DIY Tanks

[homestar726]

Hey Guys,

After trying to get my hands on a relatively cheap tank 55g+, and than checking out the LFS, I started to think about building my own tank. I figure this is cheaper than paying a huge mark up at the LFS. Plus this would allow me to go bigger, for slightly a higher price..

I was doing some research and the acrylic DIY looks pretty easy. I am a handy guy in general, but do any of you know how hard or easy this really is? Does anyone have experience or know a good place to buy the goods? ANy tank tank builder here who might wanna make a weekend project or give the do's and dont's?

So many questions. But I know posting t here will defenitely make it clearer for me

I was thinking of doing something in the 75-120g range. Something in the (48-60)x18x20 range.

I know there's a wealth of information here, so let me have it....

[babblefish1960]

You asked for it, here it is.

Don't bother, for so many reasons, to start, it will always cost a great deal more to buy the materials and seal it yourself, and when you are doing this for a standard size, it makes no sense. Unusual sizes and shapes are another matter entirely.

If you should take the route of insisting on experimenting on another aspect of the hobby, there is much to know, and many steps, you can do it, but you would do well to do a search on the site, it has been broached a few times already.

Just a reminder, if you think you are going to save money doing this, give your head a shake, and think on it first, for the bigger tanks, it is a royal pain and unbelievably expensive.

[audioslave_36]

I don't recommend it either, it is a lot of work and not very forgiving, I built a custom three piece acrylic 26g tank for my wife's Betta, looks nice, works well but I would buy it's replacement before I would build another one

Dave

[speckledmind]

You asked for it, here it is.

Just a reminder, if you think you are going to save money doing this, give your head a shake, and think on it first, for the bigger tanks, it is a royal pain and unbelievably expensive.

Ditto

FIY : LFS such as Big Al's and Superpet sell there tanks at cost price, they are lost leaders, and some times sold below cost.

Cheers,
Denis

[rockgarden]

If you can get the appropriate glass for free it is financially worthwhile.  Otherwise, an interesting project, but generally not a great money saver unless you are requiring a custom size to fit a specific spot in the house or your have a specific purpose in mind. For example, it is tough to find a tank four feet long but only 10 inches wide but that size makes a great spawning tank for egg droppers/eaters like the danio family. When I could get 1/4" plate glass as salvage, I built lots of my own tanks and custom sized tanks for others.  Now, with no ready source of proper thickness salvage glass, I just buy the ready made tank from the LFS or be patient and buy a used one when the right size happens along.

Ron

[sniggir]

If you are planning on building you own tank.. I would take a dive down to T.O. you will save a lot of money on your glass

[speckledmind]

Be very carefull with older glass, as plate glass ages and becomes very brittle.

It's not much of a known fact, but a true one.

[jdx]

I have made a few tanks myself. IME, You will most likely spend more than buying one in the first project. After that, you will break even when tank size is around 180G. Then the larger the tank the more you will save, you will save a lot when tank is larger than 500G. Don't bother if tank is smaller than 120G....

For tank at that size I would buy a glass tank then build canopy, stand and filter by myself....

[normc]

Old glass is very brittle I found out the hard way. I work at BA and because of price of tanks they are the only thing I don't get an employees discount.

[homestar726]

Thanks for the advice... Maybe this is something I should save for a wall tank when I buy my house...

[bearmassu]

LOL interesting conversation ..
I used to make tanks for a company in mtl ... and I agree with everbody on here
I have a lot of experience doing it so maybe I don't find it hard
but it is expensive and for what size you want you are best to buy for one of the stores
JOHN
if you ever get where you want the glass I know of a place in montreal ..closer than toronto ..where you can get it ...

[homestar726]

I never really knew that plate glass was so expensive... I would have figured maybe 60$ for enough glass to build a 120g that was 48-60 long... I guess maybe Ill have to bite the bullet after all.

[speckledmind]

I would have figured maybe 60$ for enough glass to build a 120g that was 48-60 long

From the prices I have seen, $60.oo  will buy you the flat bottom part 3/8" plate glass of the tank, that's all.

As said above, it's simply not worth it building your own, unless it's a huge tank, but then again, I would go acrylic all the way and bite the bullet.

