Everything still holding up well? I have been thinking of using another liquid rubber product, but the price and ability to bond with silicone make this stuff very,very tempting. Great job too BTW!
200g Wetsuit Tank
- Thread starter earthstudent
- Start date
The tank is holding up great. No problems at all. The Wetsuit is a good product but I am actually designing a new product that will be better than Wetsuit. I work for a manufacturing company and I am one of the main people involved in the development of this new product line. I am doing lab testing now and can tell you the new product is going to be better in all properties over Wetsuit and Wetsuit is good stuff. The main properties that are of any significance in a tank application will be the excellent adhesion, excellent UV resistance and wide adhesive compatibility. I still believe Wetsuit is better than the other options but as soon as this new product is out it will be the best product available for ponds and home built tanks.
There is much politics involved and at this time I can not really tell to much but in a few months I will be starting a new thread about this new product, as I plan to develop a division of this product that is designed for pond and tank applications. It will be especially convenient for pond building companies. It is MUCH easier and faster to use over pond liners and will outlast any pond liner available. For building tanks, it is so easy to use compared to liners, epoxy or there resins. You can do it in your house with no worry of hazardous fumes and it is much easier to work with, plus it is silicone compatible and in fact, it is compatible with many adhesives.
If anyone has any questions I will do my best to answer what I can.
There is much politics involved and at this time I can not really tell to much but in a few months I will be starting a new thread about this new product, as I plan to develop a division of this product that is designed for pond and tank applications. It will be especially convenient for pond building companies. It is MUCH easier and faster to use over pond liners and will outlast any pond liner available. For building tanks, it is so easy to use compared to liners, epoxy or there resins. You can do it in your house with no worry of hazardous fumes and it is much easier to work with, plus it is silicone compatible and in fact, it is compatible with many adhesives.
If anyone has any questions I will do my best to answer what I can.
Thanks for the quick reply! I'm glad the silicone is still adhering well to the Wetsuit.
I was going to PM you, but I figured why not have it archived here for the masses.
Would you mind detailing the application process? Like, surface-prep and how you applied the second coat (waited X long, etc)?
Also, do you know if Wetsuit will adhere to itself after it has fully cured? I would like to use it to secure a background.
Thanks!
I was going to PM you, but I figured why not have it archived here for the masses.
Would you mind detailing the application process? Like, surface-prep and how you applied the second coat (waited X long, etc)?
Also, do you know if Wetsuit will adhere to itself after it has fully cured? I would like to use it to secure a background.
Thanks!
Allying the coating is pretty easy. I just painted it on (it is about the thickness of a latex paint) and I used the reinforcing fabric (I highly recommend) and just applied the fabric immediately after the first coat, as you want the first coat to soak into the fabric. I used a squeegee to smooth the fabric and press it into the first coat. I then immediately applied the second coat over the fabric. It is best to do all this consecutively and do not let it cure between coats, although you can if needed.
You want the fabric to be completely impregnated by the Wetsuit. The fabric greatly increases the strength and puncture resistance and it also helps to hold the Wetsuit so you get an overall thicker application, compared to not using fabric. There is no need to go any thicker than the application I have described. This should be about 50-60 mil and will be plenty strong.
All I did for surface prep is, clean the wood of any loose debris with a broom. That is all that is needed, the product will adhere to wood very well as long as the wood is clean and dry. I did not fill the screw holes or knot holes with anything, I just filled them in with Wetsuit the best I could during the application.
Wetsuit will adhere to itself very well after cured. So making repairs to a tank or "gluing" things in place with it is no problem and will work very well.
No, unfortunately. I don't plan to build the ray tank until I move, which has been delayed a little bit. Hopefully I will move this spring and start the build this fall.
Is the tank still going strong? Any update on that new product? Great build, I really enjoyed reading the tread!
The tank is still going strong. No issues at all. We have had the new product on the market for a little over a year now, although it has been in the works for quite a bit longer. This product was primarily designed for roofing, as a green roofing product but has potential for many more applications. If you have any interest in the product, the company name is Triton, Inc. Web site is Tritonwp.com. You can also contact me here as I am the director of product development at Triton, Inc. and can answer most any question you may have regarding the product.
That is great to hear. I checked out the Triton website and have a few questions.
1) Is it aquarium or pond safe?
2) Can it be applied other than by spraying?
3) Is it sold to the general public?
4) Is it compatable with silicone for the installation of the glass?
5) Do you know of any plywood aquarium builds that used the Triton product?
Thanks.
Gizzim101 That is great to hear. I checked out the Triton website and have a few questions.
1) Is it aquarium or pond safe? It has been used in aquarium environments. Although there have been no "sensitive" fish involved. All have been hardy and healthy fish. I have a very large sample in one of my personal aquariums as a test. Over a year and all the fish are still alive.
2) Can it be applied other than by spraying? Yes, rolling, brushing...
3) Is it sold to the general public? Not exactly, but exceptions can be made.
4) Is it compatable with silicone for the installation of the glass? Silicone bonds to it very well.
5) Do you know of any plywood aquarium builds that used the Triton product? We have build wood boxes and even cardboard boxes. No "wood aquariums" built from it to my knowledge. And I would know.
1) Is it aquarium or pond safe? It has been used in aquarium environments. Although there have been no "sensitive" fish involved. All have been hardy and healthy fish. I have a very large sample in one of my personal aquariums as a test. Over a year and all the fish are still alive.
2) Can it be applied other than by spraying? Yes, rolling, brushing...
3) Is it sold to the general public? Not exactly, but exceptions can be made.
4) Is it compatable with silicone for the installation of the glass? Silicone bonds to it very well.
5) Do you know of any plywood aquarium builds that used the Triton product? We have build wood boxes and even cardboard boxes. No "wood aquariums" built from it to my knowledge. And I would know.
