200g Plywood Build

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Flake

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Jul 11, 2009
Messages
1,285
Location
Dawsonville, Ga
This is currently the biggest tank my boyfriend will let me have. Apparently the house is too small for anything bigger. For some reason he won't let me turn the office into a monster fish tank. :rolleyes: In order to get this tank, i'm building it to fit behind the couch where it won't be obtrusive.

The dimensions are 80"x24"x24". Starting building this weekend!

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Getting the wood in my honda was fun.

I managed to sucker the boyfriend and another friend to help out. For a while they didn't think I could work powertools. I didn't bother to inform them. :| Eventually they figured it out. Bummer. Almost had a build done for me.
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My and my buddy taking a well deserved break. My boyfriend played camera man. He doesn't like having his picture taken.


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We decided it was easier to just jig out the front after we built the box. This decision was made after we realized we only had one sawhorse.

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Test fit on the skeleton of the stand. Not bad for a weekend's work.

I'd like some ideas on how to create the top. I need a way to allow for strength but in a way that won't completely block light. This will be a reef tank so I need fairly direct light. Not quite sure what to do with that yet. I love ideas though!
 
what do you know, im first to post!
do you want a canopy for the lights so that you cant see them? go into the gallery section. im sure you could find some ideas there.

have you made sure that the stand is perfectly level? (well first test the floor to see if its level, because if its not, then the stand wont be level. lolz.)
 
I'm not sure. I've been tossing the idea around, but I don't really see a need for one. I think if our cats see a lid, they'll try to spend more time on top of it, which i'm not too keen on. If they see water, they're less likely to hop on it.
 
good logic! but you do want a cover on it, right? for like, evaporation, and so that your house cat doesnt become a fishcat?
 
oh and are you going to put a finish on the stand so that it is waterproof? and then are you going to stain it?
 
I need I figured on some sort of a lid, but that's where i'm stuck. It needs support planks across the top somehow, i'm not sure how to do that without sacrificing light. I figured i'd put some thing acrylic on top to try and keep cats outover that, but i'm stuck on the support for now.
 
The stand's going to be stained and covered with a polyurethane coat. I was initially going to build a sump into it, and seal it when I sealed the top, but I think i'm sticking with a canister filter for now due to the rarity of sealants.
 
I'm coating the inside with pond armor. Unfortunately the only pond store within 50 miles only had one box in stock right now. So I don't have the means to coat a sump right now. If it takes too long to get my glass, I may try to track down more of it, but for now I barely have enough to do the tank.
 
I think i'm going to see if I can get it to hold water first, then possibly reopen the sump debate. :D
 
Yup. Sealing in the box. Adding glass. Instant fish tank. Just add water. I've seen a few of the plywood builds and I quite like the look of them.
 
I figured i'd put some thing acrylic on top to try and keep cats outover that, but i'm stuck on the support for now.

Ah so you have catfish aswell? :clown:

I'm guessing the "versa tops" from All Glass wouldn't fit your size tank? Are you going to have a center brace? If so then you could probably make two smaller pieces instead of one larger one.
 
We rescue cats. A lady in the neighborhood doesn't fix her cats so there are always strays in the neighborhood looking for some food :( it's heartbreaking. We adopted number 9 this weekend. If they're healthy and come into the house, they can stay. Unfortunately, they all turn into fat housecats, so I don't really want them jumping on it. :)

I don't think a standard top will fit since the top isn't a standard size. I'm putting a middle brace in at the minimum. Still trying to figure out how to light around it. Home depot has a lot of cheap acrylic, I can just make little hinges.
 
Did you glue all of the seems with titebond or liquidnails?

If I were in your position for needing a brace across the top, I would probably do 2 cross braces about 8-10" wide out of 1/2" or bigger acrylic, w/ drilled and countersunk holes, and silicone adhesive.
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The other option I would consider for the top is to cut a 3/4" plywood similar to what you did for the front glass, except route it out to include a center brace on it.

I didn't get a good look at the bottom but if it were me I'd run 2 cross braces made from 2x4, in the same respective position as the top braces.

Possibly braces on the back side as well.

I've toyed around with the idea of a wooden tank, I hope you succeed.

I would also definitely build a sump. You wouldn't need the sump to have any glass on it. Just make it as big as possible, but leave room on sides for pumps and electrical.
 
Pond armor is a potable epoxy used to line outdoor ponds, swimming pools etc. Its a 10mil coating to keep this thing water tight. I've seen it used before in DIY tanks and it looks like it should work pretty well.
 
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