my plywood tank build thread

[phixer]

Yeah, all things considered the only drawback to drylock is the rough texture, Ive seen others use it in photos but not me personally. I may be wrong. I like the way this guy used Hardiboard as well, something else to consider. :thinking: One thing I admire is the way he makes use of everything. Did you notice the 5 gallon bucket filters.

Prety cool. I thought this was going to be some ghetto job made from an old set of stair cases and popsickle sticks but he did a decent job and with the drywall installed it looks pretty good. Did you see this one.
http://www.jonolavsakvarium.com/eng_...200litres.html

 

[cubsfan]

The only thing I'm worried about is the silicone in the corners not holding up. He used everything he could find in a dumpster

and it turned out great! I cant believe all the free stuff he was getting from people. Very cool reading.
I have read thru the 2200 liter one as well and have it book marked. To bad he had to tear it down it was a nice looking tank.

 

[phixer]

He calls the Home Depot the Home Dumpster.

I got an email from the folks at Sanitred today. So far these folks deserve an A for customer service. After the email I called them up. They told me that Drylock becomes brittle over time. Of course this is one of their competitors so I factored that in. I think I will use marine plywood coated with Sanitred. Unless the Sanitred seal fails any type of ply would be fine.
They said if using acrylic as the viewing window to use a 2 part epoxy to coat the edges of the panel to be joined. Then to bond the panel to the permaflex coating underneath. He said it would provide a much stronger seal than a silicone gasket.
If you go with an epoxy top coat, make sure you use a brand that wont turn chalky after awhile. Ive heard good things about Aquatic ecosystems and West systems brands.

 

[cubsfan]

went down to the home dumpster

and bought a gallon of drylok paint, tinted blue not many options. Im going to try it out on a small piece of wood and see what its like. I'm thinking I might go with fiberglass and epoxy for the corners and seams.. This seems to be where most people have a leak. I can't seem to make up my mind

. Well heres my drylok, i will post a little later on appearance and texture.

 

[phixer]

It has worked for TFG on that monster tank he built and will probably work good for you also. Looking forward to seeing it.

 

[cubsfan]

well 1 coat on a spare piece. It has a sandy grit to it. not sure if this is what i want for my tank. Also e-mailed sanitred and got a e-mail back with everything i would need to buy and how to do it. Problem is 1 gallon is almost a $100 were drylok was $20 a gallon.

 

[phixer]

The Home Dumpster

Yeah Sanitred is pretty costly, I think it has a lifetime guarantee against leaking though. I noticed the texture of the Drylock also... Kind of gritty. Are you going to coat the rest of the tank with it still?
Im currently watching a thread on another site about Sanitred vs something called Pond Shield for plywood tank applications. This might be insightful. Are you going to do any bracing around the perimeter ?

 

[pigman723]

i tried to build a 600 plywood tank once........needless to say it leaked like crazy...

so i went and bought one.

but for real the expoxy does hold up so it leaks i would recomend getting half inch sheets of acrylic and some weldon 40 to glue it all together.

 

[phixer]

Just a few questions.
Why did your plywood tank leak?
What were the dimensions?
How was it sealed? i.e fiberglass/epoxy or epoxy over wood.
If it did leak it would be nice to know so that someone else dosent repeat the same process.
and why use #40 for 1/2" acrylic instead of #4?

 

[cubsfan]

ugl got back to me and said not to sand the drylok. of coarse they said not to use it on plywood too

. I'm going to put 1 more coat on later (4) then when its dry i will cut the piece in half and see if it penetrates the wood at all.

i will post a picture when its cut in half.

 

[phixer]

Sounds like a good call. Im requesting a sample of this pond armor stuff for compairison to Sanitred. When I get it Im going to do a little experiement with a 3/4 piece of plywood. TFG used drylock on concrete Hardiboard. Sanitred might be the way to go but your right this stuff is high dollar. I will stay tuned ...

 

[aw2x3]

Couldn't we do away with the Sanitred, Drylock, etc. by just lining the plywood with 1/4" plexi and using Weldon to seal the seams?
Build the plywood box and paint the inside of it black. Then, line the entire thing with plexi.
Why wouldn't that work?

 

[phixer]

Basically building an acrylic tank and re-enforcing it with a plywood outer shell.
:thinking: I think it could work providing very little flex occurs. If the front panel bows out at all a crack could start because of the difference in thickness between the acrylic lining the tank and the front panel. They will flex at different rates. The thicker viewing window would be more rigid and if it flexes the thinner stuff could crack. Hard to say really, I like the idea, same for PVC sheet as a liner also except PVC gets brittle under UV light. The tank I need to build is too long to line with acrylic, there would be too many seams and too much fitting.

 

[russelljew]

Why not use plywood, screw it together, silicone all the edges, use glass for the front, mask the glass off and use a rino type truck liner to coat the inside. Then take angle iron to all the edges off the plywood and weld you a frame out of the angle iron. Then lay the box inside of the frame, now all you need is stand for it.

:thinking:

 

[phixer]

Because these liners are notorius for leaking and leeching toxins into your water. Some people have written about their experiences using these liners on the Monster fish keepers site and Cichilid forum.
Iron is very toxic to marine animals so the use of angle iron involves some risk. Same for most metals. Angle iron is a great idea however when it starts to rust (and it will no matter how well its encapsulated) , if a small ammount migrates into the water it can poison your tank, especially sensitve invertibrates like anemones.

 

[cubsfan]

I decided to build a small box and put 3 layers of drylok on it then silicone the sides. This will be to see if the drylok will work at holding water. I know there will be alot more pressure when the big tank is full, just looking at the drylok water proofing for now. I will fill it saturday afternoon, silicone needs to dry.

 

[phixer]

Well any progress today Bud?
Im going to take a drive to the Birch aquarium at Scripps today and ask some more questions. Hopefully will have some useful info when I get back.

 

[cubsfan]

filled it with water and its holding so far, only been about 4 hours. Have to work tonight will see in the morning. take some pics if you can also of Scripps tank and let us know any info you can.
heres a photo.

 

[cyclops]

Good Tread. I am learning alot. Keep the photos coming

 

[reefkprz]

my girlfriend looked at it says put it in the yard put a pump in it and throw a goldfish or koi in it. (honestly she wants to know it if thats the bottom or side your showing.) I'm semi lost why would you use masonry paint on wood? why would you use textured masonry paint on wood? why wouldnt you just use marine resin?