700g Plywood build.

Well, It's looking grim :(

The Line-X guy didn't call back so I called him. He said that I would be looking @ about $10 per square foot, Now I have just over 80 sq/ft and that is way more than I am prepared to spend so it's back to the drawing board. I will try more of the local bed liner guys but I fear that they will all be the same. I have also contacted a Quebec based company in regards to their coating products. Hopefully they will have something that is not $800. If not I will use Pond shield or Sweet water epoxy paint. I'm not giving up just yet but It's not looking good. If all else fails I will get some more East Systems epoxy and some filler then go to town.

Anyone else have any suggestions?

James
 
James make sure to call Line-x manuf. to ensure that can even be done and sealed it completely. down the line the last things you need is another problem when its filled.
 
Hello all.

The Line-X is safe. One of it's listed applications is pond lining and fish
holds. The local dealer has done some tanks for a local trout farm.

As for the Herculiner, I decided that it would not be cost effective as the product is $50 per 1000ml or no per gallon. I have to look into the coverage of it again.

Thanks all

James
 
Bummer K-W,


I would think that pinholes are really not that big of concern structurally though. So, why couldnt you just re sand and throw on a layer or two of fiberglass and epoxy on the whole thing?


If theyre are large airpockets in the corners or seams i would guess the problem lies in one or two of these areas.
I would take a small drill bit, dill two holes in all pockets.
Then take a syringe with pre-mixed epoxy and inject them full again, using the other hole as an air vent to let it fill completely.

Marc.
 
Fudge,

You are the man. I had thought of just doing more coats but was afraid to as you could imagine. I will try this and let you know how it works out.
 
Well I have got down two more thick coats of epoxy and am going out to TSC to grab some syringes/needles to fill the air pockets/voids a Fudge had suggested. I hope this works as I am wearing thin on patients. Maybe my new delivery tomorrow will brighten me up in time for the UFC this weekend. My wife has finally caved in and allowed me to purchase a new tv, I got a 50" Sony SXRD. That should calm me down a bit...............On with the battle I suppose.


James
 
Just an idea,

I would also check the holes for dampness before filling with epoxy.

If you have an air compressor this would blow water out and let you know the problem areas and dry it up at the same time.

Good Luck.

Marc.
 
Once you get all of the leak issues resolved I would rethink the center brace or lack of a center brace. I built a 360G 96 x 30 x 30 a dozen years ago and the front wall bowed out about an inch before I went back and added bracing. For bracing I just added stainless steel about the size of a yeardstick from front to back and that did the trick. You are dealing with almost twice that much water.
 
Thanks all,

I will be adding a brace in the center of the tank and on the sides. Just wanted to wait until the glass was in to do it. That way I had more room to work.

I am still injecting the air bubbles with resin and have most of them licked. Now that I am back at work and not on vacation it is going to take longer then I wanted but worth it I think. I just can't wait for it to be done........My family is starting to think I'm a nut job, LOL!

See ya later

James
 
Just a thought K-W Reefer. Did you use a roller to put the epoxy on. I remember all those pinholes when i did my tank. I just kept adding more epoxy and using a small pain roller to apply it over the holes.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10321864#post10321864 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cougarman
Just a thought K-W Reefer. Did you use a roller to put the epoxy on. I remember all those pinholes when I did my tank. I just kept adding more epoxy and using a small pain roller to apply it over the holes.


Nope, I did not use a roller. I only used a brush and now a syringe to inject the air pockets that I find. The part that I am finding hard is on vertical surfaces'. I find that the epoxy is very fluid and like water until it sets up and will not stay where I want it. I think that I will have to get some filler to thicken the epoxy to get it to stay or wait for the epoxy to set up a bit then apply it.

How does the roller work in this case? would it apply such a small amount that it will not run?

Has any one else had leaks or am I alone in this fight?

I may have thinking of sanding/cutting out the suspect areas and then build to the same thickness as the rest and re glass them. I'm just not sure if that would be the proper way to approach this............

I am so ticked at myself for not noticing that side when I put the glass in the front. The black pigment does a good job of hiding these problems as I does not dry clear and stay visible. .......Here I go making excuses now. No more excuses just gotta Git-Er-Done!!!!!! LOL.

James
 
The roller put a very thin even layer down on each coat and filled in any air bubles from the previous coat. I used west system epoxy, and I would put a layer, wait until it got fairly tacky, then put another layer. I did this about 6 or 7 times and then finally let it dry. I found this technique much better than letting each coat dry, sanding and then applying another coat. this way the epoxy is one thick layer, instead of several layers with sanding dust embeded between them. i was done the entire epoxy portion in a day. I did not use fiberglass in my tank though. You should be able to use the roller on the vertical surfaces, without much running. I used a small sized sponge roller.
 
Thanks for the tip Cougarman, I will give that a shot also. It cant hurt at this point to have way more epoxy on that side............ Plus if it has tacky epoxy to stick to it may not run so bad.


James
 
Say James, if you use the fast set catalyst if might help slow the runs. I turned my tank on each end so I never had to epoxy vertical surfaces.
Another trick is to use a hair dryer to heat the epoxy. It speeds the cure plus it draws bubbles to the surface.
Man-o-man, I hope you can beat this thing.
Del
 
I'm not sure if the question is for me, but yes I have water in it. Its a full fledged reef now, and been running for about 1.5 years. No leaks. Clck on my gallery icon.
 
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