# Plywood Aquarium



## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

Hey guys,

I've seen these around and heard about a great DIY project you could do with that Gap Filler spray as apparently it's aquarium safe. I'm just wondering if anybodies ever made one of these. I'm thinking about giving it a shot for my trio of turtles because the 55gallon's just not fair to keep them in anymore at their size... And yes I know how big turtles get and believe me... how smelly they can be 

Good news is they're evil and hate everybody but each other lol


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

Check out monsterfishkeepers.com 

They have lots of great info on these


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

Right on. Yeah my Turtles need a better home :\ but not a better one away from me lol


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## mr.wilson (Dec 29, 2012)

Ryan.Wilton said:


> I'm just wondering if anybodies ever made one of these.


I've made a few...


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

Holy crap!! I was thinking a little more basic lol


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## snaggle (Feb 19, 2010)

Where is that last one? I would love to go see it.


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## mr.wilson (Dec 29, 2012)

snaggle said:


> Where is that last one? I would love to go see it.


Krakow Poland... bit of a drive


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## snaggle (Feb 19, 2010)

mr.wilson said:


> Krakow Poland... bit of a drive


Lol a little bit of a trip maybe some day. It is very nice work do you have a web site with more?


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## Crumbs (Mar 8, 2008)

Very creative Mr. Wilson.

Here are a couple foam projects I did years ago.




























And a video


And a much smaller scale for Dendrobates. There was a false bottom to the tank. The tank drained to a filter and returned off the top of the rock work fore a waterfall.


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## Blitzcraze (Dec 16, 2011)

mr.wilson said:


> I've made a few...


Wow amazing where did u build those a zoo?

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

So I don't think people on here quiet understood what I was asking to see. Although these are spectacular, I'm looking to see somebody tank/pond that was built from plywood and sealed properly. I'm planning on build a plywood pond (7'x3'x2' OD, ID=6'x2'x2'). It's going to be double reinforced as well I plan to use pond liner (with an underlay) to avoid any possibility of leaking as it's in my Dad's office and he doesn't own the place, rather has been leasing it for the last 10 years.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

MFK man is the best forum for builds like this.

We have great members here but nothing can keep up with the constant 1000+ DIY plywood projects you see there.

Pretty funny though you ask about plywood and you get foam lol


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

I noticed that too lol.


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

So I thought I'd show you guys what I'm planning on building. The interior will be lined with pond liner, it'll also have an under layer which will aid in preventing leaks by cushioning the liner. I'm hoping that all will go well and that this will work out perfectly.










As you can see I plan to add posts to help support the water weight, by my calculations the pond should hold rough 200 gallons (I hope) I'm sure if I do the calculations it may be a few more or less but w.e. It's better than the current 60 gallon puddle that sits 6" tall and holds 4" of water... what a waste of space.


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## mr.wilson (Dec 29, 2012)

Ryan.Wilton said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I've seen these around and heard about a great DIY project you could do with that Gap Filler spray as apparently it's aquarium safe. I'm just wondering if anybodies ever made one of these. I'm thinking about giving it a shot for my trio of turtles because the 55gallon's just not fair to keep them in anymore at their size... And yes I know how big turtles get and believe me... how smelly they can be
> 
> Good news is they're evil and hate everybody but each other lol


Sorry, other than the thread title, you didn't mention anything about plywood tanks. Your question was about gap filler, so I answered.

Plywood tanks work well, but they are still expensive to make. Ideally, they should be made of marine grade teak or mahogany plywood with stainless steel screws and epoxy, but you can do a more economical version with good one side fir plywood and two part polyurethane paint.

Composites Canada in Mississauga has the coatings you need. The West System of epoxies is also a good line of coatings and available at marine shops.
http://www.compositescanada.com/product.php?idProduct=376

You will need to use cross braces if the tank is taller (over30"). Use carpenters glue and deck screws to fasten the seams. For larger projects you may need to use fibreglass fabric to reinforce the seams. You can use bondo to seal holes and cracks in the plywood, or you can pour epoxy in the voids. I like to seal the inner seams with silicone as well. GE 1200 or RTV should be used.

If there is a viewing panel, you can use RTV silicone as a gasket to seal it. The glass viewing panel is pushed against the inner frame by the water pressure to a certain extent.

Dana Riddle wrote a good article on the subject recently. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/12/aafeature

If you are trying to save money, a Rubbermaid stock tank is the cheapest option. 
http://www.rubbermaidforless.com/agriculture-stock-tanks-category-15_18.html


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

Well as you can see from my design and description, I don't actually plan on using epoxy. So to me the wood type isn't relevant as I'm using a pond liner. The stock tub is a good idea though as I did all the calculations and since I'd be keeping the water level at 20" it'd be roughly 180gallons. The cost of the pond total with building materials was going to rack up about $550, which is I think is close to a 180gallon brand new without a stand.

The fun part though is I get to build the aquarium which I enjoy doing, as well, they may be costly but if I was to upgrade to say twice the size (12'x6') the cost would only range around $900 and probably be around 350-400 gallons. At that point it's cheaper than the 400gallon aquarium.

Plus the stock tubs don't fit the dimensions. I have a closet at the side, and it's in an office so a perfect rectangle is preferred for the cleanliness factor.


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## Crumbs (Mar 8, 2008)

Unless you really want a project I would just buy an FRP or fibreglass tank. Poly tanks come in all shapes and sizes. Check out plastictanks.ca. Dave would be happy to find something to fit your needs.

Fibreglassing really sucks and you do not want to be doing that kind of work inside of your house. Pond liners are just uguly. 
But regarding building a fibreglass tank, here is a tank that I built years ago. I was itchy for months.
http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3870


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

If it's an indoor pond and properly designed to be aesthetically pleasing, then how is the pond liner ugly? It's not like it'll be over hanging and left there. It's for my Dad's Corporate office (anybody hear of Clintar?) so it'll have to look prestigious.

And the whole point of the pond is to have a real project. Once the woods cut though it won't take more than a day to build and instal with my fathers help. The main part of the project was coming up with a design that would fit in place and support the weight.

I will look at the plastictanks.ca site however, how reputable are they?


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

I just looked at the site you gave me and I read something interesting. All of their rectangular tanks that would be holding water would need side supports. So building the plywood aquarium would actually be cheaper as I'd still need a support frame.

I plan to use pieces of slate combined with cheap silk plants to make it look like an actual rock wall in a jungle habitat or something of the such. As time goes with the project I will post more information. Then maybe I'll be the PLYWOOD MASTER! lol


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## snaggle (Feb 19, 2010)

You can check out this build here http://albertaaquatica.com/


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

Not at work I can't lol it's blocked for being hobby/recreation... Yet this site isn't  I guess I'm luckyish lol


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