Coral propagation tank

Speedy · 08-05-2004, 10:07 AM

Ok. So now that I got my own place, I get the second bedroom and I'm turning it into a "Fish Room". With the ultimate purpose of propagating coral and breeding fish.

The first tank I'm wondering about is my Coral tank. I was thinking of making it significantly longer than it would be taller, to make the best use of the lighting. The dimensions I was thinking about were 48"x12"x6". Now what stumps me is the thickness, how thick would the acrylic need to be to support it the water it would contain. I am planning on buying the ACRYLIC sheets from US plastics and building it myself since custom built tanks are so expensive.

Any Ideas please advise.

JohnO · 08-05-2004, 11:20 AM

David,

As the tank is so shallow, have you considered using marine ply with an epoxy coating?

John

Speedy · 08-06-2004, 03:22 AM

Marine Ply? I don't really know what it is. Please explain. Teach me. And where can I find it?

JohnO · 08-07-2004, 08:45 PM

Sorry David :-)

Marine Grade Plywood ( Marine Ply ).

John :-)

Gresham · 08-07-2004, 11:23 PM

John, we can get acrylic sheets here in the US for nearly the same price as buying a MG ply and epoxy.

David, the thickness depends on the top piece. Are you going to have supports or are you going to try to have it entirelly open (eurobrace)? If you brace it (remember, a single top panel with cut outs is far better then adding multiple braces) you could get away with 1/4" or so with no problems.

I have a cheaper supplier for acrylic David (email me) outa Salt Lake City, I wonder if they can beat US for you in FLA?

JohnO · 08-08-2004, 11:24 AM

[quote author=Gresham link=board=DIY;num=1091736435;start=0#4 date=08/08/04 at 02:23:15]John, we can get acrylic sheets here in the US for nearly the same price as buying a MG ply and epoxy.

David, the thickness depends on the top piece. *Are you going to have supports or are you going to try to have it entirelly open (eurobrace)? *If you brace it (remember, a single top panel with cut outs is far better then adding multiple braces) you could get away with 1/4" or so with no problems. *[/quote]

Gresham,

Oh OK, but I didn't suggest it because of the cost factor :-) Probably just me, but I am far more confident with timber products than acrylic LOL

I'm assuming that this would be a ' look down' tank and therefore thought that there wouldn't be any need to be able to see through the sides ( assuming that you meant clear acrylic )

John

Gresham · 08-08-2004, 11:33 AM

I'm on the other side of the fence, so to say. I've had problems in the past with epoxy coated tanks, but I've never had any acrylic tank brake or leak on me. Scratching is another thing, I've definitly had that.

Woops, correction. I did have 1 55g acrylic tank brake on me. I rushed the drilling of the bulkhead (heated up acrylic) which caused some stress. 6 months later, it cracked across the back of the tank spilling its contents behind the row of tanks.

JohnO · 08-08-2004, 01:02 PM

Fair enough too Gresham :-)

I have dabbled a bit with ply tanks but never with acrylic tanks. * I just thought that considering the circumstances of a shallow tank that ply would be easy as a DIY project.

John