DIY Acrylic tanks

Marsha Finley · Post by **Marsha Finley** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 5:02 pm

Anyone interested? Sean?

I found a link with instructions for DIY 190 in acrylic -costs about $240.00 finished. Interested?
<a href="http://freshaquarium.about.com/gi/dynam ... iytank.htm" target="_blank">MAKING YOUR OWN ACRYLIC AQUARIUM</a>

Certainly looks do-able with your skills in woodworking. Just get the sheets cut to your specs & glue on! Now THAT would be a workshop! Have to wait 4 hours between glue jobs... lemme see... that's a total of 16 hours minimum in wait time...

Maybe a 2-session workshop, with smaller tanks in the fill time!

Ghazanfar Ghori · Post by **Ghazanfar Ghori** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 6:00 pm

Not a bad idea! We could probably get the
1/4" sheet and make several small nano cubes!

12x14x12 with the filteration built into the back
like those new nano cubes!

I think you'd be able to make 4 out of one
$60-$70 sheet plus an additional smaller tank
with the leftovers.

Wish that article showed the end result.

Marsha Finley · Post by **Marsha Finley** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 7:52 pm

Yup! Let's start drawing them up! We can build ni wet-dry, place for heater... Make backs blask or lue... Allthat stuff!

I'd also like af ew small tanks to fit my 11 1/4" wide grow-out shelves... So I'll figure out what fits my needs...

SCMurphy · Post by **SCMurphy** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 8:26 pm

Glasscages.com sells an Acrylic cube aquarium 12x12x12 for $25, and you can pick then up in Manassas every other month. Personally I like the 20x20x24 version for $80.

I think I might give in and get a pair of their 120 gal tanks at $200 apiece, or maybe two of the 170's (48x24x35) at $300 each.

My brother works for a glass company, if he sold me glass at his cost to make a 24x24x24 tank I would have to spend $200. And his cost is tempered by the fact that his father-in-law owns the company and likes us both and would refuse to charge me full price. I'd almost prefer to buy the tank and make the stand and canopy myself.

Ghazanfar Ghori · Post by **Ghazanfar Ghori** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 9:34 pm

I don't know about the quality of glasscages.com though.
I've heard bad things about their workmanship. Cory
just got a tank from them - says the silicone was
not neat and the overflow was crooked. I heard
the same thing about the silicone from James.

<a href="http://65.197.157.223/newto/pages/main. ... lPictID=64" target="_blank">This</a> is one of
their larger tanks up close. You can see the workmanship.

On their smaller acrylic tanks - maybe its better though.

$25 for their 12x12x12 cube is probably around the same
it'll cost us to build the acrylic tank - but DIY
is more fun! Plus we'll build in that wet/dry into the
back - it'll be sweet!

Marsha Finley · Post by **Marsha Finley** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 10:40 pm

Looks like Glasscages will be in the area exhibiting at a reptile show in Feb.

see http://nvre.org/<a href="http://nvre.org/" target="_blank">No VA Reptile Expo</a>

Might be worth talking to them before then... or visiting at show.

I'd like to see their stuff closeup.

Cory · Post by **Cory** » Fri Dec 19, 2003 12:43 am

Here's my glass cages experience:

If time is money their basic construction work is probably right on par. There is glue on the bottom and two of the sides, it comes off with a flick of the thumb after completely dry. The tank is built from a single peice of acrylic bent around 3 corners and sealed on the fourth (20x20x24). The top of the tank is prohibative in size (11x6), at least I'm sure the 4th corner is sealed well with two supports. I will however have to section anything interesting I want to put into the tank.

I would do the drilling/overflows on your own, that part of the work is shabby. I'm guessing he used a heat gun to bend the overflow from a flat sheet of acrylic, left a lot of bubbles and it is crooked. To make the vertical cuts in the overflow, I don't know what he used but they aren't straight-quite jagged really. The holes he drilled look fine to me. Bulkheads may be cheaper to buy elsewhere, but are of good quality.

I'll be drilling a couple more holes in my tank over the holiday, and ordering bulkheads from aquatic-ecosystems I believe.

Here's the last interesting thing, I didn't order the tank quite this way. The overflow is in the wrong corner, consequently, it is going in a different corner of the house. I paid for a second hole to be drilled with a bulkhead, not a top. While more of a hastle I think this will work better in the long run. Holes were $20, so at least I paid for something I wouldn't be able to do as easily. I have read a number of DIY articles about how to drill acrylic, I think I stand a 50% chance of getting a good hole and a 50% chance of patching it with epoxy.
<edited><editID>Cory</editID><editDate>37973.9944328704</editDate></edited>

SCMurphy · Post by **SCMurphy** » Fri Dec 19, 2003 1:42 pm

James Hoftiezer's tank is from glasscages, he seems happy, besides, excess silicone is much easier to remove than is the job of putting together an entire tank. Even better, the completly built tank is less money than the materials would cost. DIY is great when it makes sense and saves you money, which is the original idea.<edited><editID>SCMurphy</editID><editDate>37974.5325810185</editDate></edited>

Ghazanfar Ghori · Post by **Ghazanfar Ghori** » Fri Dec 19, 2003 1:48 pm

But James did tell me that the silicone seemed to
have been applied with a spatula.

SCMurphy · Post by **SCMurphy** » Fri Dec 19, 2003 2:06 pm

[QUOTE=SCMurphy] ... besides, excess silicone is much easier to remove than is the job of putting together an entire tank. ...[/QUOTE]

Just had a brain dump...hehehehe...Glass Cages ships their acrylic terrariums knocked down for you to assemble. That means you get the sheet acrylic cut to size. The thickness of the sheet on the smaller terrariums would be the same as for an aquarium. Get some acrylic bonding cement and turn it into an aquarium. It'd still be a significant reduction on the cost of the materials. <edited><editID>SCMurphy</editID><editDate>37974.5543981481</editDate></edited>

DIY Acrylic tanks

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