To be honest, it's only worth building your own tank if you love working with wood or want to build a very simple, functional tank. To build a showpiece takes a lot of time and yes, quite a bit of money. The tank in the pics is 150 gallons, 5'x 22", and I built the tank (only one piece of glass) out of plywood and coated it with epoxy (two-part, potable water safe), the canopy, the stand, the wet/dry filter, and the artificial rock background. I enjoy creating things, and I have worked with wood for years, so I enjoyed the process, but as far as being worth it money-wise.....it's questionable. What would you pay yourself for a full months worth of intensive, labor, including designing, building and painting/staining/epoxying?
By the way, it's a real pain working with epoxy without a powerful resperator (it will give you a massive headache for a day or more with just minor inhalation). I was outside in fresh air when I opened the epoxy, and wasn't wearing a resperator. The first breath I took after opening the container almost caused me to puke instantly. This nausea continued for about 1/2 hour, and I had a headache well into the next day! It's seriously nothing to take lightly. Also, get fresh resperator inserts for each new project you do. When they start to wear out, you may not smell more than a very minor scent, but after an hour of being in it, it can really add up in pain later. You generally don't feel the pain for an hour or two, but when you do, it lasts hours.
The upside to building your own tank is being able to customise it to your (and your fish's) needs. My fish really started acting in a more natural way when I gave him the room to spread his fins a bit. It did not, although, help him in accepting other tankmates. My experience with Blackbelts is that they are hardy and can put up with quite a lot when they are the underdogs, but before they become the largest fish, they become dominant and are relentless in ruling their territory and driving others away. Only the armor on the Pleco, and the hiding spots he has has kept him alive in this tank. Even a Jack Depsey (very territorial) that was 1.5x his size was no match for him when he was just a juvenile. I wish I could upload some videos of him when the lights in the room are out and he can see his reflection in the glass! WOW!
