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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Hi,

John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.

I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.

With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.

I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.

If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.

I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.

I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.

Thank you
Darragh Sherwin

large plywood aquarium

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25 Jul 2011 19:08 - 25 Jul 2011 19:19 #1 by joe10 (joe nolan)
hi there
just wondering if anybody has made or seen an aquarium made from plywood with a front glass panel.
im looking to construct a tank 8ft x 3ft x 30in. ive seen some projects on youtube and it looks fairly easy. ive found a liquid rubber water proofer and is a lot cheaper than all glass,looking forward to hear any hints.joe
Last edit: 25 Jul 2011 19:19 by joe10 (joe nolan). Reason: forgot category

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25 Jul 2011 19:28 #2 by JohnH (John)
Moved this for you Joe,

I once looked into making tanks from marine ply - but only smaller ones.
Made a prototype which held water, but then a source of cheap 6mm glass appeared so I moved back to all-glass assembly.

The concept seems good if you can source the waterproofing sealant - if you're any way handy at woodworking I would think it wouldn't be too difficult.

If you do make one, perhaps you'll do a 'blow-by-blow' account - with pictures?

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


ITFS member.



It's a long way to Tipperary.

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25 Jul 2011 19:31 #3 by dar (darren curry)
i'll second that. a step by step with photos (if possible) would be fantastic

Check out the angling section, it is fantastic

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25 Jul 2011 19:50 #4 by derek (Derek Doyle)
it is certainly possible and there is a huge one in shanahans garage showroom near dublin airport. i would advise having a look at that before starting your own build.
the main thing to remember is that the bracing and adhesive has to be very strong to withstand the extreme pressure due to the 30 inch depth of the tank.
if done properly it can work out well but there are pitfalls that must be avoided.
i think arabu is building some plywood tanks for his fish house, maybe he can help with some advice.

30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish

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25 Jul 2011 19:56 #5 by davey_c (dave clarke)
there's lots of idea's on monsterfishkeepers.com, have ye looked?
i'm a chippy so if you need a hand and not too far away ;) .... hope to build 1 myself sometime also

Below tank is for sale

my plywood tank build.

www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768

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25 Jul 2011 19:59 #6 by arabu1973 (. .)
I'm gonna start building one next week and i'll gonna make a tread about it.

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25 Jul 2011 20:13 #7 by derek (Derek Doyle)

I'm gonna start building one next week and i'll gonna make a tread about it.


now this will be a thread worth following. i hope you're doing the joinery yourself arabu and not using hired help. :lol:

30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish

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25 Jul 2011 20:36 #8 by arabu1973 (. .)
Everything will be done by me, cant get any help, everybody is working, where is the recesion?

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25 Jul 2011 21:38 #9 by KDAK (Andy)
I'll give you a hand if you like, am around the corner and have next week off on holidays.


As for the tank. I've just been granted by my landlord to build mine, will be slightly bigger than yours at 10x2.5x3
I'll be using fibre glass as it holds structurally also( a bath tub) plus I can't find an abundant supply of liquid rubber cheap enough to merit it's use. Mine will have a steal frame aswell so no worries about it no holding and the ply will be two layers of 20mm ply so 40mm in wood and the reinforced with fibre glass.

Arabu let me know if you need a hand

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26 Jul 2011 20:50 #10 by brian (Brian)
i have made a couple of ply tanks 7x3x2.5 feet and 5x3x2 ft with windows .both had 6" framing which allowed for plenty of insulation,the larger in an unheated block shed was cheaper to heat than 2 three foot tanks in the house which is a serious bonus,might as well build a really big tank?one tank was glassed with epoxy resin and p1 pond kote topcoat.the other was covered with glassfiber matt and polyester resin and polyester topcoat.lids where ply ,lined with 4" thick kingspan sealing the tanks,airpumps where used to make an adjustable fresh airflow and oxygen levels tested to see if they were high enough.its a great way to make a big tank whatever shape u want and make it economical to run.i used these 2 tanks for a year as growouts until i finnished the main tank, without problem.
good luck building your tanks,go big your fish will love it

brian

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26 Jul 2011 22:10 #11 by joe10 (joe nolan)
thanks john for moving this into the right section,there seams to be a lot of people who has made these tanks,would fiberglass be better than rubber paint? would 15mm glass be ok with the water presure.

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30 Jul 2011 07:12 #12 by brian (Brian)
fiberglass would i think give a far more durable skin ,especially if u have any frame movement and just generally wear from gravel stones driftwood.its more work to put on but handy enough.15mm for 30" deep would be ok but maybe if keeping larger fish maybe go a bit thicker

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18 Aug 2011 09:49 #13 by Gedas (Gediminas Derkintis)
Any updates on this project,any pictures?
Because i thinkin to build my self plywood tank-72" x 24" x 18".
which plywood you using-marin ply or WBP ply,what thickness ply?

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