Hi Guys i have a quick question what do u guys think of a Ply Wood Tank?
i read so articals on building them they really dont seem that bad the down fall is only one side to view fish. i have most of the supplys besides the thick ply wood i have all the sealers and the glass. so was really thinking on building one for a Oscar tank and using my 120 gallon for African Cichlids.
My plain was to use two big swimming pool filters that are canasters.
the size is crazy big im thinking 8 foot long, 4 foot tall, 3 foot wide come out to be 718.13 us gallons and 598.2 UK gallons its gonna be located in my basment sound like a good idea or is it way to big for this type of tank.
I have a peace of glassw thats 1 inch thick, 42 inches wide and 90 inches long and its tempered. and i was thinking on using 1 inch thick oak ply and it will be coated with water resistant pant that is fish safe. thanks for the help

wow maybe i will have to look into this.... of course convincing the wife it's a good idea will be another story lol

Plywood tank? No glass? Surely not?

My dad has built these tanks in the past just nothing this big. Im not sure yet if i am gonna do just an idea that poped in my head lastnight because the glass i have laying around i would like it smaller but i cant with the glass i have since its tempered. I can get alot more very cheap because i work for Guardian ( www.guardian.com/en/index1.html ) a IT for them.

Dalton wrote:

that is doable. i had done it before for hotel and restaurant's live fish, prawns, and crabs display. however, i used marine plywood. i am not familiar with the oak ply. just give attention on the jointing edges and corners. that is where most leak problem start when loaded with water. give attention on the framing and support in that area. you may also consider coating it with fiberglass compound for waterproofing and re-inforcement before final coat with fish friendly paints....

thanks for the info i just have to get the final approval from my gf lol we get married this June.

OFL wrote:

with one side viewing glass only

To bad u guys dont live close to me because i can get the glass at cost a 4foot by 8 foot peice 1 inch think cost me $67 dollars so i can make big tanks if i wanted to

What is the life span of one of the tanks? I would really search how many people use them, that's one hell of a lot of water if something goes wrong

i know with all the water proofing (epoxy resin, epoxy hardener, epoxy filler, and marine adhesives ) the tank is like a boat

Christ ofl is right that's going to be one hell of a weight on the wood, what are you going to use to strengthen the sides, 4x2?? i would have thought concrete would work better? I am not putting it down,infact I like the idea.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't even contemplate doing this unless you can actually see one in working order and talk to someone who can give your 100% guarantee that it will be okay.

My cabinet is made out of wood and seems okay. However, I wouldn't like to make a cabinet myself for that amount of weight. You need to know that it is going to support it. In fact, I would imagine that tanks like that are probably almost at ground level. If you think about it, if it's 4 foot high, and it's sitting on top of a structure that has to be big enough to take filtration, it's going to be around 7 feet high, okay if you're one of the Harlan Globetrotters, but not for most people. Your filtration will need to be located behind the tank I would imagine.