DIY Wooden tank

HAHA...

When I saw the first picture and how the tank was lying on the ground... I immedietely knew what was gonna happen. I had visions of it falling forewards and cracking the glass!

Dude... I would do another test on that tank before putting it inside. THe movement / stress of the tank going sideways like that can very easily dislodge any sealant / joint!

 

Oh, and do the test on SOLID ground!

 

Lol amazing how i never saw that coming!

Will Do, maybe tomorrow or on the weekend. Weather isn't good right now and im very tired!

Still need to do alot!

 

Tank is fulled! So far can see no leaks....going to leave it till the weekend. MY NERVES! Hope it doesn't burst!

 

I have to admit, I like the idea behind what you have done here @TroyFish

The only draw back is that if the tank develops a minor leak, let's say a small one that goes undetected for even 1 day... the wood will absorb the water. I know marineply / shutterboard is suppose to be water proof, but the better word for it is actually water resistant, not proof. We work with the stuff on our building sites, and I can guarantee you, it is not water resistant, or water proof. It lasts longer in wet conditions than something like pine or chipboard. So getting back to my concern... if a small leak occurs, the leak will be at a join, where you have the grain end of a board absorbing the wood... The wood will expand, and cause a weak spot.

I know I'm being "pessimistic"... just pointing out what you need to look out for.

 

Sounds alot like Mr HH a "friendly wiseguy" lol

Tank looks awsome boet "tap on the shoulder"

 

@Zoom

I hear what you say and thats my biggest worry.

What i have done is applied a full tube of silicone around the corners and front pane again just in case. Then i painted over it.

Hopefully this wont ally water to pass through the joins. The bottom, sides and back should be perfect as iv done about 6 or so coats.

Drained the tank last night as they needed to paint the wall....atleast gave me time to add something that might make it look 'better' will post pics later on tonight


@thysie thanks bud!

 

@TroyFish Enjoying this progression!

 

All i did was add rope in the front of the glass.



P.S that tank on the stand isn't this tanks sump...too small. Just used it to see where it will be placed.

 

dude.. have you considered lining the inside of the tank with fibreglass?

you know like a pool type of thing? this would i think be slightly flexible, shoudl any movement occurr with moving the tank etc, with the wooden "box" essentially keeping it in shape... and the chances of leaks would be almost zero.

 

Yip did. Apparently the slicone doesn't hold long on fiberglass.

 

According to chatting to my pool contractors, fibreglass could be an option, however the bond between fibreglass and the wood (and even plaster for a pool) eventually debonds (after 12-18 months) and the fibreglass relies on the pressure of the water pushing it against the wood (or plaster in the case of a pool) to keep it's shaper and integrity. Eventually when you do a waterchange, you will find pieces of fibreglass breaking off as there is no pressure holding it in place.

All this information according to owner of Pool Renovators.

 

well, now i'll know not to try that! lol

thanks!

 

Please ask him if it would help, if you would put screws into the wood at regular intervals. The screw head will just stick out far enough to give the FG something to hold onto. The screw then cannot pull out of the wood and the FG cannot pull out the screw. Ask him if this will work for a pool as well.

I had the same problem with my pool and have re-done it myself. What a job! I have cut a horizontal gap into the cement, just underneath the top layer of kerbstone, right round the pool and forced the FG in. I hope that will be sufficient to hold it in place! I do not feel like doing it again in a few years! But yeah, I can vouch for FG pulling away in time.

 

The way you do FG lining on an existing cement / marble pool is to cut a keygroove +- 3-2 cm deep 5 cm below the top edge. Then you use pregel (essentially resin with thickener) and cork that into the groove - smooth it of but do not sand. While the gel is still tacky add your first band of glass fiber and then complete the job by using a good mix of resin - mat - MEK with an aluminum roller. (Hint: mix the resin and MEK in a bucket that is lined with a shopping bag that way you can remove the bag and left resin and save on buckets) Let this all cure to the point that it is waxy - now give it alight sand (grider with a sanding disc works best) then apply your tissue mat with resin - allow to cure but still be tacky, then apply the final flow coat. If done correctly it should last you more than 20 years depending on the quality of resin and GF used.



Troyfish - I concur silicon on fiber glass is a bad idea.

Later ferdie

 

Ferdie, where were you when I have done the pool? haha!

 

Thanks for sharing the info guys.

Back OT...tank is filled again. Hopefully it can stay that way for a few days or so while i start looking for a sump...any one got? Or a spare 3ft lol Dam you @SHiBBY!

Luckily i have lights and heaters and what not.

What should i keep? Want a species tank.

Kendall

 

Bare bottom ? Or you going to put a some glass down so that substrate / rocks do not penetrate the 2K ?

Later Ferdie

 

Polystyrene on the bottom then PFS over that then rocks or whatever. Have thought about rocks scratching the paint off dont worry lol

 

Good - cause from what I have read the biggest issue with wooden tanks is the small pinhole leak in the lining that goes undetected and then a year later the wooden structure is compromised by rot.

Later Ferdie