TOTW 6-12-05 How to build a 180 gallon tank and stand???

[Beckyx1905]

Hi everyone!
I'm brand new on here,and glad to be joining too. I've been living in sumter,sc for 12 yrs now. I'm 19 yrs old. Umm I LOVE fish! anything to do with them I'm all for it. I was 11 when i got into the fish hobby,first fish was a goldfish(of course). Well, let me get on with the post.... I'm really trying to find out how to build a 180 gallon tank and stand. I'm really wanting to do this but have no clue where to start. If anyone is willing to give me step by step directions I would be very thankful.
The tanks I have right now are:
2 55 gallons, 1 saltwater 1 fresh
1 30 gallon freshwater with discus
2 10 gallon salt water-coral growing
1 20 gallon- guppy breeder
well any questions feel free to post back! or any ideas too
thanks
Becky

[The R/C Man]

Hi Becky and WELCOME to REEFLAND!!!!!

Well DIY stands can be made from wood or metal. Building it from wood doesn't require the use of a welder so it is much easier to build for the average person. Although if you know someone with the skills or have the cash to have one made I believe metal stands are the way to go. There is also the option of cinder blocks stacked up with with supports between them and plywood on top to support the tank. All of these need to be square and level in order to suport the weight.

There are a few options in tank building as well. A plywood tank with an acrylic or glass panel in front for viewing. A glass tank which can be assembled with silicone glue (toxic free) and some type of framming to support the panels. The last option and one I prefer is an acrylic tank. This is not for the average builder. The ends of the acrylic need to be bonded require a perfectly machined surface and plenty of practice is a good idea.... I definitely recommend purchasing a tank. If you choose acryilc be sure to get it from a reputable builder. Many of the store available tanks are made with fairly thin acrylic and will bow over time...

I hope that helps a bit....

[Beckyx1905]

Yes,
actually that did help a lot. It's just that tanks of any kind 55 gallon and up are so expensive, I just thought building one would be the cheaper way to go? Just the tank built would be great,I could probably get the stand. Again your thoughts helped,thanks greg. Oh, also what types of tanks do you have and have you ever built your own?

Becky

[underseaworld]

Welcome to reefland... I had a friend of mine that was stationed at the air force base there. I visited a few times. Nice small town.

I have built a few tanks. I would use 3/4"plywood. If you do not have the tools to cut your wood you can go to Home deput and they will cut it for you. I used nails and screws to build the tank. Alternating the nails and screws every 3". You then need to get your glass or acrylic panel. The tank was built using 3/4" glass. Then treat the plywood with epoxy enamal. This is great stuff.


How much do you want to spen on this tank and stand? I have built a lot of stands. They are easy to build. If money is the issue then what you may want to consider is buy the tank and building the stand. The tank is the hard thing to do. It takes a lot of patients. You will have to seal it real good and sometime that still is not enough. If you know what I mean. I know this guy who builds tanks at a real good price. He delivers to Raleigh from time to time. I bought a 300 gl. from him. I am in the process of building the stand.

If you want to keep the price down on the stand what I have done in the past was put the tank on blocks and put a piece of plywood on top of the blocks. I then went and bought some fabric from the local fabric store and covered the wood and block with the fabric to hide the block. Cheap and easy.

[The R/C Man]

Hey Becky!

Well I have a 25 gallon reef currently running with a 10 gallon sump/fuge. The stand I built myself which probably cost more than buying one. (check out my web site) I have a 375 gallon tank in the works as we speak. The stand is made from 2x2 steel that a buddy built for me. It only cost $225. GREAT DEAL! I just have to skin it with some wood and cabnet doors.... The tank is also going to be assembled by myself and a buddy. It is being made from 3/4" acrylic. I would never attempt this myself as it is imparitive that is done right. He does this for a living so no worries. The nice thing about having a tank made is you can have features added to it that you would not be able to get from a store bought tank. As an example, my overflows will attached to outside of the tank. This will allow more space in the tank (for asthetic reasons) and allows them to be easily cleaned without disturbing the tank inhabitants.

First I would decide on exactly what you would like to do and if money is an issue (as it is with me) just take it slowly and buy one thing at a time. It may take a while to get the tank running but it will be awsome in the end... Oh, and be sure to do plenty of research. Their are many ways to go about this so do it the way you like....

Personally I spent about four months or so just researching and designing my 375gal tank set up. I actually started this project last August with the purchase of the stand and not planning to have it completed until late September at the earliest. Don't get me wrong though, if I had a huge income this baby would be up and running already.

Keep asking questions and we will help you as best we can......

[scubadude]

Hi Becky! Welcome to Reefland

ill throw in my 2 cents here too.

As mentioned by everyone above I think you need to ask yourself what you have more of right now, time or money? If you have more money then I would buy the tank and build the stand, if you have more time then maybe build both of them. If you build the tank wether its glass or acrylic I would get it cut/drilled to specs and just do the assemblying yourself. You will save money this way but not alot, here again its how much your time is worth to you, as well as how handy you are and patient If you do build your tank out of acrylic or glass I would go with minimum of 3/8" thick if you want cross braces, and use 1/2" thickness if you want perimeter brace (aka Euro Bracing). Most people build tanks if they want something that is custom...not a normal easy size to get, a 180g is a standard size though so its easy to get so depending on your thinking it may be more effecient to just buy the tank if your mind is set on a 180g standard (6'x2'x2') If you were wanting a weird size like a 6'x3'x2' and you wanted the front viewing panel in starfire glass then it might be more effecient to DIY the tank, however glass would probably be the most trickiest tank to build. I would definately recommend getting some scrap pieces of glass from a glass shop and building a small tank first....like a 10g out of 1/4" glass....then fill it and see if it holds water...then maybe build a fuge/sump for your large (180g) and see if it holds water...then if you feel you are ready to take on the task, then build your 180g.....I highly recommend staying away from cutting your own glass and acrylic. HTH

FWIW I have built many stands and tanks (glass and acrylic).

