[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

DIY Acrylic Aquarium




Dwight,

I recently finshed making an aquarium from acrylic very similar to your
dimension. I used 1/2" acrylic. I don't have a pressure list for you, but
some type of additional bracing is almost certainly a good idea. I put an
addition stip of 2" x 48" acrylic  lengthways on both sides of the
aquarium. A friend of mine has made over 100 hundred tanks using this
design and he does not have any difficulty. The "glue" you use to fit the
peices together is not really glue, it's a chemical solvent that essentaily
melts the stuff together. Once it sets (I think 24-48 for full strenght) It
should not pose any problems to your fish.
We used my table saw to cut the acrylic, with a special blade with the
teeth having as small is offset as I could find. They make specialty blades
for this but I could not locate one. If you do not have access to a table
saw, see if the source for your acrylic will cut it for you. I bought a
4'x8' sheet, and the place I bought it from was willing to cut it for
something like $7 a cut. You might be able to get it done cheaper, but with
a 4'x8' sheet you should only need 5 cuts or so and then make sure you keep
the scrap so you can make your braces yourself.

I am not a professional acrylic worker and these are just my personal
observations. No guarentee is implied or expressed.

Shawn

You wrote:
--
I am about to build a custom aquarium 48"L x 36"W x 18"H out of Acrylic and
I need some advice from DIYers.  I've not worked w/ acrylic before and
would like some tips in terms of the appropriate plastic thickness.  I was
thinking of using 1/2" is that too much?  Too little?  Is there an acrylic
water volume calculation formula that will tell me the safe thickness to
use?

Would a center brace be necessary?  I checked out Mel Gross' old post and
I'd like to avoid this headache if at all possibe.  Are there any
aquarium-safe acrylic glues?

Has anyone found a DIY Acrylic Aquarium site?









THanks for all the informative replies that I got regarding the DIY
Water-Changer-Float valve.

I am about to build a custom aquarium 48"L x 36"W x 18"H out of Acrylic and
I need some advice from DIYers.  I've not worked w/ acrylic before and
would like some tips in terms of the appropriate plastic thickness.  I was
thinking of using 1/2" is that too much?  Too little?  Is there an acrylic
water volume calculation formula that will tell me the safe thickness to
use?

Would a center brace be necessary?  I checked out Mel Gross' old post and
I'd like to avoid this headache if at all possibe.  Are there any
aquarium-safe acrylic glues?

Has anyone found a DIY Acrylic Aquarium site?