wood qestions, glass

[njackson]

At least it will be outside. A 400 gallon tank with only plywood for walls is gonna make a mess when it comes apart.

iam using exterior plywood what for outside

 

[mdb_talon]

iam using exterior plywood what for outside

Ya I guess my point was it is pretty risky building a 400 gallon tank out of plywood alone. Also keep in mind even exterior plywood is not immune from affects from the weather.

I wish you all the luck its good to see someone very gung ho about a project like this. My advice though would be to do a lot of research on MFK and other sites and get a little better idea of what you are getting into before attempting this.

Either way you go it will be a good learning experience....

 

[njackson]

Ya I guess my point was it is pretty risky building a 400 gallon tank out of plywood alone. Also keep in mind even exterior plywood is not immune from affects from the weather.

I wish you all the luck its good to see someone very gung ho about a project like this. My advice though would be to do a lot of research on MFK and other sites and get a little better idea of what you are getting into before attempting this.

Either way you go it will be a good learning experience....

thanks i will be doing a lot of reading befroe i do it , should i varnish then to protect from the weather and it will just plywood but i will be using the spares to make it stronger.

 

[le patron]

plywood is good an relatively cheap, but it needs to be very thick if you're planning on making a big tank

 

[mdb_talon]

plywood is good an relatively cheap, but it needs to be very thick if you're planning on making a big tank

From a cost-effective perspective though 2x4 walls are extremely cheap and would help build a much more solid structure. To reduce the flex of that 6 foot section to a reasonable amount would take a lot of thick plywood or for $30-$40 US you could build 2x4 walls all around (or a lot less if you dont use pressure treated). About the same price as a single 4x8 sheet of 3/4 but will work a lot better.

As for varnish on the outside it might help as long as there is absolutely nowhere for water to get in. If water can get in and cant find an easy way out it might make things worse.

Personally I would build 2x4 walls with 3/4 inch plywood on the inside and very thin plywood shell on the outside and waterproof the outside shell all the way around.

 

[chemicall]

If it's got to survive the conditions and weather I'd do the outside in cement board, then parge it all smooth, then some paint.(obviously you still need 2x4 walls and plywood inside)

I've seen buildings done like this that went from owe to wow.

 

[njackson]

all good ideas , i thinking of using 2x4 then becuase they are cheaper , and i have been looking in threads and i like this pond http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168929

so i might do like that pond and put a thin plywood sheet around it then varnish. when i have more money i will get acrylic for it and cenment board too(like that idea) and make it into a tank.

what do you think , i think that the best idea for money.

now i need to find a place what sale 2x4

 

[vicdeedee]

if you do go with cement board, dont use parging compound, like listed above, the seams will crack and the parging will eventually split, you need to use mesh fibertape over the seams and joints and then use fortified or polymodified thinset to cover the fibertape and screwheads, that will ensure no cracks and that the screwheads wont rust

 

[vicdeedee]

and if you want to save a bit more buy 2x4x92 5/8 instead of 2x4x96

 

[njackson]

thanks