523 gallon plywood build (pic heavy)

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
small update. Got my mechanical filter today that is going to be hooked up to the closed loop.
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The third coat I put on I added the black pigment, but these small circles are popping up everywhere, any idea what it could be from?
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The bubbling could be from thick layers and or curing tempuratures.. if epoxies don't cure properly they are known to bubble.. had the issue a few times myself.
 
I had that bubble thing myselfe, put the total of 6 layers, and still had small leaks from it. When you think about it, you think, "i couldnt have missed the same spot 6 times". But it sertanley did something to it, causing micro leaks.
 
It think this is called "fish eyes". I have googled it a little. They say it can happen from surface tension when you use a thick epoxy on a very smooth surface. Perhaps using more epoxy to make a thicker layer will help?
 
I have seen several people struggling with this lately, and I found an interesting video:
http://www.westsystem.com/ss/barrier-coating-2/

Notice that they say "Apply the next coat when the previous coat becomes about as tacky as masking tape". I think there could be a misunderstanding going on here that you can wait up to 24 hours between coats. Maybe that is just when you laminate with thick 1000 micrometer layers. When you coat, with thin 80 micrometer layers you may need to do all coats in one operation.
 
My microbubbles occurred when i used shop heaters too close to the tank with thick coats. the instructions provided on the box were not completely accuracte about it. I actually use Xylene to try to resolve my problem and it did let the micro bubbles burst and give me a semi re-cure. below is a close up picture of the bubbles I got.

Another issue you may be having is separation. What i mean is that certain parts of my epoxy actually separated (a and b). Causing my cure time to slow dramatically and giving me spots that were oddly off. Both of these issues occurred at the same time for me and both were addressed by using a bit of xylene and a wipe down. After that things cured.. with my product I sitll ended up with micro bubbles.. I eventually used a different product and went right over the top of the micro bubbles after a light sanding with a buffer. You may want to look in to sanding between coats... just throwing out ideas from my past experiences. gl

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