# Plywood aquarium project- first ever major project



## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

Looking at my fishtank I decided that my 54L tank was not nearly large enough, so I jumped online and found a cheap way of expanding, building a plywood box, adding a window on the front and bobs your uncle.

This method is usually used for LARGE tanks however I decided to build a 1200mm long x 400mm high x 350mm deep netting (pun intended) me a nice 168L, using finger joints to connect the panels, I am new to woodworking, loving the new hobby and thought I would share my project, I lost my original drawings so I drew some up quickly using paint, I have started making my joints but doing them manually is taking a while  I have fitted a few finished panels together to check the fit and took a few photo's.




























This last photo requires a bit of imagination, this is the right hand side panel joined to the base and part of the 'window frame'. This being the first time I have made and attempt at joinery my fingers are of pretty average quality although i am doing far better then I thought I would be


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## croaker (Aug 11, 2012)

Can't wait to see it finished.


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## prinler (May 13, 2013)

I dont get it. Wood fish tank? port hole?


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

One the sides is going to be a glass panel, held in place with the frame, part of which is shown in the last photo, it will be sealed using a liquid rubber waterproofing membrane designed to seal fish ponds and food grade water tanks


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Are you making a shroud for an existing tank, and on one end will be a glass panel, and a "window" on the front?























.


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

Imagine a normal tank, I am replacing the sides, rear and base panels with plywood and installing a glass panel on the front as a window, once the joinery is complete and I have it assembled it will be very clear what my design is


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

benwar1991 said:


> Imagine a normal tank, I am replacing the sides, rear and base panels with plywood and installing a glass panel on the front as a window, once the joinery is complete and I have it assembled it will be very clear what my design is


Are you planning to fill it with water?



















.


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## MapleMoose (Sep 25, 2012)

Wow! I had never heard of these before (had to google it). Certainly make sense, though, with good epoxy paint.

Your 211% net (nice pun, BTW) increase will be really great. Those finger joints look good. Looking forward to more progress pic's.


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

Yeh, do you see a problem that can't :s


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## Develin (Oct 1, 2012)

That will look awesome if it's properly treated! My only worry would be with the epically high moisture that the ply might move... create a small crack in a joint... I don't know, maybe that's not possible but it's something to consider. Even with a bead of sealant... That ply looks quite thin and water weighs a lot, will it warp?


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

Yeh but the pressure from the heavy water isn't applied evenly, the main issue with any fishtank is height not length or depth, a 3m tank is obviously going to new cross supports but mainly the height affects the thickness of the glass, I'm using 12mm (roughly 1/2 inch) ply where as the glass used in any tank under 500mm is only 6mm, if we can a 6 mm pane of glass that is stronger the a 12mm piece of glass then I would love to invest in the company who makes it. As long as the joints are straight and tight then there shouldn't be any weak points that are weak enough to be affected by 400mm of water pressure, I am using a product used to seal drinking water tanks so It should be nicely sealed, and is flexible once the membrane is dry because it is rubber and can handle some movement so if the tank settles at all I'm confident the seam shouldn't crack


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

benwar1991 said:


> Yeh but the pressure from the heavy water isn't applied evenly, the main issue with any fishtank is height not length or depth, a 3m tank is obviously going to new cross supports but mainly the height affects the thickness of the glass, I'm using 12mm (roughly 1/2 inch) ply where as the glass used in any tank under 500mm is only 6mm, if we can a 6 mm pane of glass that is stronger the a 12mm piece of glass then I would love to invest in the company who makes it. As long as the joints are straight and tight then there shouldn't be any weak points that are weak enough to be affected by 400mm of water pressure, I am using a product used to seal drinking water tanks so It should be nicely sealed, and is flexible once the membrane is dry because it is rubber and can handle some movement so if the tank settles at all I'm confident the seam shouldn't crack


 
You are talking about 45 gallons of water...

OR 

375 lbs or water...




