Pros/Cons of DIY wood/glass in-wall 200gal+?

[lucubrator]

I'm very wary of glasscages, after seeing a 300g starphire tank they built split a seam... twice!

 

[Cole2k3]

are they are any other options- like if you went to a large aquarium are those tanks built out of glass or are they sealed concrete with a glass front?

 

[llebcire]

Thanks for all of the replies!

From what I'm gathering, there really isn't a significant advantage one way or the other, other than the purchased "quick fix" versus the DIY "labor of love".

I have determined that the dimensions will most likely be 72"x24"x36" which should provide a nice depth to the viewing area and roughly 270 gallons.

I'm approximating a cost of $300-$350 for the tank which I think is substantially less than a custom glass tank shipped to my house.

~Eric

 

[waynesworld]

Well I was in your place last month looking at a larger tank and after looking at the pros and cons of it I decided to build using plywood and then I decided I would change from a standard size to a tank that was really 3 tanks put together. So now I have it framed a u shaped tank with one side 11' by 3' the other side 11' by 2' and the third is 10' by 2.5' and is 3' deep. I can not wait to get if finished but am waiting for the rest of the house to get finished and then work out the flow. then the inside of the U is my fish room. Just a Idea. That is one advantage to the plywood.

As far as I am concerned I don't care to scrap off things of non viewing sides I let the coraline build up on my glass of my other tanks. But that is me as I would drive monk nuts.

 

[Kent E]

I'm glad to see that people are considering the plywood option. Please post pics of your finished product.

 

[Cole2k3]

any resources on building a plywood tank?

 

[llebcire]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7310080#post7310080 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cole2k3
any resources on building a plywood tank?

Garf

Got to DIY (on left of page)

Enter desired tank dimensions

Following page will have quite a bit of information about the tank you are looking to build.

Other than some sporadic info from a google search, there really isn't much out there!

Do a search and you'll find some resources on types of material used to seal tank, this is also included in the garf page.