# Is It Possible to build a large Acrylic Tank?



## peacefulfields (May 17, 2010)

Hi to my understanding an Acrylic tank is just Plexi Glass.. Now I have worked with Plexi allot building greenhouses replacing garage windows and so on.... I know that to make the bends you just need to heat it up with a heat gun... So it must be fairly easy to custom make your own right??


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

Someone somewhere makes the tanks that are sold. From that, it isn't a stretch to surmise you could make your own. The question becomes do you have access to the acrylic at a reasonable cost and can you get the solvent cements that are used to weld them together. You are probably working with extruded acrylic sheets, whereas most large tanks are made with cell cast acrylic which is supposed to be stronger and clearer, as well as more expensive.


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## slackline (Mar 28, 2010)

My advise would be to plan on going with cell cast, read up on the varieties and try a smaller tank before you make a huge investment in the sheets of acrylic.

Good luck.


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## ksk_che_che (Sep 26, 2007)

Polycarbonate or Lexan 250x's stronger than glass. And yes really expensive. Welding the seams is not easy and the bigger it is the harder it seems to get a successful weld/seam. And of course the top does require alot more bracing than glass due to the flexing which just adds to more seams that have to be welded.


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## aji1217 (Aug 22, 2009)

Yeah, its possible but not advised. With large tanks you deal with more pressure (if its deeper anyway, as depth is the only thing that increases pressure), which in turn means a greater strain on the seams than in a smaller tank. Also its much easier to perfectly weld a 24" peice of acrylic than a 96" one.

If you plan on this, consider adding acrylic dowels into every corner as a type of brace, it helps quite a bit. My 225G is homemade, and it has many many cracked areas on the top that required scab patches, a few parts on the seams that are a little loose, but not leaking. Just enough to make me a but nervous. It also bows quite a bit. I ended up having to silicone all the bulkheads as the bowing was causing them to leak.

A few things to consider.


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## sirdavidofdiscus (Dec 8, 2006)

bending window plexiglass is alot easier than bending the acrylic you're going to need for a large tank. Windows are about 1/4" thick, where aquarium plexiglass for a large tank is going to be 1-2" thick.


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## ksk_che_che (Sep 26, 2007)

*** never seen an acrylic aquarium made completely of 1-2" thick pieces. 1/2 inch and 3/4 yes, with either black frame or euro bracing on the bigger tanks. 
And from what I understand surface area also increases pressure not just height.


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## peacefulfields (May 17, 2010)

Thanks for you input guys... I'm looking into building my own custom tank with either glass or LEX. All I really want to build is 100-175 gal low rider... 6'-7' Long x 2'-3' wide.. Reviewing these posts I wonder if its possible to bond a thick Lex Bottom with glass walls? I just want to figure out what is the easiest way to custom build a 100+ tank... I don't want to go down the 200+gal road.
I think I will hit up Youtube and see whats out there..

I'm not a huge fan of Acrylic tanks anyway. They are not as clear, hard to clean, and easy to scratch. The only plus is the strength and the ability to drill bottom holes for filter tubes. I'm not looking to go real deep. I want length and width for breeding cichlids. These 2 55gallons I have are just getting old.


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## nauTik (Mar 18, 2009)

peacefulfields said:


> Thanks for you input guys... I'm looking into building my own custom tank with either glass or LEX. All I really want to build is 100-175 gal low rider... 6'-7' Long x 2'-3' wide.. Reviewing these posts I wonder if its possible to bond a thick Lex Bottom with glass walls? I just want to figure out what is the easiest way to custom build a 100+ tank... I don't want to go down the 200+gal road.
> I think I will hit up Youtube and see whats out there..
> 
> I'm not a huge fan of Acrylic tanks anyway. They are not as clear, hard to clean, and easy to scratch. The only plus is the strength and the ability to drill bottom holes for filter tubes. I'm not looking to go real deep. I want length and width for breeding cichlids. These 2 55gallons I have are just getting old.


Yeah, I know what you mean. I've been wanting to DIY my own larger tank and stand for a while now.

However, if it's not so much the DIY aspect that you're into and just getting the bigger tank you should check out craigslist. There have been a LOT of really good deals on big tanks here in Michigan lately. Not exactly sure what part you're from but the whole detroit area has had a lot of good deals. Just in case you'd be interested in that.


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## peacefulfields (May 17, 2010)

Yeah I just got my second 55 gal off CL... I paid 80 and it was only a good deal because of the 2 large powerheads and Penguin filters. I live in Grand Rapids and people here are crazy. 300+ for a 120... Which isn't too bad but I think I could build my own custom bigger cheaper and better.


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## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/d ... uarium.php

I haven't priced acrylic lately, but check out this article if you are interested in building a larger acrylic aquarium.

-Rick (the armchair aquarist, who wants to buy 2 sheets of acrylic and build a pair of shell-dweller "bookshelf" tanks... 8'x1'x1' and 7'x1'x1' (can't get an 8 footer out of a single sheet of acrylic, but you have an extra piece left over when you make it 7' that completes the other 8' tank)


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## m1ste2tea (Nov 12, 2009)

due to the special "low rider" design, I think you should build it. there arent many tanks out there with that design. The only problem that I am seeing would be again, the bracing at the top which might make it awkward to stretch it across the width at yet such a shallow depth.


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