Building An Acrylic Tank From Scratch

fretfreak13

fretfreak13

Active Member
I was wondering, how many people do this? I was planning on getting a mantis and I'm having trouble findind the right tank size, but I do have acess to plenty of acrylic and silicone. I hear acrylic is better for mantis' anyways. Anyone know how to do this? I'd like to maybe do a 25...long? Anyone know how to determine measure ments to gallons?
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
You can't use silicon to build an acrylic tank, silicon does not bond well enough to acrylic to form a structural bond. You'll need a welding fluid like Weld-On. There are special methods used to actually perform the assembly, you can use google to find lots of articles that outline various processes. The biggest thing is a means to create dead-straight edges.
To figure the gallonage of a rectangular vessel, multiply length x width x heigh in inches, then divide by 231.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
i built my Fuge from acrylic, steps and pics here somewhere :
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/247342/saltn00bs-multi-phase-upgrade-diary
agreeing the SCSI about the weldon, and not being able to use silicone, the is only for glass.
you will likely need sand paper, levels, Squares, and several soft clamps.
i used the very liquid solution for most joins, and then the thicker, more gellatanous mix for fixes.
 
taznut

taznut

Active Member
i built my tank and sump with acrylic... i had mine cut at a shop so straight edges weren't an issue... right now i am having trouble with the sump bowing so i would make sure to use something to support the top of the tank... my tank is fine because i gave it a top but i didnt on the sump which was a mistake...
i really like mine... good luck...
 
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