My new 2600 gallon plywood tank project

[VLDesign]

Never tried spraying, don't have a sprayer, with my luck if I rented one I would have wrecked it and had to pay for it.. lol

There is no concrete in this build, and yes the plywood was less than perfect. Couldn't agree more that this is the source of my problem. Can't change it now so this will have to be a lessons learned (Which there are several on this build)

Finished the upper walls, drilled my holes for the plumbing, sanded the entire tank.

Have blue pond armor on the way directly from Butch (no more local stuff for me ever again). The blue will allow me to see any missed spots with this coat.

Another lessons learned would be I should NOT have tried to roll on the pond armor as this ended up being way too thin IMO and another reason I am having problems. When I drilled my holes for the bulkheads is when I noticed just how thin the PA was. The additional blue coat will double the thickness and should resolve my issues.

Unless I am leaking from under a window. Then I am screwed. But let's not think about that for now.

So while I am not making progress on the leak I am still moving forward getting as much done as possible.

 

[imacskye]

I have been following this one for a while now and I think your doing a great job.

Regarding your leak situation, I still don't know how you know where the leaks are coming from. I know you said in an earlier post that 'water on floor = leak', and that your method of locating the leak is to fill until the leak appears and narrow it down from there. In my experience it would take weeks, if not months, for a leak from a 'pin hole' to soak through plywood and show itself. Maybe I'm missing something but are you sure your leaks are coming from pin holes?

 

[Mastiffman]

Never tried spraying, don't have a sprayer, with my luck if I rented one I would have wrecked it and had to pay for it.. lol

There is no concrete in this build, and yes the plywood was less than perfect. Couldn't agree more that this is the source of my problem. Can't change it now so this will have to be a lessons learned (Which there are several on this build)

Finished the upper walls, drilled my holes for the plumbing, sanded the entire tank.

Have blue pond armor on the way directly from Butch (no more local stuff for me ever again). The blue will allow me to see any missed spots with this coat.

Another lessons learned would be I should NOT have tried to roll on the pond armor as this ended up being way too thin IMO and another reason I am having problems. When I drilled my holes for the bulkheads is when I noticed just how thin the PA was. The additional blue coat will double the thickness and should resolve my issues.

Unless I am leaking from under a window. Then I am screwed. But let's not think about that for now.

So while I am not making progress on the leak I am still moving forward getting as much done as possible.

I think that the BLUE PA is a Much better idea anyhow!!! my motto is everything happens for a reason! I think that you will be happier with the blue lining!

I was windering if there was a way that you could smooth some Silicone over the pin holes? Stupid idea? It's clear and you would most likely not see it anyhow...

I have been following this one for a while now and I think your doing a great job.

Regarding your leak situation, I still don't know how you know where the leaks are coming from. I know you said in an earlier post that 'water on floor = leak', and that your method of locating the leak is to fill until the leak appears and narrow it down from there. In my experience it would take weeks, if not months, for a leak from a 'pin hole' to soak through plywood and show itself. Maybe I'm missing something but are you sure your leaks are coming from pin holes?

I agree! great job so far and don't wory about the windows, you'll ge them taken care of and learn something in the process!? ;o)

defintely want to double check fittings form the plumbing as well... Would hate to see you waste a ton of time sealing pin holes that were really the issue... Good luck and looking forward to a full tank sooner than later! if I were in the area, i would come by and help out!

 

[Tanyoberu]

First off, I bow to you! This tank build has my heart beating faster than it should! I guess it's just that exciting!

I see a few of you major builders are using this wood stacking design. I always wondered about another possible way of water-proofing a project like this. Since it looks like this tank will flex to near 0 inches, could it be possible to use plexi-glass of a much smaller width to 'plate' the bottom, sides and edges of a tank like this?

Tanyoberu

 

[VLDesign]

IMO, Lining the tank with plexi glass or even sheets of ABS would only work out if we could build these things perfectly square and/or ensure that there were no imprefections in the walls that could put any pressure on one area of the insert (ABS or Plexi) and cause it to fracture.

