Jacuzzi Spa Tub to Live Croaker Tank Conversion

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I've had this Jacuzzi since Whitney Houston died. I was managing a large construction job which the owner was a tiny person. Concerned about drowning in this tub I was instructed to install a smaller/shorter one so this one has been here for years and years.

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Got all the hardware & fittings removed along with the foam pads. That's the Pump assembly on the floor.

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After cleaning and sanding all the openings various round things were rounded up for fiberglass circle patterns. This is as far as we got today.

Good thinking.

This should be a fun project

Following! It’s a good thing I like popcorn…..:popcorn

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Turning the Tub right side up first lids for paint mixing containers had the rims removed with scissors so they would lay flat. Then we tape the flat lids over the Jet holes from the inside reinforcing all the lids with either more mixing containers or paint sticks taped over everything else. This is to prevent the gelcoat from running outside of the area we want to fill, prevent any air from reaching the gelcoat for a fully cured final product, and provide a very smooth - slick inside finish.

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Using Visqueen as a release material to work the reinforcement saturation on all the fiberglass mat was cut out first, stacked as needed, then fully saturated with resin.

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After flipping the Tub back over and applying a very liberal coat of gelcoat (numerous applications till the gelcoat started to cure) the saturated reinforcement mat was applied over the holes and allowed to cure.

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This picture shows the Gelcoat applied, you really lather it on for a very good seal to the existing substrate.

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The first holes were unmasked to reveal our plug job. If I had white gelcoat laying around it would have been used but all I had was this gray (freebie job) but the gray gelcoat really shows how well our job came out.

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After the last fill plugs cured I just rolled all the leftover Gelcoat on to make it look a little better overall. It will be sitting inside a base so the very bottom will not be seen.

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Here is the Croaker tank's home. A nice bench to sit on, the weather blocked from the back, a big Koi Tank Filter just like I use too. Still needs a little plumbing, a return bucket filter / water Diffuser, and a proper suction pump setup. Looking good though. I explained the best plumbing I knew how to do but am not allowing getting recruited into doing the work.

Very nice.

That looks awesome! Very nice.

I stopped by to take pictures of the fig tree with the splitting fruit and discovered the Croaker tank finished. I took a couple of pictures for a follow up on the project.

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No Croakers in it yet because now the Saltwater has to be mixed up. Very functional though.

That turned out good.