plywood tanks. ?

[andruboz]

i found the site that tells one how to put a plywood tank together.
I asked my knowledgable lfs lady about it and her response was quite contradictory.

the article says acrylic or glass and she said the tank will be too flexible for glass. need acrylic - best yet lexan for scratch resistance. i am guessing lexan is in the acrylic family of plastics.

the article says paint with potable water safe [2 part epoxy] paint. the lfs lady says you must gel-coat like fiber glass.

the article said a/c grade 3/4 " plywood is fine.
lfs lady said marine grade is required.

has anybody built one of these things?

the reason i am interested is i want to design a plywood tank that goes around a structural support. this eliminates a store bought option. and i dont have the cash for custom tank made by somebody else.

 

[JeffP]

Out of curiousity, how may plywood tanks has your "lfs lady" built?

 

[andruboz]

just one i know of.. she and her husband built it. 350 gallon for 'moby' a 17 yr old red tail cat.

perhaps if she made it sound more difficult than the website did, i'd just give up and buy a glass tank from her?
on the other hand, as a proprietor of a store, it would be in her best interest to suggest 'over-building' it. just so i wouldnt blame her when it lets go and and floods the house.

 

[slipknottin]

Originally posted by andruboz
i found the site that tells one how to put a plywood tank together.
I asked my knowledgable lfs lady about it and her response was quite contradictory.

The garf.org site I assume?

the article says acrylic or glass and she said the tank will be too flexible for glass. need acrylic - best yet lexan for scratch resistance. i am guessing lexan is in the acrylic family of plastics.

Glass is better, as silicone actually sticks to glass. Silicone doesnt stick to acrylic very well. Too flexible for glass? Its not going to be flexible at all.

the article says paint with potable water safe [2 part epoxy] paint. the lfs lady says you must gel-coat like fiber glass.

Many many people have shown that 2 part epoxy is just as good as a fiberglass coating would be.

the article said a/c grade 3/4 " plywood is fine.
lfs lady said marine grade is required.

Marine grade plywood has no structural advantages over a/c grade ply. It does use a waterproof glue to hold it together, but if the wood is getting wet you have bigger problems than glue.

has anybody built one of these things?

the reason i am interested is i want to design a plywood tank that goes around a structural support. this eliminates a store bought option. and i dont have the cash for custom tank made by somebody else.

Heres a long thread over on RC http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=87733&highlight=garf+plywood

 

[andruboz]

thanks for the tip, slip. i spent two hours going thru all that stuff on r/c.