DIY 300 plywood build, looking for help/direction

[yogoshio]

Ok all, planning a 300 gallon plywood build. I am looking to build a 96x24x31, or the equivalent of a 300 gallon tank.

I have seen some layouts, but want to make sure I have everything right. Glass should be 1/2" for this height, right?

And also, how much epoxy should I need? Everyone lists what they use, but no one seems to say how much of it they'd need. This will be an in-wall application, so the outsides don't have to be pretty at all, lol.

And this will be butted up against a load bearing wall (not inside, so will use it for support).

So, the glass piece I'm looking for is 94x29, but what about the build and epoxy?

I have seen some use pond liner, but then how do you get it to stick to the glass? or do you just use epoxy around the part with the glass? I have read through a few builds but can't seem to find direct answers to these.

Thanks all for the help!

 

[Drstrangelove]

If you get a 94x29 glass and use a 1" lip around the plywood, then the exposed glass will be 92x27. Where will the bottom of the glass be compared to the water line?

In a 31 inch tall tank, assuming the best case, the bottom of the glass will sit exposed at 3" from the bottom and 28" from the top. That's 16mm, not 1/2". If it's exposed 2" from the bottom and 29" from the top, it will need to be 17mm.

 

[yogoshio]

Ok. I was going off of aquatools.com but I might have put in the numbers wrong.

Even so, any info about the epoxy cost? How many gallons would I need for that? Or is there a way to do pond liner and glass? Or acrylic? I saw one where there was a pinch with silicone but I don't know if I'd trust that for too long.

I like the idea of the pond liner because its a lot tougher to scratch or tear, but I don't know how I'd get a window to adhere.

 

[yogoshio]

Has anyone considered envirotex lite as an epoxy? It is used for faux sand beds, water potable, and cures hard as a rock. It's also relatively inexpensive too.