Willie's plywood adventure

[Willie McDaries]

I have started building a plywood aquarium,something like Varga did,so I'm gonna be asking a lot of questions,and I am going very slow
(money permitting)so bare with me on the updates,but here are a few pics of where I'm at now.

these are before the epoxy paint or fiberglass

 

[Willie McDaries]

here are a few pics after the fiberglass

you can see in some of the pics where I bondo ed over the screw holes

 

[Willie McDaries]

here is where I am at now on the tank

I'm gonna leave the back of the over flow as plywood so there'll be no mistaking that it is a plywood tank

 

[Willie McDaries]

I want to use 1 center brace and do a euro perimeter style,
I'm gonna use a sheet of plywood for this and just cut out the holes

how wide do I need the perimeter to be to keep it from bowing?

how wide does the center brace need to be?

.

 

[Reddog170]

I cant answer your question. I can say that your tank is looking sweet. I will follow along and watch how it goes. Great job so far, Shaun

 

[Witfull]

watching with diligence~

im skeered to do this!

 

[Cavinca]

And i worry when i spill water on my tanks wooden stand...

I sooo want one of these.

 

[jcgardner]

This is going to be awesome. Maybe I can learn enough and attempt it myself when we do the addition to our house. Good Luck, I'lll be following along.

 

[Willie McDaries]

thanx everyone,

I did do some more today with the top bracing,the 2 braces that have the bulk heads on then is the 2 I really want to remove but I don't know if the perimeter bracing will be enough between the end and center brace to keep it from bowing,I will leave the center brace for sure,any advice would be appreciated

 

[Willie McDaries]

here are some more pics,

 

[lcstorc]

Gotta admire you. I can barely make a stand that doesn't wobble.
These tanks have always fascinated me so I will be following along as well.
I wish I had an answer on the brace question. Sorry

 

[Jeremy0322]

:chair: Im clueless on your questions, but fascinated and along for the ride!

 

[Willie McDaries]

thanx guys,

I am at a stand still for a while,but I'll post pics as I get more done,money is really tight right now,they cut our hours at work and it dont look good right now.it may be a few months
I still haven't found glass close to home,glass cages quoted me a price of $175,I could drive down and pick it up,but that be about a 5 hr drive each way and probably cost $150 or more in gas.

 

[sambrinar]

Wow the tank looks great! I am following along as well. Very interested in how this is gonna turn out!

Sorry I am clueless about the brace as well

 

[jcgardner]

Just my 2 cents, I would leave the braces because that is going to be a lot of weight and pressure in that box. I am no carpenter or engineer but if it was my build I wouldn't want to chance it.

 

[Willie McDaries]

thanx for the input jcgardner,I'm not sure of it either,there is no doubt in my mind of it holding like I have it now,its very strong,but the cross bracing is gonna block some light.

before I put the top on,you could pick up on a corner and it would twist a little but after the top,no more twisting its very rigid now

 

[JoJo]

nice job so far Willie. i told you it would be well worth starting that thread. i'm not sure if you need all the braces or not. how many does Varg have?

 

[Willie McDaries]

I think he added 4,but he used all thread,it doesn't block any light,thats what I should done.but didn't leave enough room for the all thread.

 

[JoJo]

can you use tie rods to reduce the light blockage?

 

[Willie McDaries]

can you use tie rods to reduce the light blockage?

thats what I was calling all thread I think