HOW TO: Build a plywood aquarium | Part 2 | Water proofing TUTORIAL 

I probably never build plywood aquarium but all your videos are interesting to watch.

watching you paint the epoxy was very satisfying, it goes on so smooth and solid. nice build so far, you make everything so simple to understand.

Joey I watched this I think three or more years ago. Still one of my favorite aquarium DIY's.

Instead of using wood glue, I used epoxy glue for jointing. I feel it is extra safety. I also used almost no screws, just many pipe clamps, some longer than the aquarium. The plywood is joint into solid wood first. Also this way the tank is much larger if you add 3 inches of solid wood in L, D and H. I am also a hobby woodworker I used softwood plywood rather than hardwood plywood because I think the glue in the manufacture of the plywood is different. Without epoxy coating for both, softwood plywood generally is more water resistant. The consideration is whether the epoxy coating is so reliable that the matter of glue in manufacturing does not matter.

This is perfect! I have three albino red eared sliders in a DIY indoor "pond" (read: pond liner in a frame in the garage) that looks decent, but still feels like something hastily put together after. I'll definitely watch these videos as I'm planning my next build. Keep doing what you're doing Joey, there's no way I could afford a commercial/custom tank that size as a broke college student.

This type of thing would also make an awesome enclosure for a snake like a boa constrictor that likes higher humidity. I think this pond armour will keep the wood safe really well and it's non toxic. The blakc would be nice too from an aesthetic point of view.

"Im just not a good painter" proceeds to flawlessly coats entire inside of tank

So cool. I don't know if I could build a plywood aquarium, but I sure like watching you build one!!!

Looking really good bro. Love the glossy finish. Came out great!

I built a 215 gallon aquarium 4 years ago and used black because everyone said it pops the colours on the fish but little did i know after 3 to 4 months it started to develop blue green algae because black attracts every bit of the uv spectrum in your lights and they feed off of it. I would go to blue like I did man, good luck with it

This is what i have been looking for! I have been trying to find a product to use for a reptile Vivarium that i have been designing. Part of it will have a waterfall with a pool of water. So this helps a lot to ensure a water surface.

Very well explain on waterproofing the plywood and you made look easy. Fired Up!!! Part 3

Part 3: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-swFoi1J7YTk.html

You should do your seems first, which makes the bond more water tight bonding to the wood and it makes working in the area easier. Painting pro tip. Edit: plus second pass will be a more seamless coat.

That's a awesome build. A plywood aquarium means that giant system will someday be mine. . Great Video.

I have a thought on this project, what if to save money instead of using a paint on sealer you did something a little different. Make the same plywood tank but instead lay in a thin acrylic against the plywood framing and use a thicker piece for the front viewing window?

this is a very good work. excuse me i Speak a little english, i m French and I love your video. thanx.

A roller is better for applying epoxy to fiberglass as you can squeeze out air bubbles. A screen door installation tool works well too

nice video. inspired me to do my own once I'm done with the fish matching setup for dragon.

That pond shield looks bad ass. Never heard of it until now.

As usual great video. You have helped me get thw creative juices going to build my own plywood tank. I used several think coats of Drylok to waterproof it. Wanted to throw the idea to you maybe try yourself, make a video and let us know your thoughts. I personaly used it for the budget and ease and its holding up great for almost 2 years now. (5 gallons for about $140 with plenty to spare) used cheaper plywood and filled in the imperfections. I will have a stand with a 160 gal. tank built in it and a 240 gal. for ontop for under $400 total. (Repurposed glass)

That is actually really good paint job 👍

Man common... All this waiting until next week crap... Just when i think I'm gonna see the finished product lol. Great build man

great project, giving me ideas on my 50 cell betta tank. can't wait till next Sunday

The finish already looks pretty neat. Though i may never go in for a plywood tank, it is really very interesting to watch it being setup by you ! Pond Armor must be really great to work with, though tragically it is not available in my area, a substitute to which comes closest is maybe marine epoxy paint. keep up the good work !!

Hi Joey it looks great so far

Your aro is going to look awesome against that black finish. Can't wait to see it done!

Nice one Joey. Your Arrow in that tank will look amazing.

