Anyone Have/Build A Plywood Tank?

[rastaangel]

Up until now being a glazier I have never even thought about building a plywood tank... Until today when I dropped a fish off that a few reefers place and seen here 2 nice plywood tanks which really got me thinking...
First off it would be far cheaper then my cost of glass, and working at a glass shop I get it at cost
Second a sheet of 1" plywood weights less then half what a sheet of 12mm glass weights and having to hold a huge glass tank above your head to get it in your place sucks
Third plywood is alot harder to break then glass... Thats obvious
Forth it can also be mechanically fasten which means the tank can will be far less likely to fail at the joint
I have done some google searching and found a few resources and have come to the conclusion it would be a ok option but I would like to hear from some people that have plywood tanks or have built them before I even plan this undertaking.

[Cal_stir]

I to am concidering a plywood tank, I have been researching and reading some build threads on RC. I came across these

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2022040 if you scroll down there are some build links

http://www.garf.org/tank/BuildTank.asp

It's a lot easier to do the plumbing as well.

[rastaangel]

Plumbing isnt a issue as I have all the stuff to drill glass at work. Its more the weight savings and durabilty I like

[Cal_stir]

Ya but I still would rather drill wood than glass, we want a tank that is at least 40" deep and possibly 96" long and 24 to 30" high so wood makes more sense. I am contiplating laminating 3/4" plywood for extra strength and bonding an angle iron frame around the top to act as eurobracing so there are no cross braces.

[rastaangel]

I was also thinking of using steel for the brace... Guess great minds think alike LOL.
I thought of making the top ring 4" wide and using a 3" peice of 1/4" steel the full length of the tank and using a peice of glass for a center brace basiclly just for something for the top cover to rest on and still allow light threw... Cuz I know that 1/4" steel isnt gonna deflect.
I would also probably 2x2 twill carbon fiber and mechanically faster the steel in place as well as do all the corners with a layer of carbon fiber before I did the full epoxy layers so the corners are bullet proof

[Cal_stir]

carbon fiber never crossed my mind, just epoxy and fiberglass mat, I would bond all the plywood joints with epoxy instead of glue and bond the 2"x2"x1/4" angle iron with fiberglass mat and epoxy. I want it viewable from the front only and rock walls on the other 3 sides built from reef saver rock glued with pond foam. I'm thinking of a combination of ocean motions and sea swirls for movement, but I see OM is out of business for now.

[Werbo]

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...ighlight=Fudge

It was alright...

[rastaangel]

Fiberglass is far cheaper then twill weave 2x2 carbon fiber... But I have a 600 yard roll of it that I use for making automotive parts, accent panels, covers, and super light weight sub boxes for sports cars so its not like I cant spare some to do the corners. But I still might use fiberglass just cuz its 1/3 of the price and its all gone be covered with a ton of epoxy anyways.
I would do a closed loop but my grandpa(land lord) wont allow me to use plumbing that that is holding back 100% of the tank volume just in case of failure.
Which makes me wonder... Think all these magnets on powerheads would hold the same of plywood? Think a MP60 would work threw plywood? LOL

[Cal_stir]

Originally Posted by Tyler Werbowski

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...ighlight=Fudge

It was alright...

Is the tank still running?
I thought your aquascaping was great.

[Snaz]

I helped build and plumb three all plywood tanks that were designed to temporarily hold LR I harvested in the Florida keys. The tanks were all plywood and resin measuring 8'x4'x20" they were a b*tch to build and I probably lost far too many brain cells to that horrible resin... This is of course no use to you or this thread but I felt like sharing.