350 plywood aquarium build

[mrscheider]

Hey Guys.. okay update and picture time!
So the tanks been up a while... the fish are in a little over two weeks ago.
I did sustains two casualties.. My fault completely. Poor design of the overflow allowed my clown fish to get sucked in and stuck onto the main drain pipe, partially blocking flow to the sump. Thank GOD my "emergency" inverted dorso took up the excess water in the DT or it would have been a nightmare!
I since modified that so that no fish or snails can get that close anymore. The other was the raffel butterfly I mentioned in an earlier post.
In the last few days I've started seeing diatoms. I know they're expeted with the tank being so new but I was concerned about the play sand substrate so I tested for silicates and saw about .75 so Im running Phos-OUT in an HOT filter.

The current livestock in the tank are as follows...

Powder Blue Tang
Foxface Rabbitfish
Blonde Naso Tang
Blue Tang
Sailfin Tang
Vagabond Butterfly fish
Emporer Angel Fish
Flame Angel
Coral Beauty
Lyretail Anthias
Carpenters Flasher Wrasse
Yellow Tang
15 Blue legged hermits
25 Astraea snails

17 Mexican Turbo snails - I added these a week ago. I grossly under-estimated the clean up crew. The Astraeas are not able to cover ground like turbo snails. 17 of them are certainly keepng diatoms in check.

The fish are eating a variety of frozen foods which dominently includes mysis and brine shrimp, some frozen cubes that are mixed with bits of algae, shrimp, krill and plankton. I soak the food in selcon and rotate with garlic. I offer daily some algae on a clip as well. The fish are very lively. Swimming from end to end all day and grazing on every inch of the decore. Colors are bright and appetites are large so Im feeling good about it. Tank parmameters are holding stable. Those numbers are:
Temp 80-82
Sal. 1.023
pH 8.0
Amm 0
trite 0
trate 15ppm
Phos 0.25
silicate 0.75

In my last post I mentioned:

In the end I built a plywood tank to hold my fresh sea water!
Put it together on Sunday.. applied six coats of Pond Coat between Sunday and Tuesday and let it dry 48 hours before filling it with 300 gallons of water which I then mixed to the correct salinity, treated and then pumped into the main tank.
I have pics of it... but I haven't had a chance to upload those. I will soon.

okay, so here is that pic.. I should mention I only used 5/8th plywood on this. didn't even really bow while holding 300 gallons! And how about that pond coat, huh? Only 48 hours after the last coat and it didn't leak out a drop of water. Awesome!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14713622@N02/8176455499/" title="2012-10-26_16-23-21_834 by mrscheider, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8060/8176455499_e07dea989b.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="2012-10-26_16-23-21_834"></a>

Okay.. enough about that.. lets get to the fish pics! This is about a week after the fish were added... only the slightest hint of the diatom bloom. Please excuse the blurriness... fish don't pose!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14713622@N02/8176454219/" title="2012-11-11_15-50-23_677 by mrscheider, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8207/8176454219_6df178b4ff.jpg" width="500" height="282" alt="2012-11-11_15-50-23_677"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14713622@N02/8176454405/" title="2012-11-11_15-50-02_664 by mrscheider, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8061/8176454405_1a2002011c.jpg" width="500" height="282" alt="2012-11-11_15-50-02_664"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14713622@N02/8176487716/" title="2012-11-11_15-48-17_762 by mrscheider, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8063/8176487716_cb300b2028.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="2012-11-11_15-48-17_762"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14713622@N02/8176454815/" title="2012-11-11_15-35-51_553 by mrscheider, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8070/8176454815_26bd8d14c2.jpg" width="500" height="284" alt="2012-11-11_15-35-51_553"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14713622@N02/8176488026/" title="2012-11-11_15-35-29_420 by mrscheider, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8480/8176488026_a40e8e9519.jpg" width="500" height="283" alt="2012-11-11_15-35-29_420"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14713622@N02/8176488242/" title="2012-11-11_14-17-51_978 by mrscheider, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8067/8176488242_7a387ac225.jpg" width="500" height="282" alt="2012-11-11_14-17-51_978"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14713622@N02/8176488490/" title="2012-11-11_16-33-52_968 by mrscheider, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8338/8176488490_b2acd93228.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="2012-11-11_16-33-52_968"></a>

 

[mrscheider]

