plywood tank help...

[Cory1990]

what do you use to seal it up? im looking for the cheapest crap i can get, i want the roll on kind. and i want it to be available at the local hardware store no specialty stuff thats a million bucks.

if i cant find this cheap enough ill be going with a rubber mat type deal for a over the top view only plywood tank built for on my deck.

[grogan]

you get what you pay for bro. simple facts

[Cory1990]

Not always, there's some cheap crap that works. I don't plan on it lasting me a lifetime but threw summer would be nice. If I can't find something cheap I think the rubber matt would work with a few staples and tube of silicone.

[jamestanker]

When I used to build plywood tanks for greenhouses to raise Tilapia we would paint the inside with a fiberglass resin you can buy at homedepot

Never had any problems. Each tank had a footprint the size of one 4X8 sheet of plywood. you can raise thousands of tilapia fry in a tank that size.

We had 8 of these wooden tanks we used a plastic drum to create the filter.

Good luck with the project

[lohachata]

1 sheet of 3/4" plywood will build a 120 gallon tank..cut it into 4 pieces each measuring 24 x 48.....cut one of those in half..24 x 24...cut one to 24 x 46 1/2..that will be the bottom..2 pieces 2" x 4" x 48"..front and back top brace...screws every 2 inches....
i use sherwin williams paints..either tileclad II or polane b...i only use black...but they cost more that 5 or 10 bucks a gallon....lol
what you could do is line it with heavy black visqueen.(plastic sheeting)...i think you can get a roll that is 10' x 25' used for the garden for just a few bucks.

[Cory1990]

Thanks John I'm going to go get the pricing for all of the stuff I need iv gt a few sheets of plywood laying around from a past project so I'm thinking all ill need is the liner.

Now the paint your talking about, that's for the outside only correct? I was possibly thinking of maybe just maybe putting in a couple small glass panels from a old tank of mine. But how do they get them to sit in there? Is it just silicones like crazy on? Or is there a trick to doing this?

[lohachata]

i use those paint for the inside and outside...they are 2 part epoxy paints that are water proof and will last a long long time.....i have built dozens of plywood tanks of all sizes and i love them...you can build one to fit a certain spot where glass tanks don't match it...painting them black allows the fish to feel more secure which means they will exhibit more color and hide much less...
for the window a hole is cut in the front of the tank prior to painting..after the paint has cured lay the tank on it's face on saw horses..apply silicone sealer around the edges of the hole..this is a two person job..maybe even 3...lay the glass in and center it....press edges of glass to spread the sealant..lay some bricks wrapped in towels around the edges of the glass and let cure for 24 hours..remove the bricks...run a small bead of sealer around the edge of the glass and smooth...cure 24 hours..
you are ready to go..

very often i see people throw out a big tank because one of the panels broke...they see a worthless broken tank..i see 4 brand new tanks with at least 2 of them with the potential to be even bigger than the original tank...
lets say you find a 150 gallon tank with a broken end panel.if you take it apart you will have 4 pieces of glass..
1 piece.....18 x 72
2 pieces 25 x 72
1 piece 18 x 25
from the 18 x 72 piece you build a plywood tank 22H x 78L x 24D = approx 175 gal.
18 x 25 piece....22H x 30L x 30 D = approx 85 gal.
25 x 72 pieces...2 tanks...30H X 30D X 78L = approx 300 gal
you could even make them a little bigger...
now who wouldn't want tanks like that....

[snyderguy]

What is a plywood tank??

[jamestanker]

A tank built out of Plywood of course!

[jamestanker]

Its usually coated with a waterproof sealant ( epoxy , fiberglass or some other safe product)

[snyderguy]

So the framework is plywood, but I assume there's glass or acrylic within the framework?

[lohachata]

1 sheet of plywood 4' x 8' x 3/4"......
2 peices of 2" x 4" x 48"
1 sheet of 1/4" clear plate glass..
lots of screws..wood putty
silicone sealer 2 part epoxy paint
a little time..a little work..a little patience..

= 120 gallon tank.
i got my first plywood tank in 1973..a year of later i got another..in 1975 i built a 240 gallon plywood tank 2' x 2' x 8'....when i got divorced in 1985 i sold the tank to a friend....it is still being used todaor rather it was last time i talked to the guy about 3 years ago..y...

[emc7]

Usually one side is glass so you can see in. But think about it, do you watch your fish through all 5 glass sides? Maybe 3 at most. Not the bottom or the back. Glass for big tanks is really thick and heavy and expensive.

[Cory1990]

I'm going to check out the epoxy paint today, do you still use the rubber Matt then?

[Cory1990]

John, do you have any pictures of a plywood tank you have set up? since iv been looking at monsterfishkeepers.com im kinda mind set on trying this out. i just dont want to asks someone there and get bashed lol