plywood(ish) building concept idea

[rotccapt]

hi all im about to start on my 300 gallon build and have decided to do it a little differently. i know i could probably get away with 3/4 inch ply for my build but the tank will literally have to go through the ringer to get to its permanent home because it will have to be put on end to fit through the hallway leading to the room. so i decided a little different approach to building was in store. so the tanks external dimensions will be 76" long 36" wide and 29" tall. that is the biggest tank i can fit through the hallway and the door leading into the room that the tank will stay in and it will just barely fit. so to strengthen the tank my plan is to build a 2x4 frame work with the 2x4 oriented so the 4 inch side(3.5") will be along the tank i will then line the tank with 1/2 inch plywood. the bottom will still be 3/4 inch ply though. so i was originally going to go with butt joined 2x4's but i had a though.

why not bevel the 2x4 so that i can have a nice clean joint on the corners so that i dont have to sheet the tanks exterior when i apply the paint? so i started looking at it and if i go this route i will have nice equal overlap on the two panes of glass. also i think that this would be a stronger corner due to the increased surface area to glue to. i would also be able to put screws in on both sides of the joint instead of just one like on most builds.

the front and side frames for the glass will be made out of 2x4s.

also i had a though of trying to eurobrace this tank with a 2x4 frame glued and screwed to the top of the glass frames. so what do you think of my idea? here is a couple pics of my design

View attachment 793364

 

[Inglorious]

I don't see why it wouldn't work, as long as you're confident enough in your carpentry skills to get perfect angles. If they're off then it would create a weak point that could be prone to failure.

 

[Pitbull6689]

well i am just going to put my 2 cents hee, from my point of view the standard joint will offer more strength as you can go through and through with bolts and this gives far more strength than a glued joint with screws as you actually are not relying on friction alone to hold the screws in the wood, secondly with bolts far more strength can be achieved as you can use thick bolts that have a far greater breaking strength than screws and the addition of washers to the bolt ends not only ads strength to the joint but also ads beauty if done properly. another advantage that can be had is that sort of a composite can be formed with the use of metal strips along the outside of the tank and this will also give the tank a unique apperiance

 

[DIDYSIS]

Lots of people build tanks with screws just make sure they are long enough for good grip into all the material.

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