any experience tank builders around?

Hello all,

I'm about to jump in and build my own tank maybe try and save a few bucks.
Ive been doing my research and i just wanted to run it by a few of you and see what you all think ... did i make any mistakes?

Tank size is
Material = Acrylic
Tank Height = 24"
Tank Width = 30"
Tank Length = 72 "
Acrylic Thickness = 1/2"
Approximate Gallons = 224

its for freshwater i was thinking of taking the height to 30 inch's making it a 280 gallon but i think the size of the Acrylic will go up.. any help would be awesome

 

Where are you located

 

How will the tank be braced?

 

tank build

im in allentown,pa

the bracing will be 2x4's

the top of the tank wil be a acrylic top

 

I used to work with glass not acrylic - I wish I could be more help here. There are some big builders on 3reef - hopefully someone will catch this.

 

I would recommend that you use glass instead of acrylic, if possible. Its just my personal pref.



Luna

 

I agree. Glass is much more resistant to scratching.

Another idea would be to make a plywood epoxy glass tank like I did.

 

Tank building help

One more question.. I'm confused as to how the acrylic is assembled. do all the pieces sit ON the bottom piece of acrylic? anyone have a good photo of how the base /sides is supposed to look?

would be very helpful also i will be posting pics on the progress and the amount spent of building this. the wife is trying to talk me down on size. 72x24x24 180 gal. down from 72x30x30 . also what do you think a 185 gallon tank with sump, stand , canopy, lights would go for ? www.aquariumsource.com is way expensive!

 

Take a look on melevsreef to see how to make an acrylic tank.

If you want to do acrylic, practice on smaller tanks and projects, then make the DT after you have your skills honed.

 

Also, it is recommended to use no less that 3/4" acrylic for tanks of that depth, I don't know if 1/2" will hold that kind of pressure. To answer your question, yes the sides usually all sit on the back. You will need a router with a flush cut bit to prep the sides before bonding them, then you can use it to clean up the edges after the tank is built. ( leave a little overhang when building, so your weld on doesn't run down the side and out of the joint.) Also Joining thick acrylic like that isn't really that easy, I would recommend trying the local shops to see if you can get some scrap to practice on. There is a lot more to it, feel free to pm me if you want I can try and explain it better.

Have you looked into prices of acrylic yet? You wanna make sure it is cell cast acrylic also. They aren't cheap.