the great diy debate

[LukeOscar]

i was walking through home depot yesterday pricing some materials out. then it got me thinking. how much does a plywood diy tank actually save you in 2023.
this isnt a perfect outliner for everyone. just a rough estimate based on what it cost me to build my 320 out of acrylic a few months ago.

im pretty sure i am going light on some of the plywood tank supplies but this is what i came up with.
15 2x4s where i live would cost approximately $70
4 sheets of decent grade plywood would be another 220
pond armor for a 1.5 gallon kit runs 300-400$ depending on color.
misc glues and screws i accounted for $50. this could be alot more depending on what you go with.
youll still need either a glass pannel or acrylic sheet to do the viewing window. 84" x 24" glass or acrylic pannel lets add another $100 just to be fair. some people may source glass free.

i come up with around $750CND conservatively.

when i built my acrylic tank these were the following costs.

4 sheets of 12mm cast acrylic was $850 this included CNC cuts.
my wife is a chemist and she purchased methylene chloride through work. 1litre was $100. ( this is enough to build a dozen tanks. smaller quanitites of weldon 3 or 4 can be had for cheaper. so lets round that to $50.
i spent another $50 on weldon scigrip 16.

making the total $950. but keep in mind this left me with almost a full sheet of offcuts that went towards building my sump.

the reason i made this post is because many of the big youtube or forum DIY builds of plywood tanks are mostly prior to covid. durring that time almost everything related to a diy plywood tank increased in price. but the crazy importation of acrylic and other plastics went through the roof leaving the market saturated with bulk acrylics. many companies are discounting acrylics due to the overstock. im not sure about everyone else. but $200ish more for a full blown acrylic tank over 300 gallons compared to the plywood option just doesnt make the plywood tank cost effective enough for me.

anyways what a time to be an aquarist when your handy. i have about $2000 into my 320 and 100 gallon sump including all equipment pumps lights etc.

 

[FJB]

Interesting. Thank you.
I wonder whether the change in prices of acrylic versus glass has been similar during and post covid era. I suppose I could look into it, but I have not as I am not planning new tanks (my wife absolutely isn't!), so I am not strongly driven to find out.
My experience with acrylic tanks is limited to a single tank, currently in use, but I feel I much prefer glass tanks than acrylics, despite several clear advantages (weight being high in my mind).

 

[LukeOscar]

Interesting. Thank you.
I wonder whether the change in prices of acrylic versus glass has been similar during and post covid era. I suppose I could look into it, but I have not as I am not planning new tanks (my wife absolutely isn't!), so I am not strongly driven to find out.
My experience with acrylic tanks is limited to a single tank, currently in use, but I feel I much prefer glass tanks than acrylics, despite several clear advantages (weight being high in my mind).

agreed. i do miss the scratch resistance glass offers. but thats about the only pro over acrylic in my opinion.

 

[wednesday13]

You really dont see a price break from building your own tank out of wood unless its up over 800-1000gal+… costs about the same to build a 300-500gal as it does 1kg+. Using full sheets of material with no waste opposed to cutting them down makes a big difference also. Hard to kinda figure that out also unless youve built one and or made the mistake of wasting material you paid for. I spent around $1800 to build a 650g 9’x4’x30”. Half way through the build i realized i wasted alot of material and could have went larger for the same price… bought a used 500 for $1500 and put up a DIY 1700g for $400 haha… many ways to skin the cat as always. Aesthetics come into play as well as window size. Many many options out there for “affordable” tanks 800-1k+ gal if ur good at sourcing materials and willing to put in the work.

I guess being smart helps unlike myself in my 1st build haha… to stick with standard sizes ie. 8’2’2’, 8’4’2’, 8’4’4’ etc. to use every bit of material paid for.

 

[LukeOscar]

You really dont see a price break from building your own tank out of wood unless its up over 800-1000gal+… costs about the same to build a 300-500gal as it does 1kg+. Using full sheets of material with no waste opposed to cutting them down makes a big difference also. Hard to kinda figure that out also unless youve built one and or made the mistake of wasting material you paid for. I spent around $1800 to build a 650g 9’x4’x30”. Half way through the build i realized i wasted alot of material and could have went larger for the same price… bought a used 500 for $1500 and put up a DIY 1700g for $400 haha… many ways to skin the cat as always. Aesthetics come into play as well as window size. Many many options out there for “affordable” tanks 800-1k+ gal if ur good at sourcing materials and willing to put in the work.

I guess being smart helps unlike myself in my 1st build haha… to stick with standard sizes ie. 8’2’2’, 8’4’2’, 8’4’4’ etc. to use every bit of material paid for.

yup. i think until your going over 24" tall. there no reason to go with wood. a 4x8x2 tank will have minimal savings with wood over acrylic and it just wont be as suitable for a long term option.

 

[LukeOscar]

You really dont see a price break from building your own tank out of wood unless its up over 800-1000gal+… costs about the same to build a 300-500gal as it does 1kg+. Using full sheets of material with no waste opposed to cutting them down makes a big difference also. Hard to kinda figure that out also unless youve built one and or made the mistake of wasting material you paid for. I spent around $1800 to build a 650g 9’x4’x30”. Half way through the build i realized i wasted alot of material and could have went larger for the same price… bought a used 500 for $1500 and put up a DIY 1700g for $400 haha… many ways to skin the cat as always. Aesthetics come into play as well as window size. Many many options out there for “affordable” tanks 800-1k+ gal if ur good at sourcing materials and willing to put in the work.

I guess being smart helps unlike myself in my 1st build haha… to stick with standard sizes ie. 8’2’2’, 8’4’2’, 8’4’4’ etc. to use every bit of material paid for.

the price of 12mm acrylic is so low right now. if i was better at welding the seams i could make a monsterous footprint. like 16' x 8' x 2 ft for under $3000 lol

 

[wednesday13]

the price of 12mm acrylic is so low right now. if i was better at welding the seams i could make a monsterous footprint. like 16' x 8' x 2 ft for under $3000 lol

Send it lol…

 

[wednesday13]

yup. i think until your going over 24" tall. there no reason to go with wood. a 4x8x2 tank will have minimal savings with wood over acrylic and it just wont be as suitable for a long term option.

I guess the biggest factor may be making a “movable” tank… once u go past fitting through doors or physically being able to move a tank alot of savings can be made using wood/fiberglass over acrylics or other plastics.

 

[LukeOscar]

I guess the biggest factor may be making a “movable” tank… once u go past fitting through doors or physically being able to move a tank alot of savings can be made using wood/fiberglass over acrylics or other plastics.

i made my tank in place as it wouldn't fit down the stairs LOL. once you build in place i dont see a savings. if you were to cut a plywood tank in half to get it out. youll need fiberglass and another batch of pond armor. thats far more expensive then some acrylic strips and weld on. if were refering to 24" or less still in height.

 

[LukeOscar]

I guess the biggest factor may be making a “movable” tank… once u go past fitting through doors or physically being able to move a tank alot of savings can be made using wood/fiberglass over acrylics or other plastics.

the entire ideal of this thread goes out the window once you need 3/4" acrylic lol