My first DIY, glass or acrylic?

[christopherkath]

Hello, I'm in the planning stage of building my first tank and I am wondering which material would be best. The tank will be used as a fuge/quiet tank placed under my stand behind the doors. It will still need to look great when I'm showing it off to friends. The aprox measurements are 23in long,20in tall,and 12-18in deep. I will have to put it inside through the back which may cause some problems,not sure yet but plans can always be rethought and adjusted. I'm also open to ideas for plumbing( want to hook it up to 75 gal above) and lighting the tank( how are those new VHO lights?) I have a 29 gal in the garage, think I'd be better to get that running again first? It wont fit under so it would have to run separate. Any help you all can give me would be great. Thanks-Chris-

 

[sumphead]

Acrylic acrylic acrylic! It is easier than i thought it would be and very rewarding. If you want to use glass I suggest a prebuilt tank and then divided with glass baffles cut to size by your friendly home improvement store. Do to the DIY forum of this site and check out the stick post on DIY aquariums. acrylic is explained there.

 

[justDIY]

yea, I second the vote for plastic opposed to glass

BUT, the dimension's you're looking for, it would be a LOT cheaper to buy than build

the glue, the acrylic, its all pretty expensive, not to mention needing the use of a table saw to get good cuts

 

[christopherkath]

buying may be cheaper and I may have to take that into consideration, however anyone can say check out this tank I bought but not too many can say Dude, check this tank I BUILT! Not to mention the custom look I'm going for. Thanks for the help so far...keep it coming...there is a long way to go yet -Chris-

 

[Guest]

anyone can say check out this tank I bought but not too many can say Dude, check this tank I BUILT!

So true, I vote for glass though... I guess I just hate scratches, and glass holds up better for that reason.. Plus, it is much cheaper...even larger scale to build with glass.. Clarity is superior with acrylic though, and this is where the decision seems to hold more weight... At the size you are mentioning, physical weight is not that much different...I say good luck to you in either decision you make..

 

[sumphead]

Just as an example: My fuge/sump is 44" L x 10" W x 16" D. I bought a sheet (standard 4'x8') of 1/4" acrylic for $70 and the weldon was like $5 with a needle bottle. If you have a table saw great, i don't (yet), but I know someone who does and almost bet you do too. But indeed as far as cost goes you couldn't get any cheaper than a premade glass tank with a few glass panes as separators.

 

[nguyen27]

Where can I buy Acrylic? I don't see it at HD?
Thanks

 

[sumphead]

HD, Lowes, and other local Home inprovements all should have it. It is more expensive there ($35 for 1/4" 2'x4') than it would be at a specialty place. Look in your yellow pages under plastic. you might be suprised.