Hello everyone, I'm interested creating a huge marine aquarium within my living room by constructing my own acrylic tank. If someone could please guide me to where I could purchase sheet of acrylic and methods on how to join them for a stable aquarium that would be great. Interested in making a bigger playground for the wet ones.
interesting idea, however im not one to answer it.
i would also not recommend this unless you are a very experienced acrylic worker.
the load, weight, and pressure in our tanks is more than most people understand...
its hundreds or thousands of pounds per square inch depending on the size. do you trust your ability to hold that kind of pressure for years? i know i dont..
i dont mean to be negative, if you have the skills, then awesome, but i cant provide much detail as to how to proceed.
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interesting idea, however im not one to answer it.
i would also not recommend this unless you are a very experienced acrylic worker.
the load, weight, and pressure in our tanks is more than most people understand...
its hundreds or thousands of pounds per square inch depending on the size. do you trust your ability to hold that kind of pressure for years? i know i dont..
i dont mean to be negative, if you have the skills, then awesome, but i cant provide much detail as to how to proceed.
Well It's an idea right now but with the right homework and reinforcement I'm defintiely interested in undertaking this task. If you know anyone that has done something remotely like this I would be definitely interested in the research.
Hey jay, i don't know if you are still interested in this idea, or if you have the financial ability,but if you go to www.reefandrainforestdesign.com and send an email to shawn wilson, he can either give you some pointers, or you may even want to look into getting him to do a tank for you, as he says in his company profile he has done tanks of over 50,000 gallons (somehow i dont think you'll have the room :P)
But i would look into custom aquariums first before trying it yourself, because like rob said, would you trust something you buil;d to hold x amount of gallons from breaking free all over your house??
I would have to say Jay i had the same idea. However in order to make the tank and sump look professional i would of had to buy tools - Router, Router table, Table saw, $80 blade, and about $70 in glue and arcylic. i dont have any of those tools so by the time it took me to get that far i would of spent alot of money and not a tank to show for it.
good points all. I tried to make my own 20 gallon tank a bit ago and ran into similar problems relating to the initial cost. I did actualy complete the tank, but then i got scared (mostly for the same reasons Rob was mentioning) and tore it down. At night i could actuallly hear creaking when the tank was full . Also, i was never able to get a fish to survive in this tank for long, and, over a year later, i have yet to figure out exactly why. My guess is there was some sort of residue on the acrylic and/or glass.
But, i dont want to be a pessamist here. I still think it can be done (not to mention the fact that i already invested in the tools ). Some lessons i learned from my experience that may help you:
1. Wipe all stuff down with rubbing alch. and rinse. This should take off all the residue.
2. Use only aquarium safe silicone! This sounds like a big duh, but it must say "Aquarium safe" on the bottle, else it is not safe. Buy the 10.3 oz tubes online. You can ususally find a case of 4 for pretty cheap.
3. If you have access to a CAD program, i would design in in there first and put it under virtual stress. This way you can see if it will hold before building it.
4. There will be a lot of trial and error! Be prepaired to fail over and over, produce lots of waste, and spend countless $$. But it is also fun!
Custom Built Oceanarium. 
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. Also, i was never able to get a fish to survive in this tank for long, and, over a year later, i have yet to figure out exactly why. My guess is there was some sort of residue on the acrylic and/or glass. 
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