ideas to save plywood tank build??????

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fish4me

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 21, 2008
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Aight,
I have a dilemma. About three weeks ago I begun building the plywood tank you see below......................
I have run into some significant issues and need some ideas as to how I may be able to salvage what I have completed so far. The epoxy/matting just will not cure (the weather has been very cold) and so it remains tacky and I am afraid will cause the fish harm (thoughts?). I simply cannot keep dumping money into buying more and more epoxy. The other issue is the more I built the bigger I wanted to make the tank structure.
So I have two ideas so far to accomplish a suitable result.

1. Create an indoor pond with pond line w/o glass front instead of a tank with glass front and expand the current wood structure that I have already build and fiberglassed. I already have some more wood that was scrap from the leftover of the cut pieces.

2. Order the glass front and try the tank as is with tacky epoxy.
The current tank size is roughly 250 gallons and I have basement space to go much bigger than that.

Any thoughts based off the pictures that are below as to how I might be able to create something better from what I have so far without having to scrap all that I have already built and maybe make an indoor pond that is much larger?????

IMG_2937.JPG

020.JPG
 
am i seeing things wrong or do you just have plywood screwed to plywood?
 
chesterthehero;2534649; said:
am i seeing things wrong or do you just have plywood screwed to plywood?
Click to expand...

You are seeing things right.. but it's just a 250 gal. it doesn't need monster bracing for the frame.. so many people think that you need to brace the **** out of a smaller tank. in all reality it is a waste of time and money. so i would have done kind of the same construction in this guys situation.. only making the frame where you set the glass more beefy.. 2x4s would have been nice.

I would get a small heater and warm up the room it's in and dry out that epoxy. it should set no matter what really.. how long was it before you added the last coat.? was it a 2 part epoxy.?
 
The epoxy should harden eventually. even if you only added a small amount of hardener, it will still cure. it may take a while, but it will cure,unless you got water into the mixture.
 
Can you move the tank to a warmer area of the house? I imagine that moving it could possibly cause problems, too. Call the manufacturer and see what they suggest.
 
It is west system epoxy.
The problem is I had to apply it outside because the basement has very little ventilation. It was very cold outside and the ratio may not have been perfect.
I plan on moving the tank back to the basement where these pics were taken and that will provide more heat. Just want to make sure it will eventually cure and not stay tacky and from the feedback it appears that is the case. These pictures do not show the finished fiberglassing but just the exterior structure.
Yes it is plywood screwed into plywood and reinforced heavily in the framing. Would you suggest more reinforcement in the framing? The frame material is some plywood and mostly hardwood with fiberglassing to reinforce.

Thanks to all for suggestions............
what do u think, stay with the tank build or convert it into a larger indoor pond/tank?
 
If it's simply a matter of temperature, you can place a small electric heater inside the structure. However, sometimes, epoxies extrude a surface residue when they cure and this may be mistaken for being uncured. You should double-check with the manufacturer to determine this.
 
Issack;2534779; said:
You are seeing things right.. but it's just a 250 gal. it doesn't need monster bracing for the frame.. so many people think that you need to brace the **** out of a smaller tank. in all reality it is a waste of time and money. so i would have done kind of the same construction in this guys situation.. only making the frame where you set the glass more beefy.. 2x4s would have been nice.

I would get a small heater and warm up the room it's in and dry out that epoxy. it should set no matter what really.. how long was it before you added the last coat.? was it a 2 part epoxy.?
Click to expand...
you should think about this you are useing 3/4 osb board good but when you put a screw into the corner seems you are spliting the wood with the 3/16 screws so its not a wise idea not to use 2x4 on the corners to add extra support there unless you glued the dog pixx out of the orners before screwing and added some biscuts in there trust me i know this from experience been a carpenter for 18 years you will have problems in the long run i learned the hard way to but with a homemade 180 with only 3/4 ply what a mistake that was good luck though :WHOA:
 
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