theplatypus
New member
This is an awesome DIY.
A First Plywood Project...
- Thread starter Sean : EbN
- Start date
blfuller123
Premium Member
Did I miss seeing it in the thread somewhere? I dont know if this a dumb question but how you will secure the glass to the tank?
I just got the ok to build a tank in the wall of my house I am looking at all my options. I love your tanks so far.
I just got the ok to build a tank in the wall of my house I am looking at all my options. I love your tanks so far.
blfuller123
Premium Member
Will silicone stick to the epoxy like it does glass?
Sean : EbN
New member
Hello everybody,
theplatypus : Thanks a lot!! It is a lot of fun but a LOT of work!
blfuller123 : The glass will be siliconed to the inside lip of the front. The glass will be lowered inside and pressed into the silicone laid around the front lip. The water pressure will also press the glass against the silicone creating somewhat of a gasket.
scbauer : Yes, it is ok to run SOME bulbs on HQI as opposed to regular ballasts. Some bulbs (such as Ushio 10K's) will run stronger and bluer on HQI ballasts. I was recommended some time ago to run the XM's off of the HQI's, I hope I didn't make a bad choice. Anyone else want to weigh in?!?
guntercb : Thanks a lot man!! I really hope that it works as smoothly as I planned. I promise an update tomorrow with pics of the sump room with a little progress.
Just a quick update and a THANKS... I ordered my RC 500 Euro Reef from the folks over there and I am really excited about it!! Thanks Jeff and gang!
Also... just got in my Oceans Motions 8way, 4way and 1" directional nozzles today... STELLAR PRODUCTS!! I had the pleasure of talking to Paul @ OM yesterday and he is definitely a top notch fella!
I gotta run now but I WILL post some pics of something tomorrow!
Thanks for the replies!
LATER
theplatypus : Thanks a lot!! It is a lot of fun but a LOT of work!
blfuller123 : The glass will be siliconed to the inside lip of the front. The glass will be lowered inside and pressed into the silicone laid around the front lip. The water pressure will also press the glass against the silicone creating somewhat of a gasket.
scbauer : Yes, it is ok to run SOME bulbs on HQI as opposed to regular ballasts. Some bulbs (such as Ushio 10K's) will run stronger and bluer on HQI ballasts. I was recommended some time ago to run the XM's off of the HQI's, I hope I didn't make a bad choice. Anyone else want to weigh in?!?
guntercb : Thanks a lot man!! I really hope that it works as smoothly as I planned. I promise an update tomorrow with pics of the sump room with a little progress.
Just a quick update and a THANKS... I ordered my RC 500 Euro Reef from the folks over there and I am really excited about it!! Thanks Jeff and gang!
Also... just got in my Oceans Motions 8way, 4way and 1" directional nozzles today... STELLAR PRODUCTS!! I had the pleasure of talking to Paul @ OM yesterday and he is definitely a top notch fella!
I gotta run now but I WILL post some pics of something tomorrow!
Thanks for the replies!
LATER
First of all I have to say I am major into DIY. However with the time and expenses involved in a plywood tank ( and ending up with a PLYWOOD tank) Iwould much rather buy a glass tank, with a warranty. Stands, hoods with the lighting, all the accesories, makes sense to DIY, but not a plywood tank. Building your own tank is fine but I have always used glass or acrylic.
Sean : EbN
New member
Hello everyone...
Leon : Yes, I doubled up the face piece of plywood. I laminated it with liquid nails and screws. It is about 3.5 " all the way around except for the top which had a piece of ply attached from the top adding 3/4" to the top "beam" area. So the top strip is 4.25". I will still probably run a threaded rod support in the center from front to back.
Mudder : Everyone is entitled to their opinions. I disagree with you on this one. A glass or acrylic tank may be manufactured with a warranty but in most cases that warranty is void if you don't use THEIR stand or a stand approved by THEM. DIY may be out of the question at that point. Also... most warranties are void if you customize the tank's structure (i.e. drilled holes, remove cheap plastic moulding etc.) So more restrictions on DIY'ers. Glass tanks are heavy and siliconed together (occasionally not very good construction will let go after some years) Acrylic is just too touchy for me with the scratching and amazing insulation capacity making it a lot hotter in there with all the equipment running. Plywood tanks are best suited in 1 pane viewed situations like in-wall or "faux in-wall' which is what mine will be. They will however hold heat similar to acrylic but with little abrasion due to the viewing pane being glass.
