build cost?

D

Delta_zeta

In Memoriam
Since we had to take down our 300gal acrylic tank we're looking at building a larger tank in it's place. We are planning on going glass this time, probably low iron instead of starfire (I've heard good things about it from some but don't know much about it...still researching). The plan at the moment is for a tank 10'Lx3'Wx28D (just over 500 gallons with those dimensions).

We're still debating on whether or not to have someone build it for us, or do it ourselves. Because we're going back to glass and it's a heavier material, we had really played with the idea of making the back and bottom from plywood. Whether we do it ourselves or have someone do it, does anyone have an idea on what just the glass would run cost-wise? I'm not even sure where to look in our area to buy glass panels that size, and if we had someone do it, wondering who is the best in in the NW region to inquire with. Thoughts are greatly appreciated.
 
If you are looking for vendor's, please ask in the Vendor Experience Forum. This Forum is for non-vendor discussion.
 
I suggest having purchasing the tank. I just re-built my 360 glass tank and it was a real pain. I wouldn't do it again if I had the cash.

a rough estimate on the large pains is around $1000 each.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10790069#post10790069 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nanook
If you are looking for vendor's, please ask in the Vendor Experience Forum. This Forum is for non-vendor discussion.
Click to expand...

I was really more interested in a rough cost of building the tank ourselves rather than a vendor...it was more of an off-hand thought. And whether it's cost effective to build with plywood or not.
 
Hello,

The answer to your question rests upon your reasoning in building the tank LOL

If you are going to build it yourself to save money? or time? You Absolutely will not save $$$, To the contrary you probably will spend more $$$ and building it to your own very precise specs is a LONG headache reserved for the few Obsessive Compulsive individules willing to torture themselves.

If you are building the tank to have the experience of building it... To be able to say "I built this"... To experiment with various ways of spending phenomenol amounts of $$$ that you had never planned on then the Large Plywood tank Build is very rewarding :)

As far as the Low iron glass... I highley recommend it... it is a must even :) ... Starphire, Optiwhite, Waterwhite, Ultrawhite are all just brand names for a similar product of Low iron glass... You will find most vendors utilizing the 1/2" Starphire for the larger tanks and if you are building the tank yourself you will be able to easily find this (about $50 sq. ft. +- depending upon vendor) the glass in mine was $800. Many hobbiests want to "Overbuild" with the 3/4" this is much more $$$ and difficult to find... Thickness here is not as needed as in the use of Acrylic.. and a simple Eurobrace make the 1/2" more than adequate for most builds.... I spent a really long time reserching this and am very satisfied with my results..

Good Luck feel free to PM me once you dive in :)

Chris
 
my 560/g is 3/4" bottom (green)and 1/2" sides. My tank is 3 side view( 2 long 1 short) that are low iron cost about 3k here in FL.
 
I agree tha 1/2" is just fine for a 28" tall tank. Mine's 96" X 30" x 30" with 1/2 " Starphire sides and 3/4" bottom.
 
Without a doubt go with low iron glass for your viewing sides at least. Glass Cages have some decent prices.
 
Be careful to speak in absolutes....just look at dsandforts post right above yours....$1600 for a 560 tank, starphire on the front, coast to coast external overflow...where do you get that for anywhere close to $1600?

And don't think about your time as a cost. I think its bvious that if you decide to build a tank yourself, its a labor of love...and you can't charge for that...!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10791462#post10791462 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by doctor64776

If you are going to build it yourself to save money? or time? You Absolutely will not save $$$, To the contrary you probably will spend more $$$

Chris
Click to expand...
 
Wellll LOL I totally respect dsandforts... I have enjoyed his tank build thread... perhaps he is speaking simply of the wooden box? with a glass front, Perhaps he shops better than I? otherwise $1600 is simply not a rational #... I am unsure but... My tank coating was over $600 added to the $800 glass LOL that doesnt hardly leave $$$ for the Plywood :) Yes I read his post :)
 
Please, I don't want my post to be a point of contention. Might I have underestimated material costs? Sure enough. Did I neglect to consider all the material costs? Probably.

I built my tank during a long Colorado winter because I wanted something to do (and I wanted a larger tank). Let's say, for the sake of argument, that I underestimated by 25%...no, let's say 50%. That makes my wood box with glass front worth $2,400 in materials. I don't think I reached that unless we start counting all the nitrile gloves, mixing cups, sanding pads and various special tools I picked up (that can never be counted as an expense as we DIY'ers well know).