Couple more... again.. excuse the blurry images.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14713622@N02/8176453881/" title="2012-11-11_15-50-50_555 by mrscheider, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8210/8176453881_959004098f.jpg" width="500" height="282" alt="2012-11-11_15-50-50_555"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14713622@N02/8176487192/" title="2012-11-11_15-50-29_773 by mrscheider, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8482/8176487192_6e9fd11e87.jpg" width="500" height="282" alt="2012-11-11_15-50-29_773"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14713622@N02/8176454981/" title="2012-11-11_15-35-22_592 by mrscheider, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8060/8176454981_59c381033c.jpg" width="500" height="283" alt="2012-11-11_15-35-22_592"></a>

 

[atreis]

Beautiful job and interesting build. BTW - for those that have trouble with the concept of a plywood tank, it's not, really... It's really a fiberglass tank. The plywood is used to support the fiberglass.

 

[PSBoston]

Just read from the start, great work and thank you so much for all the detail! For big fish only tanks I think this a great way to go. I love your fish list, Cant wait to see more pics.

Thanks again!

 

[DBLeite]

How is the skimmer doing?

 

[mrscheider]

How is the skimmer doing?

Actually, not as good as I'd like. While it's doing a decent job, I'm planning on getting an EcoMaxx in sump. They look like great skimmers!

 

[hk855]

I built a plywood tank around 10 years ago and it turned out pretty good as well. It was just 3x2x2, 90g or so. I used the two part epoxy and it was ok but eventually cracked at sharp corners, didn't use fiberglass though, I had almost no experience and only info from 3-4 tanks was available on the Internet. It was also marine grade plywood so it held for years after the sealer cracked and was still a tank 2 years ago when I got rid of it. I may build another sometime soon around 3x2x18" high and would probably use the pond coat and krylon method you did as it's cheaper than fiberglassing the thing. Something to note is if you use epoxy it's nice to caulk the corners with a very thick bead and smooth it with your finger. The rounded corner helps prevent cracking down the road, I wouldn't worry about this with the pond coat though.

 

[mrscheider]

If I can add to hk855s comments as well... it's very important that you generously apply the silicone holding in the glass. It's best that the bead that is applied between the glass and the frame be part of the same bead that seals the inside of the tank on the inside of the glass. That way they dry as a solid "gasket" if you will. Since silicone doesn't stick well to a dry bead of silicone, applying an outside bead and letting it dry before applying the inside bead is not adventagous. Ideally, they should be applied at the same time so they dry intermingled.

 

[kherron666]

hi there , im new to the sight , first i wanted to say you have a nice tank , very sweet build , if i understood it , you used 1.25 in plywood ? where did you find that at ?

 

[Conspiculatus]

Hope everything works out in the long run. Krylon on Pond Coat will likely not offer long turn stability with constant exposure to saltwater. Additionally there is a reason no commercial aquarium manufactures offer wood aquariums for sale. Wood is not a suitable building material in marine applications.

 

[Epicreefer]

Nice to see this tank has worked out well for you. I'm curious if anyone has ever used 3M's 5200 sealant on trying to adhere glass to rubber. A bit more than silicone but it works great for a lot of situations where you want a gasket to form, I've used it under a few odd circumstances, where I was attaching an 8" pvc flange to a non flush piece of polyethylene(silicone doesn't stick at all). Something on the silicates, play sand is almost nothing but silicates so I'm not sure if some are more leachable than others but low levels will probably be persistent. Diatoms are a relatively nice form of algae in some ways as opposed to hair algae so just keep nitrate and phosphate down and you shouldn't have to worry much about any aside from a quick wipedown of the glass. I've used the rubber pipe conectors before with saltwater systems and they are fairly durable. If they are under stress, like the pipes don't line up perfectly, then they fail in about 2-4 years. If under no stress then 4+ years no problem on the rubber maintaining it's form and function. I would add more diffusers to the diy skimmer.

 

[lotusstar]

Great tank. I really like the look of the coral structures I'm considering the same type stuff for my next build for the sake of simplicity. Does it grow algeas and require cleaning/maintenance? Do your fish utilize the nooks and crannies?

 

[mrscheider]

hi there , im new to the sight , first i wanted to say you have a nice tank , very sweet build , if i understood it , you used 1.25 in plywood ? where did you find that at ?

