240 Gallon Build

3D Reefin' · Mar 28, 2020

Hello R2R Members,

I am planning on building a 240ish gallon acrylic tank. I'm planning on building all of the big components, tank, stand and sump.

I have a few questions for those who have built tanks in the past. I plan on using 3/4" cast acrylic, tank external dimensions are 94"L x 24"W x 30"H. Do you guys have any sources that provide you with material (acrylic) thickness to height recommendation chart. I have only found a few, some say 1/2" others 3/4" for the height that I am going for (30"). I plan on using 3/4" material for the bottom and side panels, the top panel is going to be 1/2" and all panels will be CNC routed. I attached some pictures of how I want the aquarium to look, as well as few assembly views and the tank joints (blue).

I don't plan on keeping corals, fish only, for now.

Sdot · Mar 28, 2020

3D Reefin' said:
Hello R2R Members,

I am planning on building a 240ish gallon acrylic tank. I'm planning on building all of the big components, tank, stand and sump.

I have a few questions for those who have built tanks in the past. I plan on using 3/4" cast acrylic, tank external dimensions are 94"L x 24"W x 30"H. Do you guys have any sources that provide you with material (acrylic) thickness to height recommendation chart. I have only found a few, some say 1/2" others 3/4" for the height that I am going for (30"). I plan on using 3/4" material for the bottom and side panels, the top panel is going to be 1/2" and all panels will be CNC routed. I attached some pictures of how I want the aquarium to look, as well as few assembly views and the tank joints (blue).

I don't plan on keeping corals, fish only, for now.

Looks good any reason you are going 30H and only 24W?

3D Reefin' · Mar 28, 2020

Sdot said:
Looks good any reason you are going 30H and only 24W?

Most of the fish I plan on keeping are 10" or less, a few may reach 14" max. I didn't think I needed to make it wider.

Sdot · Mar 28, 2020

3D Reefin' said:
Most of the fish I plan on keeping are 10" or less, a few may reach 14" max. I didn't think I needed to make it wider.

Ah...just thinking about it from an surface area perspective....

3D Reefin' · Mar 31, 2020

Sdot said:
Ah...just thinking about it from an surface area perspective....

I may end up buying a tank second hand, the prices of acrylic are pretty expensive around me. The dimensions seem to be common for tanks this size. More surface area would be beneficial for corals and rock work?

Sdot · Mar 31, 2020

3D Reefin' said:
I may end up buying a tank second hand, the prices of acrylic are pretty expensive around me. The dimensions seem to be common for tanks this size. More surface area would be beneficial for corals and rock work?

Yup... oxygen exchange.

Sdot · Mar 31, 2020

3D Reefin' said:
I may end up buying a tank second hand, the prices of acrylic are pretty expensive around me. The dimensions seem to be common for tanks this size. More surface area would be beneficial for corals and rock work?