957-gallon DIY acrylic tank?

[Omega]

My brother is building a shop and house on some property up north and wants a huge fish tank. He's a DIYer all the way and can make almost anything himself so I suggested acrylic.

As I understand it the sheets come in 4' by 8' so if the tank was 4 feet tall, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long, how thick would the acrylic have to be?

 

[hurricane_redbone]

well I am building a tank that is 30 inches tall and I am using 3/4 inch acrylic glass. For a 4 foot high tank though you would probably have to pump it up to about 1 1/14-1 1/2 inch.

 

[Dr Joe]

Call an acrylic rep. in his area for recommendations and pricing...then check into cement products cause I think that's the way he'll want to go after the heart attack...

Unless you have a specific purpose/room that you want to see it from all sides, it's kind of an expensive waste.

He could even price out a Stainless Steel tank with a big view port.

Let us know what you find,

Dr Joe

.

 

[Omega]

He has acrylic contacts he's going to get in touch with this week.

My bro is a metal worker so maybe he can make something out of aluminum or steel?

 

[Dr Joe]

Good chance.

Keep us posted, I think alot of people here would like to see something different.

Dr Joe

.

 

[milkman407]

acrylic 4feet tall would probably have to be around. 2" thick or so. Not exactly sure . Try and make it out of something else though unless its a display tank.

 

[johnptc]

GO TO http://cyro.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/cyro.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php

ITS AN ONLINE THICKNESS CALCULATOR !!!!
ITS CYRO PLASTIC.....TECH CENTER

My brother is building a shop and house on some property up north and wants a huge fish tank. He's a DIYer all the way and can make almost anything himself so I suggested acrylic.

As I understand it the sheets come in 4' by 8' so if the tank was 4 feet tall, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long, how thick would the acrylic have to be?

 

[johnptc]

GO TO http://cyro.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/cyro.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php

ITS AN ONLINE THICKNESS CALCULATOR !!!!
ITS CYRO PLASTIC.....TECH CENTER

Aquarium Thickness Calculation

Question
How do I calculate the thickness of an aquarium that I want to build out of ACRYLITE® GP acrylic sheet?

Answer
AQUARIUM THICKNESS CALCULATION

Please click on the attachment below for a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet which will determine the proper thickness for an aquarium made of ACRYLITE® GP acrylic sheet.

CYRO recommends that all acrylic water vessels, including aquariums, should be constructed with cell cast ACRYLITE GP sheet. This requirement exists for two reasons:

ACRYLITE GP sheet is more capable of withstanding continuous loads than continuously manufactured or extruded sheet.
ACRYLITE GP sheet maintains a high level of mechanical strength after water absorption has reached equilibrium.
Cemented joints must withstand the effects of the continuous hydraulic pressure and the high level of water absorption for many years. Two-part polymerizable cements are recommended for this to meet this requirement. For proper cementing techniques Click Here. Solvent cements are NOT recommended.

To determine what thickness acrylic sheet should be used, the calculation below can be used assuming the base is uniformly supported.

T - thickness of sheet
H - height of tank
L - length of tank
Required Thickness T (in)=
q = maximum water pressure (lbs/in.2) = (0.0361 lbs water/in3)* H (inches)
H = aquarium height (inches)
α = maximum permissible stress for ACRYLITE GP in an aquarium (750 psi)
β = coefficient from L/H relationship as follows:


L/H 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.50 2.00 3.00 4.00
β 0.037 0.120 0.212 0.321 0.523 0.677 0.866 0.940


Note: For L/H ratios not shown, use the β value for the next higher ratio.

Example:

L = 36 in.
H = 15 in.
L/H = 2.4 therefore: b = 0.866 (taken from the chart for L/H = 3.0)
q = (0.0361 lbs/in3) x (15 in) = 0.542 lbs/in2


T (in) = = = 0.375 inches


If a top is cemented on, the recommended thickness in 0.375 inches. With an open top use a safety factor of 1.5, bringing the recommended thickness to 0.563 inches to be used in this size tank.

 

[johnptc]

2 inch with top per cyro calcs

My brother is building a shop and house on some property up north and wants a huge fish tank. He's a DIYer all the way and can make almost anything himself so I suggested acrylic.

As I understand it the sheets come in 4' by 8' so if the tank was 4 feet tall, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long, how thick would the acrylic have to be?

 

[rayman45]

2"