I haven't been able to find the Krylon Polyurethane locally, I'll go through Krylon's website and see if they have change marketing names or what. Meanwhile if anyone else has first hand experience in submerged fish friendly applications, I would be happy to hear suggestions.
Quick update. I am falling off my August water testing goal. A few other commitments have consumed my Fish Tank construction time. I did get a bit of the structural water proofing loose ends addressed today. I Sealed the transitional seams between the tank and existing wall. I coated the top of the tank's back wall in blue max also. I have decided to water proof my water proofing. I am going to top coat the blue max with Krylon polyurethane clear coat. I did get the second window sealed in, but used another 12 of my 24 original tubes of M1. So I have another 24 tubes in transit.
Here are some catch up photos of the top of the shell. Glass and sealing. There is still a few things to finish up there. I am logistically working on plumbing the bulk heads. Small problem with fittings. I need to find female slip to male thread adapters that allow my bulk head adapter lock nut to fit over the coupler. I thought I had that worked out, but upon dry fitting ran into problems. Going to visit all the hardware and plumbing supply stores and see what I can find....
I have started top coating the blue max with krylon polyurethane. Ill post photos of that next, although it doesn't look any different. The blue max is very tacky to the touch, prior to the Krylon. The glass for the third window is leaning against the back wall. It stuck to the wall in a spot and pulled the bluemax liner off the hardie when I moved the glass. The blue max stretched a little but held its integrity. I am hoping the polyurethane top coat will better protect the bluemax coating from UV exposure and water logging.
I have started top coating the blue max with krylon polyurethane. Ill post photos of that next, although it doesn't look any different. The blue max is very tacky to the touch, prior to the Krylon. The glass for the third window is leaning against the back wall. It stuck to the wall in a spot and pulled the bluemax liner off the hardie when I moved the glass. The blue max stretched a little but held its integrity. I am hoping the polyurethane top coat will better protect the bluemax coating from UV exposure and water logging.
I thought I discussed this, but I don't see it, so here are pictures. I took suggestions from a friend to gasket the inner and outer side of the tank. I couldn't find exact matches for gaskets, but I think these should work:
Not to be rude but I read the other 4300G epic thread the other day while doing research for my own build in the future, but did you ever manage to get that to be fully waterproof? I see you're using BlueMax here so did you come to the conclusion that the stuff you were using before (Permadry?) was not suitable for the application if it is not sprayed on professionally?
For my own project, I am leaning towards building 2- 350 gallon and 1 700+ gallon aquarium along the wall of my basement. I am also strongly leaning towards Pond Armor as so many people in my local fish club have had great success with it often having their tanks be leak proof on the first filling.
For my own project, I am leaning towards building 2- 350 gallon and 1 700+ gallon aquarium along the wall of my basement. I am also strongly leaning towards Pond Armor as so many people in my local fish club have had great success with it often having their tanks be leak proof on the first filling.
