1500 Gallon plywood build leak test

[Backfromthedead]

Inset within 3/4 inch plywood, which is also epoxied.

Hmmm just for clarity are you meaning to say plywood or particle board? Theyre very different things.

The bad thing about particle board is once it gets wet and soaked through, its virtually useless. It swells up and is very difficult to dry out so dry rot sets in very quickly, turns into a crumbly, weak mess of a material.

The good thing is your lumber frame is very very stout.

If i had this to do over and still wanted to use particle board i would consider lining the entire inside of the tank in fiberglass, not just the seams. Or use sanded plywood instead with the same treatment youve done. i just dont trust particle board for anything but firewood lol.

But simply adding more layers of epoxy could work well as suggested above. Idk though, epoxy aint cheap and would hate to waste it if you arent confident thats going to address the problem.

 

[Zkris28]

Hmmm just for clarity are you meaning to say plywood or particle board? Theyre very different things.

The bad thing about particle board is once it gets wet and soaked through, its virtually useless. It swells up and is very difficult to dry out so dry rot sets in very quickly,

The good thing is your lumber frame is very very stout.

If i had this to do over and still wanted to use particle board i would consider lining the entire inside of the tank in fiberglass, not just the seams. Or use sanded plywood instead with the same treatment youve done. i just dont trust particle board for anything but firewood lol.

We'll I would call it OSB, but yes I think that's what you mean by partical board..next time I ever build one of these I'll be using one side finished furniture grade ply instead I think, but if this one doesn't work out it'll be quiet some time if ever if I get to scale to this size again.. It does make great firewood though lol

 

[Backfromthedead]

We'll I would call it OSB, but yes I think that's what you mean by partical board..next time I ever build one of these I'll be using one side finished furniture grade ply instead I think, but if this one doesn't work out it'll be quiet some time if ever if I get to scale to this size again.. It does make great firewood though lol

Yeah thats it, OSB. i dont think all is lost or anything but cant help thinking you might have to backtrack a bit with your design and coatings if you want this thing to last. Im sure there are some people whove had success with OSB i just cant think of any here right now.

wednesday13 havent you used pond liners with some success with designs like this? I cant remember if any of those had windows though.

 

[jjohnwm]

Hmmm just for clarity are you meaning to say plywood or particle board? Theyre very different things.

The bad thing about particle board is once it gets wet and soaked through, its virtually useless. It swells up and is very difficult to dry out so dry rot sets in very quickly, turns into a crumbly, weak mess of a material.

The good thing is your lumber frame is very very stout.

If i had this to do over and still wanted to use particle board i would consider lining the entire inside of the tank in fiberglass, not just the seams. Or use sanded plywood instead with the same treatment youve done. i just dont trust particle board for anything but firewood lol.

But simply adding more layers of epoxy could work well as suggested above. Idk though, epoxy aint cheap and would hate to waste it if you arent confident thats going to address the problem.

I don't even trust that crap for firewood! It's half glue, which probably releases all sorts of nasties when it burns.

I hate chipboard with a bright burning passion; it has zero water resistance and is about as well-suited to use in tank construction as a layer of stacked sugar cubes, but it's rough and absorbent surface makes it very tough to seal properly with epoxy or any other coating. Calling that stuff "plywood"...is an insult to plywood.

I'm with Backfromthedead on this; you might fix this problem with more epoxy...but you might not, and actually finding the leak is very, very difficult. I've never worked with fibreglass, but that might be the best answer here, or perhaps lining the entire inside surface with either an EPDM pond liner or perhaps some hard liner material cut to size and installed to completely cover the chipboard. You need to completely and thoroughly isolate the chipboard from any contact with water. Good luck.

 

[Zkris28]

Yeah thats it, OSB. i dont think all is lost or anything but cant help thinking you might have to backtrack a bit with your design and coatings if you want this thing to last. Im sure there are some people whove had success with OSB i just cant think of any here right now.

wednesday13 havent you used pond liners with some success with designs like this? I cant remember if any of those had windows though.

I felt like that would be the case. I may just fill it all the way up to test the structural entigrity of it so I know the glass won't blow so I can begin the basement remodel. I can deal with a leak with the rigid core Lvp and waterproof subfloor, but i cant compensate for a full blow lol.

