my plans for a DIY plywood tank..

[salty toes]

So, i have this 125 and i want to go bigger. so i decided to follow garf's plans on how to make 2 140 gallon tanks out of 3 sheets of 3/4 playwood. so what i am thinking is take down the 125. remove the panes of glass and use that for the glass on the 140's

I would have a 1' and somewhat inches of wood on either side of the glass, but i personally don't see this as a problem.

any thoughts on this, I will be lining the inside with epoxy resin and most likely will also line the inside with fiberglass.

anythoughs and ideas would be greatly appreciated...

[gev]

Originally posted by salty toes
So, i have this 125 and i want to go bigger. so i decided to follow garf's plans on how to make 2 140 gallon tanks out of 3 sheets of 3/4 playwood. so what i am thinking is take down the 125. remove the panes of glass and use that for the glass on the 140's

Why not sell the 125 and use the money for sheets of glass large enough for the new tank?

[salty toes]

don't think i will get much for a used 125, and i have livestock in there right now.. from point of take down. to sale, to tank construction to cycle, it would just be too long of a time..

i

[pvtschultz]

Not to hijack your thread, but I have dreamed of this as well for a future project. It would be cool to hear from people that have already completed a wood tank or constructed a very large one from Acrylic or Glass.

[gev]

Originally posted by salty toes
don't think i will get much for a used 125, and i have livestock in there right now.. from point of take down. to sale, to tank construction to cycle, it would just be too long of a time..
i

1. You should be able to get $125 easily (ask me if you need help with the sale).

2. What are you going to do with your livestock while you build the tank? It's going to take you weeks to build it (realisticaly).

3. What's your budget? Can you build and then sell? I'm not sure about glass prices, but I think that a 4x8 sheet of acrylic was only about $100. That and 3.5 sheets of plywood can make two 240 gallon tanks (8x2x2). On the other hand, two sheets of acrylic make one 240 gallon (no plywood).

4. Will we see you at the Sept 10 meeting of BAS?

It's just such a waste to break up a good tank for the glass.

[salty toes]

well, here is the deal


the tank is old, all sides of the tank have internal ugly scratches, if i use these and turn them inside out, teh scratches will not be as visable since they will not grow algae.

second, i dont want to use acrylic at all. silicone does not adhere to acrylic that well. with glass it is a very good bond.

I have already purchased the epoxy resin. that ran me 90 bucks shipped, for 2 gallons of resin and 1/2 gallon of hardener.

that should be anough for a few tanks if i decide to make anymore with the left over panes of glass.

also. if i build the frame seal it and do all the construction of the playwood tank ahead, there is no need to take down the 125 until its time to place the glass in the plywood tank.

i can make 2 240 gallon tanks with 3 sheets of 3/4 plywood. or is it 3 1/2, something like that.

the livestock are only fish at the moment. so no big deal there. Ihave a huge rubber made tub that I used to temporarily house them while we moved last year.

i figure they will be there for about 4 to 5 days while the silicone cures.