DIY Acrylic Tank - Questions/Total Newb

[kingfisherfleshy]

Hey guys...I dont want anyone to get too excited, but I am looking into this.

A while back I posted a thread about a 125g that I recieved for free. Its lighting system wasnt good enough for me to put my corals from my 75g into, and I dont have the money to upgrade the lighting in the way that I would like (LED :xd

So it became a softie/pred tank.

It looks pretty cool...and I want to get more softies, more preds, and more macros. I think thats a look you dont usually see, and its pretty sweet!

I know a place locally where I can get acrylic. I have a guy that I work with that has some experience working with it, and can also find pretty good deals. I figure if I also make it a plywood tank LINED with acrylic that will save me money on acrylic thickness.

I mainly want to make my tank WIDER...than the current 21". (72"x21"x18" current dimensions) But I could expand in other directions too.

I want to make the tank considerably bigger (180 maybe) but I want to do it efficiently (as little wasted plexi as possible to save on $)

I know that this sounds like a shot in the dark, and it is, but I am looking to upgrade, and having some people with a little more knowlegdge to bounce some ideas around cant help. I drew out one tank the other day completely...and looked at some hardware prices...but thats all I have done.

Lets hear some ideas...some experiences...thanks

 

[Troylee]

well depending on your dimensions a standard 180 24x24x72 you could use 1/2" acrylic although i would recommend 3/4" for best result's and zero deflection.... a ply wood tank is pretty cheap, but very time consuming and the biggest down fall is only one side viewable....
what dimensions are you thinking and how many sides viewable????

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

The thing about the "standard" 180 dimensions that I dont like is the added depth, which I dont really need. I just want more room for my fish. So we could make it 72"x30"x18".

The man issue for me is whether or not the fish will be happy. The tank would be visible from two different sides.

 

[Troylee]

that would work just like a standard tank, takes 2 sheets exactly... acrylic comes 48x96" standard and is big bucks for anything wider or longer...it would run ya about 600$ in materials to build a standard 180...
for your dimensions 1/2" thick would be perfect....

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

Is that with, or without the plywood? Is there a chance that I could reduce the thickness on three sides because of the plywood? Or would that just cost more because I would be wasting some of the 1/2" I would need to get for the front?

Thanks