Already Epoxied plywood for DIY

[CHOMPERS]

By the way, I'd seal all of the edges prior to assembly and then reseal everything after it is all put together.

Wood rot from seepage is the death of plywood aquariums. The more layers of protection you have, the longer you will delay the inevitable.

 

[swevev]

Thanks, I will do the edges first. There is a Sea Ray on Merrit Is. but there is also one just south of St. Augustine. I have a friend who was at the right place-time to get some of the wood they were dumping.

Hopefully I will be able to take a day off this week and drive to Apopka.

Max

 

[Egon]

I'm 30 minutes from Aquatic Eco-Systems. Six minutes west of Fishy Business, and 22 minutes east of The Aquarium.

So your lost then? Okay we will send someone for you. Do you still have your rubber ducky...............

 

[Egon]

Flame away, I have owned many large and small glass or acrylic tanks , but never tried this wood thing.

Max

We don't flame new guys on here and I want to be the first to welcome you to MFK. These other guys are very impolite! Some of them, however, know what they are talking about

I think you have a good plan there. A small tank like yours might not be cost effective for this type of repair. You said your efficient (cheap) I hate the word!

Anyway if ya want to give it a try I really do think it will work and it's good practice for the larger version your planing.

As far as connecting two tanks together, yes it's possible and it has been done before. There's clear PVC plumbing available in any size diameter you want. Maybe you want 4"? Then get two 4" bulkheads and the 4" clear PVC pipe to what ever length you want and your all set. Drill the holes, measure carefully and connect the two tanks. I'm sure it will look cool!

Good luck and keep us posted with lots of pictures!

 

[swevev]

Thanks for the welcome. Hopefully with the recycle of glass and free wood the worst I will be is about even with glass tank prices. I could get a 125 or 150 on CL for 100 or 150. But it wouldnt fit the area I want to put it in. And no way would it look as cool as these will!

Is it possible to use 2 , 1/2 inch sheets on the bottom for a 1 inch thickness instead of 1, 3/4 inch? Then I could make the larger tank a bit larger... I have some 1/2 inch marine ply, I know I want to stick with 3/4 on the sides for strength but wouldnt the bottom pressure is all downward so ... I dont know the physics of plywood and water weight.


Oh, and does the glass need to sit on a piece of wood to support it? or can I have it a couple inches off the bottom?

Thanks

Max

 

[Egon]

Yes 2 1/2 sheets laminated together with some kind of adhesive like liquid nails would work fine. Your thinking is correct about the bottom pressure. The deeper the tank the more pressure on the bottom panel.

I don't understand the next question about the glass? Most smaller tanks the bottom piece of glass sits off the stand by as much as 1/2 inch or so. So all the weight of the tank is supported by the sides. Basically you can have an open bottom stand supporting everything. This is not recommended for a plywood bottom tank or acrylic tanks, but glass bottom tanks, like my 125, has no support under the bottom piece.

 

[swevev]

Sorry I didnt explain that so well. Maybe a picture will help. It seems most of the blueprints I haveseen have the glass inside the tank resting in a groove or on a piece of something. I want to put them 3 inches from the bottom with no undersupport in the tank. My stand will probably be over-supporting.

I will have a 3 inch or so bed of sand and I would rather see 3 inches extra water than the sand. I will adjust my stand heighth to optimize the view through the windows.

Thanks for your help, I just called to see if they had my Sweetwater in stock and if nothing crazy is at work will try and go tommorrow to pick it up.

Thanks for the help,

Matthew

 

[Egon]

Oh yeah that will work. The silicon will hold the glass in place easy. Unless your glass pieces are 20 or more pounds you will be fine.

 

[swevev]

Yes , they are all under 20lbs.
On another note, do plywood tanks act like glass tanks or acrylic in regards to what the stand needs to support? Edges and corners or even along the entire bottom?

Going tommorrow to pick up my paint!

M

 

[CHOMPERS]

So your lost then? Okay we will send someone for you. Do you still have your rubber ducky...............

Actually, the directions I gave will make sense to anyone in the area. All three locations are landmarks to genuine fish geeks. There are six MFK'ers that can use the same approximate directions.

And my duck was a real wood duck.