Up coming plywood tank project
- Thread starter brian_e
- Start date
Willie McDaries
Well-Known Member
if your coral are doing good as is,I wouldn't worry so much about increasing the whites,you probable already have enough PAR as is,if you get to much it could start bleaching your coral
Willie McDaries
Well-Known Member
a PAR meter will be extremely handy,to my understanding,LEDs are a bit deceiving to the naked eye,you'll have way more PAR than what appears to your eye because the light is extremely focused downward rather than scattered everywhere,like with conventional lighting
Willie McDaries
Well-Known Member
very nice frags
Ok I went through this whole build.....thats is just amazing what you have built.
We have an old bar in the back wall of our living room I would love to do something like this......but I know nothing about fiberglass work either.
You did one hell of a job and will enjoy for years to come.
We have an old bar in the back wall of our living room I would love to do something like this......but I know nothing about fiberglass work either.
You did one hell of a job and will enjoy for years to come.
Willie McDaries
Well-Known Member
it is surprisingly easy redfish,my tank was my first attempt at fiberglass
Maybe tell us or me a little about the actual construction. So you screw the plywood together I assume 3/4" wood then you also used liquide nails?
On the fiber glass part is that several coats and sanding after each coat or what?
Then how do you seal the glass to the wood in the front? what keep the glass in place and from leaking?.......so many questions I have.
On the fiber glass part is that several coats and sanding after each coat or what?
Then how do you seal the glass to the wood in the front? what keep the glass in place and from leaking?.......so many questions I have.
Willie McDaries
Well-Known Member
I basically built a wooden box,using 3/4" plywood,with a big hole cut out for the glass,leaving about a 2" rim around the front for the glass to set against,I used drywall screws,every 2" apart,pre-drilled and countersunk all the holes,I used a polyurethane base construction adhesive in all the seams.....
once all that was done,I applied my fiberglass epoxy in the corners and then embedded the fiberglass mesh strips into the still wet epoxy to reenforce the corners,I did all the corner seams first,then applied more epoxy to each flat surface and added more mesh,overlapping the corners as well,I then added 2 or 3 more coats of the epoxy on top of that.....
you don't have to sand between coats if it is done in a certain amount of time...once all the fiberglass epoxy was dry,I then painted it with Sweetwater epoxy paint for the final color,after 3 or 4 coats of that,I lightly sanded where the glass would set and applied a lot of silicon and set the glass into place with the tank face down so the weight of the glass would be against the silicon,I added those little 1/8" thick rubber cabinet door bumpers to the frame before adding the silicon so that the glass wouldn't squeeze out too much silicon...
they claim that silicon doesn't adhere well to epoxy and it is only used as a gasket in this application not really holding the glass too firmly,but I beg to differ,whoever stated that claim obviously never tried to remove excess silicon from epoxy
that's about the gist of it
Stunning Gorgeous Brain - well done ! Love your beautiful fish too - that is quite the frag collection too 
Thanks for the update - love seeing RS founding members (2003) posting
Thanks for the update - love seeing RS founding members (2003) posting
Willie McDaries
Well-Known Member
Brian,that is quite a transformation since March,well done sir,it's absolutely beautiful,coral colors are magnificent...just imagine what it will look like in about a year,all those coral are gonna be huge at the rate they're growing now,this tank alone proves to me that LEDs work and are here to stay....I love seeing these wooden tanks thrive like yours has too
Im curious, you said this was going in a mobile home, did you have to reinforce the floor? Also, about your floor, is your steel system underneath the steel joist like beams running the width(i see this on most single wides) or is it (like what i see under alot of double wides) one of those u shaped steel supports?