Plywood tank question

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I am wondering the same thing. From what I know so far, zavlar liquid rubber seems to be pretty good. There are huge buckets of black epoxy you can buy as well. Im curious to see the responses.

I'M ANDREW AND I'M A FISHAHOLIC
-Andrew
 
have you guys seen the plywood tank the guy uased multple pieces of pond liner siliconed down and seamed.it looked like a pretty good idea.and i dont think pond liner is too expensive.it seems from what i've read the epoxies crack
 
jimmie d wad said:
have you guys seen the plywood tank the guy uased multple pieces of pond liner siliconed down and seamed.it looked like a pretty good idea.and i dont think pond liner is too expensive.it seems from what i've read the epoxies crack
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Where is this tank? Any links?

I'M ANDREW AND I'M A FISHAHOLIC
-Andrew
 
One product I found that looks like it could be useful is called Redguard. I found it at Home Depot. It designed to be a water proof barrier for showers. You can brush, roll, or spray it on. I haven't used it personally but I know some one here did just can't find the thread right now.

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Oh thank you so much!! I will definitely be using the red guard as I can get some 10 minutes away from me and will be saving roughly $100. If you can find the thread please let me know because I would be thrilled to see how they did it



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Abruskin said:
Oh thank you so much!! I will definitely be using the red guard as I can get some 10 minutes away from me and will be saving roughly $100. If you can find the thread please let me know because I would be thrilled to see how they did it
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Some comments about elastomeric emulsions like Red Guard and Liquid Rubber.

The cost per gallon is low but the total cost in waterproofing with them is high. Most of them are about 55% solids by volume and need a minimum of 50 mils dry thickness to form a proper waterproof barrier. That means 100 mils of wet product that needs to be applied so once all the water and other carriers evaporated you'd have a 50 mil dry film layer left. Epoxy resin is 100% solids and only needs a 10 mil thick wet film layer to effectively waterproof so you need nearly ten times as much elastomeric emulsion to waterproof. And it's not 1/10'th of the cost so it's actually cheaper to use epoxy if you can get it.

These emulsions also make it a bit more tricky to install a viewing window since silicone does not stick to most of them. All in all not a huge issue and not one that would make me avoid them.

Some of them are self healing in case of puncture. This is a good thing in some situations but not something I'd be personally comfortable with when exposed to the constant pressures of water confinement. Again, I wouldn't rule out using a self healing product but if I had the choice between two similar rubber type products at the same price point I'd choose the one that cures completely over the one that encapsulates for self healing reasons.

I have also heard they are not all that repairable since the product does not stick well to itself after a number of years. I am not aware to what degree this applies to all rubber type emulsions.

But with all that said, these types of materials are readily available and are single component emulsions which many people are more comfortable with than two component compounds like epoxy, polyester or polyurea. And some people may be more comfortable with the thicker layer of protection anyways. By no means am I saying don't use them. But when I see people choosing them for budget reasons I do feel it's good to look at the whole picture of cost -- not just the cost per gallon.
 
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