430 gal plywood build.

I bought a Silver Arowana and two Achara Catfish about three months ago, so than I started building my aquarium soon after. I had been watching Uaru Joey's YouTube video that has given me alot of inspiration throughout my build. My aquarium and stand designs are based on his videos. I'll also be utilizing his moving fluidized bed filter designs with 50 ltrs kaldnes k1 in a spare 55 gal. Aquarium. My aquarium is 96Lx34.50Wx30H. I cutout 1 viewing window up front, and 2 access holes up top. Glass is 90x24 inches 3/8 thick, tempered. I applied 2 full complete layers of fiberglass mat and resin using marine grade polyester resins. First layer I used 7.50 oz fiberglass cloth, second layer fiberglass chop mat. I used 5 gals of resin for this build. I allowed my last layer of fiberglass to cure for a week. I found out during my build that polyester resins are not suitable for long term water storage, so today I applied my first layer of top coat using a paint sealer called Zophar No.111 Hydraulic Black. It's not an ordinary paint but more of a rubberized sealer that applied easily, had low odor, good adhesion, and dried relatively quick. The Zophar packaging doesn't have info regarding how long it takes for it to fully cure so I made a sample piece for me to assess tomorrow.
I'll be able to test it's durability per layer applied. Zophar is an application specific product. No.111 Hydraulic Black is designed for use on or in water containment units suitable for human consumption. I'm nearing the completion of my aquarium. Next week I'll seat my glass, than 7 days later I can do my test fill. Will have to cycle water for a few weeks after but my aquarium should be fish ready by December. I still need to wrap my stand and canopy, but I'll be able to complete those things while I wait for the silicon to cure. Questions? Feel free to ask


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The plywood I used is 3/4". I bought it from home depot cause it was cheap. This plywood is garbage! I had to repair alot of splits in the wood with wood glue and clamps. Next time, I'm definitely using marine grade plywood or better built wood from a reputable lumber yard. The 60.00 I saved was not worth it. I did use good quality wood glue though and alot of it. I used 2 1/2" screws also.

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Pictures of my sealer

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Start of build

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Inlay for glass that was a pain to fiberglass. Probably didn't need it but it turned out ok in the end. Did require alot more work to complete though.

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Fiberglass and sealed with first layer of top coat

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I applied a second coat already but my aquarium looks the same as it did after first coat so update pics seem pointless. If anyone wants me to picture anything specific, just let me know. I wanted to install my glass on Sunday but we'll see. After coming this far, doesn't make sense to rush it now. I want everything to cure completely. Want to add note, the Zophar dries with a nice high gloss finish. It's dries as black as black can get. I'm just interested to see how light looks refracting of the glossy surface.

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