# Building an Aquarium



## chris55 (Jan 11, 2009)

I have read several places about how to build and acrylic tank and such, but my question is when you go to buy an acrylic or glass tank the biggest length ive ever seen is 120, is that pretty much the longest you would want to build and aquarium or is that just the biggest they would build it? Is that the saffest length or could it be built longer? I know your going to ask why would I want it longer, Im not saying I do, Im just curious. I ad an idea to build a 144x48x36 1" thick tank (1100 gallons) and didnt know if it would be safe not seeing any manufacturers making them this long. Any help or opinions is appreciated.


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## jdm free (Feb 15, 2009)

it shouldnt matter how long it is as long as its supported on a stand the right way


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## FordMan (Jan 18, 2009)

don't forget cross members on the top if you frame it with aluminum L stock it takes some of the load off just the silicon but to be honest with you everytime i considered it it was cheaper to just go buy a tank of the desired size. but cudos if you'd rather build it yourself i'm a diys er too but i have a pretty tight budget PM me if you need specifics on glass or plexis glass thickness and how and where to get aluminum stock and glass/plexi


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## chris55 (Jan 11, 2009)

man I need to know where to glass or acrylic that size for cheap, ive been searching and the biggest I can find is 96 long, plus the acrylic for 36x96 1 inch thick was 900 a sheet not including the 500 to ship it, lol and I need 5 sheets!!!!!!!!!


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## FordMan (Jan 18, 2009)

you could always have a seam join two peices of glass with t aluminum stock just be sure not to let any of the aluminum touch the water (coat it with silicon) that is a good oppertunity to for a box frame/crossmember


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## FordMan (Jan 18, 2009)

btw i'd always do glass over acrylic acrylic gets foggy over time and is very vulnerable to scratching like when your cleaning algae i can draft some plans up for you if you give me some dimentions... and what size glass stock and aluminum or steel stock you can get.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

although glass would be nice, a tank this size would weight a ton, empty. im not sure on the thickness but your going to want it thick enough that is doesnt bow. i have seen 2 sheets of acrylic put together with some type of tool that i believe heats them and then you sand and buff the seam and you couldnt tell they were 2 peices. regardless doing this isnt going to be cheap and if you have a company come in to build it for you its going to be alot more. 
idk what kind of setup your going for and if its going to be salt or fresh but another option would be a plywood tank. basically the entire tank is made of plywood, then you seal the wood would an expoxy of some sort and attach a sheet of glass to the front.


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## Tyyrlym (Jun 1, 2008)

The reason you don't see commercial tanks above 300 gallons (at least very often) is that there's not a huge market for super-sized tanks and the costs of transporting such monsters is prohibitive.

While it might be impressive to build such a huge tank yourself personally I'd feel a whole lot better about getting it made professionally. This thing is going to be holding a huge amount of water that will cause untold havoc in your house if something happens. Then there's the livestock cost. A tank that large would be holding thousands of dollars worth of fish and other creatures. With that kind of risk I wouldn't want to make such a tank my first foray into DIY tanks.


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## chris55 (Jan 11, 2009)

well I cant find glass that thick, Id need it to be about 1-1.5 . Ive found acrylic that thick but its not cheap. But I like the idea of the split section n the middle, and just brace the top where the slit is with more alluminum like a euro brace. But having this glass would be ungodly heavy (around 2200 pouds and thats too much if i ever would want to move it. And I have built other tanks in the past (smaller ones) for some of my freinds just never built my own or one this size


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

i think your best bet would be a sealed plywood tank with glass or acrylic sheet in the front.


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## chris55 (Jan 11, 2009)

thought about that too, but I like being able to veiw them from the side (expecially when trying to make sure one didnt eat the other and cant find one)


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