450 Gallon Tank Build

[Amn.mohamed3]

Hey guys,

I'm going to be building a 450 Gallon aquarium.
Need some tips
Should I do acrylic or glass?
If so, how many inches thick?
Could you recommend a cheap place to buy the material.
Dimensions are 96x36x30. Thanks

 

[jamie1981]

If you don't have experience building large tanks I would recommend letting a professional do it for you. For a tank that large you need specialized equipment to handle the panes of glass properly.

 

[1MP3R1AL]

 

[Amn.mohamed3]

I know

I know

If you don't have experience building large tanks I would recommend letting a professional do it for you. For a tank that large you need specialized equipment to handle the panes of glass properly.

I know I watched like 3 hours of videos about it and have already built my 75 gallon

 

[RocketEngineer]

:rollface:3 hours of who's vidoes? Some YouTube self promoter?......Not exactly my first choice for good advice. :rollface:

Now, another alternative which you haven't mentioned is a plywood and glass aquarium. The concept is to use the plywood to form the structural part of the aquarium, some form of 2-part epoxy to waterproof the inside of the plywood and glass panes for viewing. Since the plywood has to take all the loads, they are much easier for the hobbyist to build successfully. There are dozens of successful tanks both here on RC and other forums.

Good luck,

 

[1MP3R1AL]

One other thing: acrylic tends to hold temperature better than glass. Meaning it will be a lot easier to keep an acrylic tank warm compared to a glass tank. But acrylic also is easier to scratch, and also easier to buff out. Hope this helps.

 

[viggen]

It's not how many inches thick since the tank is only 96x36x30

You do not want cheap stuff but quality glass or acrylic. Cheap will be a pita in the long run..... also impossible to suggest a location to purchase w/o knowing which part of the world you live in

Glass vs Acrylic - good and bad with both. I went acrylic mostly for money reasons however I have always preferred acrylic due to clarity and ease of moving. Glass was 3-4 times the cost mostly due to shipping for my 120x30x30

Biggest reason I would go with glass if I ever upgrade to something larger is so I could use on or to robosnails so I do not have to whipe the tank down myself nearly as much. It's a lot easier to scratch acrylic so depending on what you plan on putting in the aquarium.... acrylic might be perfect choice or horrible

 

[Lavoisier]

:rollface:3 hours of who's vidoes? Some YouTube self promoter?......Not exactly my first choice for good advice. :rollface:

Now, another alternative which you haven't mentioned is a plywood and glass aquarium. The concept is to use the plywood to form the structural part of the aquarium, some form of 2-part epoxy to waterproof the inside of the plywood and glass panes for viewing. Since the plywood has to take all the loads, they are much easier for the hobbyist to build successfully. There are dozens of successful tanks both here on RC and other forums.

Good luck,

Definitely...I love mine!

 

[rfgonzo]

If you're truly serious about building a large aquarium whether it be glass or acrylic you're going to want some practice. I would start out building the sump first just to get the feel for how they go together. I prefer to build acrylic over glass, I have only built 3 Glass tanks and about 20 acrylics, I personally like working with acrylic better. Acrylic is clearer than glass, lighter in weight, holds heat better and IMO looks better. Glass aquariums are a lot better as far as scratches are concerned. Either way you asked for cheap places to buy material, if you're going to do a tank that large I would not look for the cheapest supplier. If you do build out of acrylic you're going to want a good cast acrylic.

 

[Addict0Reef]

+1 framed plywood and fiberglass build. Durable, rugged tanks can be created with little experience in woodworking at a fraction of the cost of plastic or glass.

 

[Amn.mohamed3]

Thank you guys, I've decided to go with plywood bottom but still debating between glass or acrylic because I know Joey from kind of DIY used old style aquarium glass from online sales to build his tank, but it isn't very common to find old 8 foot tanks as much as 6 foot and I definitely have to agree that acrylic appears to be cheaper as far as shipping and buying new sheets are concerned. I think I will take your advice rfgonzi and start building a sump, like maybe a 150 gallon sump. Could you recommend a good acrylic supplier to go with? Something. Good quality and reasonably priced

 

[rfgonzo]

Not sure where you're from? I live in Michigan and use Laird Plastics.

 

[Amn.mohamed3]

I'm in Illinois