MizRamzi

A friend was telling me that he's always wanted to build his own tank. He wants to build it out of *Plexi Glass* He's talking about a large tank. Over 75gal.
I can come up with all sorts of reasons why not to build out of plexi glass. His reasons to build simply are cost. What do ya'll think?

heartsongsinger

It would have to be Plexi glass that is meant to hold water or at least deal with that kind of pressure constantly. Maybe double walls of plexi glass

Tavel

acrylic (plexi-glass) is actually more suitable for large tanks because of it's strength to weight ratio.

I just don't see the point when you can buy a brand new guaranteed-not-to-leak 75g glass aquarium for $150 or so. It would cost more to build one from scratch...and it could still leak after all your efforts. or even worse, spring a leak a week after you have it all set up!

FL CommunityFans

From everything I've read on, DIY tanks do not become cost efficient until you cross over the 180 or 300gallon mark(i don't remember which, but it's one of those). I could be entirely wrong there though.

MeGustaUnaPez926

Sounds risky to me, I would just buy one you could count on.

Drew 43920

You are talking about a LOT of water pressure. I would be very worried about the strength of the seams.

Dozey

Plexi glass has just so many flaws. It's weak for one. If he went really thick it would cost more then a glass tank. Scratches far too easy. Is not generally very clear. And is actually quite porous, a breading ground for algae that would be impossible to clean.

IMO… not a good ideal.

Llama

I wouldn't recommend it, but if he's goign to build something that big, he needs to add bracers across the lenght, otherwise it'll collapse

shadowavenger

I don't think it would be hard enough. plexi glass would bow out under the weight and either burst the seems or just crack.

agabr123

honestly it doesn't make sense to try to build a tank for that size when you can buy one that's relatively inexpensive, especially if you check craigslist. personally i wouldn't do it unless he's going for 500 gallons or something.

Tavel

acrylic (often called by the brand names "plexiglass" or "Lucite") is the material of choice for very large aquariums because it's stronger than glass, has stronger seams (welded seams compared to adhesive seams in glass), it has greater transmittance (about 98%, compared to 90% for typical glass), and it's about half the weight of glass.

Glass is used for smaller aquariums because it's much cheaper and very scratch resistant.

That said, it's still not a good idea because, as said a few times, you can purchase a 75 gallon aquarium for substantially less than it would cost to make one by hand.

MizRamzi

My thoughts as well. I'll make sure he reads this. Thanks ya'll.

CWO4GUNNER

Concur that acrylic is only truly necessary once you get past 250 gallons as the weight in glass goes up exponentially. Also its not cost effective to build you own tank unless its at least 250 gal. even then you only save if only the front and and maybe sides are clear. Building your own on site is almost necessary when you get past 300 in glass.
But heck if he is only talking 100 and below It would cheaper easier to buy one as much it would cost in materials and man hours to build especially with so many out there. Walmart has 55 gallon starter kits with filter for $55