plywood auqariums

[John]

Can anyone who's had experience building plywood aquariums recommend a good
2 part fiberglass resin or marine epoxy paint thats safe for aquarium use?
Home Depot and the boat marinas in my area don't have a clue.
Thanks....John

[kryppy]

On Wed, 9 Mar 2005 08:29:25 -0500, "John" >
wrote:

>Can anyone who's had experience building plywood aquariums recommend a good
>2 part fiberglass resin or marine epoxy paint thats safe for aquarium use?
>Home Depot and the boat marinas in my area don't have a clue.
>Thanks....John


I would imagine all fiberglass is equal. Once it is fully outgased it
should be safe. A few LFS's here use plywood/fiberglass with no ill
effects.
Any two part epoxy coating should be the same, but don't quote me...

[Chris Gentry]

"kryppy" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 9 Mar 2005 08:29:25 -0500, "John" >
> wrote:
>
> >Can anyone who's had experience building plywood aquariums recommend a
good
> >2 part fiberglass resin or marine epoxy paint thats safe for aquarium
use?
> >Home Depot and the boat marinas in my area don't have a clue.
> >Thanks....John
>
>
> I would imagine all fiberglass is equal. Once it is fully outgased it
> should be safe. A few LFS's here use plywood/fiberglass with no ill
> effects.
> Any two part epoxy coating should be the same, but don't quote me...
>
>

I've read that there is a difference in epoxies. I did alot of research on
this a few years back, but never did build a tank. I ended up buying a
glass one instead, but my research showed me a good alternative to
fiberglass/epoxy. I even contacted the manufacturer. They said this was
100% safe. It is called herculiner, and it is a roll on truck bed liner. I
think you can get it at places like auto-zone. I'm not sure what colors it
comes in, but I was looking at the black one awhile back. Anyway, I think
it would be much easier to apply and obviously really strong. Just my
0.02... -Chris

[Tidepool Geek]

"John" > wrote in message
...
> Can anyone who's had experience building plywood aquariums recommend a
> good 2 part fiberglass resin or marine epoxy paint thats safe for aquarium
> use? Home Depot and the boat marinas in my area don't have a clue.
> Thanks....John

Hi John,

I just double checked the GARF site and they don't recommend any particular
epoxy in their various DIY epoxy & plywood tank construction articles.

OTOH: There is a phenomenon, associated with some epoxies, called 'amine
blush' or simply 'blush' that you should be aware of. In non-aquarium
applications, blush is only a factor in as much as it can cause problems
with adhesion between successive laminations.

It could be a different matter in an aquarium though. The blush is a
substance that comes to the surface during the cuing process and that is
somewhat water soluble. Whether this stuff would be toxic to marine life in
a closed system is questionable - but why take chances? When buying your
resin, specify a non-blush product and you should be home free.

More information on blushing including a comparison of several products can
be found here:
http://www.oneoceankayaks.com/Epoxresl.htm [The section on blush is about
half way down the page.]


Potably yours,

TPG

[George Patterson]

John wrote:
>
> Can anyone who's had experience building plywood aquariums recommend a good
> 2 part fiberglass resin or marine epoxy paint thats safe for aquarium use?

The Boston aquarium has many setups built of wood and fiberglass. You might drop
them a line. http://www.neaq.org/special/comments.html

George Patterson
I prefer Heaven for climate but Hell for company.

[[email protected]]

How about a pond liner? Pond liners are made of a thick rubber, and
would line a plywood box nicely.

It is OK for Fresh water, but I'm not sure about Salt. Maybe someone
knows.

I've got a Koi pond in the back yard, and the material is very tough,
and it hasn't poisened the fish. We actualy add salt to the Koi pond
since the fish do better with it. This is no where near the
concetration for marine, but I mention it for a point of reference.

[Chippy]

If rubber suction cups are an indication of the use of rubber in a merine
enviroment I would avoid any kind of rubber liner/coating. Just use some
epoxy and run fresh water through the sytem for a week after it has cured to
rinse any nasties if you are worried. Just do a google search for "plywood
aquarium", you will get all kinds of info.
> wrote in message
oups.com...
> How about a pond liner? Pond liners are made of a thick rubber, and
> would line a plywood box nicely.
>
> It is OK for Fresh water, but I'm not sure about Salt. Maybe someone
> knows.
>
> I've got a Koi pond in the back yard, and the material is very tough,
> and it hasn't poisened the fish. We actualy add salt to the Koi pond
> since the fish do better with it. This is no where near the
> concetration for marine, but I mention it for a point of reference.
>

[Rich R]

very interesting idea, you could make a real big tank if you wanted , but
why not just use glass?

--


www.reeftanksonline.com
www.nydiver.com
ONLINE meeting rooms



"Chippy" > wrote in message
...
> If rubber suction cups are an indication of the use of rubber in a merine
> enviroment I would avoid any kind of rubber liner/coating. Just use some
> epoxy and run fresh water through the sytem for a week after it has cured
> to rinse any nasties if you are worried. Just do a google search for
> "plywood aquarium", you will get all kinds of info.
> > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>> How about a pond liner? Pond liners are made of a thick rubber, and
>> would line a plywood box nicely.
>>
>> It is OK for Fresh water, but I'm not sure about Salt. Maybe someone
>> knows.
>>
>> I've got a Koi pond in the back yard, and the material is very tough,
>> and it hasn't poisened the fish. We actualy add salt to the Koi pond
>> since the fish do better with it. This is no where near the
>> concetration for marine, but I mention it for a point of reference.
>>
>
>