What I really didn't want to do was pull the panel clear all the silicone and reinstall which is why I was hoping glassing and epoxying the seams would work, and from there I could recoat the insides as much as needed while I redo the basement.

Currently all the guest for this tank are in a 400 gallon water trough with pond liner and an auto drip, so they're in no rush to go anywhere lol

 

[Backfromthedead]

I felt like that would be the case. I may just fill it all the way up to test the structural entigrity of it so I know the glass won't blow so I can begin the basement remodel. I can deal with a leak with the rigid core Lvp and waterproof subfloor, but i cant compensate for a full blow lol.

What I really didn't want to do was pull the panel clear all the silicone and reinstall which is why I was hoping glassing and epoxying the seams would work, and from there I could recoat the insides as much as needed while I redo the basement.

Currently all the guest for this tank are in a 400 gallon water trough with pond liner and an auto drip, so they're in no rush to go anywhere lol

Well the glass is one area i believe youre golden. 3/4" glass framed in along the entire perimeter like you have it is more than adequate. Like i said your framing looks strong as well. I think the biggest problems youre having relates to that OSB--its lack of rigidity and probably not providing the best adhesion with the epoxy.

I feel your pain here...i admit i would be very tempted to just try a couple more layers of epoxy...i just wouldnt be confident about the tanks longevity.

jjohnwm above^^ has built much more plywood than i, i would treat his advice as sage here.

 

[wednesday13]

Yeah thats it, OSB. i dont think all is lost or anything but cant help thinking you might have to backtrack a bit with your design and coatings if you want this thing to last. Im sure there are some people whove had success with OSB i just cant think of any here right now.

wednesday13 havent you used pond liners with some success with designs like this? I cant remember if any of those had windows though.

yup, to an extent anyway lol… i have a steel frame poly lined pond liner tank with acrylic window and i did have another wood framed liner tank with window. Others have also put up liner tank with seam tape on the windows with sucess.

OP, you could use a pond liner as a last resort, leave ur window in flush as is and seam tape or gorilla tape the seal around the window. Fiberglass and epoxy will always be a stronger window seal tho. Thats a tough debate as its hard to get ur glass window back out and not break it if you need to fix the chip board or line over it with a harder wood.

 

[jjohnwm]

By the way...silicone applied to cured epoxy has always given me terrific adhesion and longevity. That type of bond has completely supported the weight of 1/2-inch glass panels for over a decade in several tanks.

But...no, you can't apply epoxy to cured silicone. Well, you can...the epoxy will harden up just fine...but there is no adhesion, and the inevitable flexing of the silicone causes the epoxy to chip and flake right off. You will essentially have a hard, rigid, inflexible layer attempting to remain attached to a soft, gummy substrate; it's like trying to paint an inflatable beach ball. No bueno.

The bright side? Well...any tank can develop a leak, or can have one right from the get-go...and finding it can be extremely problematic...and fixing it usually involves a lot of work and often considerable expense...but a solidly-built wood-construction tank just isn't going to experience the type of catastrophic blow-out that is possible with glass or acrylic tanks. Just doesn't happen.

Don't forget that maintaining your tank once it's framed into the wall requires a certain level of access for which I am certain you are allowing...but the work that will likely be required to correct this leak may make that level of access inadequate. Don't paint yourself into a corner.

 

[LukeOscar]

I felt like that would be the case. I may just fill it all the way up to test the structural entigrity of it so I know the glass won't blow so I can begin the basement remodel. I can deal with a leak with the rigid core Lvp and waterproof subfloor, but i cant compensate for a full blow lol.

What I really didn't want to do was pull the panel clear all the silicone and reinstall which is why I was hoping glassing and epoxying the seams would work, and from there I could recoat the insides as much as needed while I redo the basement.

Currently all the guest for this tank are in a 400 gallon water trough with pond liner and an auto drip, so they're in no rush to go anywhere lol

i did not notice the obs instead of ply, unfortunately if its leaked and its obs. your basically already in for a full rebuild. the problem with using osb is its not evenly laminated. theres air gaps behind some of the large chips that will flex and bow under the load of water. the pond armor almost always micro crack because of this. even if you did load on enough pond armor to reliably waterproof it. it will endup being more then plywood in pond armor.

 

[ITHURTZ]

osb is crap, add 3 more layers of water proofer and try again. If it still leaks its trash