[The R/C Man]

Rocky,

That was some good info...

I have been working with acrylic for over a year now and I would recommend using 1/2" for a 6' span regardless of the bracing. The 150 gallon Tenecor that I owned was 3/8" thick. Although it didn't bow much (1/8") it did bow. Where it had been drilled in the back for the closed loop ect it showed much more bowing. My recommendation is to have no bowing at all. This will eliminate viewing distortion and prevent micro cracks caused by the stress. Not to mention increasing the life of the tank tremendously. If money is an issue you can always use 3/8" for the bottom and sides and 1/2" for the front, back and top. My 375 is 3/4" all the way around with Euro Bracing and three 8" wide cross braces on the top. Hope this helps......

[scubadude]

Ya know Greg this thread could get very technical....I mean in all actuallity you could build a tank out of 3/8" of the size we are talking about even if you did do Euro Bracing....however you would have to do (or I would atleast) your Euro Bracing in a minimum of 3.5" and the Eurobracing would have to be in one piece...this is where it gets technical....one whole piece of glass or acrylic that would be 2'x6' would be needed to do this and over 70% of it would be useless after you had it cut to specs....cuz you basically are just using the outside 3.5" of the panel....and the rest would be worthless...of course you could use this to be utilized as your sump. There are TONS of variables it really does depend on your flavor of tast and what you want. A general question usually gets a general answer....but as Becky is probably seeing here @ RL that isnt so My 220g glass tank had eurobracing 2.5" but it was a 4 piece eurobracing top not a one piece....I probably wont do that again! My thoughts are if you are gonna build your own tank from ground up then you might as well build all your equipment from ground up, and if your gonna do that then you better win the lottery and be able to take off a minimum of 1 yr. from work...

[The R/C Man]

You should see my expense log for this project.... I am well over $3500 and have about another $3k to go.... OUCH! It will be worth it in the end.... Oh, I am building everything too....

[charlie]

You should see my expense log for this project.... I am well over $3500 and have about another $3k to go.... OUCH! It will be worth it in the end.... Oh, I am building everything too....

You have just touched the tip of the iceberg my friend!!!

[rickers]

i have found building an aquarium to be too much hassle for what it's worth. i have built my cabinet framework out of 3" oak and 1/2" MDF for the panels (i have no shame when it comes to cutting costs ). the canopy was made of pine and oak. here are some pics of my project. feel free to post progress pics and final project pics!
i painted the final project with oil based paint because i was tired of the steel frame on my other tank always rusting.

[The R/C Man]

Very nice craftsmanship!!!

Yes I agree about the hassles to a point. I built my stand for the 25 gallon tank and it was much more work and expense than I thought. It would have actually been cheaper in that case to buy one. Although I do have bragging rights. For my 375 gallon tank stand on the other hand, being of welded steel and wrapped in wood seems very cost effective compaired to purchasing one constructed of wood and it will be much stronger.... In the end peice, of mind for the big tank.....

[Beckyx1905]

WoW, I didn't know I'd get all this information, but thanks! haha anyways, Getting all details, half the stuff I have got a clue what it is. I'm think building a 180g but the work seems extremly detailed and expensive. I tried a 2o g out of plexy glass, 4 pieces, and some aquarium glue. It held for a second then bowed out and kind blew apart from pressure. weird. Its just so expensive to buy these tanks and stands, but building sounds worse on the wallet from all this information. well, I have alot of time, but the money is the issue, so any pointers on that? Thanks again everyone

[rickers]

if you know anyone with a woodworking shop that could save you some $$
i think i spent just over $1000 for both tanks (35 g sump and 90 g display drilled), wood, paint, lighting, electrical stuff, pump, plumbing etc. i think it's worth it really.
if you don't know what you're doing (like in my first DIY Calcium reactor) you can end up with quite an expensive project...
get a price from a local carpenter to build you a cabinet/canopy combo; or a weld shop - whatever suits your fancy.

[scubadude]

I tried a 2o g out of plexy glass, 4 pieces, and some aquarium glue. It held for a second then bowed out and kind blew apart from pressure. weird.

Hey Becky :-)
Sorry to hear about the problems. When you say plexiglass and aquarium glue, are you using silicone as aquarium glue? If so then it is the wrong bonding agent to use on plexiglass, as plexiglass is a form of acrylic and you need a bonding agent such as weldon NOT silicone. Silicone is for sealing Glass only, and weldon which comes in many different viscoscities all applicable to different types of seams is used on acrylic products which plexiglass is. If your like some of us and are just determined to do this Becky, then get yourself some Weldon16 and clean up your plexiglass panels real good then try it again, just make sure you get all the silicone off of it. Beware though Weldon16 is alot more fluid then silicone and try and tape off or clamp your panels together before you squirt your seams.

Rickers...SWEEET work bro! You darn sure got the shop to git er done dontcha!

[The R/C Man]

Just to add to what Rocky has mentioned, not only do you need to use weldon (I would use #4) but the ends of the acrylic need to be abolutely flat and straight. They need to be run through a jointer or a table router with a fence attached. Weldon actually starts to disolve the acrylic and bonds the two pieces together. If they are not flat you will have small gaps at the joints and it will leak or fail. There is also a specific order in which to assemble the pieces.

Here is a link for assembling a glass tank. There is also a link on this page to show you how to build a simple stand using plywood and cinder blocks. http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/aqu...20897diyaq.htm