Some cons to having a plywood tank Instagram: off_the_deep_end_aquatics / off_the_deep_end_aquatics United Arowana Facebook group: / 2492359847716956 DIY Monster Fish Keepers Facebook group: / 281335892638909
had this problem myself, so did my neighbour , way back when in the day, my old school fish yoda, if the seams split., drain the tank completely. then go along the seams and clean them, then go along the seams with a heat gun, then forget about industrial resin and epoxy, we used clear acrylic, nail polish, (french manicure) stuff, my neighbour years ago got it from the pound shop, what Americans call the dollar store, i i ordered mine from eBay in bulk. the seams must me clean and free from grease. paint on the acrylic varnish. then go over it again with the heat gun. problem sorted. my old neighbour, worked for london zoo and london aquarium.original fish yoda. and i've kept fish, and diy tanks for over 25 years,,, trust this knowledge. liquid acrylic, nail varnish and the heat gun before and after solves all leaks. (along seams) and dries so hard fish can't eat it. or chew it. ...
My plywood tank has been running since 2014 minus down time to re paint it twice. The plecos are very hard on the epoxy. I'm glad I sealed the wood with a resin first. Great video!
@@OffTheDeepEndAquatics yeah it is not fun. I always have a pool on hand to move fish if need be. The big panaque tear the coating up fast about to have to recoat again
My 1000g was at 4 1/2 years without any concerns. Im reducing it to a 450g currently for easier maintenance and less energy usage. Adding a new back wall within an existing build is proven a bit challenging, however it seems good after applying fiberglass to all corners and seam and 4 full coats pondarmor. There are a few fiberglass fibers raised, however its snug into corners.. I had 6-7 coats on existing tank where I tied into. The pond armor is very strong when cured. I treated a small piece of wood for curisity. It was hard to make a gash with flat screwdriver and hammer. A LFS owner told me of several plywood tanks he had built. Theyre running great still at 30 years. Wooden boats last very long time
I watched this build. Couldn't tell from the original video. But that seems it's peeling up from not sanding between coats of epoxy. Hopefully the under layers were still in tact. Love the channel my man .keep up the great work.
The 1100 was a neoprene epoxy that did not require sanding between coats. The 1,500 was interseal 670HS two part epoxy which only required sanding between coats of the last coat had been cured for a certain amount of days. I forget how many days it was. Regardless I sanded between coats for the ones that required it at the time. Especially because I added more coats after installing the glass. Both tanks pealed because they were chewed on by stingrays. The 1500 stopped when I added rocks along the bottom seams which made it so the rays couldn't get at it. Didn't matter both tanks had over 10 coats each and were no where close to leaking
Interesting video and well done and explained!!! I see a lot of comments down below as far as putting rocks up against the walls and the response. I think this might come down to the style of the rock. Personally, I think it might look kinda sweet to do some aquascaping with some flat/flag stone up against the back wall as opposed to a flat empty tank. I build mine up with gravel between the rocks as I'm stacking them and really beefing up the areas between each stone making it so the rocks can not be moved by any fish. Continue doing this as you go higher and higher and also bring some of them forward giving it nice dimension and integrity to the rock sculpture. Now, granted...Take caution when building this up around the window areas, but once its built there should be no movement. By doing this will make it so the chewing has stopped and the integrity of the tank is not compromised thus extending the life of the aquarium and also making this master piece that you spent countless hours on look more natural and life like. Great work on the channel and your involvement in the hobby!!!
Great job. This is a really honest video bro. Good job showing us all the ups and downs of the hobby. Side note: Thank you for sharing a side of the rays that some of us may not have ever known. #waterpuppies lol
WEST System Epoxy and fiberglass rowing mat would solve all of these problems. If you have some chewing critter: extra layers and include Kevlar as one layer. Not too expensive and literally bullet proof. You can coat away as much as you want. More than three to four is a waste unless you amour it with fibers and wont do any good. WEST system Epoxy however has the best properties for being "bendy" without cracking, but again a waste without fibers in it. Those chips look like epoxy delaminating more to tune of surface not being clean when applying or in someway not prepared correctly. This is basic boatbuilding, inside-out. You can use the epoxy you used for a final coat. WEST does need to be covered for the UV rays. Without it would be brittle over time. WEST is not the cheapest but it is the best.
Mike clownload eats a little chunks of silicone it's pretty rare he hasn't done it in a while but he's about 10yo and the silicone looks like Swiss cheese
So basically you really have no idea what you're doing... With fiberglass nor epoxy... And a short time from now you're going to cut it up a and throw most away... What a waste of resources... First you put gelcoat to top fibeglass...like a boat hull... Epoxy needs a primer to bond to fiberglass and it needs sanding between coats... And one really needs to assume the thing is going to be removed at some point in time... So build all walls separate and bolt together then seal them up... Just a thought from a engineer...
I honestly thought you were going to tell us you were an expert plywood tank builder by how indepth your review was of what the op did and did not do. Later to find out you're an engineer and I'd be willing to bet every dollar I've ever made you have never built a custom plywood aquarium like this yourself. When you reply with a link to your own plywood aquarium builds you'll prove me wrong. My suggestion would be for you to comment your expertise in an industry you're actually an expert in, some sort of engineering of whatever type you work in every day. But like I said I'd love to see your links to your mass production facility of plywood custom large aquariums.
@@johnrickles3378 Sir I Do have DIY Ivideos posted about the construction of solid poured concrete ponds and pools and my construction method... Also have experience with boat hull repair. But when it comes to aquariums I build with Glass and I have a video of My fish room posted... When it comes to plywood I have paid for 8 homes with my knowledge of how to build and repair things...
@@toddwhite3217 ya I just watched one of your videos, funny enough your comments are off. Fish room looked nice over besides the stand for your koi tank, looks extremely underbuilt and the tank is clearly overpopulated and green. Those koi cannot be happy in their. I'm guessing you turn your comments off because you are great at criticizing others but can't take any yourself and I'm sure if I watched the video or videos I could go on and on and on with everything wrong you've done as someone who's been a fish finatic for 30 plus years but would that help someone like you? No not at all.
