[Reefer769]

hello

i was wondering if anyone knows where i could get a custom built acrylic tank?

im lookin for a 10gal cube with built in overflow

OR

would trying to make my own acrylic tank be a good idea?

[Samper]

For the cost of having something as small as a 10 gallon acrylic reef ready tank made I think I'd just buy a standard 10 gallon glass aquarium with a hob overflow.

[Reefer769]

well i would, but im really goin for the cube look, and the standard shape of a 10 gal wont do, i will be using one for a sump, but thats about it. I emailed aquacrylics about making me a custom 5 gal in the past and that came out to be around 100$.
Does anyone know of any other place that makes custom acrylics?

or back to the subject of making my own, how reliable would this be?

[SouthBayPhoto]

You might be able to call these guys here in Vegas. To my understanding they make some very good tanks.

Acrylic Tank Manufacturing - ATM

HTH

[Ratpack]

What are the dimensions you are looking at? For something that small, I would do it myself. You can get acrylic off Ebay for nothing. Something that small shouldn't require very thick acrylic at all. Then you could make it look just like you want.

[Reefer769]

thanks southbay ill look into that

as for making it myself, i wouldnt even have a clue where to start. the most ive ever done with acrylic is silicone some thin panels into a sump. and as for the dimensions, i dont know because im not sure how to measure it so 10 gallons fit. gotta be a cube though

[Ratpack]

There are plenty of threads out there about how to glue the acrylic. Look at some of those and you may decide to do it yourself. As for volume, just use this formula to get the number of gallons - (LxWxH)/231 where all dimensions are in inches.

[SouthBayPhoto]

Reefer...

I hope this helps...

Working with Acrylic

[Reefer769]

thanks again southbay that was helpful only problem is i cant seem to find a place that sells good acrylic glue

im not sure i understand that formula you gave me ratpack, why would you need to divide the lxwxh by 231?


as i was looking around for information i came across this video that really explained the whole solvent welding process clearly.
YouTube - How to glue Acrylic

[Ratpack]

There are 231 cubic inches in a gallon. So if you have the LxWxH in inches, that gives you cubic inches. Then divide by 231 and it will give you the number of gallons it will hold.

[Reefer769]

sweet, so 14x13x13= 2366 / 231= 10.24

i think i might just go with 14x14x14 so it looks more like a cube and i think that comes out to around 11 and a half gallons or so

now how thick should the acrylic be?

[Ratpack]

Do a search on building aquariums and there are some calculators that tell you the thickness. I believe for that small of tank, glass would be 1/4" thick and since acrylic is stronger, 1/4" should work for that as well. But do a little research to be sure, I don't want my word to equal your wet floor!