Plywood aquarium

Leebtattoos

Polypterus
MFK Member
Jul 18, 2012
508
337
87
Lampasas, Texas
How much did you use on your tank?
I used 3 1.5gt kits. My tank is approx. 80sqft of coverage. Although my tank leaked, none of the pond armor failed. The silicone seal did, do to slight bowing of the wood on viewing panel.

Next time I build one, besides learning some other valuable lessons, I will go ahead a do one extra coat just to do it.

I never built anything like this before, so one thing it tought me is that it’s better to over seal/brace/etc than bare minimum and have to start over.

I always learn the hard way.
 

1000ninja

Gambusia
MFK Member
May 4, 2017
106
2
18
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I used 3 1.5gt kits. My tank is approx. 80sqft of coverage. Although my tank leaked, none of the pond armor failed. The silicone seal did, do to slight bowing of the wood on viewing panel.

Next time I build one, besides learning some other valuable lessons, I will go ahead a do one extra coat just to do it.

I never built anything like this before, so one thing it tought me is that it’s better to over seal/brace/etc than bare minimum and have to start over.

I always learn the hard way.
What other valuable lessons did you learn?

So the problem on yours was that the bowing of the wood caused the seal to break between the glass and bottom lip of the window, correct? Was it the pressure of the water that caused the bowing of the wood? Would a larger piece of glass have made any difference? I’m just trying to understand why that happened to your tank. At lot of tanks have been built just like it with the same bracing and not had that problem.
 
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Leebtattoos

Polypterus
MFK Member
Jul 18, 2012
508
337
87
Lampasas, Texas
What other valuable lessons did you learn?
correct. If I used a piece of glass the size of the front panel it would have been structurally much more rigid. I have a 6” gap from the bottom of the tank to glass. Doesn’t sound like much, but it doesn’t take much to bend and the glass isn’t going to bend with it. And the leak wants a gusher. 1 drop every 10-15 seconds after a day or two of being full. The “bow” was not apparent from looking at it. But when I drained it, I could see exactly where water was under silicone in. The bottom middle seam.
 

elting44

Piranha
MFK Member
Oct 8, 2007
1,168
93
81
38
Salina, KS
correct. If I used a piece of glass the size of the front panel it would have been structurally much more rigid. I have a 6” gap from the bottom of the tank to glass. Doesn’t sound like much, but it doesn’t take much to bend and the glass isn’t going to bend with it. And the leak wants a gusher. 1 drop every 10-15 seconds after a day or two of being full. The “bow” was not apparent from looking at it. But when I drained it, I could see exactly where water was under silicone in. The bottom middle seam.
I agree with ninja above, share all of your lessons learned

Is best practice to seal the viewing window glass/acrylic all the way to the bottom of the tank? that way you can run a second bead of silicone from the back of the viewing glass to the bottom panel. See pic for what i mean:
Sealing Glass to Plywood.jpg
 

Leebtattoos

Polypterus
MFK Member
Jul 18, 2012
508
337
87
Lampasas, Texas
Yeah basically. I’m sure someone who has done it more successfully than I could speak to that. Also I’ve seen people use little spacers on the bottom edge, which makes since. Like store bought large aquariums that have the little half dome silicone spacers. Also heard of using zip ties to space it off the bottom but not exactly sure how they did it.
 

elting44

Piranha
MFK Member
Oct 8, 2007
1,168
93
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Salina, KS
I am having a hard time following, where do the little bumpers go, between the glass and the bottom panel? Do you silicone over them?
 

Leebtattoos

Polypterus
MFK Member
Jul 18, 2012
508
337
87
Lampasas, Texas
Yeah. Basically the silicone engulfs all around them. But it allows the glass to only sit on the very small surface area of the bumpers vs across the entire bottom of the tank. They have smaller than .5” ones.
 
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