Hey Joey, Is there any reason why you chose Pond Shield instead of liquid rubber that you previously used on your plywood aquariums?

I want to do this but I don't have any tools, a place to put a tank this large, and dont trust myself to enough to do this properly enough for it to hold water over a long period of time. Will definitely do this once I have space and tools though

Fascinating. You are a modern day Noah.

I have that same Cuisanart measuring cup!

Short fibre or sponge roller is very important. In an emergency, I had to use a "fluffier" roller and it was a very rough result. Mine definitely won't take suction cups.

Wow. Pond quality epoxy is really, really expensive in Australia. Glass is cheaper.

Very impressive Joey

would you ever consider building an indoor/outdoor pond with multiple viewing glass?

Just wondering how this tank held up over the years.. I'm am currently stockpiling to do this build

Good VDO and interesting to watch, but in my country I can build the glass aquarium in the same size but I pay only half price of those epoxy

Great video, luckily I'm skipping this waterproofing step. I plan on using these videos as a guide to build a tank for my bearded dragon.

Another nice build,idea ,and video

I need your help I want to build a huge 8’x12’x4’ plywood pond with a show glass panel where the pond will be with sliding doors up top for my gator enclosure

Awesome Joey, what a great build bruh. You are the DIY KING for sure ! ! !

Hi joey..can u pls make a video on how to diy lily pipes.thanks man.ur subscriber all the way from malaysia.

Hi great video !!! Can I build it without the epoxy ? Or will that destroy the wood

Are you able to wet sand the first coat so when applying the second coat, that it will be smooth and no texture?

Hi! very nice build :) How much epoxy did you used for this tank? And is ti possible to stick glas to the plywood coated with epoxy and use silicone?

Another great video Joey thank you so much

I would also like to know what you use to clean your rollers between coats. What do you clean this up with? Also is it possible to preserve extra pond shield like in the refrigerator or something.

@The King of DIY Is pond armor still your goto in 2020 ? Looking at doing a small 500 odd litre tank,

Would flex seal do the same? I Love you’re videos thanks for all your work

In between coats of epoxy did you clean out the rollers, if so with what? Did you use a new one every day? Great job BTW. I am building a sump using your method. Only bigger.

Nice one Joey... Been looking forward to this!

wood conditioner or sealer works too ^^

Will it still be sturdy enough , if you did a plane of glass on both sides instead of one? Would like to build one for my living room but I have a half wall that over looks my front door. Would love to have a large fish tank there so when you walk in you can see into the tank as well.

Very cool, I didnt know people had plywood aquariums! Cant wait to see the next video, nice work as always

Great Job. Lots of information. Looking forward to next weeks video.

Hi! love your videos. Planing on building one like this. Did it smell a alot? like the days after ? will do it inside my basement with open stairway to my livingroom

Can you use flex seal

It's almost embarrassing to admit how much I look forward to next Sunday's video..

can this tank hold salt water thanks

Great project Joey!!

Still love this tank. I'll make my own someday.

Hallo funktioniert es auch mit der salzwasser ??? MfG

After applying the pond shield after it dries. Do you want to wash off the inside of the aquarium the pond shield.

Love your vids man!

Joey, I've been wanting to build a tank for my Turtle. And I think a plywood one might be the way to go. however what I'm wanting is not a cube, or circular. I want something similar to a swimming pool with a deep end and a shallower end or area. I think I recall you saying in one of your aquarium build vids that it's crucial that all sides have equal pressure. If that is true then I have a problem? Depth is not too important. My turtle is about 8" X 4" and heavy as a rock. I'm currently in the process of constructing a dry deck for him. Not within or on top of my tank. A separate platform that he'll be able to access from a ramp, about 3ft X 4ft.. He likes to jump or plunge and from above? into a glass tank? Currently he's in a 48" by 15" X 18" high glass tank. I want to go 18" deep for about 2 ft of the length in a tank 3 ft wide and either slope up to 12" depth, and again to 6", or step up. The length, say 6ft. My concern is the uneven force applied might cause issues. I'd appreciate your opinion. I'm a skilled wood worker, have a table saw, and can brace and strengthen for a plywood tank. What if I modified my glass tank like this? Would it stress it out? I did it years ago but on a smaller scale with no issues using acrylic and silicone inside a glass tank. Like to show you the double above tank sump filters (from window planters) I used your idea but greatly modified and removed from tank, it's above, but not directly. All pvc'd, valved, bypass, input for water changes, heaters, etc. Thanks

I love the plywood aquariums, they look so good!