I had always thought using sheets of ABS was the way to go, but never had the guts to try it in large scale. Might be a "looks good on paper" kind of thing.

I know of one tank that was built like this but it wasn't to this size. Also not sure of the link but it's here somewhere on MFK. He used an adhesive called Goo. I think it was marnie-goo but I could be wrong.

 

[VLDesign]

On leak locations, I think that is the magic question. At best I can estimate that the leak is coming from somewhere below the water line (After the leak develops) It does take a few hours to show its self an isn't immediate.

Basically, I fill to a known height that doesn't leak, let it sit for a few hours, check to ensure still no leaks, then fill it up another 6", wait a few hours check under the tank. If it leaks then I can assume the leak is somewhere within that newly added 6" of water. It's either in that area or lower and the water pressure is opening up something that was closed in the "safe water level" which is a real possibility and another reason why I am switching to blue and recoating the entire tank (Except under the windows).

Adding silicone to the pin holes would work. My problem is finding it. So no it's not a stupid idea.

 

[crepiduse]

Since you're re-coating, rent a sprayer. Only mix 1/2 - 1qt at a time (NO THINNING!!!) by putting hardener directly into the poxy. Remember to spray until empty (10mins at most), if you cant continue for ten minutes, mix less and work up. Then clean the sprayer.

Mix, spray what you mixed, clean, then repeat. The epoxy can cure in the spraying equipment if you're not careful.

methylethylkeytone(sp?) or acetone to clean (nothing else)

It's up to you to use the method or not, I would. Pond Armor is expensive. Since you sanded already before coating, I expect you cleaned any residue that's there also. Remember that if you coat without the spray method, that the first full coat is best applied with a squeegee then use the roller to smooth it out. stepping into the tank adds contaminates that you don't want. So if you don't spray, use this method at least to ensure an even coat of 10mil that will last years from now.

If I was not way out in GA instead of IL, I would help. Hell, I'd drive a states length to help just because. But it's a bit far from Ga on my budget.

Good luck.

(your pressure comment of leak being pushed out is highly possible. If you have a hole that is filling into the "pocket" of an uncleaned area, the extra weight of the water being stacked can cause it to push out. Upon cleaning then coating then curing, let it sit at least 48 hours WITHOUT DISTURBANCE before testing again. Spot check it for any cracked or un-coated areas before filling, correct as needed, cure 24 hours, then repeat. When you're 99% sure you're good, fill and test.)

 

[crepiduse]

Second thought, You can use fiberglass method of sealing a crack to seal the seams for a finish that wont leak either. . . . Just thought of that as well.

 

[Mastiffman]

On leak locations, I think that is the magic question. At best I can estimate that the leak is coming from somewhere below the water line (After the leak develops) It does take a few hours to show its self an isn't immediate.

Basically, I fill to a known height that doesn't leak, let it sit for a few hours, check to ensure still no leaks, then fill it up another 6", wait a few hours check under the tank. If it leaks then I can assume the leak is somewhere within that newly added 6" of water. It's either in that area or lower and the water pressure is opening up something that was closed in the "safe water level" which is a real possibility and another reason why I am switching to blue and recoating the entire tank (Except under the windows).

Adding silicone to the pin holes would work. My problem is finding it. So no it's not a stupid idea.

Gotcha. So you didn't adhere any type of liner to the inside of the stacked 2x4's? like OSB or plywood? Then silcone the corners, expoxy tape in and then epoxy the whole thing? I may have missed that as I didn't competely read the thread all of the way through....

 

[Kentrob11]

I am planning on doing something similar but 12' long, 7' front to back and 6' high and was planning to do it in concrete but have since decided to go the stacked 2x6 route. After consulting with a few people, I decided to line the inside with 1/4" black PVC sheet with the seams hot welded and then reinforced with a strip of 1" triangle PVC rod also glued and hot-welded into place. Royal Exclusiv does large tanks like this in Europe but using tubular steel frames I think. I think that the hotwelding with thick welding rods and then reinforcing the seams with the triangle rod provides a little room for error....