I'm building an acrylic saltwater fish tank about 8'L x 6'W x 4'D. (I'm going to use braces to reduce the thickness of acrylic). What type of bottom should I use? I need something that is seriously going to last forever and stand that puts the middle of the tank at eye level?
Custom Arcylic Tank
- Thread starter ShredDog
- Start date
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
I doubt many people on this forum are qualified to discuss the nuances of building a 1,400 gallon aquarium. There's a thread on this forum dedicated to acrylic questions (title is something like "Acrylic questions? I can help"). I'd ask there.
ericarenee
New member
I just wanna see the Build thread.. My opinion would be to build a concrete tank with glass window.. But only because i know more about concrete then acrylic .
McPuff
New member
++ Me too.
Check out the King of DIY on youtube if you haven't already. He's finishing a 2000 gallon concrete build with 2 acrylic panels. Even those are 1.6" thick. I'm sure you'd need at least 2" thick acrylic for the panels you'd need. Maybe thicker than that even. It will be FAR cheaper to build a concrete tank. And it would also last longer, not scratch, etc., etc. Either way, I would definitely like to see a build thread. Sounds very intriguing!!
KingOfAll_Tyrants
New member
With that depth, aquascaping or even just moving/retrieving stuff will be a major pain, even with the longest and gangliest human arms. Even if you lie on a custom made cart of the tank's height, and reach down from the edges (like I've seen some folks do) the dimensions are hard to work with. imo, keep the depth 24-30", unless you want a tank big enough to float yourself in with a mask+snorkel (this tank is too small for that, IMO, especially when you need to dive a bit to reach down).
Also, no experience with building, but it also seems to me that concrete w/acrylic windows would be your best bet. Like the tank-ponds at Bass Pro/Cabelas.
KingOfAll_Tyrants
New member
Sorry for the dupe
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I've thought about the build a lot. I really appreciate all your comments!
Acrylic bottom would be extremely expensive.
Concrete would be really heavy and I want the tank off the ground.
Plywood is what I've been seeing, I was thinking of just making the plywood base insanely thick. Like 7" thick and then cinder blocks to hold it up. I was just afraid of the wood breaking down over a long period of time. Or some other issue it may produce that I'm unaware of.
Acrylic bottom would be extremely expensive.
Concrete would be really heavy and I want the tank off the ground.
Plywood is what I've been seeing, I was thinking of just making the plywood base insanely thick. Like 7" thick and then cinder blocks to hold it up. I was just afraid of the wood breaking down over a long period of time. Or some other issue it may produce that I'm unaware of.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
7" of plywood would be heavy! No need to go that thick. People have done plywood tanks in those dimensions with a doubled 3/4" construction. Then you just glue in the viewing panel you want. It's a lot of labor but fairly proven. Your best bet might be the monsterfishkeepers forums, there are a lot of large diy plywood tanks on there. I had a local reefer with a plywood tank about that big but I haven't heard from him in a few years and I'm wondering if the tank doesn't exist any more.
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