DIY 160g +/- Tank

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

rdnelson99

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Jul 13, 2011
Messages
1,861
Location
Atlanta GA
Call me crazy (most people do).

I have access to sheets of acrylic that are 31" x 31" x 1/2" for $10.00 per sheet. I started thinking about what I could build with it. While this is very preliminary, I am curious what you expert DIY guys thought. Would the miter joints hold up under the water pressure for a 24" tall tank. I would hide the joints in the back wall behind the dual overflow boxes and beef them up with a second 6" wide layer of 1/2" acrylic. I would build a base frame out of 1/2" which would support the bottom panels as well as beef up the joints in the bottom panels. I would duplicate the base plate to create the top supports.

Ok, get your shotguns out and start blowing holes in my rough idea. (y)
 
no, what im trying to say is he is using pieces underneath the tank to help hold his joints together, which means the bottom of the tank itself wont be flat.
 
ohhh yes thats what i gather from it. i dont know if im a fan of having a seem on the bottom. or the back of the tank...

rd you could make one heck of a cube tank out of this stuff and have a very attractive tank. 34x34 and 24 tall. with a nice pendant light. it would be beautiful
 
Would you ever consider shipping some acrylic (i want some bad!!!)... Or could you tell me where you got it from
 
wouldnt the stress of not being supported across the botoom create a problem after a while?

I was thinking the same thing but figured I could cut plywood inserts to put in the open areas. Then again, how many stands have you seen that only have cross braces? I always wondered about that. I know I would feel safer if there were a solid surface below the entire bottom. :)

Of course now that I think of it, at $10 per sheet, the acrylic may be cheaper than plywood. LOL
 
ohhh yes thats what i gather from it. i dont know if im a fan of having a seem on the bottom. or the back of the tank...

rd you could make one heck of a cube tank out of this stuff and have a very attractive tank. 34x34 and 24 tall. with a nice pendant light. it would be beautiful

Thought about that too. :) Would look nice in the master bedroom. LOL At the very least, I want some to build a sump. Just depends on how much if any they have left.
 
Would you ever consider shipping some acrylic (i want some bad!!!)... Or could you tell me where you got it from

I will do anything if the price is right. LOL So far they have not replied back. I found the ad on Craigs List. It is someone who put in a clear raised floor. I assume they had to buy full sheets but had to cut it down for the floor. This is the left overs. They had a picture that looked like there may have been 30-35 sheets but who knows if they sold it or not.
 
i wouldnt be too concerned if there was no seam on the bottom

My feelings exactly. Would much prefer no seams but I would have to do it with the material on hand. They still have not responded so I suspect they already sold it. Either that, or they are not good about checking e-mail. LOL
 
following..... btw, whats the biggest difference between acrylic and glass, other then the obvious?
 
When you get into the bigger tanks it is strength and weight. When it comes to DIY it is the ease of use. Hard to run glass through the table saw. LOL
 
doesnt acrylic need to be thicker than glass for the same size aquarium.

Not sure. I haven't research it. I just know that I wouldn't want to try building a tank bigger than maybe a 20 in glass. Just think it would be much easier working in the acrylic.
 
Back
Top Bottom