I have a friend who has a 900 gallon plywood that has been running for nearly 10 years. Never a problem with it and he was able to make it himself and fit it right where he needed it to go. On the other hand I have another friend who bought a well made 225 gallon tank (with warranty) and placed it on a nicely made stand that was level in EVERY DETECTABLE WAY and it sprang leaks TWICE, ruining much of his living room and costing 10's of thousands of $'s in livestock. Go figure! I guess some people like to build it all and some don't.
For the record I love both glass and acrylic tanks in their own rights and have worked with a countless number over the years in my home, business (retail and wholesale pets) and customers homes. This time I just wanted to do something different!
Thanks for the replies guys... I'm going back to work on the tank... PICS LATER TONIGHT!
See ya...
Leon : Yes, I doubled up the face piece of plywood. I laminated it with liquid nails and screws. It is about 3.5 " all the way around except for the top which had a piece of ply attached from the top adding 3/4" to the top "beam" area. So the top strip is 4.25". I will still probably run a threaded rod support in the center from front to back.
Mudder : Everyone is entitled to their opinions. I disagree with you on this one. A glass or acrylic tank may be manufactured with a warranty but in most cases that warranty is void if you don't use THEIR stand or a stand approved by THEM. DIY may be out of the question at that point. Also... most warranties are void if you customize the tank's structure (i.e. drilled holes, remove cheap plastic moulding etc.) So more restrictions on DIY'ers. Glass tanks are heavy and siliconed together (occasionally not very good construction will let go after some years) Acrylic is just too touchy for me with the scratching and amazing insulation capacity making it a lot hotter in there with all the equipment running. Plywood tanks are best suited in 1 pane viewed situations like in-wall or "faux in-wall' which is what mine will be. They will however hold heat similar to acrylic but with little abrasion due to the viewing pane being glass.
I have a friend who has a 900 gallon plywood that has been running for nearly 10 years. Never a problem with it and he was able to make it himself and fit it right where he needed it to go. On the other hand I have another friend who bought a well made 225 gallon tank (with warranty) and placed it on a nicely made stand that was level in EVERY DETECTABLE WAY and it sprang leaks TWICE, ruining much of his living room and costing 10's of thousands of $'s in livestock. Go figure! I guess some people like to build it all and some don't.
For the record I love both glass and acrylic tanks in their own rights and have worked with a countless number over the years in my home, business (retail and wholesale pets) and customers homes. This time I just wanted to do something different!
Thanks for the replies guys... I'm going back to work on the tank... PICS LATER TONIGHT!
See ya...
Sean : EbN
New member
Hello all,
After working pretty hard all night I finally got tired of the stench of PVC cement! I decided to call it a night and I wanted to post some photos of what's been going on.
First off, I had to take the sump off of my 90 gallon set-up (the one being replaced by this one) and replace it with a temporary one. That sump will be turned back into a display tank with an overflow and used as the "frag" tank for the new set-up. Once all the plumbing is finished and the overflow installed in the 40 gal frag tank, all the inhabitants of the 90 will be moved into it and the 60 gallon refugium tank above it.
In this picture you can see the sump rack from inside the sump room. The top tank is the 60 gallon (36x18x24) refugium, the middle tank is the 40 gallon frag tank.
This is a pic of the middle (frag) tank and the sump with the bubble and feeding baffle. You can also see the Oceans Motions (OM) 3/4" Squirt flow rotator mounted above the frag tank. Also... the PVC pipe laying across the length of the sump is just temporary. I put it there just to test the OM and the plumbing from the sump to frag tank, it has a much cleaner location that will be mostly out of view.
Here you can see the pump area under the right side of the countertop area of the stand. That pump is a Gen-X Mak-4 that will drive the frag tank via the OM 4way Squirt
This is a view of the sump with the baffles. I made the baffles from 1/4" acrylic that I siliconed in. I have always made my baffles this way and the silicone on the acrylic bonds quite well enough for this function.
These next 2 pics are of the frag tank showing particular details of the plumbing of the OM Squirt. It was fairly easy to plumb with the use of 90 & 45 degree tees and 3/4" right angle bends of electrical conduit (gray PVC type). There will be a 250w Halide mounted to that center board above the tank.
