Plywood Tank Build 300 Gallon

[mike31154]

I know a bit about the fiberglass & epoxy process having built a cedar strip canoe. No clue about plywood tank construction though. The glass epoxy process is indeed not that difficult, but you need a well ventilated area to work in and be prepared to spend a few $$$s on the premium epoxy resin you will need. There are different weights of cloth available, not sure what would be appropriate for a plywood fish tank, but if weight is not an issue, the heavier cloth will add strength.

Various boat building forums & vendors of kits/plans will be a great source of information. My canoe is built from plans produced by Bear Mountain Boats. There's plenty of info there on glassing etc. Along with the plans for the boat I also purchased the book Canoe Craft which provided plenty of guidance with regard to fiberglass/epoxy construction. The epoxy resin I used is the one recommended by many boat builders, the West System. It is pricey but the finish is excellent. With a fish tank you may not be that concerned with the finish on the resin since it will be covered? Hope this helps.

[Cal_stir]

what thickness plywood are you using and are you gluing and screwing?

[Aquattro]

Check Marc's old thread on his 1000g plywood tank, he might have a few tidbits to offer

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=31113

[andy8383]

Plywood is 3/4" inch oak. When attaching the pieces of wood together, we glue first and then screw them together. We are going to fiberglass the entire piece as well, but haven't yet.

And thanks for the link to Marc's thread. Already checked it out during the planning stages. Great build and very helpful.

[Edmonton newbie]

west system has a great book that explains the glassing process very well, east system is a cheaper knock off that i have been using and is very easy to use plus no need for the super ventilation that you used to need while using resins, I would not think twice about using it in my kitchen

[KevinK]

last year I considered building a plywood tank, and checked pricing here and there for the resin.

I found US composite was by far the cheapest, se below, there price point, with shipping to Victoria and made in the us, so no duty, only the local tax:

1x EPOX-635416 = 10 Gallon kit $490.00

1x set of EPX-P41 $6.75

16 yards of FG-C0738 fiberglass cloth $76.00 = $572.75 + $169.98 shipping = $742.73 total


here is what I put on reefcentral
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2064052

even der wille zur macht used it for reef application

[HaZRaTTy]

Originally Posted by KevinK

last year I considered building a plywood tank, and checked pricing here and there for the resin.

I found US composite was by far the cheapest, se below, there price point, with shipping to Victoria and made in the us, so no duty, only the local tax:

1x EPOX-635416 = 10 Gallon kit $490.00

1x set of EPX-P41 $6.75

16 yards of FG-C0738 fiberglass cloth $76.00 = $572.75 + $169.98 shipping = $742.73 total


here is what I put on reefcentral
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2064052

even der wille zur macht used it for reef application

I remember seeing on Monster Fish Keepers someone building a Plywood tank for FAR cheaper then this. I haven't done any research into the matter but I remember thinking that, thats fairly inexpensive. You might want to look on that forum and see wha they have to say as there are alot of Plywood builds there. This was more then 2 years ago tho.