DIY 300 gallon plywood aquarium plan thread

michealprater · 02/21/2008, 05:47 PM

I am in the early stages of planning my DIY 300 gallon plywood aquarium. I have read several plans online and think I can do it. As I come up with questions I will be posting them in this thread. Thanks in advance for everyones help.

First Question.

I will be putting a layer of fiberglass sheeting over the entire wood portion of the plywood, I will then seal it in using West System Marine Epoxy. My question is, I want to paint the inside of the aquarium blue. Should I paint the wood prior to sealing it with the fiberglass and epoxy, or should I paint it afterward? Please let me know which one, and what type of paint I should use.

Second Question.

Where can I get two corner acrylic overflows, and one box for the center. Is this something that will be ok to glue and seal with silicon on the fiberglass covered wood surface?

Third Question.

The tank will be an approximate of 300 gallons, 96"long x 24" high and 30" wide. How many overflows will I need and what size bulk heads should I install?

Thanks.

ccampo · 02/21/2008, 09:48 PM

For the first question and ideas as well take a look at this shark tank :

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...00g_tank_1.php

It was also painted blue, looks great.

For the remaining questions I'll let others answer and learn from them too.

turtleman10 · 02/22/2008, 05:25 AM

You can get a tint for the epoxy and save a step of having to paint the tank. I found a good resource for plywood tanks are these guys. http://fingerlakesreef.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=13

Aqua Keepers · 02/27/2008, 08:23 PM

I'm thinking of building a 300 gallon plywood aquarium in a year or two as well. So, I'll be following allong. Let me know if you start a build thread.

sfsuphysics · 02/27/2008, 09:49 PM

There's one guy, and I really am sorry I can't be more helpful, who did a plywood tank, with a coast to coast (is this the term now?

) overflow, so the number of drains is irrelevant. But if you're doing plywood it definitely is something to look into, why make the inside of the tank look cluttered with things like overflow boxes, just let the whole backwall be an overflow!

FuzzyZipperbaum · 02/28/2008, 08:35 AM

go to the large reef tanks thread on this forum, there are a bunch of threads on plywood tanks.... and most paint it after the fiberglass...

02/21/2008, 05:47 PM	#1
michealprater Angelfish Nerd Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Grantfork, IL Posts: 5,465 Blog Entries: 1	DIY 300 gallon plywood aquarium plan thread I am in the early stages of planning my DIY 300 gallon plywood aquarium. I have read several plans online and think I can do it. As I come up with questions I will be posting them in this thread. Thanks in advance for everyones help. First Question. I will be putting a layer of fiberglass sheeting over the entire wood portion of the plywood, I will then seal it in using West System Marine Epoxy. My question is, I want to paint the inside of the aquarium blue. Should I paint the wood prior to sealing it with the fiberglass and epoxy, or should I paint it afterward? Please let me know which one, and what type of paint I should use. Second Question. Where can I get two corner acrylic overflows, and one box for the center. Is this something that will be ok to glue and seal with silicon on the fiberglass covered wood surface? Third Question. The tank will be an approximate of 300 gallons, 96"long x 24" high and 30" wide. How many overflows will I need and what size bulk heads should I install? Thanks.

02/21/2008, 09:48 PM	#2
ccampo ORCA Web***** Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 588	For the first question and ideas as well take a look at this shark tank : http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...00g_tank_1.php It was also painted blue, looks great. For the remaining questions I'll let others answer and learn from them too. __________________ good luck, Cesar ---------------------------------------------------- 210g tank 72x24x29, sump with Refuge, Mixed fish and corals reef tank Current Tank Info: 210g SW mixed reef, 30g SW

02/27/2008, 09:49 PM	#5
sfsuphysics Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: San Francisco Posts: 9,103	There's one guy, and I really am sorry I can't be more helpful, who did a plywood tank, with a coast to coast (is this the term now? ) overflow, so the number of drains is irrelevant. But if you're doing plywood it definitely is something to look into, why make the inside of the tank look cluttered with things like overflow boxes, just let the whole backwall be an overflow! __________________ Mike

02/22/2008, 05:25 AM	#3
turtleman10 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Spring Grove Posts: 417	You can get a tint for the epoxy and save a step of having to paint the tank. I found a good resource for plywood tanks are these guys. http://fingerlakesreef.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=13

02/27/2008, 08:23 PM	#4
Aqua Keepers Moved On Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Clearwater,Fl Posts: 2,915	I'm thinking of building a 300 gallon plywood aquarium in a year or two as well. So, I'll be following allong. Let me know if you start a build thread.

02/28/2008, 08:35 AM	#6
FuzzyZipperbaum Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Wayne Manor, Tampa Florida Posts: 474	go to the large reef tanks thread on this forum, there are a bunch of threads on plywood tanks.... and most paint it after the fiberglass...