I don't see the 'wood' in your pictures holding all of that for long. :no:


But hell - I could be WRONG! :yes:


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## BKBuilds (Jan 12, 2013)

As a salt aquarium enthusiast I can tell you that Plywood tanks do hold water and weight when properly done.


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

Well if you consider an identical tank would be totally made of 6mm glass with no cross bracing and the strength provided by the finger joints I think it should be fine (a tank is usually held by just a bead of silicone) I'm not personally worried


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## snookfish (Jan 10, 2011)

Back when I was into saltwater tanks I saw a few of these. If you do them right they look really nice. I never trusted my skills back then to attempt it. Post lots of pictures because I would be very interested!


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## Reclaimed Wood Blog (May 28, 2013)

Looking forward to seeing it.

http://reclaimedwoodblog.com/


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

I've never heard of this. I'm looking forward to seeing it too!


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## Treeoflifestairs.com (Jan 9, 2012)

My parents tried one of these but it leaked and they could never quite find it. In the end they had to scrap it. I hope you have better luck.


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

When do we get to see MORE pictures? 

Dale in Indy


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

Spent quite a while on it today but have some new additions, being a total woodworking novice I was using every surface I could find a a work surface and then realised that I have an old dining room table that is a perfect work bench, it is the extending type so gives me perfect access to the niggly bits and also has a thick and sturdy beam running around the outside which as I turns out is PERFECT for clamping.




























Have cut out the majority of my finger joints and now I have many long an painstaking hours worth of filling to make them fit nice and snug, also finish what I believe to be the most fiddly piece of the build, the longest section of the front window frame


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## Treeoflifestairs.com (Jan 9, 2012)

Wow you did all those joints by hand? A router and even a home made jig would have been so much faster.


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

Treeoflifestairs.com said:


> Wow you did all those joints by hand? A router and even a home made jig would have been so much faster.


Yeh haha, welcome to the stone age, but seriously i dont have a router, and I am doing it this way for a few reasons:

As a practice before building a much larger one
As a reward for finishing assignments at Uni I do a bit of work or design another part of it so finishing it quickly is actually the opposite of what i want to do
I like the idea of it being enclosed on all sides like a cave almost, 

I know there is quicker ways to do what im doing but doing it manually is how my grandpa learned, and how he taught my dad, they both turned to electronic tools once they were confident however it has worked quite well for them, my grandpa was quite a craftsman before he passed and so was is my dad, touch wood.


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

Alrighty, Uni is over and it's time to get into the project, (passed all my subjects) I have finished all the finger joints and I have included a photo of the dry fit, very happy to have that part finished, next step is building clamps (cheap,broke student) and then glueing, which I will do tomorrow then, sanding










Anybody still confused by my design it is pretty much a plywood box, with a windows in the front.


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## MisterWalnut (Jun 27, 2012)

Are you going to have a center brace on the weak side?


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## MasterSplinter (Jan 12, 2013)

Nice job on the joints.


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

I'm not to sure I will nee one, the "weak" side that would be braced is purely for show, water will not reach that high, meaning that there will be no pressure on that joint, water pressure increases exponentially on the vertical axis not horizontally, glass tanks up to 8 feet in length don't require cross bracingand that is with glass less than 6mm thick, I have just bought a multi tool so after gluing if I think t needs a little extra I will add a brace.

Thanks for the kudos, my joints got much better towards the end, I guess that happens when you do nearly 5 metres of joints by hand


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

Clamps made and glue drying, not just a pile of wood anymore


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## MisterWalnut (Jun 27, 2012)

benwar1991 said:


> I'm not to sure I will nee one, the "weak" side that would be braced is purely for show, water will not reach that high, meaning that there will be no pressure on that joint, water pressure increases exponentially on the vertical axis not horizontally, glass tanks up to 8 feet in length don't require cross bracingand that is with glass less than 6mm thick, I have just bought a multi tool so after gluing if I think t needs a little extra I will add a brace.
> 
> Thanks for the kudos, my joints got much better towards the end, I guess that happens when you do nearly 5 metres of joints by hand