Here are some of my new toys... MANY THANKS to Paul and Cass at OceansMotions for these killer products! I can't wait to see what Paul comes up with next!
and that's all folks! I hope to get that overflow glued in that frag tank tomorrow and maybe get that 90 torn down this weekend?!? I know I said that last week. In the meantime... I hope I get my pumps soon... don't know what I'll do with them with no tank to put them on but isn't it cool to have new toys?
Thanks for looking and please keep the posts coming!
LATER
After working pretty hard all night I finally got tired of the stench of PVC cement! I decided to call it a night and I wanted to post some photos of what's been going on.
First off, I had to take the sump off of my 90 gallon set-up (the one being replaced by this one) and replace it with a temporary one. That sump will be turned back into a display tank with an overflow and used as the "frag" tank for the new set-up. Once all the plumbing is finished and the overflow installed in the 40 gal frag tank, all the inhabitants of the 90 will be moved into it and the 60 gallon refugium tank above it.
In this picture you can see the sump rack from inside the sump room. The top tank is the 60 gallon (36x18x24) refugium, the middle tank is the 40 gallon frag tank.
This is a pic of the middle (frag) tank and the sump with the bubble and feeding baffle. You can also see the Oceans Motions (OM) 3/4" Squirt flow rotator mounted above the frag tank. Also... the PVC pipe laying across the length of the sump is just temporary. I put it there just to test the OM and the plumbing from the sump to frag tank, it has a much cleaner location that will be mostly out of view.
Here you can see the pump area under the right side of the countertop area of the stand. That pump is a Gen-X Mak-4 that will drive the frag tank via the OM 4way Squirt
This is a view of the sump with the baffles. I made the baffles from 1/4" acrylic that I siliconed in. I have always made my baffles this way and the silicone on the acrylic bonds quite well enough for this function.
These next 2 pics are of the frag tank showing particular details of the plumbing of the OM Squirt. It was fairly easy to plumb with the use of 90 & 45 degree tees and 3/4" right angle bends of electrical conduit (gray PVC type). There will be a 250w Halide mounted to that center board above the tank.
Here are some of my new toys... MANY THANKS to Paul and Cass at OceansMotions for these killer products! I can't wait to see what Paul comes up with next!
and that's all folks! I hope to get that overflow glued in that frag tank tomorrow and maybe get that 90 torn down this weekend?!? I know I said that last week. In the meantime... I hope I get my pumps soon... don't know what I'll do with them with no tank to put them on but isn't it cool to have new toys?
Thanks for looking and please keep the posts coming!
LATER
calvin415
New member
Re: Man I'm thrilled about the light box!!
Re: Man I'm thrilled about the light box!!
Hey Sean, just a word of caution based on this guy's experience...
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_1700g_tank_8.php
"I let everything run for a week or two to see if I'd have any problems. To be honest, I did. 3 of the 1 1/2" bulkheads began to leak, and I had alot of bubbles being returned to the tank from both pumps. I traced the leaking bulkheads back to my installation procedure. I had read many opinions on the best way to install bulkheads. One common suggestion was to apply silicone sealant to the rubber gaskets during installation. So I did. This proved to be a fatal error on my part. In my opinion adding silicone sealant to the gaskets will almost guarantee that they DO leak, not help prevent it."
Re: Man I'm thrilled about the light box!!
Hey Sean, just a word of caution based on this guy's experience...
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_1700g_tank_8.php
"I let everything run for a week or two to see if I'd have any problems. To be honest, I did. 3 of the 1 1/2" bulkheads began to leak, and I had alot of bubbles being returned to the tank from both pumps. I traced the leaking bulkheads back to my installation procedure. I had read many opinions on the best way to install bulkheads. One common suggestion was to apply silicone sealant to the rubber gaskets during installation. So I did. This proved to be a fatal error on my part. In my opinion adding silicone sealant to the gaskets will almost guarantee that they DO leak, not help prevent it."
perpetual98
New member
Yeah, everything I've read says NOT to silicone the bulkheads. Perhaps AFTER the bulkhead is installed, a bead of silicone around the edges would be ok, but if they're installed properly, they shouldn't leak.
Sean : EbN
New member
Hey guys...
