Acrylic Tank Build

kingfisherfleshy · Nov 12, 2011

Hey guys...a couple years ago I talked to Troylee about building a tank on here, but it never materialized.

Now for my work I am supposed to start spec-ing out the building and cost of a tank that is no less than 8'x3'x2'. If this is wasting acrylic though we can always go bigger to maximize the sheets we will have to buy. :xd:

What is the best way to go about this...Im all new. One note, this tank will be used for freshwater, but Troylee told me that you guys would help, and that he would like to have this thread here to help out the R2R community in general, so here is!

kingfisherfleshy · Nov 15, 2011

Anyone? Where do I start this process?

Troylee · Nov 15, 2011

What size do you wanna go??? Remember sheets come 4x8 standard "that's the most cost effective route" a 5x8 sheet or 4x10 is almost double the price for just a little extra material.. Keep that in mind to start..

kingfisherfleshy · Nov 17, 2011

Well the minimum dimensions we want is 8'x3'x2'...if we could make it larger to round it out as far as the sheets go we would though, no point in having acrylic left over.

kingfisherfleshy · Nov 18, 2011

Any ideas about how we can best use sheets to maximize our acrylic? No point in having any left over...so we would like to use it all.

lemonyx · Nov 20, 2011

Well for your dimensions, you'll need 3 1/2 sheets, one sheet for the front and back (that is if you want a clear back) one sheet each for the top and bottom and the half sheet for the ends. No mention of an overflow so that will be a little more acrylic. You can go with 1/2" thick but 3/4" would be better. Whose gonna to build it?

kingfisherfleshy · Dec 26, 2011

Thanks for the reply, this thing was so slow I went to another site, but that has been mainly discussion on what is going IN the tank as opposed to how to build it.

I think we are planning on using 3/4" at least or an inch for everything - but we were wondering if the bottom could be 1/8" if it was backed with 1" plywood with 2x4 supports underneath that?

Thanks

kingfisherfleshy · Dec 26, 2011

Bump?

Troylee · Dec 26, 2011

1" acrylic all the way around man.... The bottom you could use 1/2" I guess but the walls and euro need to be 1" thick... I would go 4x8x2 tall that's one sheet of 1/2" for the bottom and 2-1/2 sheets of 1" for the walls and euro... That left over piece can do a nice overflow for ya...

kingfisherfleshy · Dec 27, 2011

Troylee said:
1" acrylic all the way around man.... The bottom you could use 1/2" I guess but the walls and euro need to be 1" thick... I would go 4x8x2 tall that's one sheet of 1/2" for the bottom and 2-1/2 sheets of 1" for the walls and euro... That left over piece can do a nice overflow for ya...

Thank for the reply? Why wont the 1/8" work? My boss (at the university) keeps insisting on the physics of it. Either way we can make this happen, it might just have to wait a little longer.

That being said, if we used 1/2" would we still need to reinforce the bottom like I previously talked about with the 1/8th"?

Also - do I have to use a full piece for the top or can I just buy some scrap and put 4 bars across the top or soemthing like that?

kingfisherfleshy · Dec 27, 2011

Hey sorry - didnt mean for that ? to be there. Kinda makes me sound like a smart ****.

I would edit it, but I have tried three times, and everytime I click "edit" my internet freezes. Sorry

Troylee · Dec 27, 2011

The questions you are asking are putting big doubts in my mind your ready for such a build... 1/8" will hold water if you don't bump it even slightly... Just the weight of the tank flipping it will most likely crack it.. If your bottom is off just ever so slightly a couple thousands of a inch, complete disaster!!!! 1/2" on the bottom minimum..

and yes the way acrylic tanks are built the bottom must be completely supported or again disaster even with 1" on the bottom... Glass tanks are different they sit on the perimeter of glass and the bottom is a raised pane... Acrylic the bottom sheet takes all the weight and stress... As for your euro no piecing it together it must be one full sheet.. I would use 1" acrylic on all sides and the top would have a 10" to 12" euro around the perimeter with two 12" cross braces even spaced at 4' apart... Yielding 3 openings of 24" by 24" or 28x28" hth... Fwiw that tank is gonna weigh a good 600 pounds when finished... Not something most people can do in there garage... Just flipping it will need a forklift etc... I personally wouldn't attempt a tank that size at home when I had my shop yeah but today no way lol...

redtop03 · Dec 27, 2011

what I know for sure about acrylic is to heed Troylees advice,he's built too many to not know what he's talking about......in a hobby that's all about DIY overkill,I wouldn't even consider less than 1" thick acrylic for any part of a tank that size,which is gonna be expensive....

have you considered building a tank with plywood ? you can still use acrylic for the viewing pane and save a boat load on material cost but it is a lot of work and very time consuming...wood is a little more forgiving than acrylic or glass....good luck,this will be an interesting build,I'll be following along

kingfisherfleshy · Dec 27, 2011

I have consiered a plywood tank - but too many people have issues with leaks and not getting things just exactly right.

I know the fundamentals - and I personally wanted to go 1" all the way around.

I am simply relaying questions to make sure that we get everything right.

1" for everything. The cuts shouldnt be too hard - as they are quarter sheet, and half sheet. (Minus the top)

five O · Dec 27, 2011

You should try building smaller tank out of cheaper material first. Sounds like your trying to build a skyscraper before building a house.

redtop03 · Dec 27, 2011

kingfisherfleshy said:
I have consiered a plywood tank - but too many people have issues with leaks and not getting things just exactly right.

I know the fundamentals - and I personally wanted to go 1" all the way around.

I am simply relaying questions to make sure that we get everything right.

1" for everything. The cuts shouldnt be too hard - as they are quarter sheet, and half sheet. (Minus the top)

I've only read of 1 plywood tank that had issues,he skipped the fiberglass and just painted the interior with the sweetwater epoxy paint,I believe the fiberglass is a major structural part in having a successful wooden tank,all the others that I've followed have been trouble free,mine included,but if I could afford all acrylic,I'd probable went that route too...not trying to change your mind just offering a money saving idea...

the thing I like most about acrylic is you can use wood working tools to achieve perfect cuts,with the 1" thick material,it should be strong too....get the saw blades and router bits recommended by Troylee and someone to help you with moving the tank around while you're bonding the seams and you should have a fairly trouble free build...good luck,I think it'll be an awesome tank and can't wait to see it coming together,I love big tanks

kingfisherfleshy · Dec 28, 2011

Thanks - what should I do if the acrylic company offers to do the cuts? I have a table saw available to me, but I figured if they were willing that might be the best route to go.

Then all Id have to do is weld all the pieces together.

Braves Fan · Dec 28, 2011

I have never built anything out of acrylic, but have seen more than a few acrylic build posts. The one thing that seems to alway pop up is how important it is to get the edges right. If I were doing this, I would let the acrylic company do the cutting if they have the capability, especially on the top.

redtop03 · Dec 28, 2011

kingfisherfleshy said:
Thanks - what should I do if the acrylic company offers to do the cuts? I have a table saw available to me, but I figured if they were willing that might be the best route to go.

Then all Id have to do is weld all the pieces together.

if they can get the edges perfectly smooth,it would be great,if not,have them cut it slightly larger so you can run the router along the edges to make them perfect,if they're not perfect,the seams will be weaker

kingfisherfleshy · Dec 29, 2011

Alright, Ill make sure to enquire as to their abilities.

If I am going to have to have these sort of precision cuts anyways - It might just be better to go the plywood route.

I have seen a lot of plywood builds on MFK and it seems like lots of people have issues with leaks - and they dont seem to be that much cheaper to me IMO.

Any input?