# 1st of 4 plywood tanks.



## bobme (Feb 17, 2003)

I built half my 300 gallon plywood tank today. I will post photos of it when i go back to my house tonight to add some more stuff to it. Only 2 sides are glued / screwed on and are drying right now.

Tonight i will maybe add the other two, or might not. I am not 100% sure yet.

I guess its more like a 350 gallon tank 8 x 3 x 2









I will keep you guys posted.


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## Ender (Oct 5, 2005)

Almost the exact dimensions of the tank I want...cept I'm only interested in 18" high. GL


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

wheres the pics?


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## werdna (Mar 15, 2005)

CANT WAIT TO C THE PICS


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

ditto would luv to see pics


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## B. Rodgers (Jan 20, 2005)

pics pics pics!!!!


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## bobme (Feb 17, 2003)

here are the pics guys.

all of the large 4 x 6;s laying around are the support beams for my 2000 gallon tank. there are 50 of them, about $1000.00 worth of lumber in beams.

Wish me luck









oh yea, enjoy the photos. so far i am about 30 mins into making the tank worth of time.


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## Wussola (Jan 25, 2006)

Nice ... can't wait to see the final pics!!


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## whatsthedeal (Feb 3, 2006)

Next time use birch or maple plywood..exterior ply is crap, cracks,splinters...you have to seal all of the holes and imperfections with putty and paint it. it sucks. If i were you id honestly start over with better materials.


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## jiggy (Jun 27, 2004)

will those seams hold?.. whenever my dad would build sh*t from plywood, he would always cut the edges at an angle so the fitment was tight, and then use wood glue to hold it together, n then nail it.. or hed cut notches in it, n fit it together like a puzzle, n then nail it..


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## whatsthedeal (Feb 3, 2006)

jiggy said:


> will those seams hold?.. whenever my dad would build sh*t from plywood, he would always cut the edges at an angle so the fitment was tight, and then use wood glue to hold it together, n then nail it.. or hed cut notches in it, n fit it together like a puzzle, n then nail it..


It will hold. I hope he pre-drilled and as someone who has built a few tanks himself..start over with better materials man lol. If i were you I would also frame the bottom and top ring of the tank with some 1x4's...furtniture grade.


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## bobme (Feb 17, 2003)

garf says to use this type of ply... I was planning on using cabnit 1 inch ply, $55 a sheet. but i was worryed about it, bwcause its not for out side. I am not to worryed about putty and filling cracks and such, you guys will see later! As long as it holds, i dont care. Maybe next tank i will use diffrent plywood. I am folloing garf's plans but i used longer srews ...

bobme


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## whatsthedeal (Feb 3, 2006)

Ive seen plenty of arcticles that say birch is the way to go. I have built tanks and used both materials...birch is perfect to cut and work with and will give you a much better finish.


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## bobme (Feb 17, 2003)

i will use birch next. As long as this will hold, i am happy.


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## Sheppard (Jul 8, 2004)

bobme said:


> i will use birch next. As long as this will hold, i am happy.


That's good to hear.

The whole idea behind this tank is for practise right?
With 3 more tanks to be built, you will learn from your mistakes from the last 3 plywood tanks.
So far i'd say your doing a fine job


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## bobme (Feb 17, 2003)

I think you guys will like the end product a lot.

I am also going to reenfoce the bottom with 2x4 and bolt the whole system together.

Like i said, I have a great idea for wraping the inside of the tank. no telling untill its done.

However my goal is, to never have water ever hit the expoy. So i hope these tanks might last a lil longer, knowing that the wood is just for holding back weight / water.


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## whatsthedeal (Feb 3, 2006)

a thing layer of expoxy with spray on black rino liner would be nice .


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## bobme (Feb 17, 2003)

Haha!

that sounds cool. This tank is going to be in my video editing room. I want it to look nice, and look like the amazon but i got a spiffy idea. hope it works.

I am so mad at my self right now ...

For the longest time i was going to buy burch 1 inch plywood. Then as i was walking to buy it, i saw the 3/4 ex plywood and i was like oh ... hey, there it is! so i got it ...

Bah, thats all right i will fix it next time.

One more 300 gallon tank, and two 500 gallons are next. then its the 2000 gallon.


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## whatsthedeal (Feb 3, 2006)

bobme said:


> Haha!
> 
> that sounds cool. This tank is going to be in my video editing room. I want it to look nice, and look like the amazon but i got a spiffy idea. hope it works.
> 
> ...


just return any unused wood. trust me man, ext ply becomes a MESS when it comes to finishing the exterior. Go and buy the birch..counter sink and plug visable screws..it will look perfect if you do it right.


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## Fresh2salt (Jul 16, 2004)

your off to a good start cant wait to see the final results


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## bobme (Feb 17, 2003)

whatsthedeal said:


> Haha!
> 
> that sounds cool. This tank is going to be in my video editing room. I want it to look nice, and look like the amazon but i got a spiffy idea. hope it works.
> 
> ...


just return any unused wood. trust me man, ext ply becomes a MESS when it comes to finishing the exterior. Go and buy the birch..counter sink and plug visable screws..it will look perfect if you do it right.
[/quote]

Worse comes to worse i will finish this tank the way it is, and go buy 1/4 inch birch and wrap the tank







to finish it better.


