Things to know before DIY'ing an aquarium?

[Jayjangle]

My goldfishes need a bigger home, and I'm gonna give it to them, even if I can't afford one of the $150 aquariums at my LFS.

I used the DIY tool website that was linked in this section's sticky to look up materials and plans for an acrylic 45-gal. It looks simple enough, but of course, I do not want to build something that will be holding a ton of water with ignorance. I've never built anything extravagant but I know how to use all the tools and materials I was told I would need.

Again, I have never made anything that supports a lot of water weight. I'm afraid, particularly, of the scenario where I find myself being pestered by hundreds of small leaks in the process.

Any advice? What is the best way to test before filling? Thanks

 

[mrbee2828]

Seriously, the best advice I can give you if you are on a budget is to just buy a used tank for a $1 a gallon or less on Craigslist. I would never try to make an acrylic tank as my first DIY project and I can garantee you won't get the acrylic or less than the new $150 tank you looked at. You'll something think for a 45g and that's going to be a lot of money in materials.

Not trying to be a downer, just being honest.

 

[TankBoss]

Seriously, the best advice I can give you if you are on a budget is to just buy a used tank for a $1 a gallon or less on Craigslist. I would never try to make an acrylic tank as my first DIY project and I can garantee you won't get the acrylic or less than the new $150 tank you looked at. You'll something think for a 45g and that's going to be a lot of money in materials.

Not trying to be a downer, just being honest.

Agreed. Costly and risky.

I have always been completely satisfied with my used glass. Even tanks with scratches look beautiful once cleaned and lit-up.

Craigslist is great. Just ignore the insane prices and make reasonable offers.

 

[butterfly_koi]

I agree that's its costly but the satisfaction of doing it yourself is worth it, if you can't afford acrylic try building a glass tank. Glass is cheaper plus some hardware stores will cut it for you for free with the purchase of the glass

 

[Sake]

here is a step by step for acrylic tanks.
HOW TO: Build An Aquarium PART 1 - YouTube

 

[BillD]

I have built a few glass tanks. It would be difficult to build a tank for less than the cost of a brand new tank, if you have to buy new glass. The last 5 I built were from free glass. Used is the way to go.