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Plywood Tanks


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<H1>Plywood Tanks</H1><DIV id=Qtextbox><P><STRONG>Author: bijengum</STRONG><BR><BR>Has anyone had a go at building a large plywood tank. 6 or 8 foot say. What was your experience. Would you do it again. Was it cost effective. Did you find any long term problems. Any advantages.

</DIV><H2>Replies »</H2><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: slotha</STRONG><BR><BR>

www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/panis/frankpanis3000.htm

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Heres a little bit of info on them.

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HTH

</DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: ducksta</STRONG><BR><BR>nice link

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I personally dont have any, but I know a guy who uses quite a few as fry raising tanks. They have the benefit over using Bunnings style tubs, since you can include a glass panel for viewing side on. His aren't quite the size of the monster above, but the main issue (he tells me) is sealing them. Provided you seal them well, they should be as good or better than glass tanks

</DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: mbuna1</STRONG><BR><BR>i read somewhere that you have to reseal every few years.

</DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: c2105208</STRONG><BR><BR>I looked into it myself as a cheap option for grow-out tanks but found that (since fibreglass is not really recommended) the epoxy sealant was hard to come by, let alone at a reasonable price - once I found a supplier that is. It's not cheap stuff, and you will need a fair bit of it to make a decent size tank..

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Cheers,

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Adam

</DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: chuckmeister</STRONG><BR><BR>Building a tank out of ply is very simple, though I wouldn't build a tank under say a couple thousand litres as this is the benifit of using fibreglass. Yes the ply has to be fibreglassed(glassed). It also is probably not really cost effective. The price of tanks in shops is really quite cheap now due to competition. But for a bigger tank basically you build the frame (like in the link) and put on the ply. but I would have glassed the inside with say about 6 ounces of fibreglass.This is mainly just a skin over the ply. It keeps everything together and sealed and dry. I would then have flowcoated (fibreglass sealer) the entire inside. U could then leave it for the water or paint etc. Now the outside is where you put your strength. You want to make sure that you have plenty of frames, depending on the tank maybe every foot or two (on a bigger tank,bigger frames spaced further apart) Then the whole lot including the frames gets glassed together to make a very strong tank. The amount or thickness of the fibreglass depends on the size of the tank. The beauty of fibreglass resides in its relative strength. If you were to tackle a ply tank I would suggest looking in the yellow pages, finding a boatbuider and going and having a chat as there are different types of resins, fibreglass etc. Also have a tank size already planned so he can more acurately advise you.

also stick with the same guy for advice as their are many ways of doing it

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Cheers Charlie

</DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: c2105208</STRONG><BR><BR>Note the point I also tried to make that you can't use polyester resin as it is considered to perhaps leech chemicals into the water - epoxy resin's should be used, at least as the final sealing coat. Polyester-resin based flowcoat is also not deemed safe for aquaculture use either.

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This is the problem I have had when looking into it - (1) finding a supplier for either epoxy-sealant, epoxy paint, or reasonably priced epoxy resin. and (2) finding any of these at the reasonable price anywhere for that matter.

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Any ideas there Charlie?

</DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: crusty the clown</STRONG><BR><BR>For epoxy try Megapoxy, Vivacity engineering they have timber boat builders using there epoxies and glues there is also a new rubberized epoxy that takes a bit more movement and it is Australian made also 600g chop double bia is what I'm going to use on concrete block walls plywood base with a 19mm glass front 3600 litre.

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Neil

</DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: chuckmeister</STRONG><BR><BR>I'd also agree about polyester resins. We use a product called Dericain (Dont know how its spelt) for all repairs under the waterline on boats. Its actually a vinyl-ester designed for that purpose. Its easier to use,cheaper and drys quicker than epoxy though I dont buy the stuff,only use it so I couldn't tell you what its worth. I'd build the tank out of polyester myself and 'skin' the inside with vinylester (or epoxy if it makes you feel better

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As for sealing the inside standard flowcoat also shouldn't be used as it has a wax in it that leaches out. Gelcoat (flowcoat without the wax) on the other hand is completely inert when fully cured (so I've been told

) though to use gelcoat requires a different build technique. eg built from a mould. We've just made 4 60foot live tanks for crayfish at work and the inside is sealed with Gel. Maybe a sealant like the paint they use for the inside of cement spa's ? It drys like a plastic. There's also a flowcoat designed for watertanks etc that resist bacteria growth and doesn't break down eg suitable for human consumption. Your best bet is still to talk to a wholesaler of resins or boatbuilder. I cant recommend one as I'm in Perth.

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I hope some of that made sense

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Charlie

</DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: c2105208</STRONG><BR><BR>That all makes sense Charlie, I have some experience in fibreglassing / epoxy and I'm aware of the good points you made. I was for the most part trying to find a supplier for them at a reasonable price, or ideas of places to try. Most of the places around here are very expensive

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Thanks for your information, I'm sure it will benefit many people here who are interested.

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Cheers,

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Adam

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