# Is an Acrylic tank possible?



## CERICKSON85 (Jan 12, 2009)

i talked to a friend of mine that works in a plastic plant. I asked him for some price quotes on the supplies (acrylic) and he said that an acrylic tank wont work. Adding that his engineers attempted one and it busted to pieces. He also said that the particular tank was 2feet tall. I would not want to buy all the stuff to figure out that its not possible. Does anyone know why a tank would break like that? or more importantly is the acrylic tank possible?


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## Murky (Jun 13, 2007)

depends on if It's actually acrylic. or if it is plexiglass.. you do not want to try making a tank from plexiglass unless it was only like a foot tall. and Acrylic tanks are made in all shapes and sizes. there is a section in the 'library' on this site that talks all about making acrylic tanks


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Of course acrylic aquariums work.

http://www.tenecor.com/

Besides the normal to extreme (50,000 galllons) hobbyist size acrylic tanks in the link above, there are many huger acrylic tanks in public aquariums all around the world. Perhaps your friend makes extruded acrylic which is softer than the cell cast acrylic recommended for acrylic aquariums. Or perhaps they didn't use the correct bonding, since a product like Weldon actually combines the pieces of acrylic in the tank into a single piece rather than using a glue or adhesive like you would with a glass aquarium.

However if a person knows what they are doing (and an engineer should), a tank could be made with extruded acrylic. The disadvantages would be that it would have some die marks (lines) in the surface, would not be as optically clear as cell cast, and would bulge more than cell cast when filled with water. If the tank is assembled to correctly accomodate the characteristics of extruded, it would not bust to pieces. I can think of likely to improbable reasons why the tank would bust. Very thin acrylic sheeting insufficient to support the weight of water. Gluing the tank together with sealant designed for sealing glass. Allowing the water in the tank to freeze solid.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Murky said:


> depends on if It's actually acrylic. or if it is plexiglass.. you do not want to try making a tank from plexiglass unless it was only like a foot tall. and Acrylic tanks are made in all shapes and sizes. there is a section in the 'library' on this site that talks all about making acrylic tanks


 Plexiglass is a brand name, not a type of plastic. It is acrylic. Some tank manufacturers use it to build tanks much taller than a foot. Some use other brands.


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## Murky (Jun 13, 2007)

there are different types of acrylic from what I understand.. the stuff home depot sells as plexiglass from what I've heard turns yellow and cracks and you don't want to use it. read that on Melevsreef


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Murky said:


> there are different types of acrylic from what I understand.. the stuff home depot sells as plexiglass from what I've heard turns yellow and cracks and you don't want to use it. read that on Melevsreef


Here's a quote from a plastics company:
"Plexiglass (acrylic) is a versatile material that has great impact strength yet is light weight with exceptional optical quality. Plexiglass (acrylic) can be used for a number of applications such as signage, glazing, displays, picture framing, aquarium tanks, and much more.....
Acrylic refers to a synthetic plastic material. Plexiglass, plexi-glass, lucite, acrylite or acrylic glass are often used to describe acrylic. There are several manufacturers of acrylic sheets. Some of the brand names of these manufacturers are Plexiglas, Chemcast, Acrylite, Lucite. PlexiglasÂ® is a registered trademark of Arkema, Inc." 
http://www.plexiglassonline.com/

Besides the different manufacturers there are three different ways to produce acrylic. The most suitable for an aquarium is cell-cast. The least suitable is extruded. Older recipes for acrylic would turn brittle and yellow with exposure to UV light. Perhaps Home Depot imports acrylic from some country which still uses the old yellowing formula for acrylic. It is certainly worth your while to find a local plastics house to deal with to be sure you are getting aquality product.


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## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

I had a 90 gallon acrylic tank custom made for me. The local guy who builds them has done some huge amazing tanks from acrylic. 
J


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I built a 180 gallon acrylic tank in 2007. Still up and doing fine. I had never worked with acrylic prior to 
building this, but did a lot of research. Do your homework and it can be done.

180 gallon acrylic project

Just finished building 6 more tanks with sumps. Still not up and running yet, but working on it.










Ditto to everything McDaphnia posted. He knows what he's talking about.


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## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

send me one of those setups there :lol:


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