Hi Kherron,

Thank you! The plywood is actually a sheet of .75 and .5 screwed and glued together to make a single 1.25 inch piece.

Hope everything works out in the long run. Krylon on Pond Coat will likely not offer long turn stability with constant exposure to saltwater. Additionally there is a reason no commercial aquarium manufactures offer wood aquariums for sale. Wood is not a suitable building material in marine applications.

The Krylon is purely cosmetic. It's obviously not used as a waterproofing. It's simply something to "Dress up" the waterproofing. While it is holding up extreamly well on the pond coat, it's not holding up well on the ABS. The Turbo snails are rasping it right off the pipes! I have little blue snail turds floating around the sandbed! lol

Nice to see this tank has worked out well for you. I'm curious if anyone has ever used 3M's 5200 sealant on trying to adhere glass to rubber. A bit more than silicone but it works great for a lot of situations where you want a gasket to form, I've used it under a few odd circumstances, where I was attaching an 8" pvc flange to a non flush piece of polyethylene(silicone doesn't stick at all). Something on the silicates, play sand is almost nothing but silicates so I'm not sure if some are more leachable than others but low levels will probably be persistent. Diatoms are a relatively nice form of algae in some ways as opposed to hair algae so just keep nitrate and phosphate down and you shouldn't have to worry much about any aside from a quick wipedown of the glass. I've used the rubber pipe conectors before with saltwater systems and they are fairly durable. If they are under stress, like the pipes don't line up perfectly, then they fail in about 2-4 years. If under no stress then 4+ years no problem on the rubber maintaining it's form and function. I would add more diffusers to the diy skimmer.

I haven't used the 3M stuff but I might have if I had known about it! The silicone and epoxy seem to be keeping things water tight though so Im thankful for that. As for the skimmer... it's weak. I'm getting an Aquamaxx for Xmas! :bounce2:

Great tank. I really like the look of the coral structures I'm considering the same type stuff for my next build for the sake of simplicity. Does it grow algeas and require cleaning/maintenance? Do your fish utilize the nooks and crannies?

Hey Lotus,

I've had diatoms all over the coral inserts but the turbo snails keep them looking good. They've actually been doing a tremendous job at getting into the nooks and keeping them relatively algae free. The fish love them They don't seem to tell the difference.. they swim around grazing on them all day long. They all have thier favorite spots picked out at night too which is entertaining... they all go to thier spots at night and they seem very happy with them. No complaints at all with those.

 

[kherron666]

Here is the tank with the glass installed. Used up about 3 tubes of silicone to affix the glass on both the inside and outside seams of the glass.

At this point the tank is weighing in at about 300 pounds!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14713622@N02/6928296372/" title="2012-03-16_14-52-53_460 by mrscheider, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7245/6928296372_eb498932ce.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="2012-03-16_14-52-53_460"></a>

i just wanted to say , i started a 500 gallon plywood tank myself , its not done yet ,,,,,,,,,, http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2238762&highlight=500+gallon+plywood and i did alot research and my tank is kinda like yours front and side and stuff , i just thought i share it with you and see what you think of mine , thanks

 

[csnv]

The Krylon is purely cosmetic. It's obviously not used as a waterproofing. It's simply something to "Dress up" the waterproofing. While it is holding up extreamly well on the pond coat, it's not holding up well on the ABS. The Turbo snails are rasping it right off the pipes! I have little blue snail turds floating around the sandbed! lol

Can you give more detail on which Krylon to use? You said that you used the brush on quart can, can i see it or if you please find a link online?

I'm ready to do something like you.. thanks for the awesome info in this threat and of course, the great looking aquarium.

 

[chanbr83]

Have you introduced any live corals and if so are there any issues?

 

[chanbr83]

Krylon is a company name. They make a variety of paints for many diferent purposes. I guess what we are asking is what type (of the many types)of Krylon brand paint you are using?

 

[kherron666]

i have a question about you bulk heads , i under stand that you drilled them , how about the stand , is the hole in stand same size and just put the big nut on the stand part , or did you drill a hole like 4 or 5 inch big in the stand so the bulk head nut goes strait to the bottom of the tank ????? thanks

 

[cabinetman123]

thanks for the krylon idea. it worked great on my tank too. Here is a pic

 

[atreis]

thanks for the krylon idea. it worked great on my tank too. Here is a pic

Party in the front-left corner!