Great Work.

Is silicon not a beter option

Do you waterproof the outside ? I wonder how the outside of the tank would handel hevey evaporation

Hi Joey Nice build! Does the pond shield need to be applied to bare wood or can it be applied to pre painted stuff? The reason I'm asking is if it can be applied to pre painted wood then it would be cheaper to seal the ply with some ordinary paint.

This might be a stupid question, but will this method of safely waterproofing the wood still work if this was a saltwater aquarium?

Would this hold up a semi-aquatic melinus monitors claws..?? Has anyone done one for their monitor lizard before?

Hey joey i was wondering what kind of air stone you use in the arowana tank

Would it be okay for me to do a two coat process? What I’m tryna say is, if I put another type of epoxy over the wood and around the seams and all that. Would it eliminate the whole absorption rate thing?

I need a little advice.. My 300 acrylic started to bow and cracked 9 inches down the front center. So I decided to go with this build for a plywood tank (minus the glass). Since I have 24ftx14ft of pond liner, which I intend to use inside the ply tank. Would you still recommend the pond ready paint/proxy?

Great video looking forward to part three :)

great video . What music did you use for the backing track?

Wow. How long will this tank hold up??

Can you use that pond shield on a salt water tank?

Is this safe for a marine aquarium?

When you used the block sander for the seems, was that also a medium grit ? And the over sanding of the first coat, what grit was that to ?

Hey young man; I am to the seal stage with my 397 gallon tank. I see Epoxy as more of a rigid end product. I found on you tube a couple months ago a pool installer who built his plywood tank and used PurmaDri brush on pond coat, a 1 part mixture. I called PurmaDri and talked about my project. They said (like You), screen all corners after first coat. With it going to be "wet" entire life they advised I also need to allow 72 hours cure between coats and I should use 3-4 coats. End result will allow a bit of movement. 5 gallons of this is arnd $250. If I figure a quart per coat, cost per tank would be down to $50. Your thoughts? Best; Tom

Can we use waterproof paints to waterproof it?? similarly by applying it coats after coats??

Do you think it would be ok to silicone the joints instead of fiberglass

I can just see myself looking for a 30ft peice of plywood.... Great vid as usual

hi joey may i know how much did it cost to build it. if you don't mind thanks planning to build 1 haha.

This is so amazing, I love the work so far! I was wondering if you can use the same building method to make a Ball Python enclosure (you know minus the water and maybe a bit more smaller, maybe not lol) I love crafting and DIY and I just wanted to know could this enclosure be useful to my Snake ^w^ thankyou, Great vid!

hmm, do you think you could run some 2000 grit over that and actually polish the pond shield?

Love this and how you refuse to wear masks and gloves. Brilliant work

Hi, how thick was the glass you used, is there a special type of glass?

What if pond shield first before Assembly, what will be the downside?

Hi , I cant find the coating you use. Can I use the following for the plywood inner liner Kit contains: 1kg polyester resin, 39in x 50in fiberglass 300gsm Chopped strand mat, 50ml accelerator, 50 ml catalyst, 2x1" brushes, 2 large mixing cups, 2 mixing sticks and 2 pairs of nitrile gloves, 3 sandpapers (1 each of 80grit, 150 grit, 220 grit). TIA

hello, i have a few questions. 1) do you have to have the pond shield to water proof the tank? 2) are there any alternatives that could be used instead of it?

May I ask do you apply every fiber glass cloth for every corners?

How thick is the glass you are going to be using and what type?

What did you paint the walls in this aquarium that does not let water through?

Wood “flex seal” or any other spray on rubber/liquid rubber work for water proofing etc?

Paint corners with brush first then do the roller

What is better between liquid rubber and pond shield ?