Hello everyone, I have been looking at the DIY projects and like the plywood tank idea. I see people using the pond coat to seal them. Was wondering if anyone has, or why some people are not lining them with thin plexi glass. I am thinking bout this and just wondering if it has been tried and will not work? Build the normal plywood stand and tank frame, then line the plywood with plexi glass on the two sides, back, and bottom. seal it like a normal glass tank and add the 1/2" glass front?
plywood and plexi glass?
- Thread starter stang9gt
- Start date
thin plexiglass in the quantities it would take to line most plywood builds is cost prohibitive. Pond coat is easy to apply, expands and contracts with the wood, and is cheaper than the same square footage of plexi. At least thats the conclusion I came to when I thought of this.
There's a thread here where the guy lined his tank with abs plastic sheets, they're a little more flexible, thinner, and more forgiving.
There's a thread here where the guy lined his tank with abs plastic sheets, they're a little more flexible, thinner, and more forgiving.
This question seem to come up about every 2/3 weeks. I did this several years ago with a tank that was in the 380G range and the tank lasted for about 3-4 years before I noticed a leak that had rotted the wood to the point where the tank needed to be trashed. The leak was not from the seals but from some bottom drains that I attempted to add and failed to repair properly. I used 1/4 acrylic on the bottom, side and back and 1/2" for the viewing window. I used aquarium silicone to seal everything. The issue you may have is that silicone reportedly does not bond well to acrylics. I have built sumps and the afore mentioned tank using silicone on acrylic and have not had an issue myself. Good luck!