Leon : The word on glass is not very great! Actually it won't make a difference because I have SO much more to do before I can put the tank in place and mount the glass. I called the glass shop today and they said they would call me back. So an hour or so goes by and the salesman called and said it would be another 2 weeks because the glass busted in tempering. The guy I dealt with last month said that Starfire glass is more sensitive in tempering and frequently busts during the process. Oh well... another 2 weeks no big deal. They said they cut the second piece and sent it off to be tempered. I will call them at the end of next week just to keep up with it.
calvin415 : Thanks for the post. I read that shark tank build about 20 times and made a mental note of what you quoted. I decided to let the gasket do the work and NOT silicone it. I think I might tightne down the bulkheads really well and then silicone around the outside of the flange. This way the silicone can't gum up underneath the gasket. So tighten and then silicone around the inside.
perpetual98 : Thanks for the post. This is probably what I will do.
Otherwise... my Sequence Hammerhead and Dart just came in... WOW that Hammerhead is large. Seems like very nice construction. Now I need to get my skimmer and I will be in the home stretch as far as buying equipment!
Thanks for the posts! LATER!
Leon : The word on glass is not very great! Actually it won't make a difference because I have SO much more to do before I can put the tank in place and mount the glass. I called the glass shop today and they said they would call me back. So an hour or so goes by and the salesman called and said it would be another 2 weeks because the glass busted in tempering. The guy I dealt with last month said that Starfire glass is more sensitive in tempering and frequently busts during the process. Oh well... another 2 weeks no big deal. They said they cut the second piece and sent it off to be tempered. I will call them at the end of next week just to keep up with it.
calvin415 : Thanks for the post. I read that shark tank build about 20 times and made a mental note of what you quoted. I decided to let the gasket do the work and NOT silicone it. I think I might tightne down the bulkheads really well and then silicone around the outside of the flange. This way the silicone can't gum up underneath the gasket. So tighten and then silicone around the inside.
perpetual98 : Thanks for the post. This is probably what I will do.
Otherwise... my Sequence Hammerhead and Dart just came in... WOW that Hammerhead is large. Seems like very nice construction. Now I need to get my skimmer and I will be in the home stretch as far as buying equipment!
Thanks for the posts! LATER!
perpetual98
New member
for what it's worth, I know a guy in Chicago that has a huge skimmer he's not using any more. It's something like 6 feet tall and rated for 2000 gallons. Made by Emperor Aquatics. That's about all I know about it besides when I looked at it I said, "zoinks, that baby is huge"
Sean : EbN
New member
Hello perpetual98 : Thanks for the info. I actually bought a Euro-Reef RC500 (the 30" recirc model) last week and was just waiting on it to ship. I got a confirmation last night that it is on its way!! 
I have never owned a big bad a$$ skimmer before so I am pretty excited!
Take care...
I have never owned a big bad a$$ skimmer before so I am pretty excited!
Take care...
lpkirby
New member
Hi Sean, I am starting my DIDy Plywood tank tomorrow! I hope mine goes as well as yours.
Question, How are you going to put the threaded bar across the top? Epoxy one end to the front then thread the other end thru the back with washers and nut so that it can be adjusted??? Not quite understanding that part. Do you have any reference pictures to show of that?
Thanks
Leon
Question, How are you going to put the threaded bar across the top? Epoxy one end to the front then thread the other end thru the back with washers and nut so that it can be adjusted??? Not quite understanding that part. Do you have any reference pictures to show of that?
Thanks
Leon
jman77
New member
Looks very nice ! Congrats on the project.
One question though, how do you get the glass to make an even contact with the wood when you go to silicon it in place? How do you make sure one side of the glass is not closer/further from the wood than the other side ? And do you think the wood that is acting as the frame for the glass is going to bow out when you fill the tank with water ?
One question though, how do you get the glass to make an even contact with the wood when you go to silicon it in place? How do you make sure one side of the glass is not closer/further from the wood than the other side ? And do you think the wood that is acting as the frame for the glass is going to bow out when you fill the tank with water ?
bkiba
Premium Member
jman - I think have the water pressure "bow out" the glass is the idea. The pressure should take care of any minute imperfections in the wood frame, coupled with the silicone bead. The water should squeeze the glass good up against the frame and hopefully prevent any potential leaks.
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