my plywood and foam Reef

[Edward Smith]

Sorry about the on slaught of questions but this thread has me pumped. I've got to do this, I love your tank!

Does anyone think this would work instead of the marine expoxy (always looking for the cost savings!)

http://www.boatersworld.com/product/376800595.htm

[texreefer]

hmmm.. i don't see why not,, the suff i got comes in several different colors and is more like a paint.. wish i could remember the exact name, you can see in the first pic that i chose blue.. all questions welcome

[texreefer]

another full tank shot
[IMG][/IMG]
close up of foam pillar,,, virtually indistinguishable from live rock
[IMG][/IMG]

[Lutefisk]

Awesome job!!!!

[sac-bobme]

my 500 gallon is wood / fiberglass works real well!
i will see if i have photos

[texreefer]

sac-bobme.. did you build it yourself? i would like to hear about it as i may go large in a couple of years

[sac-bobme]

this is me sealing the inside of it, before i cut a hole for the window, and added top braces.

I just wanted a nice seal for the whole thing before i cut anything!

[horkn]

Originally posted by izzy_real
I rarely reply to posts, as you can see in my post count, for fear of offending some one by accident. BUT, this DIY project came out amazing!! I've read several posts concerning plywood tanks, but that's beautiful, you should be very proud of you system.

izzy

you need to stop worrying about what other people think.




that said, i love the foam reef idea, as well as anything DIY

[horkn]

Originally posted by sac-bobme
this is me sealing the inside of it, before i cut a hole for the window, and added top braces.

I just wanted a nice seal for the whole thing before i cut anything!

do you have any other tank build pics??


and how did you secure the glass to the plywood?

did you "simply" make a hole in the fornt pane, and leave a rim and mount the glass to the existing rim with some sort of sealant from the inside??

from my work on my 78 ski nautique (12 gallons of fiverglass resin used) i fully understand the working of fiberglass.

and as much of a PITA it is, the fact you can make a custom tank for a lot less than buying a glass premade tank for intrigues me.

esp with a house of my own on the near horizon....

[Edward Smith]

Originally posted by horkn
do you have any other tank build pics??


and how did you secure the glass to the plywood?

did you "simply" make a hole in the fornt pane, and leave a rim and mount the glass to the existing rim with some sort of sealant from the inside??

from my work on my 78 ski nautique (12 gallons of fiverglass resin used) i fully understand the working of fiberglass.

and as much of a PITA it is, the fact you can make a custom tank for a lot less than buying a glass premade tank for intrigues me.

esp with a house of my own on the near horizon....

So, you used fiberglass resin instead of epoxy? Seems like the fiberglass resin is considerably cheaper. Is it as durable?

[da1jewfish]

so people make tanks out of plywood with a fiberglass sealant?? then cutout the front for the glass? if so thats insane.
how did you attach the glass to the wood?
and most importantly how much did u save by diy?

[kkyyllee]

i need to make one of these :]

[sac-bobme]

I used a half acrylic seat for the window.
Cost of the acrylic was, 125 for the window
i used what, i think 10 tubes of GE I and forced the acrylic to the fiber glass wall.

Once it cured, I siliconed the seams just to make sure it was ok.

then I added the three top sheets to prevent it from blowing out.
the fiberglass is not really all that much.

Really I think the total build was around $300.00 for a 500 gallon tank

any more questions?

[Kengaroo131]

i have one question that wasnt asked yet i dont belive. how the heck did you get that much coraline all over the foam is the foam like a breeding ground for that stuff? or did you paint it? if you did paint it what was your tecnique cause it came out excelent!

[ChrisB]

Originally posted by da1jewfish
so people make tanks out of plywood with a fiberglass sealant?? then cutout the front for the glass? if so thats insane.
how did you attach the glass to the wood?
and most importantly how much did u save by diy?

On large tanks you save quite a bit, I am building a tank that is 4'x8'x26"(waterlevel) and I will have about $1000 in it.
The sealant used isn't only fiberglass resin, I covered my entire tank inside and out with about 4 coats of resin, but the first coat also included a fiberglass weave in all the joints and across the front. FWIW, I didn't build mine and then cut out the front, I cut the front piece out before building it.
After the fiberglass, I then put on 3 coats of NSF 61 Bar-Rust 233H epoxy paint to further seal the tank.
The glass is sealed to the tank using aquarium sealant(GEsiliconeI). I put in a few "portholes" as well as the front glass(goes in Monday). You lay the tank on the side that is getting the glass and put a bead of silicone down on the inside edge. Lay the glass on top and let gravity do the rest. I let mine cure for about a week before putting in the next piece.
It has been a very slow process for me, but that was by design. I started in 2003.

[texreefer]

mariner908 - no painting on the foam that is all natural algae.. while the foam was still wet i sprinkled it with fine sand and crushed coral.. helps give it that natural look

[Kengaroo131]

that is a pretty good idea. you got me going i wana try this with a little 10 gallon and see hown it comes out it comes out good then hell i have a pallet of plywood in the garage who know what can happen haha

[sac-bobme]

if your going to try it, try like a 55 or a 100+ its easyer and in the end real might cost near the same.

and worse comes to worse then you can use it as your sump for a much larger tank.

[jaggy]

i have to say this looks fantastic , and i am building a 4x4x2 , 4 foot deep ply and glass tank , and i was going to make cement rocks , but i think i will do this now! and just to think how easy it will be to push acro frags etc into the foam in any position you want!
truely stunning aquascape , any other detials you can give us?

[jaggy]

would love some more pics !

[smjtkj]

Really creative aquascape!

[eaj43081]

I am really interested in the plywood tank idea. Does anyone have any other pictures of how they built their plywood tank, start to finish? I have been looking at buying a 180g but if I can make one cheaper, and maybe larger, that would be great.

[texreefer]

here is a shot before the algae started to grow on foam,, pretty dramatic difference!
[IMG][/IMG]

[texreefer]

Garf has some good basic instructions

[pressthebutton]

wow, that foam looks really good once its covered with coralline.