Advantages of a plywood tank?

[FINWIN]

I've been fascinated by these for some time, but wondered why people had them instead of glass / acrylic.

Advantages? Durability? Leakage issues?

Strength wise how do they compare?

Are there manufacturers of these or are they always builds?

Non treated woods I assume. Can say oak or maple be used as well?

I'm assuming they need full support at the bottom like acrylic.

I've seen some really nice ones, just wondering about the logistics.

 

[jjohnwm]

To me, the biggest advantage of plywood construction over glass is the greatly reduced possibility of catastrophic failure. Sure, if improperly constructed, a plywood tank may leak...as may a glass tank for similar reasons...but there is no way that one is going to suffer a catastrophic complete failure that dumps 100's of gallons of water out at once. A glass tank can have a seam failure...I've had one such disaster that instantaneously dumped over 100 gallons of water onto my new hardwood floor. A well-constructed plywood tank will never do that; a glued-and-screwed seam can survive anything.

A plywood tank with a single front viewing window also has only that one relatively fragile surface, compared to a glass tank's 5. It needs strong support, but not necessarily a fully-supported bottom; most of mine have simply stood on columns of concrete blocks. It is extremely simple to drill and cut for overflows, drains, etc. Last but certainly not least, it is...at least in the case of large tanks, say 100+ gallons...considerably less expensive to construct than an all-glass equivalent.

I've built a bunch over the years, most of them 48 x 24 x 24 inches (about 120 gallons), but a number of others measuring 96 x 24 x 36 (360 gallons). Got away from tank building for a few years, but now am planning a single 360-gallon for my current home. I'm not even considering anything other than plywood.