questions

[jp80911]

Trying to budget for a plywood tank, planning for internal dimension to be 7x3x2 (or 8x4x3 depends on price). what would be the best and cheapest way to waterproof the tank? I've seen people use fiberglass and resin, some type fish safe sealant, pond liner, polyurea spray liner, etc
There are so many options, so I want to hear from the experienced ones which one would the best and cheapest or best bang for the buck.
also I'm getting a quote for 6'x2'x0.75" and 7'x2'x0.75 glass panel, would that be over kill for the tank size I'm aiming? would 0.5" thick be enough?

 

[BadOleRoss]

Cant believe you didnt get any answers! .75 glass is overkill, .5 will be just fine. I have .5" on my 315g tank and its 27" tall. As far as sealants, there are 2 that I would consider. The first is pond coat also know as liquid rubbber. For a tank that size you are going to need about 5 gallon which is going to run you just over $200. PC/LR is easy to work with and the only drawback I see with it is that it does not stick to silicone and silicone does not stick to it very well. I built a tank using LR and I have to put a strip of fiberglass resin between the silicone and LR to seal the viewing window. The 2nd product worth looking into is called Pond Armor, this is an epoxy paint that is frequently used here. I have never worked with it myself. You might want to read through the tank built sticky at the top of this section. Of course, I think the pictures are still down which takes the fun out of it.

 

[jp80911]

Thanks for the reply.
the glass will be taller than 24" but the edges are supported by plywood and only the center 72"x24" area doesn't have anything to support it.
so 0.5" will do, that could lower the price by a good amount. thanks.
I looked into pond armor but was told that I should add concrete board to plywood then apply pond armor on top of concrete board.
Now I'm planning to use sweetwater epoxy from aquatic ecosystems. I'll probably need two gallons (each gallon can cover 250 sq. ft smooth area at a thickness of 4 mil) of them since the internal dimension will be small now. I should be able to get 2-3, maybe even 4 coats with 2 gallon.