200g Wetsuit Tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
E

earthstudent

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Mar 2, 2010
390
1
31
Iowa
Well, here is the first ever (that I or the manufacturer are aware of) Wetsuit tank build. The distributor of Wetsuit has funded this build and I have volunteered my time and skills to build it. Mainly because they are going to be donating the tank to me when it is done :D.

It is a 6'x3'x2' tank. I know you are saying, wait that is not 200g it is about 270g. Well the interior dimensions of the tank are about 200g (actually a little less) so that is the realistic water capacity. I am limited on space and this is the biggest I could go for where the tank is going.

Filtration will be a bio-tower and algae scrubber/plants which I still have to design and build. This tank is going to be part of an aquaponic system.

Inhabitants will be tilapia as well as a large pleco that I have that is needing some more space.

Tank is a 2"x4" frame with 1/2" plywood on the inside. It is an all 2x4 stand that is 2' tall.

So far I have used
30 2x4's
2 sheets "premium grade" 1/2" plywood (some good scrap left)
Almost a whole 5lb box of 2.5" screw and about 2lb of 1" screws

Here is were I am at so far. I would say it is a little over built but that is the way I like it. I have a couple things yet to do before I put the Wetsuit on it. I am doing a sumped drain at the bottom of the tank (with 2" bulkhead) that will allow me to drain the tank down to almost no water when I need to. Once I am done with that I will post some pics which will give you a better idea of what I mean and how I do it. I am also going to router the top edge of the plywood so it is a nice round edge. More pics to come, enjoy.

2x4s cut for the stand
IMG_2388.jpg



Stand Built (minus cross braces which I added later)
IMG_2390.jpg
IMG_2390.jpg


2x4s cut for tank
IMG_2391.jpg


Frame built for tank. You can see the cross braces I added on the back of the stand.
IMG_2396.jpg


Tank lined with plywood. Lily (my pit) walking in front of it.
IMG_2397.jpg


Tank lined with plywood. With my 90lb Dogo Argentino inside it. He voluntarily jumped into the tank.
IMG_2399.jpg


Inside view. I will be routering the top edge of the plywood to soften that corner as I am going up and over the rim of the tank with Wetsuit.
IMG_2398.jpg


More to come. Let me know if you have any questions.
 
Will be interesting to see what happens. Good luck.
 
I got it coated with the Wetsuit and fabric. It only took about 1 gallon to do it. I am going to give it time to cure out completely and them I am going to put another coat on.

Here are a few things that I found. The Wetsuit is very easy to work with, very similar to a latex paint. I just used a cheap paint brush. I would recommend using a cheap brush you can toss when you are done. It is easy to clean off your skin and off smooth surfaces but just about impossible to clean out of a brush and if you get it on your cloths... well, its on your cloths.

The Wetsuit takes longer to FULLY cure than what I thought. It will be cured to the touch in a couple hours depending on thickness but you have to give it several days (depending on ambient conditions) to cure FULLY. If you don't give it this time it will not be fully bonded to the surface you applied it to. This is what makes it easy to get off your garage floor. You just give it a day to cure and you can go peal it off. But if you give it a few more days than its bond becomes very strong.

I am using the 6" wide fabric (invisilink) which I think is the easiest to work with, as it does come in 4", 6" and 40" wide. The 4" will not cover as much area as quickly and you will have more overlapping seams and the 40" wide would be very difficult to apply cleanly in this application. The 6" is just right. The roles are 300' long and I did not even come close to using all of the role and I did all of the tank not just the seams. This stuff is cheap (like $25 a role) and I highly recommend using it. The one part was designed to be used with the fabric and it makes a very strong membrane when used together. It will make the tank much more puncture resistant. The other thing the fabric does is helps to assure a uniform coat. I found it very hard to paint on a 60 mil thickness of the one part by itself, but when using the fabric, you get a even minimal thickness around 60 mill. After the second coat I will be over 60 mill and will have only used about 2 gallons on this build.

I have found that the Wetsuit, when submerged under water for extended periods does turn to a very dark brownish color. It does not stay jet black as I originally thought. Not sure why it does this but it does not seem to effect its waterproofing ability at all. A few weeks ago I painted Wetsuit (no fabric) on the inside of a shoe box and filled it with water to see if I would get any leaks. Still no leaks but below the water line it is a bit brown and above the water line it is jet black. I am planning on testing the coating product on this tank but not sure what color yet.

I am going to get some updated pics of the tank posted in the next couple days.
 
A quick note about this build. I know this tank is WAY over built. But I am practicing this design as I am planning on building a 2000g tank in the future. This will be the same design I will be using just scaled up to different dimensions. It is very simple to build, very strong and is pretty reasonable in price considering most of the tank is 2x4s and they are about $1.80 each here. I used 30 total for the tank and stand. That is a total of $54 for the tank frame and stand. Not to bad.

I will probably over build the 2000g as well but that is just how I build stuff.:D:headbang2
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom