epoxy resin or fibreglass

[mr giant gourami]

thanks for all your help guys

 

[billm90]

Some debate about the safety of polyester in water has been raised... but Boats are built with Polyester resin, as are hot tubs, bath tubs, etc. If you are really concerned that the polyester resin may leach, it can be topcoated with the relatively inexpensive sweetwater epoxy paint.

hot tub/bathtub/showers are gel coated.
depending on the boat, I would say they are too, unless it is a homemade kayak.

 

[billm90]

Just wondering something here.
perhaps we could line the inside of a plywood tank with the cheaper plexi sold at home depot? They have those sheets that are basically like a big shower door. it is very thin, about 70 bucks a sheet which I think was 4 foot by 8 foot.

Could one lay this in there and glue it together with silicone like a glass tank?

 

[Buckdog]

Just wondering something here.
perhaps we could line the inside of a plywood tank with the cheaper plexi sold at home depot? They have those sheets that are basically like a big shower door. it is very thin, about 70 bucks a sheet which I think was 4 foot by 8 foot.

Could one lay this in there and glue it together with silicone like a glass tank?

This has been suggested before. The silicone does not adhere to plexi very well and will shrink over time. Best to just resin/fiberglass the inside.

 

[cvermeulen]

hot tub/bathtub/showers are gel coated.
depending on the boat, I would say they are too, unless it is a homemade kayak.

Gel-Coat IS polyester resin with some fillers, UV stabilizers and pigment.

 

[cvermeulen]

Just wondering something here.
perhaps we could line the inside of a plywood tank with the cheaper plexi sold at home depot? They have those sheets that are basically like a big shower door. it is very thin, about 70 bucks a sheet which I think was 4 foot by 8 foot.

Could one lay this in there and glue it together with silicone like a glass tank?

ARL did this with ABS plastic sheets inside his 700ish gallon tank. seemed to work for him. Silicone won't work though, you'd have to use Weld-On 16, or 40. ARL used "goop" to glue his ABS together.

 

[WeeNe858]

i recently attempted a fiberglass lined plywood pond. it was a mess to handle . i do recommend epoxy paint so you dont have to mess with the fiberglass. but it is more expensive.

 

[ciclids2]

hi there i just tried to use polyester resin on a background made of foam and it melted the foam dose any one know what can be use to stop this from happening. I think i will have to use silacone on the foam and then add the sand end then varithane over the sand will someone tell me if this will work

 

[cvermeulen]

hi there i just tried to use polyester resin on a background made of foam and it melted the foam dose any one know what can be use to stop this from happening. I think i will have to use silacone on the foam and then add the sand end then varithane over the sand will someone tell me if this will work

I'd recommend starting your own thread on this, but to answer your question, varathane to my knowledge isn't fish safe. What some people do is coat the foam in concrete or tile grout and then seal it with polyester or epoxy. When I did my background I covered the foam in masking tape, then fiberglassed over the tape and peeled out the foam and tape from the back.

 

[ciclids2]

Hi there I 'v read lots of sight info and alot of people say that you can use varthain so now i'm really confused. Is there some way to test to see if it will work say using a test peice painted with it and maby put it in with a few guppie's in a small tank