Willie's plywood adventure

Willie McDaries

Willie McDaries

Well-Known Member
JoJo,
I think with the top bracing, I"ll just leave it as is,it is extremely rigid now,
hopefully it wont block that much light.

I want some shaded areas in there anyway for some of my low light gorgonians

I might try the rock wall thing with the light diffuser and expanding foam,I've been wanting to do that in a tank,this might be a good tank to try it in.

oh almost forgot,my sister bought the wood for my stand,I'll be working on that this weekend,maybe get some more done :)
 
Jeremy0322

Jeremy0322

Active Member
dude, whats one awesome sister! Wood for a stand for a tank that size is not cheap by any stretch. If she was a member here I would give her Karma :lol:
 
Willie McDaries

Willie McDaries

Well-Known Member
Jeremy0322 said:
dude, whats one awesome sister! Wood for a stand for a tank that size is not cheap by any stretch. If she was a member here I would give her Karma :lol:
Click to expand...

its just the frame work,right now,it was about $50,and yes she is :)

I've been playing with google sketch-up here is sorta what I have in mind for the stand

the top section is 2x6s on 16"centers,the walls are 2x4,in the front will be on 24"centers,in the back 12" from each end and 2 2x4s in the center,that would leave me about 3ft.openings for the sump, does anyone think I should do any thing different for strength,the ends probably wont get the center 2x4s but I will cover with plywood,


this is the front

scan0001.jpg


this is the back

scan0002.jpg


and this is what I drew up before starting the tank

scan0001-1.jpg
 
Jeremy0322

Jeremy0322

Active Member
The tutorials are really the key for SketchUp, once you go through them it is much easier. Then all it takes it time to mess around with it. It gets easier as you get more practice though, and then becomes useful for SOO much in this hobby.
 
Willie McDaries

Willie McDaries

Well-Known Member
after giving it some careful consideration today,I decided I needed to take some vacation time from work and get something done to my stand,the weekend was just too long to wait,

here is what I have done so far,its gonna need some more bracing,but I like it so far.

HPIM2995.jpg

HPIM2996.jpg

HPIM2994.jpg

HPIM2998.jpg

HPIM2997.jpg
 
Willie McDaries

Willie McDaries

Well-Known Member
I think I may double up on the upright 2x4s,after seeing it on here,they look a little flimsy

posting my build on here makes me want to get this thing done even faster :)
 
Willie McDaries

Willie McDaries

Well-Known Member
Basile said:
Hey Willie; awsome man; i'm worried about a wooden tank. I'm, tagging along for this one.
Click to expand...

thanx basile,
after you fiberglass the inside of the tank,the wood is safe from water,the wood is basically there to hold the fiberglass until it sets up,if you use enough fiberglass,it alone would hold the water.

the fiberglass seals the tank and makes it incredible strong,then you paint over that with the Sweetwater epoxy paint,that also waterproofs it,and makes it safe for the fish.

the epoxy paint is what they use to paint the inside of residential water towers.
 
Basile

Basile

Well-Known Member
Willie McDaries said:
thanx basile,
after you fiberglass the inside of the tank,the wood is safe from water,the wood is basically there to hold the fiberglass until it sets up,if you use enough fiberglass,it alone would hold the water.

the fiberglass seals the tank and makes it incredible strong,then you paint over that with the Sweetwater epoxy paint,that also waterproofs it,and makes it safe for the fish.

the epoxy paint is what they use to paint the inside of residential water towers.
Click to expand...

Oh cool, make lots of sense, where do you get that kind of fiberglass.Is it sheets or rolls, i saw what look like plastic that must be it. Is it the same they use for boats?
 
Willie McDaries

Willie McDaries

Well-Known Member
Basile said:
Oh cool, make lots of sense, where do you get that kind of fiberglass.Is it sheets or rolls, i saw what look like plastic that must be it. Is it the same they use for boats?
Click to expand...

I ordered mine from www.fiberglasssite.com most people use the West systems,I couldn't find that brand,so I got the stuff that I used,hoping it would be good too,it seems to work pretty good but I have never used any other brand.

the fiberglass mat is in a roll,looks like cloth,you spread the epoxy resin out like painting,than you embed the fiberglass into that,then you cover it with the epoxy resin,the cloth soaks the epoxy up and it sorta disappears,

the epoxy,when done right,looks like glass,but mine isn't that smooth.
it is used for boat building,thats basically what we are doing,building a inside out boat :)
 
lcstorc

lcstorc

Well-Known Member
thats basically what we are doing,building a inside out boat :)

I never would have thought of it this way but you are absolutely right. How interresting
 
Willie McDaries

Willie McDaries

Well-Known Member
I think that the polyester resin is less resistant to chemicals and more prone to leach out bad stuff into the water also,but when you paint over it with the epoxy paint it doesn't matter,it also has an extremely bad smell as best as I could understand from what I've read on here.

the epoxy that I used had hardly any smell to it :)

the epoxy paint smelled like an automotive paint,very strong odor
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top