Making your own tank?

sarahwoods

sarahwoods

New member
[video=youtube;ui-r2oTfTog]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui-r2oTfTog[/video]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever tried making their own tank. It doesn't look that hard, but I am assuming it's harder than it looks? I would love to try to make something small at first, like a 5 gallon cube or something.
 
I made one once...

It's what prompted me to buy a 16g shop vac that needed to be emptied a lot. I'm pretty handy too.
 
I think it's more patience. However, I did find it more expensive compared to buying. I wanted to do it for the experience.
 
It's the same as anything. Practice makes perfect. Plywood tanks are also popular. 3/4" marine grade plywood, coated with a 2 part expoxy, and a starphire glass front panel. It's relatively inexpensive and easy to build tanks up to 960 gallons. The majority of your public aquariums use this method for their aquatic exhibits.
 
That's kind of where I am at, I want to try it just for the experience of it. I think if I am free this weekend I might give it a go and try something small like a little pico 5 gallon tank or something...that way if it breaks it's not a ton of water everywhere.

GaryR1984 said:
I think it's more patience. However, I did find it more expensive compared to buying. I wanted to do it for the experience.
Click to expand...
 
Acrylic is pretty easy to work with especially for small tanks, the largest I've made is about forty gallons, and there are a lot of web pages and videos out there for guidance. If you have the plastic shop cut it you are basically just gluing it together. They can also finish the edges to make a better seal.
 
I made a tank once.... once and never again. That was some expensive drywall repair so needless to say, I buy mine :)
 
Did you ever attempt the build. I'm half tempted to build a sump or a ato container out of glass. Glass for something small like that seems to be cheaper than acrylic.
 
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