I just started building a plywood corner tank (ok, I delivered the wood, and drank a few beers tonight...) I've spent about 2 months planning it out, and comparing prices. Most of the time, smaller tanks are cheaper to buy than build, I know I could purchase a prefab tank & stand for about half the price I'm paying to build the unit myself, but since I'm spending time and money on the project, I'd rather spend more and have a final product that looks exactly how I want it to. Since I'm working with a professional cabinet maker, that shoots the price up a lot, compared to doing the work myself.
My main reasons going with a custom build are:
1) I want a corner unit to match a specific area
2) I want the finished unit to look like it's part of the room
3) Because I can
My reason for going with plywood instead of all glass is that it's a corner tank, so only 1 side would be visible anyway, and I don't really like looking through a tank and seeing a wall, and plywood is cheaper than glass.
Another factor in my decision to build a custom tank is that I'm dealing with a friend for the woodworking, and he likes to take on interesting projects to add to his portfolio. He was VERY interested in the idea of building a box that will hold water.
