190+gal. acrylic tank

[goldenboy]

Well this moray eel tank is getting out of hand. the original plan was to use my old 55gallon aquarium with a diy skimmer for one of the smaller morays. then I started reading a few of scott michaels old articles on various other preditory fish, and I had an idea. If I can build a good skimmer out of acrylic then why can't I build a big tank out of acrylic so I can have more fish.

Anyway I figure that if I can build a skimmer and a small tank without any major problems that I will try to build an aquarium that is around
190-240gal.

I've been researching like crazy for the past several days about working with acrylic, and it does'nt seem like something that my dad and I could'nt do. So I'm gonna give it try.

I do however have a few of questions. The aquarium would be somewhere in the range of 60 x 24 x 31 and I will be using half inch acrylic unless you guys think that I am over/under-doing it. My biggest concern is bowing. If I put an acrylic lip around the entire inner top edge of the tank like manufactured acrylic tanks do and then put cross braces about every 20-30", I think that I should be ok. what do you think?

Also I have read a lot of conflicting thoughts about what bonding agent to use. What do all of you use?

Does anybody have some good pics of the process that you could e-mail me? [email protected]

I was able to find all of the info that I needed ( I think) with the exception of these few questions by doing a search on rdo, rc, and the www. So you don't have to worry to much about me asking a million questions that you have answered as many times before.

I appreciate all of the help.

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
A single cross bracket in the middle is fine for a 5 ft tank. Just make sure it is wide enough to be of use.

James "Acrylics" on the reef newsgroup is very helpful. You may want to do a search on this topic there and see if you can get more confidence.

For a 187 gal tank measures 60wX24dX30h, 3/4 inch acrylics is usually used instead of 1/2 inch. You should only use 1/2 inch material if your tank is 24 inch or shorter. Retail of such tank runs about $1-2K, but if you DIY, the material will be about half of the retail cost. Most people use WeldOn products for solvent cement.

 

[goldenboy]

Thanks for the prompt reply O P ing!

 

[fergy]

For 60" span, and 30" height, Cyro's tank calculator, with current load-factors, says you need 0.938" thick acrylic for that tank, if it has a substantial rim on it. Span vs height is what you need to take into account. And, if you're not adept at making bubble-free, perfect seams, you may want to make sure you use something this thick to allow you more glue surface.

FWIW, most people who want to make quality tanks don't use weldon, unless they are using #40, which is a 2-part and takes some skill working with for perfect seams. You'll also want to make sure you use the pin-gap method for your seams.

If you want, there are some pics at http://www.reefsciences.com/tankstuff/construct of a tank being made, using that method. In addition, it was all hand-polished. It is made of 1" Spartech Polycast, which is what James will also tell you to use.

BRIAN

 

[qwuintus]

Please post pics of your progress on your tank.



Thanx for that link, that cutting table is awesome!