building big tanks

dallas · 09-15-2005, 02:10 PM

hi all i was wondering if there is anyone out there who has or is building big fish tank around the

7 or 8ft long by 3ft high mark have made a few small 4ft tanks but no were in the region of the big players ,,, the time to ask for help has arrived

Matt Rogers · 09-15-2005, 03:19 PM

Hi thanks for joining 3reef.
Is this out of plywood, glass, plexiglass?

dallas · 09-15-2005, 04:20 PM

hi there going to use plate glass 19mm with euro bracing and it will drilled

hexus0 · 09-16-2005, 12:41 AM

wowza, i cant wait till i got back to the states, my uncle in law is a glass guy, and im planning on doin an in-wall bigger than hell tank.! good luck with your project. from what ive read on the subject, build a 3 sided tank from plywood, seal it up, ad glass. and presto your almost good to go. I think wetwebmedia.com had good plans on big tanks.

Matt Rogers · 09-16-2005, 12:47 PM

If I could go back in time I would be more help - I used to work for an aquarium store in Manhattan that built a lot of tanks (in 1992!). I assisted in cutting glass and drilling and for big tanks like you want we would cut the glass then truck it over to the client's place and build the tank on site. For a tank that big I think you will need 1/2 inch glass or 5/8ths. But that's just a foggy memory guess. It will weigh a lot! Start thinking about the floor.

Check this out though:

This is a DIY plan for a glass tank.

Plywood Tank.

New Wood and Glass Tank.

Building a 1700 gallon Shark Tank!

Good luck!

fletch · 09-16-2005, 05:08 PM

Well my 150 is 6' long and it is made out of 12mm ( 1/2") glass so I would think that 19mm (3/4") glass would be perfect. JMO.......................... John

Matt Rogers · 09-16-2005, 05:54 PM

Thanks John. I missed that tidbit.

dallas · 09-19-2005, 02:46 PM

thanks lads for the feed back ,, i was talking to a company at the weekend that supply acrylic and there going to get me 1" acrylic for a tank 7ftX3ftX3th cheaper then the glass ,,, so me thinks the acrylic will be easier work with.......... fingers crossed

Matt Rogers · 09-19-2005, 09:54 PM

Cheaper and lighter!
It will be trickier to euro-brace I imagine. More bow potential for sure. Probably need some cross supports. What do you think?

dallas · 09-20-2005, 03:01 PM

your right on the button matt .... a whole new way of thinking ... i have never worked with acrylic so at the moment i,m thinking of 5 cross braces about 8 inchs wide i,m not quite sure on the bonding of the acrylic,, as the industry standard they use chloroform over here and in the america its weld on 4 which will be hard to get my hands on