DIY Tank - thickness?

B

Bigbob55

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Oct 12, 2005
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Hey guys, I'm a new member here, this seems to be a great forum!
I'm 18, and going to a local university, and still living at home.

My parents have a little 10 G that they let wild for a while (lots of algea, most fish died) so I took the liberty to clean the tank up, and buy some new fish for it, and I really think it looks great now.

So, now i've really been wanting a larger tank in my room. I might go 30G for cost reasons, but I'd really like something like a 55 or possibly 90 gallon tank.

I have a fair amount of money, but I'm working on buying a nice motorcycle (Harley :D ) and don't wanna spend a HUGE amount of money on fish, but I'd like a nice fishtank I can stare at while I neglect my homework.

So I've really been looking into building my own aquarium and stand, mostly to save money, but also Wal-mart has a 55G tank /w all accesories for $160, which is very attractive, and I'd just build my own stand (i'm very competant at building things). But I've also been looking up some Acrylic to build a 60 or 90 Gal aquarium, but 1/2'' acrylic isn't caried by hardware stores, and I'm concerned about building an aquarium that would be too weak and break.

I'm looking at building one thats ~48'' wide X 24'' tall X 18'' thick.

Now I've found this acrylic peice online that is 1/2'' thick X 36'' X 24'', which would work well for the front peice, and then I was thinking of doing a trapezoid-shaped tank, 48'' or 60'' in the back, and 36'' in the front, and for the back, i'll use plywood, or the likes, and for the sides, I was wondering if I could use 1/4'' thick acrylic? Since the peices are 19-22'' long, I figure they don't hold as much pressure. I'd put a metal brace at the joints.

Maybe I'd switch it to a rectangular tank, where the 1/4'' peices would be only 18'' long, even though they're 24'' tall.

Any opinions on if 1/4'' acrylic is too thin for the sides?

BTW this will be a freshwater tank if that matters.

Thanks!,
-Paul
 
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Take a look at http://www.garf.org/ ynder the DIY page. They have information on how to build glass tanks, acrylic, tanks, and plywood glass/acrylic tanks. They will give you a good idea of how to constuct it and what materials you will need including the thickness of the plexi.

And for the size you said this is their recomendation:
Material = Acrylic
Tank Height = 24"
Tank Width = 18"
Tank Length = 48 "
Acrylic Thickness = 1/2"
Approximate Gallons = 90
 
Thanks for the quick reply!

I have been to garf.org, and have it bookmarked! lol. Very useful site!

My main question, is for the large front side of the aquarium will be 1/2'' thick, but would it be okay for the side peices to be 1/4'' thick since they're not as long?

Thanks!
-Paul
 
No, with the height of that tank I would suggest going with 1/2" acrylic. With these kind of projects it is best to be safe than sorry.
 
Yeah all sides need to be that thick, You have to remember that all the edges will tie into eachother and if you have a weaker side then the front then you will have a weak seam and are destin for failure. If you have a tap plastic in your area they sell the 1/2" plexi.
 
Try a local plastic shop for the stuff you need. Tell them you are a student and working on a school project. They will probably cut you a deal and / or cut the pieces for you for free. If you don't find any in the yellow pages, check the internet, or if you want... email me your city and I can find a warehouse for you.
 
Bigbob55 said:
So I've really been looking into building my own aquarium and stand, mostly to save money, but also Wal-mart has a 55G tank /w all accesories for $160, which is very attractive, and I'd just build my own stand (i'm very competant at building things). But I've also been looking up some Acrylic to build a 60 or 90 Gal aquarium, but 1/2'' acrylic isn't caried by hardware stores, and I'm concerned about building an aquarium that would be too weak and break.
Click to expand...


You probably don't want to use the acrylic that they sell at the hardware stores. It's probably extruded acrylic, which is not good for for building aquariums. You'd want to use Cell-Cast Acrylic, which is kind of expensive right now.


Bigbob55 said:
I'm looking at building one thats ~48'' wide X 24'' tall X 18'' thick.

Now I've found this acrylic peice online that is 1/2'' thick X 36'' X 24'', which would work well for the front peice, and then I was thinking of doing a trapezoid-shaped tank, 48'' or 60'' in the back, and 36'' in the front, and for the back, i'll use plywood, or the likes, and for the sides, I was wondering if I could use 1/4'' thick acrylic? Since the peices are 19-22'' long, I figure they don't hold as much pressure. I'd put a metal brace at the joints.
Click to expand...


Terrible idea IMO. Plywood + acrylic is not a good formula for the beginning tank builder. To seal the two materials together and to make the plywood waterproof, you'd need to use a fish safe epoxy paint. Which is expensive. You'd also need to learn how to bond acrylic together with an acrylic cement. This will take some practice.


Bigbob55 said:
Maybe I'd switch it to a rectangular tank, where the 1/4'' peices would be only 18'' long, even though they're 24'' tall.

Any opinions on if 1/4'' acrylic is too thin for the sides?
Click to expand...

The max. height for 1/4" acrylic should only be 12"

The cost of cell-cast acrylic right now makes diy tanks more expensive than buying a new tank from the store.

A new 55g tank should only cost about $80. (http://www.glasscages.com)
The DIY Save money part of the aquarium is in the stand and hood.
 
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chefkeith said:
You probably don't want to use the acrylic that they sell at the hardware stores. It's probably extruded acrylic, which is not good for for building aquariums. You'd want to use Cell-Cast Acrylic, which is kind of expensive right now.





Terrible idea IMO. Plywood + acrylic is not a good formula for the beginning tank builder. To seal the two materials together and to make the plywood waterproof, you'd need to use a fish safe epoxy paint. Which is expensive. You'd also need to learn how to bond acrylic together with an acrylic cement. This will take some practice.




The max. height for 1/4" acrylic should only be 12"

The cost of cell-cast acrylic right now makes diy tanks more expensive than buying a new tank from the store.

A new 55g tank should only cost about $80. (http://www.glasscages.com)
The DIY Save money part of the aquarium is in the stand and hood.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was really wanting a 90 gallon tank, and was going to get some larger fish (bala sharks and ropefish / Eel's) but after looking around at the actual cost of doing so..... I'm getting the 55 gal starter kit from wal-mart for 160 bucks, and the stand is another 50 (good price for a stand, don't think i wanna make one - too much work while I'm at school full time, maybe i'll wait till the summer and get a "BIG" tank).

Thanks for the help!
 
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