4' 90 Gallon converted to 240 4' Square Plywood and Glass Build

[nolapete]

You can't silicone to Pond Coat.

I'm installing the glass to the frame with silicone then overlapping the pond coat on to the glass from the back side.

Dan at the distributor in texas told me that if you keep silicone bead small and bridge over it. i.e. from the plywood to the glass, that you don't have to worry about it sticking to the silicone since nothing sticks to silicone.

 

[xdragonxb0i]

alright good thing to know, but what are you gonna use to glue the glass to the wood?

i dont wanna waste space, by posting another post.

i should be more specific and ask what brand are you gonna use.

 

[nolapete]

You don't want to use silicone on the Pond coat as the uncured silicone will eat through it. Silicone is suspended in acetic acid (that's the vinegar smell) and as it cures the acetic acid evaporates leaving the cured silicone behind. This may not be the technically correct description, but you get the idea.

Silicone first, Pond Coat after.

 

[nolapete]

I'm going to do some tests with Dow 795 and Pond Coat. Pond Coat on cured Dow 795 to see how it bonds and Dow 795 applied to Pond Coat to see if it eats away at it.

 

[MIDWESTFISHBULLIES]

wow

 

[nolapete]

alright good thing to know, but what are you gonna use to glue the glass to the wood?

i dont wanna waste space, by posting another post.

i should be more specific and ask what brand are you gonna use.

I think for this I'm going to go cheap and just use regular 100% silicone. Bonds to wood and glass and it's clear. I'm considering putting the glass in them all and then building the rest of the tanks around them. It's a very tight fit, so I might not be able to get the glass in after I screw everything together. We'll see though.

 

[NOLAGT]

This is also a good test for you before you do the big tank with this stuff.

And if/when I take appart a 125 it will end up being 500gal. I would probably use a 2x4 or something like that so it would be an extra 3.5" on each side of the glass making it 79x48x31....or 508 gal

 

[Fish_Savy :3]

sounds like a great idea

 

[nolapete]

This is also a good test for you before you do the big tank with this stuff.

And if/when I take appart a 125 it will end up being 500gal. I would probably use a 2x4 or something like that so it would be an extra 3.5" on each side of the glass making it 79x48x31....or 508 gal

The design gives up some capacity for strength and ease of construction. I've tried to keep this very simple so that even people with limited skills like myself can make them easily and confidently. This requires very little other than being able to use a chop saw, a drill, speed square, and skill saw if you cut the plywood yourself.

How are you thinking you can go 31" when a 125 is only 23" tall?

 

[nolapete]

Test fit of the glass shows that I need to trim the side board about half a blade, but other than that it's pretty close to perfect. I'm definitely going to have to put the glass in first then the sides. It's quite snug.