DIY acrylic tank

[Duncan]

Jeez, that's a really nice stand! I like how the growth ring pattern on the doors are aligned properly. Some people may have great diy skills, but they sometimes missed out on the small details. Great job!

[Reefgeek]

Where did you get those lights? Tank looks great, I've always wanted to do an acrylic 60 cube but never worked up the courage.

[disaster999]

Gorgeous stand, I like the front especially. That system is going to look pro.

 

 

Nice tank, and stand as well. Wish my DIY's turned out that clean!

 

 

awesome job disaster999!!! Great DIY tank

 

Thanks

 

Jeez, that's a really nice stand! I like how the growth ring pattern on the doors are aligned properly. Some people may have great diy skills, but they sometimes missed out on the small details. Great job!

 

I tried to match it up as good as possible. the doors actually came from 1 piece of plywood cut in half, so matching up the grains isnt too hard.

 

Where did you get those lights? Tank looks great, I've always wanted to do an acrylic 60 cube but never worked up the courage.

 

I got the lights from fishneedit. you can find them on ebay too really cheap light.45 bucks for 2 bulb t5ho. it doesnt have separate ballast for each bulb but it gets the job done

[Daemonfly]

Looks great so far. Lucky that you have a decently equipped wood shop (from the pics).

 

 

I've bought from Delvie's quite a few times, always seem to have pretty good prices. Got some 1/4" 12x12" stuff now that I'm putting together. WIll be 12" cube display with 12" cube fuge.

[disaster999]

its not a bad place to get acrylic. the prices beats tap plastic but if you dont own a table saw or dont have access to it, or dont want to spend money on a quality blade, tap will cut for you for free.

 

thats my college's wood shop. we have a whole college on american craft and wood is one of the majors. students there make some crazy stuff ive never thought possible with wood. im taking a few elective class thats offered for all majors.

[disaster999]

Doors are HUNG

 

[Monkfish]

Its comming out really nice disaster.

[disaster999]

even tho im moving, i found time to get acrylic, cut them and make a sump. used el-cheapo acrylic from home depot since its only a sump and the baffles acts as a brace so it doesnt deform.

 

pictures

 

oops, forgot to mention how much i hate extruded acrylic. it doesnt cut as nice as cast and melts like no tomorrow. what a b!tch to cut!

[jwalsh1]

Looks great! Nice job on the teeth too; nice and even.

 

Once you get some coralline, the colors on the loc line should be hidden well enough.

 

What blade did you use to cut the main cell cast acrylic?

 

Like everyone else, Id like to make an acrylic tank myself sometime too.

[disaster999]

my friend has a table saw so it was easy to space out the teeths. I dont mind the color of the locline but your right about covered in coralline algae eventually.

 

i bought a 10" 80T blade from lowe's. it got some ICE technology on the surface for some silky smooth cuts. it worked great with cell cast, but a pain with extruded. cutting at the same feed speed as the cell cast and it was melting and not giving me a nice cut. but its only a sump so im not too concerned about it

[disaster999]

after an exhausting move over the weekend, i finally got my tank set up. my frags were pissed off at me because they were stuck in a cold bucket for a while and all the frags were having a biological warfare with each other. but now they are in the tank right now enjoying the light and space, and recovering.

 

[dopamine]

disaster, this is so badass. I have built some tanks out of acrylic and REALLY want to build a 30 high w/ a sump.

 

Do you think you could do me a huge favor?

 

I really need pictures and walk through from the overflow down to the sump and back up the tank. I think MANY people here would benefit from that. Like maybe pictures step by step of the process the water takes through its cycle.

 

if you could do this it would be my final inspiration to start this project. I feel like I am so lost on the plumbing and sump. You make it look so easy

[restes]

Congrats on the tank. Very Nice!

[disaster999]

Definitely, I'll find time tomorrow and take some pictures and edit some comments into them so you can see how the tank is setup.

 

im glad that this inspire you to build your own

[dopamine]

sweet! thanks so much! no rush.

 

yeah, I have been wanting to build and sump and upgrade a little larger tank and I get all the acrylic for free. Yours looks so nice and clean. Appreciate the help!

[disaster999]

i wish i can get acrylic for free...anyways, i took some pictures and wrote some description. my method is not the best, but its best for my setup. but hopefully this would give you some idea of how to setup your tank

 

 

right click and click on view image. some how NR.com resizes my pictures

[dopamine]

awesome, thanks! what do you use to reduce noise? I thought I saw a hole on the top of the overflow pipe near the display to let air out.

 

also, is that small compartment in the skimmer area used to stack media? and just has a open bottom?

[disaster999]

although not recommended, im reducing the flow to the drain to reduce noise. that way, no air is mixed into the drain and that reduces the gurgling noise. but the risk of that is if something clogs, it might flood the tank and water everywhere.

 

yes i have a small compartment in the skimmer area housing filter media and carbon. then water drains to the bottom then back up.

[Shortie]

I restict the flow of my drain as well. To overcome the possible flooding issue I added a bulkhead above the waterline in the overflow box that acts as an emergency overflow.

 

Nice job and everything. I'm very impressed.

[DaneAP24]

Nice work. Thanx for that information. Also helped me out to get a better idea. The sumps and refugium have always confused me. In all, with acrylic, piping and other materials what do you think the whole setup costs, minus the stand? Thanx again!

[VtheMaestro]

your tank looks great. do you do custom acrylic work?