Plywood alternative method of sealing

[Jon_DK]

I'm still not understanding how a wooden box could change size IF you epoxy all exposed surfaces inside and out. Humidity could only cause expansion if it can reach the wood. If the box "expands" you'd still have change of support or pressure issues to deal with if you use glass or a similar liner. You'd want something completely flexible.

Covering all wooden parts with epoxy might fix the humidity level inside the wood. I didn't considered that option, as the glass-liner idea, was to avoid working with epoxy in the first place (which i am not familiar/comfortable with).
When the wooden box expands it still offers flat surfaces that will perfectly support the glass liners. Only the elastic silicone rubber sealing in all corners, will sqeeze/stretch. The glass moves freely together with the plywood boards (I assume).

In response to nzafi, i like the liquid rubber / pond amour as it adresses the issues with wood/humidity. But the junction to the frontglass will not be as straight forward as silikone wont adhere.

I plan to start constructing during the winter season, and for now I lean towards giving the glass/wood approach a shot. This week a have a meeting with a danish guy who has got experiance with both plywood and glass-only diy for big setups.

Thanks for all your great input. Greatly appreciated

 

[Jon_DK]

I'm still not understanding how a wooden box could change size IF you epoxy all exposed surfaces inside and out. Humidity could only cause expansion if it can reach the wood. If the box "expands" you'd still have change of support or pressure issues to deal with if you use glass or a similar liner. You'd want something completely flexible.

Covering all wooden parts with epoxy might fix the humidity level inside the wood. I didn't considered that option, as the glass-liner idea, was to avoid working with epoxy in the first place (which i am not familiar/comfortable with).
When the wooden box expands it still offers flat surfaces that will perfectly support the glass liners. Only the elastic silicone rubber sealing in all corners, will sqeeze/stretch. The glass moves freely together with the plywood boards (I assume).

In response to nzafi, i like the liquid rubber / pond amour as it adresses the issues with wood/humidity. But the junction to the frontglass will not be as straight forward as silikone wont adhere.

I plan to start constructing during the winter season, and for now I lean towards giving the glass/wood approach a shot. This week a have a meeting with a danish guy who has got experiance with both plywood and glass-only diy for big setups.

Thanks for all your great input. Greatly appreciated

 

[wannadivesteve]

I'll tell you where my worries come from. Years ago I had a mirror back aquarium that consisted of a tank with a thinner mirror plate attached inside the back plate. The front and back panels were the same thickness, the mirror was essentially extra. The mirror plate cracked. The tank was not compromised because the back plate was the same as the front and held fine, but I did have a mirror rotting away in the tank. It's possible there was enough bow in the tank to not affect the thicker plates, but something did a number on the mirror. I had to take the tank apart to get rid of it. I'd worry that as the tank expands or contracts the glass isn't necessarily NOT going to be exposed to additional unseen forces.