[Trev]

First post, hopefully a worth wild one.

Is i possible, or has anyone ever tried, to make your own tank.

ive done some research into acrylic sheeting, in various thicknesses(1/8,1/4)
ive been fidling with the idea for a good 2 weeks now. I own various powertools( i build skateboards as a sidejob) including a large deck table saw. Ive cut plexi/acrylic materials before, and have experiment with acrylite for skateboard bulding.

I see alot of acrylic tanks on the market, and honestly like the clean, borderless, look much better. But being the DIY'er i am, i thought hey i can make that.
To add on top of this, im really looking for a completely custom tank, custom sizing. ive also seen people make DIY refugiums so why not a tank?

i plan on building a nano style tank here soon as an experiment, if it works, i will be making a much larger tank, (40-50 gallons) will be using epoxy resins of wich im not sure yet, probaly using a resin i use in laminating fiberglass into skateboards



if you know anyone who has done it before or if you have any input on wether or not its worth a try please send it my way!

[Salt-lick]

There are some pretty good articles out there on how to do your own Acrylic tanks... I def. want to make a small Acrylic tank for pico reefing.. but Havnt had the $ or the know how to go out and do it.. I assume when you say custom you mean All curvy and shapely.. but you need to remember most of those are poured acrylic.. and not cut acrylic sheets. So you would need to have the acrylic in its raw form to inject into molds. Here is a link to a site that does injection.. Good luck with your project and keep us posted.. A&A Global Industries > Manufacturing Divisions > Injection Molding, Tool & Die and Powder Coating

[Trev]

just looking to make a nano style tank right now.
nothing fancing just a square.


for the bigger tank, same deal, just bigger :] but the injection thing looks cool might have to experiment.

[emccullough1]

Read this first
http://www.reefbuilders.com/forums/d...-aquairum.html

And you will need to use weld-on 4 or 3 for glue or some other brand like it. It realy is not glue but weld's the acryic . do a google serch you will find a lot of good info.

I realy dont know why that post is not a sticky on the DIY page

[emccullough1]

I found it look at this bild
http://www.reefbuilders.com/forums/l...al-system.html

I would have to get a new home to hold it

[NATIVEVAMAN]

The cornerless effect is achieved by heating and bending the acrylic,not glueing.I would love to try it but that bending stuff is very scarey lol.

[Trev]

i also thought abou that! heat bending, but im not sure my plain jain propane torch would do it?

ive bent pyrex tubing with it but acrlyic im very unsure about.

emccullough1, thanks for the info! much appreciated.

nativevaman, thanks for the idea! ill have to do some more research into bending acrylics

[emccullough1]

Is a kid we would make the shape we wanted with chicken wire and paper masha and heet the plexaglass in the oven and lay it over the mold . it worked real good( we maid Napkin holders, picture frames exc.) you where to try it on a tank size piease you would need a pizza oven. I would recomend a heat gun rather then torch. and you need to leave the paper on when heating

[emccullough1]

I just looked it up and Acrylic is stable to 180 F and can start bending at around 200 F

[Trev]

hmmm, i might be able to make a bowfront for the tiny nano, in the oven.

so, if at all possible, i just set the acrylic sheet in the over, till its 200 degrees, set it on a mold sorta deal, let it cool?
sounds easy enough, i have vaccum bags, i could make some crazy curves.

after some thought, im not sure ill go nano first. ive been stocking up on LR lately whenever i have cash, and its just chillin out in my eclipse 20 gallon. more than what i need to aquascape that tank. soooo, i might just fill her up this weekend, order some acrylic and go to town, we'll see i suppose.

i take it no one has done this before? cmon i know one of you guys have! stop hidin.

[emccullough1]

Rember the every thing has to fit perfect and edeges have to be glass smooth. the weld-on 3-4 is water thin.

[e_baer]

i sorta made my own tank. i got two 10's and siliconed them together.

does that count?

[Trev]

sure? any pics!? haha, interesting, so that made a long 20 gallon? (of course)

sounds cool, that gives me an idea for a frag tank, wich has recently caught my attention and this weeken im goin to drop a good 75 dollars on some frags at the LFS. (15 dollars a peice) for my 20 gallon eclipse.

any recomendations on frags?

anyway just need to find a black acrylic back peice and pick out a decent skimmer(cheap side :-/) got 1 new powerhead tonight from walmart haha saw it and had to have it, thank god for walmart gift cards!

[e_baer]

yup, it made a 20 long.

this thread should give all the info and pics.
http://www.reefbuilders.com/forums/d...sump-fuge.html

as for frags, maybe a variety, some soft corals, some polyps, shrooms.

try the easier corals first then the lps.

[Trev]

alright folks, due to the fact i have to work all weeekend this week, the tank building will have to be pushed back to the weekend after this one. also still hunting for black acrylic.

as for corals, what corals will work under my lighting? im just using an eclipse hood, 2x24 inch fixture in it. right now im running one eclips daylight and one aqua glo? but i have another eclipse daylight. any suggestions on bulb upgrades? i plan on growing the frags out in my already developed tank because i was looking to purchase them friday. then will be moved to the larger tank when finished/developed.

[emccullough1]

I dont know if you are lucky enough to have a Marine outlet store in your area or not.
But I picked up a 1/4"- 4'x8' sheet of gray smoked for $35.00 two weeks ago there. And thay had a clear 1/2"-4'x8' for $50.00 I'm still thinking where I could put a big tank. as far as your black get ready for a shock but here is a place to order it .
Colored Plexiglas Acrylic Sheet

If it where me I would just paint the back side and keep the $$$.