My 315G Plywood Tank Build

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dpeco33

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 5, 2011
6
0
31
upstate NY
BadOleRoss,
I note you have had thi stank up and running for a while. I am a long time lurker to this site, but just decided to become a member and get involved some.
I am very very interested in your build as well as how the glass was attached. I know you used Butyl Rubber caulk (what Kind if you remember) and you used fiberglass resin ? I am trying to get my head around how this looks and or was done, but for some reason I cannot .

I looked at the photo you took, but it really did not help.
Any way you can make this a bit easier for me?
 
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BadOleRoss

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 28, 2009
1,323
2
0
Virginia
I didn't use BR caulk, I could never find any that would work with fish and underwater. The problem I ran into with pond coat (liquid rubber) is that it is not compatible with silicone. LR will not cure if it is in contact with silicone and silicone will not stick to dried LR. I used the fiberglass to bridge the gap between the 2 products. My viewing window sits in a frame much like a standard picture frame. I coated the area of the frame where the window sits in place with several coats of fiberglass resin. I extended the resin about 2 inches into the tank. Once the fiberglass resin was dry, I siliconed my viewing window in place using GEI silicone. When the silicone was dry, I finished applying the LR to the inside of the tank over the resin right up to the silicone. Doing it this way allows the silicone to stick to the fiberglass resin and the PC to stick to the resin. Make sure the resin is applied to bare wood! I have hear that 3M 5200 will stick to LR but I would test it before I trusted it. During my build I heard several things that turned out to be way wrong. If my method still does not make sense, let me know and I will explain it better.






dpeco33;5044342; said:
BadOleRoss,
I note you have had thi stank up and running for a while. I am a long time lurker to this site, but just decided to become a member and get involved some.
I am very very interested in your build as well as how the glass was attached. I know you used Butyl Rubber caulk (what Kind if you remember) and you used fiberglass resin ? I am trying to get my head around how this looks and or was done, but for some reason I cannot .

I looked at the photo you took, but it really did not help.
Any way you can make this a bit easier for me?
Click to expand...
 
B

BadOleRoss

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 28, 2009
1,323
2
0
Virginia
$INI$T3R;5045440; said:
WELL DONE!!!! I happy to hear your getting ready to sell the house GL!!!
Click to expand...
Thank you! Just need it moved to re-carpet. I still have the tank and am getting ready to offer it up again. The buyer tells me he going to get it but I never hear from him after that point.
 
J

john73738

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Nov 8, 2009
1,292
9
68
Las Vegas, NV
Bummer on having to sell. This was a great build. Look forward to the next one when you get settled
 
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Zman12

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 31, 2011
42
1
0
Missouri
BadOleRoss thank you for the very informative read. I have been planning a tank for several months now. All your experiments have put to rest and solved the issues I was really concerned about. I am glad your tank worked out so well, after the initial set backs, sad that you have to part with it. Just means you get a bigger one later. ;)

LOVED the idea of how to get the drift wood to stay down. Trying to water log something small is a PAIN I can't imagine trying to get your log to stay down any other way. Its a brilliantly simple solution. I will probably end up doing that in my tank.

So thanks on the informative read. Now I just need to go get my materials...
 
S

Squirtle919

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2011
1,563
2
53
Within Earth
WOW THAT OUTCOME IS AMAZING! Wow and amazing are the only words that come close to explaining it. great job!!!!

I do feel a bit dumb, I was sitting here reading over all this thinking how the hell is that going to work with only one sheet of glass? then I under stood why the pond chemical was being used and I felt dumb/silly! First time seeing a build like this and love the idea.

any new updates on the tank? I notice this post is from last year!!
 
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djlancer88

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 19, 2008
476
0
0
Syracuse NY
When you used the fiberglass resin around window frame did you use the cloth to? I was wondering might the resin crack without the reinforcement of it? I have a 96" x 24" build going
 
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