375 gallon glass tank build
- Thread starter mdstark
- Start date
Question for you,
By the time you paid for materials, and the suction cups, hole saw's etc...... Are you still saving money building it yourself? Just curios because there is going to be a large tank in my future.
By the time you paid for materials, and the suction cups, hole saw's etc...... Are you still saving money building it yourself? Just curios because there is going to be a large tank in my future.
Thanks everyone.
redchaser- That is a good question, one that I have been thinking about recently. If I was to buy a 375 gallon tank from glasscages with a starphire glass front and overflows, the total would be about $2100. Right now, I have spent about $1150-$1200 on glass, silicone, and overflow setup/sump. The glass alone was about $850 (but that does include the starphire upgrade). So there is some significant savings there. I also get to customize the tank exactly how I want it (my overflow will take up much less space in the tank than the glasscages overflows).
If I had just wanted a barebones tank, with regular glass, and no overflows, I probably could have built that for around $750. If you can find used plate glass for cheap, that will help reduce costs. You can use the used glass for the bottom, the back, or have it cut up for use as bracing. I picked up a piece of 1/2" glass 5'x3' for something like $10 and took it to a glass shop, and they cut it into strips for my eurobracing. They charged me $50 to cut it, but it still probably saved me about $100.
Unfortunately, that isn't going to be the total for my project, as materials for my stand and bracing my floor (which I have yet to do) aren't included in that figure. I'm not factoring in the price of the suction cups, as I would have bought those anyway to help move the tank had I bought one preassembled.
redchaser- That is a good question, one that I have been thinking about recently. If I was to buy a 375 gallon tank from glasscages with a starphire glass front and overflows, the total would be about $2100. Right now, I have spent about $1150-$1200 on glass, silicone, and overflow setup/sump. The glass alone was about $850 (but that does include the starphire upgrade). So there is some significant savings there. I also get to customize the tank exactly how I want it (my overflow will take up much less space in the tank than the glasscages overflows).
If I had just wanted a barebones tank, with regular glass, and no overflows, I probably could have built that for around $750. If you can find used plate glass for cheap, that will help reduce costs. You can use the used glass for the bottom, the back, or have it cut up for use as bracing. I picked up a piece of 1/2" glass 5'x3' for something like $10 and took it to a glass shop, and they cut it into strips for my eurobracing. They charged me $50 to cut it, but it still probably saved me about $100.
Unfortunately, that isn't going to be the total for my project, as materials for my stand and bracing my floor (which I have yet to do) aren't included in that figure. I'm not factoring in the price of the suction cups, as I would have bought those anyway to help move the tank had I bought one preassembled.
mdstark;3295274; said:
But you have to figure in your labor. How much time do you have in it so far? When I do side work I work for about $25-35 an hour so If I got 20 hours into building a tank that roughly $600 in labor I'm gonna be up to the 2100 in no time.
Anyway I give you credit it looks great and I'm sure its gonna be pretty fulfilling when you are done and its up and running Good luck with it
jsodwi;3295345; said:
yeah but when it's your own tank you get the satisfaction of sitting back and saying to yourself "yeah...I did that."
I agree it will be very satisfying in the endcichlid_starter;3295363; said:yeah but when it's your own tank you get the satisfaction of sitting back and saying to yourself "yeah...I did that."
