Question about fiber glass strenght

[anarekist]

Hi guys, is it possible to create a sturdy enough tank using minimal wood just to create a 'skeleton' of sorts and then reinforce it with enough fiberglass to have it hold water, my idea is to create 8x6x6 tank that come around to 2150 gallons. i would image i would fiberglass the inside and outside? thoughts?

ugh sorry i spelled strength wrong

 

[stempy]

I'd imagine it's possible as there are large water containers built entirely out of fiberglass, but I'm guessing the cost to do this would far outweigh the typical reinforced plywood builds.

 

[anarekist]

i see, that is something to consider.. back to the drawing board.

 

[ronp327]

I can't remember the members name but he built his tank and it set outside under a covered pourch i think, and he built it just that way. He screwed his plywood together and fiberglassed the inside and outside, sealed it and filled it up with no problems.

 

[ronp327]

i looked it up it was Greenterra Plywood, fiberglass and 800 gallons of water

 

[Dan F]

Check out Bigrich's 4000G fiberglass/acrylic tank.

I have a 4x4x2 that I made from a fiberglass tub and a glass window.

 

[anarekist]

sweet, found the thread i think..
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...3-Plywood-fiberglass-and-800-gallons-of-water

 

[anarekist]

Check out Bigrich's 4000G fiberglass/acrylic tank.

I have a 4x4x2 that I made from a fiberglass tub and a glass window.

haha yes, that's what inspired me in the first place.

 

[ronp327]

sweet, found the thread i think..
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...3-Plywood-fiberglass-and-800-gallons-of-water

yeah i always liked this one. i think they did a killer job on the whole thing.

 

[fmjnax]

I've just been a long-time lurker on the boards, but I think I can help here (I use fiberglass quite extensively in the marine industry).

Yes, it will easily be strong enough. Most people well underestimate fiberglass. However, stempy hit the nail on the head. Cost is going to be the major player. A gallon of good polyester resin will run you $40-50. Double that if you want to use epoxy resin. Fiberglass will run you $2-5/yard for CSM and $6-8/yard for biaxial. That may not seem like a lot but when you start trying to figure how much resin you will need you will quickly scrap the idea.

Estimate your tank idea at about 20 square yards. You'll want quite a thick layup. 1 gallon of resin will wet out about 4 sq yards of CSM or 1708. So that's 5 gallons for ONE layer of CSM. You will need, at minimum, 25 gallons of resin... or about $1000. That's resin alone. Forget about your wood costs, windows costs, fiberglass costs, supplies costs, etc.