My 480g plywood tank is nearing completion lots of pics.

Ah sweet!

Could you possibly show some more detailed photos of the actual construction of the tank? like how you joined the wood and how the corners are done and stuff, is it 2 sheets thick? like 1 sheet then some kind of frame then another sheet on the outside or?
 
I did not get any other photos of construction but I can describe it better I guess. Really you just lay a bead of liquid nails down the sandwich the boards together. Really the best way would be just to read up on it on a site like GARF. It is only one sheet thick since I am using the walls of my house as support if it was free standing then I would have used 2 sheets.
 
From what I have read I will need to put another coat of epoxy paint on at 10 years possibly but may last a lot longer then that one of the LFS here has 2 of these tanks that are in excess of 20 years old and they are a lot more inticate then mine in that they both have concave fronts.
 
There is a chapter in simplified reef keeping that describes making a tank in detail. The cut to size fiberglass cloth is placed into the wet epoxy and smoothed out. You can either fiberglass the entire interior or just the corners/seams. The trick is to make sure the bubbles are pressed out/smoothed out.

Matt
 
I find it much easier to tape in the fiberglass and then pour on the epoxy on the floor and either roll or brush out the bubbles. Once the floor is smoothed out, start brushing it up the walls and remove the tape.

The cloth can become a slippery mess if you don't take care when brushing.

speakeraddict
 
what are the down-sides to making a tank like this?

Seems like a good way to go if you are planning a in-wall tank
 
scchase,
I'm guessing the holes were cut to let some light through and therefore minimise the shadow.

Why not contain the bowing by building a steel frame around the top perimeter? Thus alleviating the need for cross members.
 
I have thought about building a front around the tank as well but decided against it in favor of keeping it as flush with the wall as possible. ALready it will be sitting 3/4" into the and to build additional frame I would have to set it even further back I am looking int oreplacing the cross brace with some sort of wire though to reduce the amount of light lost.
Downsides to this type of tank are that you have to really plan it carefully it is fairly easy to make a major mistake that could flood your house. As well as you lose some of the viewing space ot the border around the front though I plan on using this to my advantage in placing outlets too my closed loop. I am also very weary of keeping urchins in this tank too great a risk that they might chew throught he epoxy. The tank at my LFS had to be resealed 2 years ago because a large French angel 13"+ chewed the epoxy off the walls.
 
Another thing to consider is the time to build. If you're savvy with woodworking it's straightforward, but if you don't have the tools to cut your pieces straight...better get flood insurance. From my perspective the cost savings comes in for large tanks, but if all you want is something < 55 gallons, a glass tank would probably be cheaper.

Matt.
 
agreed. Unless a tank less than 100 gallons is a really strange shape or has a really specific purpose that requires the flexibility of plywood construction methods, you are better off with glass or acrylic.

speakeraddict
 
I agree my sump will be around 100 gallons and made out of plywood as well but this time Ill jsut use a EPDM liner. This is mainly so I can build it in place under the stand.
 
let me know when you are ready for some coral this rugby ball of a montapora is waiting for you.
brandon
i will snap a photo for you later
 
Well I got it moved downstairs last weekend and have been working on getting the stand/wall finished so I took some more photos.
136stand_done.jpg

and here is one of me in the tank
136me_in.jpg
 
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