Acrylic tank build questions

[Victor_C3]

I’m thinking about building my own aquarium out of acrylic, however I have three questions:

1) who is a good supplier for acrylic sheet? It appears that not all brands are equal. I know to get cast rather than extruded, but that is it.

2) what thickness would be appropriate for a tank that is 140 gallons and measures 36” long x 30” wide x 30” tall? Would 3/4” work?

3) what thickness would be appropriate for a 90 gallon tank of 36” long x 24” wide x 24” tall? Would 1/2” acrylic be sufficient here? Or should I go with 3/4” here as well?

Thanks for any input!

 

[lapin]

I use Plexiglas G which I can get at Regal Plastics here in Austin. They are a nation wide co so you might be close to one.
You will get different opinions on this. For a first time builder, I would go a bit thicker to have a bigger bonding surface to make up for any mistake in bonding.
30 inch tall I would use 0.944 I feel the 0.708 would be too thin for my liking. I dont like any deflection.
24. inch tall I would use 0.708 you could use 0.628

You did not say anything about bracing.....

 

[Victor_C3]

I use Plexiglas G which I can get at Regal Plastics here in Austin. They are a nation wide co so you might be close to one.
You will get different opinions on this. For a first time builder, I would go a bit thicker to have a bigger bonding surface to make up for any mistake in bonding.
30 inch tall I would use 0.944 I feel the 0.708 would be too thin for my liking. I dont like any deflection.
24. inch tall I would use 0.708 you could use 0.628

You did not say anything about bracing.....

Thanks the input.

For the difference in price for the required material, I’ll probably stick with 24” tall at .708” thick.

As far as bracing, I figured I’d go with eurobraced top without any crossmembers. I’m not sure how wide the eurobrace should be. Would 2” be wide enough?

Thanks!

 

[lapin]

I would do 3" all the way around, with 1.5" radius for all interior corners of the eurobrace cutout (3" diameter circle). Your supplier should be able to cut it with a CNC machine.