PVC sheet lining plywood aquarium

[marinerules]

So as always looking up options and ideas of sealing a tank

I'm awaiting a call back from smooth on today over a product they have called habitat flex

If all goes well ( they said it sticks to pvc with extreme strength ). Then I'm going to line my tank with 1/8 or 1/4 inch pvc 4'x8' sheets and sand all edges and go over all joints with this epoxy putty


Save a lot of work mixing fiberglass resins or epoxy and be simpler I think

I'll let you guys know how the phone call goes later

If it goes well this will be the way I do my tank

Maybe I'll be the start of a new thing lol

 

[xraycer]

I've never heard of Habitat Flex, but the idea of lining a plywood tank with PVC sheets, and sealing with a plastic welder, have been brought up on this forum before. Don't recall anyone actually attempting this though.

 

[marinerules]

Yea I've emailed people and companies before about the idea but I'm awaiting a phone call. You can get a lot better of advice from a phone call than endless emails back and forth. They said the guy calling me has a lot of experience and knowledge on the product as he actually works in the aquatics industry with it and has also worked with the guys on tanked


This will be interesting for sure

A piece of 4'x8' 1/8 inch thick pic is around 85 bucks

I don't know what that thickness and size of epoxy or resin would be but it's a lot less messier and less error prone


I'm eager for this phone call

I have had polygems 307 lite and ez sculpt putty in the past to make artificial beaches and corals and one that stuff was on pvc it WOULD NOT come off. Grabs to it really well. I liked the idea of having a strong bonding epoxy putty tho that doesn't harden like a rock. That's why I'm interested in smooth ons habitat flex. That way it does have some flex and isn't subject to a crack

My tank won't have much now in it tho anyways as I'm going to build my tank the stacked lumber method like vldesign, silent bob, and Johng

 

[xraycer]

Looking forward to a possible future build thread

 

[PDRed302]

I'd look into DAS Aquariums; I have one of their large tanks and the bottom is wood covered with some type of PVC or FRP. It has been holding up great and the bottom being made of wood definitely helps keep the weight down when moving the tank.

I wish I knew more about its original construction, however I bought it used over 4+ years ago.

 

[wednesday13]

pretty sure pvc sheets can be solvent welded or heat welded. our member Johnptc built an 800gal back in 04-05ish using 1/2" polypropolene sheets heat welded inside and out encased in a metal cage.... My 650gal is also poly p lined and heat welded on the inside and encased in steel/angle iron. i have an additional epdm liner overtop the inside for extra assurance..... Theres also another older build on here somewhere that used wood frame/ pvc or abs sheets and sealed with the "goop" brand epoxy used generously filleted at the seams. neway... id also look into weld-on #40 and pouring fillets on the seams of ur pvc/abs lining. Around $100-135 a gallon it may be a stronger bond and around the same price or cheaper than the new product ud like to try. #40 will adhere to pvc, abs, and acrylic...theres tensile/bond strengths for each material on their website. worth comparing the 2 atleast...(#40 and the habitat safe)

 

[Painter89]

pretty sure pvc sheets can be solvent welded or heat welded. our member Johnptc built an 800gal back in 04-05ish using 1/2" polypropolene sheets heat welded inside and out encased in a metal cage.... My 650gal is also poly p lined and heat welded on the inside and encased in steel/angle iron. i have an additional epdm liner overtop the inside for extra assurance..... Theres also another older build on here somewhere that used wood frame/ pvc or abs sheets and sealed with the "goop" brand epoxy used generously filleted at the seams. neway... id also look into weld-on #40 and pouring fillets on the seams of ur pvc/abs lining. Around $100-135 a gallon it may be a stronger bond and around the same price or cheaper than the new product ud like to try. #40 will adhere to pvc, abs, and acrylic...theres tensile/bond strengths for each material on their website. worth comparing the 2 atleast...(#40 and the habitat safe)

Is there anyway to get a post on what u did on you’re tank I built a 600 encased in angle iron with wood but need to upgrade for my rays was trying to look in to somthing like that 800 u said was built
but with 1 inch thick polyethylene and steel frame

 

[wednesday13]

Is there anyway to get a post on what u did on you’re tank I built a 600 encased in angle iron with wood but need to upgrade for my rays was trying to look in to somthing like that 800 u said was built
but with 1 inch thick polyethylene and steel frame

My 650 is angle iron, 1/2" polypropelene heat welded at the seams and then i used an additional 45mil epdm liner over top for extra assurance as i did not trust my heat welder. Its been running for 10yrs now no problem...


The original idea came from J johnptc ... he built the 800 ur talking about. he used box tubing just as a cage around the 800 gal poly box heat welded at the seams. You can find Johns builds/thread in the "Articles" section of the forum. its somewhere in there ill try to get ya a pic if u cant find it.

 

[wednesday13]

Is there anyway to get a post on what u did on you’re tank I built a 600 encased in angle iron with wood but need to upgrade for my rays was trying to look in to somthing like that 800 u said was built
but with 1 inch thick polyethylene and steel frame

Also if ur on a computer...look in the bottom of any of my posts... theres a build thread/link in my signature for the 650. This was before the days of camera phones so theres a lack of pics but there may be somethin useful in there for u if im not around to answer any questions you may have.