A couple of things to keep in mind on building your own tank.
ie : size, span and thickness of glass.
Just in case you figure making a tank out of thinner glass to save a few bucks, such as 1/4", think again.
I believe that many tanks should have 3/8" glass, actually, pretty much anything over 24 inch long, 12 inch deep, and 20 inch high.
Every time I have set up a 27 Gal. tank ( 30" x 12" x 18" ) or 33 gal. Tank ( 36" x 12" x 18" ) I get real nervous when seeing the glass bow when filled with water, glass has some flexibility over a certain span, but I still get kind of worried.
I have several Hagen 40 Gal. breeder tanks ( 36" x 18" x 15" ) with center braces, and even that is pushing things to the limit because of the 18" depth, since the newer 40 Gal. tanks have no center brace, I would not be caught dead filling those with watter, because they are now intended to be used for reptiles with no water, or turtles with a couple inches of water.
A friend of mine just set up a 30 Gal. tank ( 24" x 12" x 24" ), and I could not believe how much of a bow there was on the top when filled with water.
I had a Hagen 66.5 Gal. tank last year ( 48" x 16" x 20" ) that was made of 3/8" plate glass and had no center brace, and it bowed like crazy ( about 3/4 " inch from front to back with removable center brace ), I sold it to get a 75 Gal. ( 48" x 18" x 21" ) with center brace.
I have never had any tank bust on me, but I have seen several and heard of others as well, I rather play safe than sorry, cleaning up a water mess is one thing, but having glass break on you is a whole different ball game.

All that said, I keep looking at what you wrote " I guess maybe Ill have to bite the bullet after all. ".
If you think your bitting the bullet on the price of tanks, wait till you buy the rest 
Filter $179.oo, lighting $160.oo and up to $350.oo if you want, if you want a panted tank your looking at pressurized CO2 $350.oo, heater $30.oo, then comes the fun part, decorations such as wood, substrate you can pick up at a local gardening center if your not that fussy on the size of gravel or coloration, or it's $24.oo a bag and you need 3 to 4 of them in that size of tank.

EDIT : I never looked into the financial apsect, but there is such a thing as a Plywood Aquarium ?
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_list.php
Keep in mind that this is not an easy job, and certainly not a DIY on the kitchen floor 
OOPS  , this is a US site I'm pretty sure, and at the end of the article it says " Was it cheaper than a glass tank? In the end the tank was about the same price as a comparably sized glass tank ".

[homestar726]

never even thought about bowing.... that is so true.

[gonzobluefuzz]

If you are still planning to go thru with this project the following links might help

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/aquariumdiy/l/blcustomtank.htm

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/articles/technical/glassthickness

cheerz

G

[hamstercaster]

I must say that the DIY Plywood tank is actually pretty cool.  I almost feel like trying it out on my spare time even though it could take a year or so for me to finish the project    I have a big back yard where I could sit the tank and fill it up looking for leaks

[Roland]

http://www.garf.org/140.gallon.html

Plywood and epoxy resin wood (wood? ha ha I'm funny) be the way to go. It wood also require a table saw and lots of ventilated space.

I actually looked into buying NSF 61 rated epoxy. Meaning the epoxy resin can be used for tanks containing water for human consumption. Its @ 170$ for a minimum order of 4 gallons of resin and 4 gallons of catalyst at Sherwin Williams in Ottawa. They might not sell to a retail hobby person as they sell huge quantities for commercial use such as lining municipal water pipes.   In fact, the guy I spoke to recommended to go to an aquarium store or check out the local Aquarium society so here I is.  There's a marina across the road from where I live, which is opening up for the season next weekend I'm going to check there to see what they have.

I'd say a project like this would be done merely for the fun of it as it's not the kind of thing try to save money on. Do it for the challenge.

On a final note, it's the kind of project you want to be 100% bonus plus sure to get right on the first try.

[hamstercaster]

Yep, get it right the first time and that's why I'd probably get the plywood cut at Rona where I would buy the wood.  They are very well organized and I would be sure to have my wood cut straight the first time.  Take measurements and let them cut it.  If they screw up, they gotta replace it ;-)  But that is not something I will be getting involved with in the near future..

[homestar726]

The plywood would project does sound fun... Maybe we should make a summer event out of it.. Like at H. Depot. We can get an experienced builder to do a seminar, and maybe have a lil fun in the process.