Used Plywood tank question

[creativityasaweapon]

So, I work with a chap who is looking to downsize his collection and has offered to sell me his 400 gal ply tank. I believe it is a pond liner build and it's only around a dollar a gallon. It doesn't leak and he's selling it just to make enough money for a glass build he'd like to do. I have no idea on the longevity of these tanks and would like to know what everyone thinks.
When we talked about moving it, he mentioned taking it apart and putting it together in my basement, and since it's a liner, I'd assume this is okay, right? Nothing should happen to jeopardize the integrity of the frame? We rent so these are questions that have bee troubling me all week and just want a little comfort from the mfk family.

The only unfortunate thing about this tank is that it means we have to take down 2 out of 3 120's But, this tank also means that our rays will be housed well, just like they should be!

 

[waynes world]

I myself would not pay that price for to need to break a tank down and to rebuild it, less cash i may do, but in a way you will be just rebuilding a new tank, you still need to think about the sealing of the tank around the glass and structure.

Is it a saving on building a new tank from scratch, and the condition of the tank you are looking at, not to say of the hassel of taking down to 120`s.

 

[wednesday13]

I have a liner tank thats been running for 2 years with no isses....i wouldnt break yours down to move it, doesnt make sense unless it doesnt fit in ur doorway. If it aint broke dont fix it! Id like to see some pics. I started a thread for liner tanks and longevity, not much info yet tho every little bit helps

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[creativityasaweapon]

Well, the tank needs to be broken down to move out of the basement it's in right now. The four panels just need to be broken down. I've heard of people building modular set ups like this, but I don't think that this one was built with that in mind. I'll have to think about this. The tank is in good condition and it saves me the hassle of building one myself, but then again, after taking it down, how are we going to make sure the liner gets reattached correctly etc... I'm just not sure I can build one for that cheap of a price.

 

[CJH]

Well, the tank needs to be broken down to move out of the basement it's in right now. The four panels just need to be broken down. I've heard of people building modular set ups like this, but I don't think that this one was built with that in mind. I'll have to think about this. The tank is in good condition and it saves me the hassle of building one myself, but then again, after taking it down, how are we going to make sure the liner gets reattached correctly etc... I'm just not sure I can build one for that cheap of a price.

There is probably quite a bit of value in the viewing panel and the liner itself. I'd be concerned with 1) the quality/material/thickness of the liner and 2) how well all of the old silicone (or whatever he used) could be removed from the liner. Even a 45 mil liner is not something you want to scrape away at with a razor. How did he attach the viewing panel to the liner? Bolts? Silicone or other type of caulking?

Is the viewing panel glass or acrylic? How thick is it? What size is the panel? Not the viewing area but the panel itself?

Does the tank itself have external framing or is it just a plywood shell? Was it glued and screwed together?

 

[creativityasaweapon]

These are things that I have been wondering as well. I just found out about this deal a couple days ago. I know that the panel is glass, there's external framing, from what I can tell the glass is just siliconed but the frame is bolted together. As far as the actual size of the glass panel and the thickness, these are things I have yet to measure. I know that the thing is built like a brick s!@# house.
We live in Northern WI and large tanks, ply or not, are hard to come by and even harder to get something under a grand. This isn't coming into our house until after the holidays, so there's time to really think on this.

 

[creativityasaweapon]

So, I got some more info, the liner is 45 mil EDPM and the glass is .5" and the overlap is 3.5" all around. I don't know the actual size of glass, but the gent knew about the safety ratings for height and thickness and assured me that he built this to last so it didn't burst in his own basement. The panels are going to be the only thing taken apart so the glass will stay intact. I don't really have anymore reservations about this, but does anyone have any suggestions for moving or reassembly for safety?

The only downfall is that we already have stock for this tank, so we don't get to go through that- a 10" silver arowana, scomb, 12" and 14" lima and 2 12"FL gars. After the rays are big enough to "hold their own" they'll go in there and the stock will be revised.

 

[wednesday13]

what sealent was used to adhere the liner to the window? Theres not many liner tanks on here at all and i'm very curious if regular silicone was used. My guess would be he used 3m 5200 sealent. Only tips for moving is be careful with that glass lol...makes me feel better the window would not be removed aswell, this should work.

 

[CJH]

So, I got some more info, the liner is 45 mil EDPM and the glass is .5" and the overlap is 3.5" all around.

The panels are going to be the only thing taken apart so the glass will stay intact. I don't really have anymore reservations about this, but does anyone have any suggestions for moving or reassembly for safety?

I would turn the tank over onto some blocking (tall enough so you can reach under) with the viewing panel facing down. That way the weight of the entire liner is pushing the glass down onto its silicone attachment (or whatever he used) instead of pulling on it in any direction.

Once the bottom, side and back panels are removed I would then wrap the front panel and liner with packing film. If you don't have that then wrap it in a sheet or something and then wrap it in duct tape. Just keep the duct tape off the liner and keep the weight of the liner and glass from pulling on the silicone bond.

Transport the viewing panel facing down and keep it down during assembly. Try not to turn the tank upright until the liner is somewhat back in position and attached to the upper part of the tank.

If it were me I'd even brace the glass in place once the tank is empty and before turning on its face for taking it apart and before turning it back upright before test fill.

 

[joe jaskot]

Taking that tank apart and putting it back together sounds like a leak waiting to happen. Too many things can go wrong in the process. Main concern would be how the glass remains attached to the liner.