building my own tank

[dkling]

i'v been thinking that i want a biger tank, say 55 gal. or so.
would also like an overflow box .
has anyone ever built there own tank ? was it worth it ?
and how hard was it ? i plan on building the lighting , my self as i did w/my 29 gal. will also build own stand.
lighting & stand should be fairly easy.

[Geoff]

out of what?

if you a search in this forum, several people have mad thier tanks out of plywood. these are much larger than 55 though. i have built up to a 40g tank before as a sump for my system now. i used acrylic.

G~

[Tosh_Auer]

I have built a 38Gal sump out of glass and say that if you have a building bone in your body then go for it.

It wasn't nearly as hard as i had thought it would be. The hardest part is making sure you get the sides square and well this is the one part you cannot stuff up.

compared to buying one, if you can get a good price on the glass and you have the spare time to make it yourself then it will save you money. I did it at school so i wasted there time doing it.

Just remember to design it well and do more research then you do actually building.

Good luck

Tosh

[wanareef]

Here's a link to garf look under diy pages for the tank info. Plywood , was mentioned, glass and acrylic as well. Acrylic would be IMO the hardest to build if you have not worked with acrylic before.

Glass, you can have the glass shop cut it for you, just remember that the sides sit on the bottom (all sides).

Acylic- less $$ to get a 1/2 sheet, 3/4 sheet or a full wheet depening on the size of the tank. For a 55 popbably a 1/2+ will be enough for you.

Plywood-the eaisest to build = using ac/x ply and glass. You need to use a wateproof glue, screws. Just "butt" joints work.

hth

[Tosh_Auer]

Wanareef are you saying that Acrylic is cheaper then glass? This is definatly not the case. Acrylic thick enough for fish tanks is about double that of glass thick enough for fish tanks. Also Acrylic is really and i mean really easy to work with in relation to glass. But again ply is still the easiest to work with and the cheapest.

[wanareef]

Acylic- less $$ to get a 1/2 sheet, = less money to get a 1/2 sheet. Where does it say that acrylic is cheaper (too much water on the brain)


I should have clearified- it's less $$ to get what you need instead of a full sheet of acrylic. We all know acrylic is spendy at full retail.

[Tosh_Auer]

Im with you now. I really wasn't sure what you were saying. ya know your probably right too much tiime in the water.

[jaze36]

a good place for acrylic is freckleface.com, they will cut to size to for $1.00 per cut