Ever think about building a plywood tank?

[brewmaster15]

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=19;action=display;threadid=9416

[slicksta]

Interesting
But you loose natural light in the tank, plus the added views from the sides. And it looks like a s%!t load of work. Unless you are looking for a hobby and or enjoy woodwoking............not worth it IMO :P

[JeffreyRichard]

Been there ... done that. I built 3 ... a 250 gallon (96 x 24 x 24) and two 125s (48 x 24 x 24). They are not difficult to build, the hard part being the water proofing. I used Marine Epoxy Paint to waterproof.

The problem I ran into with all three is that the water pressure pulls the seams apart and starts leaks. I was never able to master this. All were built of 3/4 inch solid core plywood. I glued and screwed the edges together, and even used an addition support strip of 3/4 inch plywood to screw the sides together. I would paint the tank, then silicon the seams. Still, all 3 developed leaks where water would seep into the seams.

I'm sure there is something that can be used to reinforce the seams ... just not sure what it is.

[wall_o_fish]

Jeff --

The trick I used to keep the joints intact was to line the corner joints with autobody fiberglass tape, using resin to keep the corners together. :-) No leaks so far. Check out the article for more details.

I got the idea from an old article I found online from none other than the late Jim Quarles.

Ennyhoo . . . I'm hoping to build another one around christmas or so. Hope I'm not crazy for jumping back in so soon. :-\

scott

[JeffreyRichard]

Any suggestions for fixing a tank that is already assembled and painted (epoxy paint)?

[John_Nicholson]

Here is a link to another article on building plywood tanks.

http://daah.info/index.php?board=28;action=display;threadid=2012

-john

[Denny]

Jeff,

I have a few things you can do, send me an i.m if you need help