Willie's plywood adventure

[Basile]

Originally Posted by Willie McDaries

basile,
this is a project I'm really enjoying doing,I wasn't going to post it until I had it almost finished,JoJo convinced me to start a build thread......it has proved to be a great idea,I've gotten ideas and suggestion I'd never thought of,and used....for that I am truly thankful

I want to try the PVC and foam rock formation thing like you're doing in your tank,I just got to get this thing done first....1 project at a time is all my shop can handle,I can't turn around in there now.....my brain can't process more than 1 thing at a time either,

Same here , all my energy is in this. And it has to be. We always find an obstacle to overcome. The thread ideals is a good one yes. I also got lots of ideals from reefers as well. Plus its nice to report everyday what we've done. Plus i found thats certain question people ask, helps you think of things lol. When you start your structure if you have questions, give me a shout. But you being more handy than me, probably wont need much help. And you probably have a better result than me. I was born with two tumbs and a foot in my mouth lol.

[Willie McDaries]

Originally Posted by Basile

Same here , all my energy is in this. And it has to be. We always find an obstacle to overcome. The thread ideals is a good one yes. I also got lots of ideals from reefers as well. Plus its nice to report everyday what we've done. Plus i found thats certain question people ask, helps you think of things lol. When you start your structure if you have questions, give me a shout. But you being more handy than me, probably wont need much help. And you probably have a better result than me. I was born with two tumbs and a foot in my mouth lol.

yeah,by posting a build on here,it encourages you to do your best and to keep going.......I don't know about being more handy,but I have learned,if you don't do something,you'll never accomplish anything,and if you can help out a fellow reefer as well as get help in the process,its makes success that much sweeter .... I'll for sure be quizzing you on the rock structure,

[Wakeskater02]

Originally Posted by l3fty999

Ok, sounds like you have the stand problem under control, but how much weight can your floor support? I would check it out now while it's convenient to do so. I myself live in a prefab home, so I have to pay very close attention to this.

Good luck
Aaron

That is an awesome framing job! Congrats.

[Wakeskater02]

Originally Posted by 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

How long did it take you to lay-it-up and curation time? Did you use any type of heat for the curing process? My fiance's dad builds the E and F-18 jets for Northrop Grumman and he pretty much uses the same tools.......Just not plywood.....

[Willie McDaries]

Originally Posted by Wakeskater02

That is an awesome framing job! Congrats.

thanks,I just hope it hold the tank up

[Wakeskater02]

Originally Posted by 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?

.

Why don't you just double up the plywood sheet on the top and get rid of the euro brace all together. Even triple it if you have to, an even better idea might be to build a frame that sits within the lip of the tank, or whatever looks the best and use 2x4's to brace the euro top. I would try and consider going with no center brace.

I am not sure how plywood will hold the water pressure though?

[Willie McDaries]

Wakeskater02'
I just click on the FTS link in your post,your tank is beautiful

[Willie McDaries]

I already have 1 3/4" euro piece glued in place in the front,I did double the cross bracing,and the euro will be doubled as well,

I'd like to get rid of the cross bracing but I just don't feel safe enough without it,so I'm gonna keep it.

thanks for the suggestions

[Willie McDaries]

the set-up time on the fiberglass epoxy depends on the temperature,the warmer the quicker,i forget how long it took to set up but I didn't have enough time to work out all the wrinkles before it started curing out,I did use heaters to warm my shop,it was taking forever (seem like) to fully cure,until I fired up the heaters,I had it like 90 deg. in there,

the epoxy paint,at about 90 degrees,set up in about a hour,ready for another coat

[Wakeskater02]

Originally Posted by Willie McDaries

Wakeskater02'
I just click on the FTS link in your post,your tank is beautiful

Well, thank you very much. It's my pride and joy!

Ya they use an autoclave when curing parts for the jets. It's big enough to put 10 full size 18-wheelers in! That's what you need! HA!

Good job on the tank, looks awesome. What made you go with Plywood?

[yungreefer2410]

i would imagine cost and he could make it whatever size he wanted to

[Willie McDaries]

the autoclave would work great,we did have 1 at work about big enough for my tank,but they got rid of it.

plywood is cheaper than glass or acrylic,and more fun to work with

[Wakeskater02]

Originally Posted by Willie McDaries

the autoclave would work great,we did have 1 at work about big enough for my tank,but they got rid of it.

plywood is cheaper than glass or acrylic,and more fun to work with

Sounds good I added the thread, I can't wait to see it when it is done!

[Willie McDaries]

waterskater02,
I don't know if we ever really have these tanks done,but I'll keep everyone updated on the progress until its up and running,then I'll probably slack off on the pics,give it time to grow in,then take more pics,to show how its filling in with the coral.

I think everyone who builds with plywood should maintain a thread for their build,so others can track the longevity of these wooden tanks,I think more people would try this if they could see them holding up infinitely

.........its hard to comprehend,a wooden box with water in it

[Basile]

Originally Posted by Willie McDaries

waterskater02,
I don't know if we ever really have these tanks done,but I'll keep everyone updated on the progress until its up and running,then I'll probably slack off on the pics,give it time to grow in,then take more pics,to show how its filling in with the coral.

I think everyone who builds with plywood should maintain a thread for their build,so others can track the longevity of these wooden tanks,I think more people would try this if they could see them holding up infinitely

.........its hard to comprehend,a wooden box with water in it

Well , now that we know there's fiberglass involve its like you said more or less a boat inside out lol. So no more weird, than a saltwater boat. But it is an unusual way of display that much is certain. I'm gona slack off as well with the pics. Once the thing is done, i have to wait , first for more $$ and then ,the timing. I'm about to leave soon for my work and won't start my tank until i come back. That could be a while. End of summer i predict. So thanks for your updates and your time on my thread.