DIY acrylic frag tank

[fragels]

has any one dont it before or could help me out. im going to be building a 3' by 4' or 4' by 4' tank. LMK thanks

 

[surfn]

thats pretty huge, what do you need a frag tank that size for? going into *the* business?

 

[fragels]

yes im going into *THE* buisness.haha. i have tuffstuff feeding bins right now. looking to be a little bit more professional.

 

[Patwa]

this is my DIY acrylic tank I built from scratch........it's 1 year old this month! woot!

currently, i'm gluing together a new sump to replace the rubbermaid tubs i was using for the past year...i'm not willing to go another year with the same sump system, although it has performed flawlessly for me....I just hate the 'ghetto fab' look of the tubs...LOL

and I didn't build this cuz I was going into the business ...I actually have waaaaaaay too much corals...LOL

http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=21675

Zach

 

[fragels]

how much did this cost and would you be willing to do it for me lol

 

[Azurel]

Acrylic right now is a major set back for DIY building.....How tall is it gonna be? That will dictate how thick you will have togo due to the extended length. I priced acrylic about a year ago for a 30x30x30 and the places around here wanted almost $400 per sheet of 1/2-3/4 acrylic. If you a have a state tax id then you might be able to get it cheaper....

 

[fragels]

ouch. its going to be a foot tall. thats a little bit expensive for me.

 

[Azurel]

That's what I said, I would shop around and look on line as well. There are distributors that will ship but you might have to order 3 sheets. I found on-line prices to be not so harsh. Also the places around here in Kazoo I think are in some kinda pricing scheme.....I called one place GE plastics and they wanted even more per sheet and refered me to this place that custom builds tanks. He wanted about $12 less per sheet and gets it from the same dang place I called first.....Somebody is getting kick backs or has a deal to keep compition to min.......

 

[fragels]

lol. that sucks. im thinking about downsizing to a 3' by 2'' so i dont have to have a lid and maybe cut down on some money.

 

[Patwa]

how much did this cost and would you be willing to do it for me lol

i tried to keep the cost down as much....here's what i can remember for the main stuff off hand....i've had a lot a beers since aug '06 LOL

(canadian dollars)
acrylic $230
acrylic glue $12
ikea coffee table $60
rubbermaid tubs $25
T4 velocity $120 (used but in mint condition)
plumbing $30
Hamilton lighting (400W HQI, with ballast, bulb and pendant) $300
Skimmer $250
powerheads ~$100 (i've changed this a lot in the past year)

that's about it...no one said reeftanks were cheap, but i think i did a good job overall on keeping it down....all the build work was done by me

the new sump i'm building to replace the rubbermaid tubs is costing me $160 for the acrylic....i have glue already.....just need to buy the beer!

Zach

 

[JGoslee]

Thats a sweet looking frag tank Zach.

 

[VanHalen]

lol. that sucks. im thinking about downsizing to a 3' by 2'' so i dont have to have a lid and maybe cut down on some money.

that's either gonna an awfully short tank or an awfully skinny-tall one
:hammer:

 

[chadfarmer]

i can get 3/8 inch for 160.00 for a 4x8
1/2 inch for 200 for a 4x8
3/4 inch for 300 for a 4x8


this is through my work

i have been throwing around the idea to make some calcium reactor so i did price shopping


now cylinders are expensive

 

[fragels]

yeah chadfarmer your really far away from me though. i would have to spend extra to get it shipped.

sorry vanhalen i meant 3' by 2'. my dad just sold a guitar singed by van halen.