shallow 40 frag tank

cjvale · Jun 25, 2011

i have seen somewhere guys build their own frag tanks from 1" plywood, of course using sealer, fiberglass and so on. im looking for a possible a DIY'er or some help in this matter...... i.e. length, width, height, size of wood, fiber glass/ resin. pretty much the A-Z for building my frag tank. thanks for the help in this project. i plan on posting pics when ready.

NaplesAquatics · Jun 26, 2011

3/4" marine plywood (or pressure treated) glued and screwed, seal with fiberglass resin. Size is up to you, whatever you wish. Your local auto-body supply will have the fiberglass and resin or use the Yellow Pages/Google to find some.

Jeff

cjvale · Jun 26, 2011

Thanks. If anyone has a build thread id love to check it out.... for a frag tank like what I'm going for of course... thanks in advance to all!

m and m · Jun 26, 2011

Why dont you just buy one? it would be cheaper look nicer and save a tremendous amount of time.

cjvale · Jun 26, 2011

I've thought about it and dont care to look at four sides of glass anymore. i dont know i guess i just want a basic frag tank that i can have fun and make it my own...

Lateral72 · Jun 26, 2011

Go to West Marine or another boat store and get Epoxy Resin. The stuff at most automotive stores is usually Polyester Resin which is weaker and is not UV resistant. Auto Body Supply store usually do have Epoxy, but boat stores are usually much cheaper and have a nicer supply of fiberglass mat weights/styles.

Although I would also grab some marine-grade Gel Coat, and cover the resin with that anyhow. I would personally do black or white. But I have seen blue which looks ..... interesting.

ronnie · Jun 26, 2011

I don't think you can gel coat over epoxy very effectively (at least for a boat).

I'd just go with a rubbermaid tub (or cattle tank).... 4ftx2ftx1ft high

Lateral72 · Jun 27, 2011

ronnie said:
I don't think you can gel coat over epoxy very effectively (at least for a boat).

I'd just go with a rubbermaid tub (or cattle tank).... 4ftx2ftx1ft high

It's fairly simple to gel coat over epoxy, the epoxy just has to be fully cured, otherwise the hardeners used in Epoxy will react with the Gel Coat.. Alas, if you're using gel coat there would be no reason to not use Polyester resin, as well, even if it is mildly weaker.

I do like the cattle/stock tank idea, however.

ronnie · Jun 27, 2011

Lateral72 said:
It's fairly simple to gel coat over epoxy, the epoxy just has to be fully cured, otherwise the hardeners used in Epoxy will react with the Gel Coat.. Alas, if you're using gel coat there would be no reason to not use Polyester resin, as well, even if it is mildly weaker.

I do like the cattle/stock tank idea, however.

Perhaps in fish tank world, gel coat over epoxy works (less UV maybe?). In boat world, gel coat over epoxy only works for West Marine Systems. Everyone else in the world uses polyester for GC or ends up painting if they use epoxy.

I do agree the cattle tank is phenomenally easier. Fiberglassing sucks - I just finished repairing the deck in our boat. It was my first time fiberglassing. I had a blast, but I don't want to do it again for a really long time - especially for a fish tank that I can buy relatively cheap.