Attention plywood tank builders

[scrombussquared]

I'm in the very early planning stages of a large in-wall reef tank build. I plan on building the tank from plywood and fiberglass. I'm still debating using CC acrylic or Starphire for the viewing panel. My question is how you designed the plywood-to-glass joint. Both for sealing and for structurally reinforcing the joint. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[BigReef]

Have you checked out this site?

fingerlakesreef.com/

 

[therealfatman]

The weight of the column of water presses the glass against your seal. The seal is typically silicone. It is not stuck to the glass. It must be held against the seal until enough water has been added to the tank to hold the glass against the seal.

The old school method was to place a heavy bead of silicone against the tank frame place a layer of plastic film (visqueen or drier bags) up against the silicone and press the glass against the silicone and plastic film. Wedge the glass against the front with boards until the silicone drys. Lean the glass back and remove the plastic film

The silicone will not stick to the film. Lean the glass back into place and hold it there with the boards. Remove the boards after adding sufficient water .

 

[scrombussquared]

I understand the method described, but was thinking of something more substantial. I was thinking more like a groove around the opening that the glass sits in, sealed with silicone or epoxy. Like a tongue and groove joint, say 1" wide by 1" deep. The glass would sit in a bed of sealant until the sealant dries, then the groove would be filled with additional sealant. After some consideration and some advice from others, I'm going to go with Starphire instead of acrylic.

Ideas so far- please feel free to comment and add suggestions:

Size- 120"lx30"wx30" deep. (467 gallons)
coast to coast overflow
closed loop system
Deltec skimmer
rubbermaid stock tank for sump
75 AGA for fuge
homemade frag tank
3 SolaTubes
4- 400 w 12000k
enough actinics for the look I want

Like I said, this is in the very early planning stages. I'm a cabinetmaker by trade ( yes, I build custom kitchens from scratch) and with the economy the way it is, I'm forced to put this project on hold. I'm definitely not going to jump into this blindly, everything must be planned out carefully in advance.

This tank is going into a wall between the house and garage, protruding into the garage. The base will be built using concrete blocks, with a poured slab on top that the tank will sit on. The tank will be independent of the stand, so I don't have to worry about the tank- to- concrete seal.

One idea I have for the closed loop system is to use an indexing valve commonly used for lawn irrigation systems for a current switching system. I've never heard of anyone using this, but it seems like it will work. The way an indexing valve works is through a timer-controlled pump. When the pump shuts off, the valve automatically indexes, that is, it turns with the release of water pressure to the next zone.

I would like to see a tank lit with SolaTubes in person before going that route, but here in sunny south Florida, it seems like a viable alternative. The MH's would be used only as a supplemental light source, one I feel is necessary to boost growth of SPS. I am concerned about nuisance algae growth with the SolaTubes. I will definitely be using natural seawater in this tank, as I have been doing successfully for years with my 75 gal. FOWLR.

I may move this thread, to get more input on the details.