My wood tank build
 

Well, in my defense, it's my wife's fault. She made me tear down a perfectly good 270 gallon in-wall and move to a new house. This is what I had to abandon. I am hesitant to start this thread for fear that I will not be able to keep up posting the progress. But, here we go.

[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/may-05 tank.jpg[/IMG]

The new house has a perfect tank wall and I started thinking of an upgrade. The more I looked, the more I became enamored of building a wood tank. I drew my plans from folks like Marc (Fudge) and others and set about collecting materials and supplies. My goal was to keep the size to dimensions that would allow me to use single sheets of plywood. I wanted an open top design with external overflow.

Here is the start.

[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/wood tank start.jpg[/IMG]



[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/tank with sides.jpg[/IMG]

overflows
 

Next came the overflow box. I wanted the 2 tabs to support the addition of wavy sea devices.

[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/tank back with overflow.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/overflow.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/overflow route.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/finished overflows.jpg[/IMG]

reinforcement
 

I reinforced all the inside joints with 2x2 stock ripped at a 45 (another idea from RC)

[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/corner support.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/foam joints.jpg[/IMG]

All finish and glue joints (other than the corner supports) were done with West System Epoxy. The corner supports were set with Gorrilla Glue. West System has a good tech bulletin on tank building. Not aquariums per say, but liquid storage tanks in general.

[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/west system.jpg[/IMG]

angle iron
 

In order to make the face very rigid, and avoid a center brace, I came up with the idea of laminating a 2x2x1/4 angle iron piece in to the wooden frame. This makes the top and front so rigid that I can stand on the face and jump up and down with no noticable deflection.


[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/angle.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/angle iron install.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/top face with angle.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/finished face.jpg[/IMG]

Next step was to fill every hole and defect with thickened epoxy. Messy for sure.

[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/epoxy fill.jpg[/IMG]

Once this was done, the whole tank was finished sanded and made ready for fiberglass layup. Oh, and by the way, every joint is doubled up with exterior chines to make plenty of glue surfaces.

[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/fiberglass1.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/fiberglass2.jpg[/IMG]


That's all for now. I'm just busy laying down fiberglass. The process will be 1 layer of fiberglass in 3 coats of epoxy to all internal surfaces. Sand and repeat with more fiberglass and 3 more coats. West System indicates that 20 mil thickness is what you want for tanks and that is around 6 coats.

More to come as more happens (I'm liking the product)

Del

Wow!!! you make this look very easy.

Tank looks well done so far! Hope this build goes easily for you and it looks good already. ; )

wow very well done! can't wait to see what it will look like! your old tank is beautiful!

NICE!!!
 

I love these threads, you make it look so easily, I am so wanting to start one of these tanks, Only problem, NO TIME!!!

Awesome start

gotta love that gorilla glue!

Your wifes fault huh...I guess I will have to ask her about that:)

I have seen this tank. Unbelieveable! Extremely sturdy.

You're off to a good start!

How big will this tank be? How long, tall, deep?

judging by his description of using full sheets of plywood and the pics he posted i will assume 8' long x 3'-4' deep (front to back) x ~24-30" high... so between 359.1 - 598.4 gallons according to the RC calc...

now that i think about it that doesnt really narrow it down very much... but it does show that this tank is big...


glass front or acrylic front? either way you are off to a wicked awesome start... i think more and more every time i see one of these plywood tanks that it may be the way to go when i get a house - the wife doesnt want to spend 2500 just for the tank and then all the expenses above that...

Tank looks awesome! I am going to be starting my tank soon and have added your tank as a reference for my build along with Fudge and the other guys.

How much epoxy do you figure you will use?

Are you going to add a pigment to the final layer of epoxy? If so what type of pigment will you use?

What are the inside dimensions for the tank? I'm thinking of doing one 8x4x4 and brace the heck out of it like the "Norway" tank.

Good luck and keep up posting your progress when you can! I understand that it's hard when you are so involved in the building process. The only part that does not seem to be that well documented picture wise is the installation of the glass. Do you think that you will be able to take photos of that process when you get to it?

Thanks for sharing with us,

KW

Time to answer some questions.

Inside dimensions are 94.5x32x42 but the overflows are cut to drain at 30". This makes actual water volume of 515.5 g. Add the overflow capacity of 24.5 g for a total of 540 g. Of course the overflow water depth will be somewhat less depending on the height of the standpipes.

So far I've used almost 4 gallons of epoxy but that is due, in part, to all the extra lamination. I figure I'll have 5+ gallons on it when done. I'm going to leave the outside untinted just to see the wood. It looks cool. I'm going to paint the inside black with water tank paint (can't find the link to the supplier but it's FDA approved for potable water.)

Old tank was acrylic and while I like the clarity, I got tired of fixing scratches. So, low iron glass in this one. I have a hoist system rigged up to move the tank around in the basement shop and I'll use that to lower the glass in to the tank when time comes.

Based on the cost of my 270, I'm guessing that a glass or acrylic tank this size would be way more than $2500. So far, I'm in this for less than $1000 but I don"t have the glass yet. Or all the bulkheads either for that matter (I'm going with 4 closed loops in the tank).

And yes Steve, it IS my wife's fault. Just don't say anything to her about it. She's very sensitive.

That should about cover it for now. Several more weeks of fiberglass and epoxy, then drill all the holes and seal the edges with more epoxy, then set the glass, then paint the inside, then build the stand, then.....oh man!!!

OK.....I won't bring it up...only because you sold me this guy:)
[IMG]http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d181/vikebron/100_0503.jpg[/IMG]

quick couple of questions: did you laminate the angle iron with gorilla glue alone? Or did you drill and screw it to the frame? And how do you like the pump devices on that epoxy set-up? Are they measurable doses or must you simply use them to dispense the epoxy/hardener?
thanks for the thread-- it makes me want to clean my shop!

@ rppvt;

The pumps are metered 2:1 I believe. Makes it much easier to use. I think they are like $15 but worth the extra just to simplify the process.

Can't comment on the angle Iron per say, but I think it was laminated to the front with the epoxy.

KW

Thanks KW. It appeared to be gorilla glue to me, (as we're old friends GG and I) but I wasn't sure. Regardless, I'd imagine either of them would be more than suficcient with the laminating he's done. Hmm--- I wonder how many gallons I could get if I used 10' lengths of ply...

The pumps are actually calibrated to deliver 5 parts resin to 1 part hardner. There is no way I would tackle a project this size without them. They work great.

I only used Gorilla Glue in the inside 45 corner reinforcements. These, by the way, sure make fiberglass layup in the corners easier.

The angle iron is actually sandwiched in the wood with thickened epoxy. West System has some good data showing pretty good shear strength on metal if you sand it with 80 grit to give it some "teeth" for the epoxy to adhear to. I also used 1/4 saw straight grain douglas fir for all the face and top. Real strong stuff (but expensive).

Yeah, I saw the vertical grain. Sands and paints up pretty nicely. The 45's are a brilliant idea. Lapping the seams rather than butting them. Now, get in there and SAND... we want pictures!

tagging along... your oldersetup was amazing

Thanks for clearing up that process for us. Just a fantastic idea! Keep us posted..........

@rppvt

10ft would be sweet, I think you could go uber silly and get around or close to 1,200g 120x48x48 inside. I would do it but I don't have room, wait I do! Just have to find 10ft sheets of ply!! LOL!

KW

Nice work. It looks like your previous tank set a pretty high mark for you to reach with the new one.

Try to keep us up to date.