Building a plywood frag tank. Need some info!

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Originally Posted by sphelps

Building a glass tank would still be a DIY project as much as a plywood tank. Although plywood can be shaped this is not an easy task nor do most people have the tools to do so and in addition I'm not sure what that benefit would be. Chances are the plywood tank would be identical in size and shape of what you would build from glass. Building a tank from plywood would be more difficult, you have to cut the material, glue and screw it together with pre-drilled holes, then you have to prep the surface and remove excess glue, then paint at least three coats of the most toxic paint I've ever used, and then finally silicone all the seams. Although the paint isn't toxic once dry it's horrible when you're painting it on and not many people have vented areas to work in.

Having built both plywood and glass tanks before I can assure you glass is easier and superior for most applications and is even easier to clean and maintain, not to mention it's clear.

With larger tanks or multiple small tanks plywood can be a good choice but in my mind the major advantage with a plywood build is cost savings. When building a plywood tank you have to use premium grade plywood which starts at around $60 per sheet, I can build a 36x24x12" glass frag tank for around $60-80 quite easily and it would only take around 30min.

From most of the builds I have looked at and researched it works out that unless the tank is larger then like 200Gal its cheaper with glass. Plywood builds are great for huge builds (1000Gal and such) without breaking the bank. I agree I think there more work but easier for myself then working with glass (not much experience there) The other downside with plywood is most builds that follow up show limited long term results. Its a fact that epoxys and glues can fail with repeated cleanings and banging around and I havent heard of any 30year old plywood tanks yet (keeping my eyes and ears open), glass however is pretty common. But I also would like to know where your getting your glass from. A few pieces for my coast to coast was $150.