stylaster Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 After talking to a friend late last night.... he planted the idea in my head to do a peninsula style fiberglass tank. So.... here is the layout idea. I have a room that connects to my garage. Take the wall facing the garage and cut out a 60" wide by 24" tall hole for the front viewing pane made out of star fire glass Now go out into the garage and extend the tank to 8' long made out of cinder blocks for stand, plywood and 4 x 4 wood framing coated in fiberglass. This will make the tank look like your looking down a long gorge when viewed from the 'fish room' The tank will come out to about 600 gallons. What do you guys think? Anyone work with fiberglass and how this would be done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 There are a couple of build threads on RC that show plywood fiberglass tanks, it looks like quite a job to complete. might want to check it out before you "dive in" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylaster Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 ya im in the research stage right now. I think it would be a cool project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefSafari Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 You should also check out www.monsterfishkeepers.com many of those guys who keep extra large freshwater fish make thier own tanks like that, just a thought.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyK Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I thought Charles might have built a fiberglass tank. Shoot him a message. Tap plastic might be s good local resource also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Roy, If I were to do a fglass tank I would call a fglass shop and ask how much it would be to shoot it with a chopper gun and lay on a layer of cloth on top of 6 oz (inside). Hand lamintion would also work. When you check out a shop take a look at the edge of the parts they have produced. A uniform edge thickness is the mark of a good job along with a fairly smooth surface and not many air bubbles. Fglass bonds really well to wood. If you incorporate small wood strips and then laminate over the strips it adds a lot of structural integrity. Tell them what you are looking for and get a quote. I have made surfboards, boats, furniture, motorcylce parts, truck parts out of fglass and I would think twice about about doing it in my garage. It means laying down tarpaper, visqueen and making sure you have proper ventilation. If you do a too dry or wet lamination you are pretty well scr**ed. Plus if your catalyst "kicks" too soon you end up with a big pile of junk. I have no idea about how to seal glass to fglass. The last time I bought resin it was $1.00 a gallon for top quality Dow laminating resin. We bought 1,000 gallons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I thought Charles might have built a fiberglass tank. Shoot him a message. Tap plastic might be s good local resource also. Stay away from TAP. They are overpriced have inferior products and don't know how to fglass. If you want to cast bugs in resin for keychains they are great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticEngineer Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 For the front viewing glass you can make a lip that will hold the glass from the front, put gobs of silicone between the glass the the front lip, and the water pressure will hold it in place. That's how most public aquariums do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanareef Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Yeah, I've build several back in my freshwater days. The price of resin I'm sue had gone up some since I last used it. HD or Loews carry the resin or if you know someone in the business of selling automotive paint that would be the way to go. Basically you build your "box" then put a strip down in the corners and for smaller tanks just pour in a 1/4" thick coat and just let dry. The biggest was a 220gal 76" x 24" 24". The window part was just a frame with a hole in it and a piece of glass about 1/2" less the size of the tank (not the window) and use silicone, add the glass and add weights. You don't need to line the tank with cloth for smaller tanks, but one layer of woven and 1/4" thick layer of resin and of course a thick enough box will work for a large tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Yeah, I've build several back in my freshwater days. The price of resin I'm sue had gone up some since I last used it. HD or Loews carry the resin or if you know someone in the business of selling automotive paint that would be the way to go. Basically you build your "box" then put a strip down in the corners and for smaller tanks just pour in a 1/4" thick coat and just let dry. The biggest was a 220gal 76" x 24" 24". The window part was just a frame with a hole in it and a piece of glass about 1/2" less the size of the tank (not the window) and use silicone, add the glass and add weights. You don't need to line the tank with cloth for smaller tanks, but one layer of woven and 1/4" thick layer of resin and of course a thick enough box will work for a large tank. I would never pour 1/4" of resin and assume it is a stable. Eventually, the 1/4" is going to craze and crack and water will seep into the plywood. Even more so with "finishing resin".It might be 3 months or 5 years or a quick stress. For anything about the size you are talking about you need mat, roving, or cloth. Any slight flex is going to crack 1/4" of un-reinforced resin once it has aged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanareef Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I would never pour 1/4" of resin and assume it is a stable. Eventually' date=' the 1/4" is going to craze and crack and water will seep into the plywood. Even more so with "finishing resin".It might be 3 months or 5 years or a quick stress. For anything about the size you are talking about you need mat, roving, or cloth. Any slight flex is going to crack 1/4" of un-reinforced resin once it has aged.[/quote'] That's why you need a good solid "box" and for his size at least 1" marine ply, doubles. I'd still just pour in a 1/4" thick layer of resin, the box is to hold the water, the resin is to water proof it only, and still just use cloth in the corners. You might not think so, but have you ever built a plywood tank? I'm sorry surfboards and fish tanks are totally different, apples and mangoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 The guy at oregonreef.com has a huge tank that is similar to what you have in mind, other than what the tank is made of. GARF has a lot of experience with plywood and resin tanks; they have DYI at: http://www.garf.org/tank/BuildTank.asp It looks like a fun project! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 There is a good video on Utube showing a guy building a plywood/fiberglass tank. Check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Double-posted for some reason! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 That's why you need a good solid "box" and for his size at least 1" marine ply, doubles. I'd still just pour in a 1/4" thick layer of resin, the box is to hold the water, the resin is to water proof it only, and still just use cloth in the corners. You might not think so, but have you ever built a plywood tank? I'm sorry surfboards and fish tanks are totally different, apples and mangoes. That is 5 years experience in commercial fiberglass fabrication. That is 8-10 hours a day, Charles for 5 years making parts from the size of a finger to 16 ft. 1/4" depth of poured resin is not sound glassing technique. Never has been and never will be. You could get by with 1/16". Anything more is going to crack, The only question is when? Why not add the integrity of cloth? It is like comparing fiberglass and acrylic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mohaynow Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 There is a good video on Utube showing a guy building a plywood/fiberglass tank. Check it out. is it this one? cus its's pretty neat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7nKf_kE4YI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 I want to take this opportunity to apologize to Charles for the tone and context of my comments. I was too judgmental in my approach to this and for that I am sorry. After all, we are a community that prides itself on civility and assistance to each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrybeck Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 I'd recommend this thread on RC for anyone contemplating building a plywood tank. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1749114 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bswe22 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 is it this one? cus its's pretty neat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7nKf_kE4YI I can't believe he wasted that tank on freshwater...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mohaynow Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Bswe, I kinda felt the same way. Oh well, to each their own lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 What about using pond liner to waterproof it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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