Cement board tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo

Burko

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 24, 2008
451
1
0
Australia
Hi all. I enjoyed browsing through the threads, particularly the DIY tanks section. There are some great builds in there. As I see it most of them, understandably erring on the side of caution, have chosen to over build. So now I’m going to test if my theory has any leaks…

Before I start the build some advice would be handy. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find a waterproof paint like ‘Pond Armor’, most of the rubbery solutions available (in Aust?) do not recommend use on wood. So what I’m going to try to do is this.

Build a simple frame by cutting a square out of some 100mm*100mm pine, leaving a 90 degree elbow shape. Sorry no can do the diagrams… then gluing and screwing 2cm particle board to the inside of four vertical elbows (corners) and the four base edges. Yes a picture paints a thousand words…

Anyhoop after building a frame and box I have to glue sheets of ‘Villa board’ (fiber cement sheeting) to the inside, silicone up the gaps and coat with a waterproofing agent.

My main concern at this stage is the glass panel. Is it better to fix a glass sheet (9mm) the entire length and height of the tank? Do you just silicone the glass in against the wood?

Or should I just use a sheet the size of the window? If so how do you hold it up if its against the fiber sheet but not on the bottom of the tank? I was planning on just cutting out a viewing window with a jigsaw and placing the glass behind.

My first experimental will be 4*3deep*2 if the build is ok I’ll go for a 8*3deep*2. the window will be about 3.5*2 and 7*2.

Hope this makes sense. Any hints would be helpful.

Cheers
 
"A good hint would be not posting in white. Then I might read the rest of the post."

But i canna read it if its black???
 
You said you can't find a waterproofing agent like "Pond Armor", but you are going to coat the concreteboard with a waterproofing agent...? As far as the viewing pane, I can't picture what you mean. Water pressure will push against the glass..silicone will keep it from leaking. Hope this helps.
 
“You said you can't find a waterproofing agent like "Pond Armor", but you are going to coat the concreteboard with a waterproofing agent...?”

Yeah the only one I could find here will only work on cement not wood. I’m leaning towards pond liner now, one less process and same cost.

As for the viewing pane I wondered if it needed a surround on the inside to support it so the glass wouldn’t need to be the full size. Cheers.
 
Burko;2642844; said:
"A good hint would be not posting in white. Then I might read the rest of the post."

But i canna read it if its black???

There are different skins on the site (you can change them in the very bottom left). I've been around since before they made it dark, so I keep it on the light skin. On the dark skin regular typing comes up white and on the light skin, the same typing comes out black (really more of a grey). Anyway, if you don't intentionally change the color on the font, that is the color it will stay, so just don't mess with the font color and it will look fine for everyone. Anyway, hope your project goes well, but I really don't know what it's about.
 
Burko;2642893; said:
“You said you can't find a waterproofing agent like "Pond Armor", but you are going to coat the concreteboard with a waterproofing agent...?”

Yeah the only one I could find here will only work on cement not wood. I’m leaning towards pond liner now, one less process and same cost.

As for the viewing pane I wondered if it needed a surround on the inside to support it so the glass wouldn’t need to be the full size. Cheers.
Yes, the glass needs supported somehow.
 
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