Ok, I promised pictures and I will deliver. Sadly it will have to be later this evening. Work has decided that I need to be here more often and I don't have the ability to disagree with them. Anyway, on to the project!!
Ok, this project was initially meant to be a proving test for Ames sealing products. However Ames is no longer readily available in most store and is not a cost effective method to seal an aquarium for that reason. I had already purchased the wood so it was inevitable that I was building a tank. So I went shopping around for products to use for sealing the aquarium that were inexpensive and readily available. I'm not one for ordering a lot of product online so this had to be something I could go to a local supplier for.
At first it seemed I was destined to use a very expensive 2 part epoxy made for pools. I suppose expensive is a relative term but it was more than I wanted to spend. Now this is a proven product and thus would be of very little interest to the forum and you'd never have heard another thing from me on it. However I wasn't deterred in my search. There was bound to be a less expensive alternative. I decided to pop into my local Sherwin Williams supply. I spent the better part of an hour chatting with the sales rep. He seemed to get a kick out of the idea of building a tank out of wood. Funny how people react when you tell them you are making an aquarium out of wood. Someone should really start a picture thread of people faces as they react to the idea. Anyway, back to the story... We got to talking about different epoxies and coatings. He was actually very knowledgeable and talked at great length about potable water epoxies vs other types. He even related a story about Shamu and how they (Sherwin Williams) nearly killed Shamu when they coated the aquarium with the wrong epoxy.
He explained to me that potable water epoxies are generally White or Clear and can be dyed pastel colors. I asked why darker colors could not be used and he explained that the darker colors leech and could not be called potable for that reason. Made sense but it also alarmed me considering the color of a lot of our tank epoxies. I figure the color leech is probably not a great concern. Anyway... We got to talking about different epoxies that I could use and all of them we over $100. Then he had an inspiration, a two part epoxy for small bathroom and kitchen projects. The epoxy is meant to mimic tile or porcelain when dry. (it does) It was only 40 bucks and was meant to cover 80 square feet. MORE than enough I thought at the time...
So I get it back to the house and begin assembly. This is a small tank compared to the true monsters here but it's good for a test project. The tank is 100 gallons... well 99.something... It's made from a single sheet of Plywood which makes it ideal imho. We assembled the tank while I growled and griped about the lumberyards cutting prowess. The lumber yard foreman assured me the cuts would be accurate. he wanted to use one of those pull saws you see at the Dumpster or Lowes. I've had bad experiences with those saws and told him as much. He said it was due to the user, not the saw and assured me that it would be fine. I agreed and they cut the wood. Upon assembly i found the pieces to be off or skewed. Thankfully the tank could be assembled to have the problems be on the lip side and shaved down.
When we cut the opening for the glass we began to seal the tank. Let me tell you right now, this stuff is super thin and watery when mixed. The good part however is that it doesn't set for a long long time (ten plus hours to be more specific) this meant we could do multiple coats without having to guestimate coverage with each batch. Simply mix it all up and go. right away however there was a concern. The wood absorbed it BIG TIME. Nearly half of the mix was gone in the first coat and you could still see the wood texture and slight color through the coat. the second coat was MUCH better however and Took only half as much product and began to look like porcelain. There sadly was not enough for an entire third coat. This leads me to the sad realization that I need to buy another batch and finish everything up. This also does not do well with cracks or corner areas. I'll be sealing the corners with silicone. At 80 dollars for the sealant i am not unhappy. It could have been much worse. I could have gone cheaper and done fiberglass but unless you are doing the marine resin with it, it's not all that great. I'll post pictures this evening and reveal the name of the product at that time since for the life of me I cannot remember it now.
Ok, this project was initially meant to be a proving test for Ames sealing products. However Ames is no longer readily available in most store and is not a cost effective method to seal an aquarium for that reason. I had already purchased the wood so it was inevitable that I was building a tank. So I went shopping around for products to use for sealing the aquarium that were inexpensive and readily available. I'm not one for ordering a lot of product online so this had to be something I could go to a local supplier for.
At first it seemed I was destined to use a very expensive 2 part epoxy made for pools. I suppose expensive is a relative term but it was more than I wanted to spend. Now this is a proven product and thus would be of very little interest to the forum and you'd never have heard another thing from me on it. However I wasn't deterred in my search. There was bound to be a less expensive alternative. I decided to pop into my local Sherwin Williams supply. I spent the better part of an hour chatting with the sales rep. He seemed to get a kick out of the idea of building a tank out of wood. Funny how people react when you tell them you are making an aquarium out of wood. Someone should really start a picture thread of people faces as they react to the idea. Anyway, back to the story... We got to talking about different epoxies and coatings. He was actually very knowledgeable and talked at great length about potable water epoxies vs other types. He even related a story about Shamu and how they (Sherwin Williams) nearly killed Shamu when they coated the aquarium with the wrong epoxy.
He explained to me that potable water epoxies are generally White or Clear and can be dyed pastel colors. I asked why darker colors could not be used and he explained that the darker colors leech and could not be called potable for that reason. Made sense but it also alarmed me considering the color of a lot of our tank epoxies. I figure the color leech is probably not a great concern. Anyway... We got to talking about different epoxies that I could use and all of them we over $100. Then he had an inspiration, a two part epoxy for small bathroom and kitchen projects. The epoxy is meant to mimic tile or porcelain when dry. (it does) It was only 40 bucks and was meant to cover 80 square feet. MORE than enough I thought at the time...
So I get it back to the house and begin assembly. This is a small tank compared to the true monsters here but it's good for a test project. The tank is 100 gallons... well 99.something... It's made from a single sheet of Plywood which makes it ideal imho. We assembled the tank while I growled and griped about the lumberyards cutting prowess. The lumber yard foreman assured me the cuts would be accurate. he wanted to use one of those pull saws you see at the Dumpster or Lowes. I've had bad experiences with those saws and told him as much. He said it was due to the user, not the saw and assured me that it would be fine. I agreed and they cut the wood. Upon assembly i found the pieces to be off or skewed. Thankfully the tank could be assembled to have the problems be on the lip side and shaved down.
When we cut the opening for the glass we began to seal the tank. Let me tell you right now, this stuff is super thin and watery when mixed. The good part however is that it doesn't set for a long long time (ten plus hours to be more specific) this meant we could do multiple coats without having to guestimate coverage with each batch. Simply mix it all up and go. right away however there was a concern. The wood absorbed it BIG TIME. Nearly half of the mix was gone in the first coat and you could still see the wood texture and slight color through the coat. the second coat was MUCH better however and Took only half as much product and began to look like porcelain. There sadly was not enough for an entire third coat. This leads me to the sad realization that I need to buy another batch and finish everything up. This also does not do well with cracks or corner areas. I'll be sealing the corners with silicone. At 80 dollars for the sealant i am not unhappy. It could have been much worse. I could have gone cheaper and done fiberglass but unless you are doing the marine resin with it, it's not all that great. I'll post pictures this evening and reveal the name of the product at that time since for the life of me I cannot remember it now.