Listen, if we amortize the tools, space, utilities, etc. and count the labor, my tank cost about $60K (yeah, I know, I'm cheap).

My point??? I built a tank for no more than $2400 in material cost, considering over-runs and my inability (read lack of desire) to keep track of receipts. Nothing more.

If someone owns the necessary tools (I do) and has not cut off appendages using them (I have not) and wants a large aquarium (I did) and has some work space (I do), I say BUILT IT. It was fun.
 
Even at $2400, thats a decent price for the tank you now have!

I will certainly agree that if your building a wooden tank with the notion that this is the way to get the cheapest tank you can, you will not save so much, but some (I think it will be more the larger the tank gets).

I will also throw out the idea that if one is trying to be cheap about things like this, they will be more likely to fail.
 
I'm sorry if when I started the thread I gave the notion that we were trying to do a tank cheaply. I was really just trying to get an estimate of what we'd be spending on glass. We have a very large workshop so it's doubtful that we'll have to spend anything on more large tools. Part of the reason we want to build a tank ourselves is because we had a tank built for us and really got hosed all the way around. The idiot that built it didn't know what he was doing at all apparently and our tank started to fall apart not even a year later...we ended up in court and now we're just fighting to get the money back we were awarded...so the point in building the tank is to learn ourselves how to do it and it gives us the opportunity to get *exactly* what we want w/out relying on anyone else to hopefully build what we're expecting. Also, if the tank has issues it will be fully on us...don't really want to deal with a 3rd party again if we don't have to on a large tank.
 
I didnt mean to imply that you were "cheap", that was not my intent at all :-)

I completely understand the desire to do things yourself, I am right there with ya! If you have the time, tools, and ability, (or at least be willing to learn) you have everything you need!
 
Well, a learning experience is definitely what it'll be. Time isn't an issue...we've had our main display tank down for many months now (everything had to get moved over to a temp tank but that is stabilized now and could probably survive several more months as is), we have been offered the help of another local reef club member that built his own tank also so that gives us a leg up. We just want to price shop on glass panels because anyone obviously wants to get the best price possible when they're buying anything. I'd hate to pay $1000 for something only to find out later that I could have gotten the exact same thing for $700 elsewhere...
 
hehe :) I did not mean to sound controversial... I LOVE my PLYWOOD tank :) I wouldnt have it any otherway... I learned soooo much (Put your closed loop intakes inside of your overflows... That way you do not have to hide them later) I guess that the way I meant for this to sound is:

Plywood tank builds are not about saving $$$ they are about the life experience gained... The ability to say "I built this!"

:)
 
Put your closed loop intakes inside of your overflows...
Click to expand...

I thought about that but decided against it. I was worried that if the main return pump failed or the circuit shut off, the closed loop pumps might cause an imbalance in the overflow. I didn't want to worry about floods or pumps running dry. Also, my closed loops push about 11,000 GPH and I wasn't sure if I wanted all that going over the overflow. Combined with the main return, that would have put the flow over the wiers at about 260 gallons each MINUTE. Scared me. How is it working out for you??? I could still make some modifications.

Don't mean to hijack Delta-zeta's thread. Back to the point. I absolutely recommend low-iron glass. I couldn't find 1/2" around here and I sure wasn't comfortable with 3/8" which is how I ended up with 3/4" laminated. I could have gotten it a little cheaper but I insisted that they deliver it and place it in the tank, which added more than $100 to the cost (cheap insurance). Since it was laminated, I had dreams of finally firing up the halides and seeing a big hand print imbedded in the lamination.
 
You make a wonderful point LOL My CL intakes are actually not inside the overflow they are about the middle of my tank... One day early on after filling it I thought how ugly they looked and how things could get trapped in them (Lost a red BT anemone to one :( ... ) anyway I ended up making some very nice covers out of more pond foam over some 4" sewer grates.. now you cant even tell that they are there and nothing gets "Slurped" by them... BUT I had thought that day that I should have put them into the overflows as an off hand thought... YOUR point of not enough water going over the over flow is so on target... my 2 CL are both run by 3600 GPH Darts there is no way that my over flows would have handled the volume of the CLs AND the Filter/sump flow... (10800gph total) wonderful point
 
this is a bit off topic from my original post, but what would you estimate your tanks cost you a month in electrical costs?
 
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