Practice 80G plywood tank

[Dr Joe]

Looks good!

I'm gonna have to do something like this, if I only had the space to keep the damn tank after making it

Move into the weekend house full time

 

[Dr Joe]

The polyester resin stinks to high hell, but at least it applies fairly easy. The 2 part epoxy I got to cover the fibreglass doesn't smell at all, BUT is a nightmare to apply. Tacky as you would not believe! Now if they could just make an epoxy that was odourless, easy to mix and apply, and that is fish safe, that would be a true miracle substance to work with.

Dr J, we have a couple of hardware superstores around, but they are the reason I didn't start on this venture earlier. The mark-up on their products are shocking. So what I did was to find suppliers that are willing to sell to the public. If I attempted to do this project using all hardware superstore materials, I would have spent $400 easy. So, yes and no. You can find parts easy if you're willing to spend the cash. If you want specialist materials like the acrylic epoxy or you don't want to spend too much doe, then you have to hit the net and yellow pages, and push that phone bill for a day or two.

I used to have a customer from england who shared his year between England, Florida and the Canary Islands. He'd buy his electronic/electrical parts from me and other fix up stuff from here and take it on the plane with him 'cause it was still cheaper than buying it in the Islands. He actually carried enough stuff to completely screen-in his condo porch. He just pre-cut everything here. Very clever.

Can't wait to see it done.

Dr Joe

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[maxumis]

Quick update. The tank is at a stage where it should hold water! Wooo hoo!
I'm testing it on Sunday. I just want to give the silicone enough time to cure.
All these monster tank owners have fotos of themselfs in there monster tanks.
I just couldn't resist

A project like this consumes a bit more silicone than you'd expect. 2.5 tubes went into the front window "gasket" the other 2.5 tubes went into sealing the seams.

This is a fun project, but it is costing a lot.

 

[Dr Joe]

Wahoo!!

Looking good...

Now get out of it so you can put water in it. Do you think fish want to be in something after you've been in it...yuk.

Patients is a virtue... in tank building.

Dr Joe

.

 

[maxumis]

I filled it today, and NO LEAKS!!! Woohoo! I let it stand for about 5 hours and then drained it. I would have liked to leave it longer, but I can't leave it outside... This is Africa
Well it's gonna stay empty for a while now. I have exams to concentrate on for now. But here are some pics of today’s happenings:
The one pic shows a dark spot on the wood. I though it was a leak at first. My heart sank to my feet, because when I noticed it there wasn't even 20G of water in the tank! Turns out to be some messed polyester resin No leak.

 

[ewurm]

Nice, Im going to be building a woodie here pretty soon.

I built one this morning in my sleep! LOL

 

[jcashion]

That is awesome! I'd really like to build one in the future. I showed the wife and she had that look of "hmmmm....might be interesting" I like it ) Keep up the good work, mang!

 

[maxumis]

Quick update pic:

I'm seriously considering housing a single Oscar in here...

jcashion, Even though I used sh#$ materials, it's coming together really nicely. So with a little more skill, better materials, and a bit more effort, a plywood tank can be stunning

 

[monty_javier]

next time you paint with the epoxy put a bit (a very small bit, as i think its like one quart per 5 gal of paint) of thinner in it, it will make it much easier to apply and wont take away any of the water proofing properties. just make sure you are getting the right thinner for the certain type of epoxy you are using. i used to paint water towers and this is how we did it.
btw, the tank looks awesome congratulations.

 

[Joshy]

Any more pictures and updates maxumis?
How are the exams going, i know i would not be able to concentrate on tests when i have such a tank on my mind haha.