building frag tank, need all the parts

[CaptiveBred]

I've decided to build a frag tank, at least 48 long by 24 front to back. Willing to go up to 96 by 24. I'm shopping for a tank and lights at the moment so if you have either or both and would be willing to sell or trade please let me know.

[Fat Tony]

contact Tom Wyatt.. tdwyatt. on here. he has a couple 135's for sale that are RR and one is drilled for a Closed Loop...

[tlgreve]

Also, Timmy just gave his 180 a bump, take a look.

[hng]

You could also consider building you own frag tank out of acrylic. It wouldn't be too hard, and it would allow you to make the tank as shallow as you'd like. Tom has a nice frag tank like that (but it's not for sale).

[CaptiveBred]

Originally Posted by hng

You could also consider building you own frag tank out of acrylic. It wouldn't be too hard, and it would allow you to make the tank as shallow as you'd like. Tom has a nice frag tank like that (but it's not for sale).

Is there a local supplier? If so, who? Any idea what a sheet cost and what a sheets dimensions are?

[crvz]

You can find 1/4" acrylite FF material for ~$3.5 a square foot (last time I bought it), and it comes in 4'x8' sheets. So a sheet is about $110.

[Fat Tony]

yeah, but he is going to need probably 3/4" minimum with a good size Euro brace for a 4' or 6' tank...

[CaptiveBred]

So I got a little creative and think I've got this figured out. I bought two rubbermaids that fit exactly inside of one another, although one is shallow. They are the exact measurements I was looking for, but how can you pass up $28. These measure 42 x 20. One is 20 inches deep and the other is 8 inches. I'm going to build a 2 x 4 frame under and around to keep the rubbermaids in shape (no bowing). I'll drill the top container on both side to be the over flows and then i'll drill larger holes for returns on both sides. The top container is clear to my one light should be able to serve as both the frag tank light and the sump light. I'll post pics as soon as it starts to come together.

[CaptiveBred]

i thought about acrylic and using 2 euro braces at 2 and 4 feet for a 6 foot tank, but it started to get pretty exspensive. I don't think i would need 3/4 since it would have been a shallow tank.

[aquawolf]

This should be interesting. Be sure to post pictures of your progress.

[CaptiveBred]

Here's the first couple of pics

[aquawolf]

Is that clear container a Sterilite one? If so, be careful when you start working with it as they are known to crack fairly easily. Just an FYI.

[Ron69]

Yep, Sterilite is definitely not Rubbermaid. I speak from experience.

On a side note I have a 110g oceanic tank I could let go for $125.

[CaptiveBred]

I'm gone give this a try, but if I crack the sterilite container I may be calling you about the 110. What are the dimensions? overflows?

[skey44]

with braces think you could go with 3/8 or half inch acrylic if you kept it under 12 inches. "Acrylics" on reefcentral is very helpful with acrylic aquarium design. He is the owner of Envision acrylics.

your design looks interesting and I think it would work for the sump, but the top tank looks a little thin. with those dimensions (the rubbermaids) and being very shallow you could possibly get away with 1/4" as crvz priced for you as long as it is cast acrylic and not the cheap lowes stuff I usually see there.