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## wlecount (Jan 22, 2006)

Hey so far the tank is looking great, I'm not sure what the linking policy is but take a look at this 1122.08 GALLON TANK PROJECT!!!. Mainly take a look at the last two pages and the smaller tanks he is currently making. He is using melamine and hopes it will cut out the epoxy step. If he proves it can work I might have to try one for myself.


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

that tank is going to be a beast


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## tnpeter (Dec 17, 2005)

looks good..

but i never under stood why people make plywood tanks?? wats the point...u cant see thouugh them...

plz tell me that iam missing sumthing here


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## bobme (Feb 17, 2003)

tnpeter said:


> looks good..
> 
> but i never under stood why people make plywood tanks?? wats the point...u cant see thouugh them...
> 
> plz tell me that iam missing sumthing here


ummm ... they are called windows, you cut large holes out and we call them windows. they are made of glass or acrylic, and you can see through them.










a 500 gallon plywood tank. Can you see the glass?


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## 86_Monte_SS (Nov 25, 2005)

:laugh:


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## tnpeter (Dec 17, 2005)

oh so there ment for in wall tanks, and theres only one side had glass...i got ya


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

tnpeter said:


> oh so there ment for in wall tanks, and theres only one side had glass...i got ya


no essentially its just like a regular tank but only one viewable side. u can have it on a stand or build it into a wall either or.


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## bobme (Feb 17, 2003)

or you can have 4 windows.


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## ital1anstallion4 (Jan 27, 2006)

ya but how long have these plywood tanks lasted without the seals leaking? and whats the pros/cons to a plywood over a big acrylic, i know cost... but its a lot of work.. weigh out the oppourtunity cost


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## divinelawyer625 (Dec 12, 2005)

congrat bobme.. u finally did it.


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## bobme (Feb 17, 2003)

hehe thanks.



ital1anstallion4 said:


> ya but how long have these plywood tanks lasted without the seals leaking? and whats the pros/cons to a plywood over a big acrylic, i know cost... but its a lot of work.. weigh out the oppourtunity cost


I personaly belive that this plywood thank will last a few years. I wouldnt say 20 years, but i would give it at least 5. Maybe even more after i wrap the inside of my tank. Its not going to be fyberglass!

And if you look at how long i been working on it, 30 mins, i will post how long the whole project toke as well once its done. and the cost of all the wood and paint / glue / glass. I think you will see its a lot cheaper.

A tank this size you cost you prb about 1000-1500 bucks. This take is going to cost my around 330 bucks!

I saved over $1000

I think that a $1000 is worth a few hours to me.


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## MR HARLEY (Aug 12, 2003)

godspeed Bobme


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## ital1anstallion4 (Jan 27, 2006)

bobme said:


> ya but how long have these plywood tanks lasted without the seals leaking? and whats the pros/cons to a plywood over a big acrylic, i know cost... but its a lot of work.. weigh out the oppourtunity cost


I personaly belive that this plywood thank will last a few years. I wouldnt say 20 years, but i would give it at least 5. Maybe even more after i wrap the inside of my tank. Its not going to be fyberglass!

And if you look at how long i been working on it, 30 mins, i will post how long the whole project toke as well once its done. and the cost of all the wood and paint / glue / glass. I think you will see its a lot cheaper.

A tank this size you cost you prb about 1000-1500 bucks. This take is going to cost my around 330 bucks!

I saved over $1000

I think that a $1000 is worth a few hours to me.
[/quote]

alright i agree... thats not something i would get into now... but my uncle has a glass shop anyway... so if i did get into building tanks i would just use left over plexiglass from him... so great post.. great ideas, thanks for sharing bobme!


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## whatsthedeal (Feb 3, 2006)

ital1anstallion4 said:


> ya but how long have these plywood tanks lasted without the seals leaking? and whats the pros/cons to a plywood over a big acrylic, i know cost... but its a lot of work.. weigh out the oppourtunity cost


I personaly belive that this plywood thank will last a few years. I wouldnt say 20 years, but i would give it at least 5. Maybe even more after i wrap the inside of my tank. Its not going to be fyberglass!

And if you look at how long i been working on it, 30 mins, i will post how long the whole project toke as well once its done. and the cost of all the wood and paint / glue / glass. I think you will see its a lot cheaper.

A tank this size you cost you prb about 1000-1500 bucks. This take is going to cost my around 330 bucks!

I saved over $1000

I think that a $1000 is worth a few hours to me.
[/quote]

alright i agree... thats not something i would get into now... but my uncle has a glass shop anyway... so if i did get into building tanks i would just use left over plexiglass from him... so great post.. great ideas, thanks for sharing bobme!
[/quote]

If you build it right it will last you over 20 years.


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## ital1anstallion4 (Jan 27, 2006)

wow, thats longer than some glass tanks!


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## bobme (Feb 17, 2003)

well i think i am building it right, and i am wraping it beter then most thanks have been before. So hey, 10 - 20 years that sounds good to me!


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## bobme (Feb 17, 2003)

Any one else have any idea's or imput?


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## wlecount (Jan 22, 2006)

Dont use the melamine that I said early... The guy who tried it said it begain failing at 48 hours. It was a good idea, but just not water prrof.


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