questions on DIY acrylic aquarium...

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Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 22, 2010
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Modesto, CA
Well, I have about 7 or so fish that will one day be quite large. I currently have a 135gal aquarium, but I know I will be going bigger, and I wanna go MUCH bigger! To cut costs I'm looking toward building my own acrylic aquarium to the tune of about 1000gal. If anyone has any info to send my way I would appreciate it :)
Looking for:
-Material costs
-Methods of construction/sealing
-Ideas for dimensions/designs
-Manufacturers of large sheet acrylic/where to find?
BTW, not looking for a hokey DIY home project that looks like it was a DIY home project. Needs to become a beautiful show project for my Aro's, Pacu, Pike, Terror, Bichir, and Oscars Etc.
Thank you for any help!
 
1. Material costs will depend on your local area. I would consult you local plastics shop for pricing.
2. There is a member who just built a huge acrylic aquarium. he did a great job and did a pretty good write-up on it. I would search around the DIY forum for it. It is a must-read if building your own tank.
3. The design and dimensions are something that you have to come up with as it is your tank. I would design it to fit specifically where you want it. Although, materials costs can sometimes affect this. As far as my opinion, make sure you go wide enough for the aro.
4. Local plastics suppliers are where you will probably find the best deals.
 
thanks guys for the info. I have shopped around and the local shops wont do big enuff pieces for my project. although i have found some only a few hours away that will do the acrylic for about $7K. Not cheap but better. Just wanna give my lil guys a good home :)
 
Yep, its gonna cost for the acrylic. I would look into possible building the tank out of other materials such as a plywood tank with a glass or acrylic front.
 
yeah, i checked out plywood, concrete, fiberglass, glass, etc., but im stuck on acrylic. just the appeal of seeing my fish from different angles is enuff for me. pluss it will be virtually bullet proof, which sounds great, 1000gal spilled on the floor is definately something to cry about
 
Cost of the acrylic tank depends on the dimentions of the tank... dimentions of the tank determines acrylic thickness... acrylic thickness depicts the price range.

What dimentions are you looking to have?

I built an acrylic 284 gal for $900 .... just the tank alone..... 80Lx40Wx20.5H


Once you get over the 100" long mark, acrylic sheet prices go way up...
 
You could make a 4' X 8' X 2' 475gallon for around $1,000 using half inch cell cast acrylic. Anything longer or wider (custom size acrylic) or taller (thicker acrylic) and the cost rises exponentially. As a guess a 1,000 gallon tank would cost in the range of $5,000 just for the acrylic. You're going to need 1" thick acrylic at sizes in the 10-12' length.

Standard acrylic sheets are 4' X 8' so it's by far the most economical. You'd need 4 sheets to do it easily, and might be able to squeeze it out of three (you'd have 16sq feet of acrylic left over for bracing...not much).
 
If you want a tank longer than 8' I would look in to a Tenacor tank. They are very expensive but for a 12' long tank the Acrylic alone is expensive. When I looked in to building a 10' all acrylic tank it was only a little over a thousand dollars more to buy a tank. At that size it is worth a grand to get a lifetime warranty. If you are set on building a tank I would make a design utilizing full sheets of acrylic. Like a 8x4x4. Also look in to the cost of the height. Will buying thinner acrylic sheets and doing a 8x4x3 be cheaper to cut off the top foot and use it a euro bracing, or do you really want the 4' height and use full sheets for the top and cut holes for accesses to the tank.
 
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