DIY Aquarium Prices

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
J

Jag1980

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 13, 2008
308
1
0
Marysville, Wa
After reading the DIY Plywood tank topic I'm tired of reading... :D

Here's some question I have on cost DIY aquariums to see if it is even worth the trouble and the time with the possibility of failure.

Now you can post a good rough estimate on prices from what you have seen shopping around or whatever so most people who are interested in a DIY tank can have a idea if the bother is even worth it compared to what you might save from buying a tank already built.

Base price will be for about a 75 gallon Aquarium size about 18"x18"x48"
I don't know what is needed, but please fill in the blanks if you know.
Just need a material and tools needed list, not a description on how to build. Don't need to be specific to brand, just the right name of the product to use.

As you can see I don't know much about DIY tanks but I know people here do, so I started this thread so people might be able to use it as a reference on what the will need for the type of tank they are making.

Please only use top quality products that are meant for building Fish aquariums, not just products that should work.
Build it right the first time and build a quality product.

Glass Aquarium:
Material cost? for Glass, sealant, upper and lower trim pieces.
What else?
Tools needed?

Acrylic Aquarium: Cell Cast Acrylic material, Sealant.
What else?
Tools needed?

Plywood Aquarium:
1" Plywood, Cell Cast Acrylic material, Wood sealer, screws and bolts.
Resin seal for holding wood together.
What else?
Tools needed?
 
For a top quality acrylic aquarium already built by professionals, I got this as a quote from precisioncustomaquariums.com

" 48x18x18 (68 gallons) using 3/8" thick
Cyro Acrylite GP cell cast acrylic on all sides for
$406 plus any options black back,overflow
box,shipping "

Just the shipping was $300 dollars...

So about $700 dollers total cost with warranty shipped to my house.
 
Totally not worth going custom for a 75 gallon. You can buy a glass 75 gallon for $120, or a reef-ready 75 gallon for $200.

To make it worthwhile, any DIY tank has to be at least 300 gallons.
 
I agree. I have been looking for a larger tank - 200 + gal and the prices get much higher. DIY starts looking much better for larger tanks.
 
I honestly feel that building your own only makes sense under two conditions:

You either have a great hookup on materials and you trust your own building skills and don't nessessarily put too much value on your own time..

Or you're wanting something bigger than your run of the mill mass produced tank... like 1000gallons on up where cost suddenly goes into the stratosphere.

Like a 2000 gallon setup runs around $20,000-30,000 installed by a contractor... but you could do yourself around 5-8 grand...
 
spiff;1893234; said:
I honestly feel that building your own only makes sense under two conditions:

You either have a great hookup on materials and you trust your own building skills and don't nessessarily put too much value on your own time..

Or you're wanting something bigger than your run of the mill mass produced tank... like 1000gallons on up where cost suddenly goes into the stratosphere.

Like a 2000 gallon setup runs around $20,000-30,000 installed by a contractor... but you could do yourself around 5-8 grand...
Click to expand...

I value my time quite highly thank you. Some people spend time watching TV, fishing, etc. Personally I like DIY projects. Seems a common thread on these boards is often not worth DIY because of the time it takes. Maybe that is true if you see it as "work" or you dread doing it. My "work" is 10 hours a day at a computer. My hobby and stress relief is working on DIY projects around the house including aquarium projects.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom