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- Sep 11, 2015
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I plan on building my own plywood tank sometime, and I think I have found pretty cool design. It's got 2 full-length viewing windows and it's 8 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 2 feet high. Now obviously there won't be sharks in here like I really want, but it will be a predator... reef. The thing I'm most concerned about right now is whether or not the tank is worth building though - it can hold the majestic angelfish and harlequin tusk that I really want, and everything else is going to be molded around them. Here's the link.
Couple of questions:
Couple of questions:
- Is this thing sealed off well enough? They used epoxy paint, forget which brand though. I will likely be using Pond Guard as it's the cheapest I've found. Would it be sealed off well enough using polyurethane adhesive (which is what they used on the corners and edges) and the epoxy paint, because I really don't want to fiberglass it.
- Is it braced enough? The thing is solid 3/4" plywood with only top bracing, which seems a bit unsafe to me. I would be bracing mine with 2x4s on the sides and bottom just in case as well as the top. After that I'll probably use stain-grade plywood around the bracing frame and stain it so it looks nice.
- That glass - will it stay? I considered using acrylic instead because I thought their glass was too thin, and getting it thicker would be expensive - I was wrong! A 4x8 (what I need) piece of acrylic would need to be 1/2" thick, preferably thicker, in order to not explode. That would be $600. Instead, I found a piece of glass that was the recommended 3/8" thick for $192. I could go with 1/2" glass and that would be $288 which is still pretty cheap IMO. So glass it is. The problem is, they just siliconed it straight to the wall with no support on any sides. Would it be a better idea to make a wall ahead of time and sandwich the glass pane inbetween 2 separate walls? Let me know if this is confusing and I'll explain it better.
- It would be safer to use bolts in some weak spots right? I would probably countersink a few holes at major breaking points in the tank and put a big stainless steel bolt and washer inside of there. Good idea or no?
- The stand - it will probably be made from cinder blocks and 2x4s (or larger) and possibly cemented together (the cinder blocks), if not attached straight into the floor. After that, I'm going to use stain grade plywood around it and build doors - so it's a low-cost stand on the inside, but on the outside we've got a pretty sweet look.
- How would I go about hiding the skimmer? I'm also going to DIY this because it's about half the cost, it's going to be a counter-current skimmer 8" wide and 5 feet high. No access to a nearby room and the sump will be below the tank. I might put up a portable shade next to it and just call it that.
- Good source of cheap rock for the tank? I don't really want to make my own because it's pretty labor intensive and takes a long time.
- Good source of cheap sand? I am contemplating pool filter sand but is it appropriate for sand dwellers like jawfish? I'm pretty sure it's illegal to take sand from the beach so that's out of the question.
- Kind of off topic here, but how hardy are Aussie LPS corals? I would really like to add a few into this tank along with zoas and mushrooms, and I'll most likely go with T5's on this tank.