My mistake, I was under the impression you were building a stand for a tank. Very interesting idea. You should check out the forums on reef central for any advice, it has helped me with a ton of aquarium stuff


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

Not yet, the stand and the canopy are the next stages, going to tackle the stand, I'll have to start planning that soon, I want a very minimal design, a stand rather than a cabinet, it would be far too much wood with a cabinet, thinking 4 or 6 sturdy legs with a shelf to mount the tank and a shelf lower down for stuff


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## calcnerd (Dec 7, 2012)

BKBuilds said:


> As a salt aquarium enthusiast I can tell you that Plywood tanks do hold water and weight when properly done.


Yep, same here. I have seen lots of plywood tanks. Some of them HUGE (1000+ gallons). Built properly they hold water just fine. For anyone interested, there's a thread on it at another forum I belong to here.

Also lots of youtube videos if you search.

Good luck OP!


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

So the glass is ordered and due for delivery any day, the first coating of runner cement is drying as we speak


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

72hrs from now the silicone will be cured and the rubber cement will also be cured, expect a photo of the tank full of water to test the seal!


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## gus1962 (Jan 9, 2013)

I would like to see photos of your project. Can't wait.


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## MasterSplinter (Jan 12, 2013)

I thought you were making a case to go around to tank. Im conserned that the front wont hold up to the preasure.


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

I'm confident that it will hold up however I know that I am no engineer so it will sit, full of water for 3 weeks to a month straight to test for leaks/failure, if it is to fail the I won't be too upset, I purposefully have held off building the more expensive stand and hood because I know prototypes fail all the time


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Interesting. I've never heard of a plywood tank. Tank surround, sure. Tank? No, but I'm quite interested in seeing the result. Not that I doubt it'll work.

You learn something new everyday!


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

Yeh Steve they are quite common, more so in the 1000's of gallons rather then 50 gallons like mine, only suckers buy what they can build themselves though


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## mikeshawjr (Jul 25, 2013)

Makes me want to try it. My parents have a big fish tank would be really cool to have a bigger that I built myself.


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

YouTube is full of PLYWOOD water safe/holding fish tanks, for any of the doubters. 

I wish you well, I am looking forward to seeing it up and running. FULL OF FISH TOOOOOO.

Dale in Indy


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

Decided to go down a different path and follow another dream I have had for a long time and get a snake instead as the filtration for the unit worked out to be nearly $200, way more than the tank, here is my finished piece, very happy with it!

With the 80watt basking light 










And with the LED night viewing lights


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## MasterSplinter (Jan 12, 2013)

Did you ever fill it with water?


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

Sure did, the timber bowed quite a bit and I decided not to continue


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

I had my doubts that it would be satisfactory, but I didn't want to offer any negativity. I've made tanks out of glass and out of acrylic, and the water pressure can be surmountable. I think as a reptile tank it's fine. I would seal all the wood/plywood.


















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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

benwar1991 said:


> Sure did, the timber bowed quite a bit and I decided not to continue


So the real decision to abandon the fish tank idea was because the tank wasn't holding up, not/not only the cost of the filtration system.

Don't feel bad; I've abandoned projects before, only to later convert them to something else entirely. No sense wasting all of the time and effort you've already put into the project. Been there myself.

At least you can say you've tried. That's farther than many people get. And you know it's a valid idea because plywood fish tanks exist (though I hadn't heard of them until this thread) so you may try again some time. But next time you'll be more aware of whatever issues you might face and be better prepared to tackle the job.

Well, I'm sorry to hear that your original plan didn't work out. It happens to all of us. But I am glad you were able to salvage the project and make it into something that you can still use and enjoy.

Keep your head up. You'll only get better and better at this sometimes unpredictable hobby.


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## benwar1991 (May 29, 2013)

the decision was made based on the fact that I would have to spend a fortune on a tank that may eventually soak my carpet, if only one of those factors were present I would have continued but they combined resulted in my scraping the aquarium


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