Plywood Tanks

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Tau2301

I would leave at least 4" of frame at the bottom for a DSB. That way you would only see the top of the DSB and not the grungy stuff lower down.

That is all you see on the front of mine Kim ... sloping higher to the back

Cheers

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

Jamie, I have been looking at this also but I have pretty much concluded it would be hard to make it look nice if it was a free standing tank(by this I mean it would not look as good as a glass tank with out a lot of work) .
If it was built into a wall it would be the way to go though, unfortunatly the new house I bought does not lend its self favorably to a "In wall" tank.

Steve

Just curious Steve ? ... by not looking nice as a free standing what do you mean ? ... are you talking about viewable side panels ?

Cheers

[StirCrazy]

well in order for me to have it as wide as I like I need to be able to acess it from both sides so basicly I would be using it as a room devider so I would have to get glass for two sides and one end. as it would look funny with one side just wood. by getting a glass tank you don't have that problem.. just that..

I think a plywood and glass tank lends it self to a "In wall" or "corner" type install better than a 3 side.

Now that I have said that I think I have a way to do it LOL but that would involve columes and such.. hmmm I think I have a idea..

If I used large columes 4X4 or 6X6 to finnish the edges I could carry them on to the roof. this would provide all the stability you need for your wall corners and allow you to go with 2" of framing around the glass.

Has anyone gotten a price on 5/8th or 3/4 thick glass?

I think that building a "free standing" ply and glass might be more expensive in the long run, But it might be more apealing if done right.

Steve

[StirCrazy]

Its all your fault Rasta, just when I had convinced myself to buy a tank you got me going on this again

questions for ya.

1, is there anyway you could get some one with a camera over to take some pics?

2, I am interewsted in how you did your joints you mentioned 3" screws is that into the end of the particle board? and did you use any other external bracing?

3, how big is your viewing glass and how thick?

I had planned on using two layers of 3/4" plywood if I did this. I don't feel the extra cost of marine grade is warented but I will look into that also.

4, Why did you decide to use fiberglass? (just picking your brain here)

5, what is your feeling on 45 degree joints? I was thinking of making the tank bulge at one end like a bay window.

Any other info you have either by links or in your head would be greatly apreaceated.

Steve

[Jack]

Isn't MDF horrible after it gets wet?

Aslo, is this economical for smaller tanks? Say 70-120 gal. You could sure drill the heck out of it for closed loops which is a nice benifit.

Whats the difficulty on something like this?

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Jack

Isn't MDF horrible after it gets wet?

Aslo, is this economical for smaller tanks? Say 70-120 gal. You could sure drill the heck out of it for closed loops which is a nice benifit.

Whats the difficulty on something like this?

The whole idea of fibreglass is to waterproof it so it does not get wet

Does not matter what you decide to use for the main structure whether it be Plywood ( if plywood gets wet it will split as well ) or MDF as long as it can handle the water pressure.

You could use this for any size tank but the bigger the better

Cheers

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

Its all your fault Rasta, just when I had convinced myself to buy a tank you got me going on this again

questions for ya.

1, is there anyway you could get some one with a camera over to take some pics?

2, I am interewsted in how you did your joints you mentioned 3" screws is that into the end of the particle board? and did you use any other external bracing?

3, how big is your viewing glass and how thick?

I had planned on using two layers of 3/4" plywood if I did this. I don't feel the extra cost of marine grade is warented but I will look into that also.

4, Why did you decide to use fiberglass? (just picking your brain here)

5, what is your feeling on 45 degree joints? I was thinking of making the tank bulge at one end like a bay window.

Any other info you have either by links or in your head would be greatly apreaceated.

Steve

Guilty as charged

1) I only have pics of the completed tank as I did not think to document the construction when I built it

2) I basically used the 3" screws and also a construction grade wood glue ... also a 5" perimeter brace around the top ( If I was to do that again I would simply do (3) x 5"x1/2" glass cross braces in the middle and 2 on the ends instead so that I get more light into the tank ... very small shadow at very top )

3) I used 5/8" glass and the viewing area is 90"x29"

as far as plywood goes 2x3/4" would be VERY sturdy

4) as far as fibreglass goes it was the most economical way to seal the wood and provide a more rigid perimeter ... looked at all kinds of different sealers but came back to fibreglass every time.

5) as far as 45 degree joints I did not have the skill to do that so I just reeinforced with screws / glue / fibreglass ( probably overkill ) but I know it is strong )

not sure on the pressure dynamics that a bay would cause so cant comment there ... would be cool though


If I think of anything else I will let you know


Cheers

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Rasta

4) as far as fibreglass goes it was the most economical way to seal the wood and provide a more rigid perimeter ... looked at all kinds of different sealers but came back to fibreglass every time.

Cheers

isn't this the job of the two part epoxy? , to seal the tank, this was my understanding from other plywood and glass tanks.

Steve

[Tau2301]

StirCrazy Wrote:

I was thinking of making the tank bulge at one end like a bay window.

Without proper bracing you would probably get the bow anyway.

[EmilyB]

Trig-no-metric is on his last chance with glass going into five years......I think all four sides plywood would be his next home......