Wooden tanks with fiberglass

T

TJay

Has anyone here built a tank using wood and fiberglass.
Before we left the big easy a LFS had built a very nice lagoon prop tank using a wood frame that was coated with fiber glass.

I am wondering how that type of construction compares cost wise with acrylic.
Looks like I could build a 6 by 1.5 by 10 inch high tank from acrylic for under 250 for all materials. Since this is not a display tank and looks are not that important I am just curious if I would do better to go this route.
 
on craiglist I saw some non tempered plate glass 6'x4' .75' inches thick..thought about using a couple for a fish room I am planning ..right now I am into the kitchen stainless steel and granite counter tops cost $$$ .next up the kids room.. master bath ...nick of paint..
Robert
 
I am even looking at prefab plastic tanks.
The thing is I do not need asthetic appearance. I just need something that is about 6 feet long 18 inches wide and 10 inches tall that will hold water and can be drilled for plumbing.

This thing will be in a back room with T5 strip lighting and a home made rubbermade sump.

There has to be a cheap way to do this
 
Welcome to the area
I am hoping to build 2 tanks in a year to 18 months
After I move
Here is a link that a member built awhile back
http://tinyurl.com/pfm38

Sean from Covington, Louisiana is the last one that I was following but he stopped posting all of a sudden
http://tinyurl.com/qbrw9


A lot of people will suggest sani tred
This is the only guy I know who has done it
He told me he had a problem with an oily residue for a while after it cured
http://tinyurl.com/pcxoc
http://tinyurl.com/ofrsb

Here are a couple of links for aquarium glass or acrylic thickness calculators
http://tinyurl.com/mg6ch
http://tinyurl.com/on4j3


Garf a 500g tank
http://tinyurl.com/q6cef

Also you could look on the chilid forums
They have built some 55g to 1700 gallon monsters
http://tinyurl.com/o6nvl

Let me know if there is anything I can do if you start this project

Ken
 
If you bought The Reef Aquarium Vol. 3 contains all the pictures and necessary information to build what you are considering. I just saw it in there last night.
 
Here are a few more
Ken
:D

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=674932&highlight=plywood+tank

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=870110&highlight=plywood

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=751201&highlight=Kents+450+tank
 
Well so far my research leads me to believe that a wooden tank would cost almost as much as a single sheet of 3/8 acrylic and solvents

So being the Mcgiver type, I am now looking for existing vessels that are used for other purposes. I mean the basic design of this thing is fairly universal in that the requirements are not that strange.

I am researching plastic containers, even if no one makes a 6 foot long 10 inch deep plastic container it is possible they make 4 foot or 3 foot ones that could be set up racetrack style.
 
Hmmm... The Tractor Supply one is steel, with a poly liner... It'd be difficult to drill, since to drill it you'd hafta punch through the protective poly liner, so you'd have to make sure to seal up the hole really really well to keep the salt from corroding it...

I DO like the layout, but IMHO it'd be better to stick to a non-metallic based tank...
 
Tractor supply have a lot of the Rubbermaid tanks
50 g to 300 g $60.00 to $190.00
And my favorite 8’ x 2’ round 625 g $230

All plastic, single-piece seamless construction resists rust or cracking. Can be used for small animal dipping, disinfecting and washing. Oversized 1.5 in./3.8 cm drain plug makes for easy drainage and cleaning. Heavy-duty reinforced ribbing underneath for added strength and durability.
 
Ideally you want the poly liner thick enough to hold water and set on a wooden stand
So that is what I am looking for. If you had a plastic container (saltwater safe )

8 x 1.5 by `1 or les then it would rock for this use
 
One way to do it
1-sheet ¾ plywood from, lows or home depot they will usually cut it for free
Deck screws
Polyurethane glue, gorilla glue, Pl 2000, lots of them to choose from
Epoxy paint, garage floor paint
2x2 run along the bottom length wise to support the egg crate
Egg crate
You could get a 24x72x12 tank out of one sheet of plywood
Epoxy floor paint 55.00
Deck screws 5.00
Poly glue 5.00
¾ plywood 25.00
2x2’s 5.00
Egg crate 25.00

Total $130.00

The bunk feeder from tractor supply looks like the way to go
Looks like the galvanized pipe only supports the liner
120 x 32 x 10 $120.00
http://www.tartergate.com/switch.php?fn=catalog.details&cod=1PB5&site=af&emp=af

Ken
 
I don't know about that feeder in particualr, but we use similar ones made for horses, and the trough is completely plastic, it's not a coated metal. Also they make that "bunk" feeder for goats as well that are shorter. They might be worth a look if you can't find something else--cattle are hard on equipment.
 
Tim
If you decide to go the plywood route
I have a gallon of 2 part epoxy with mixing pumps you can have
It is old 2 years, still in the box, I bought it for a project that I did not do
You would need to test it to see if it was still good
Ken
 
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