Yet another plywood tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
i robbed a bank......

you should have seen the looks on their face when i told them i wanted their windows!



no j/k

im a mechanical engineer and i work @ a curtain wall company down here in miami. They had some windows left over from a project years ago and were going to toss them. so.....thats where i got the glass.

It is actually three layers. The first two layers are laminated together. they are .25" tempered, 1/16 laminate, and another .25" tempered. Clear both. Then, the an air space, and another .25 greenish tempered peice of glass.

I split the window @ the air space and now i have one peice of 9/16 , two pane glass and another 1/4 inch peice of glass, which i will use as a lid. It should be cool to have a really big peice of glass to use as the lid.
 
Keep us informed as you go with pics. Looks great so far. I might build one myself? 8'x3'x2.
 
Alright, here is another update.....

Whipped out some $8 Dollar Bondo from the local Advanced Auto Part store and slapped it onto the tank.

This is my attempt to cover up the imperfections as well as the screw heads so that the tank is nice and smooth. Tomorrow night I will start to sand down the tank and then hopefully on Thursday morning I can make a lot of progress on this thang.

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looking foward to seeing the waterproofing stage.

nice pic up on the glass...now thats recycling
 
GOOD LUCK ! WHAT R U SEALING IT WITH FIBER GLASS? IF SO WILL THE WOOD OR GLASS BOW @SOME POINT?
 
yama;1286484; said:
GOOD LUCK ! WHAT R U SEALING IT WITH FIBER GLASS? IF SO WILL THE WOOD OR GLASS BOW @SOME POINT?



I am not exactly sure what you are asking....If you are asking as to whether or not I will have supports to keep from bowing, then the answer is yes. They are not pictured yet because i have to install the glass before I brace the top. Therefore, those will be the last things installed/sealed.

Also, i have a 5 gallon bucket of fiberglass resin as well as 4 yards worth of really nice fiberglass. I bought it at a local marine supply.

So far my expenses have been:


TANK
Glass: FREE
Wood for tank: 81 dollars
Fiberglass resin, matte, and Bondo: 110 dollars
Paint: 20 dollars (Estimated)
Sub total: 211


STAND
Wood: 40 dollars (Estimated)
Paint: 20 dollars (Estimated)
Sub total: 60


SUMP
Wood: 30 dollars
PVC Piping: 15 dollars
Pumps (2 @ 10 dollars each): 20 dollars
Sub total: 65

WHOLE SYSTEM COST:


TOTAL: 336 (Estimated)


That number is likely to creep up on me....
 
happy thanksgiving......had some extra time in the morning so I was able to glass two sides of the tank....

When matte becomes well impregnated with resin, it becomes very translucent. I actually used a matte that is a very strong mesh on one side, and regular fiber matte on the other. Great for boat repair (and fish tanks), and super strong. I will post pictures of that tomorrow.

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