DIY tank, stand, the whole thing

hughes07

Member
I'm in need on some advice on how to make a DIY tank, stand, and everything else (lighting,filteration,etc.) I need some plans and some estimates here. I would really like to see some pictures on other's who have already started and completed some of these plans.
John.
 

fishnerd

Member
I hope you want to do this for the experience, not cost.
It will take alot of time, effort and money to build everything from scratch.
 

psusocr

Member
hughes,,
right now im int he process of building my glass 200 gallon tank. I have tons of framing pics, glass pics,, basically everythign you need to build ...im trying to save all of the pics for one post when im done ( ill be done completely by the end of this week ) if you can wait that long.. Now for cost..between all the wood , glass, supplies, etc. im at around $500.00 its really not as expensive as people think it is. and thats also 7/16" glass,,,pretty damn thick... i used all pine wood so it kept cost down,, now if you wanna get nutz you can buy oak or whatever you want but thats stuff is MAD expensive..The only thing your going to need is the smarts to get everrythign built right and some time.. Ive been workin on the tank on and off when i get a chance and it only took me 2 weeks( i only have to stain my stand now) The hardest part that i needed help with was the glass. My father had to help me hold it all in place while siliconing ande clamping. I think some people might be impressed when they see the tank and stand(considering im only 22),,much better than store bought!!! and the cheapest tank with stand i found was $1300.00 so im savng myself shitloads of money
Any questions just let me know
 

hughes07

Member
thats ok. i can wait as long as i need to. money is low right now. i want to build it for either eels/sharks/triggers or go all out with a reef tank. reef tank will get very costly however and a sweet shark in there would be great. keep me posted
 

psusocr

Member
just watch for my post in this section and the aggressive sometime this weekend.. I cant wait to post it
 

thangbom

Active Member
hey man.. it'll be 1 really cool post if it was in really good deatails... i mean.. i kinda want to buld a tank myself.. but.. im a lil edggy on the tank tho.. i mean.. it dont seem right that u just use some silicone and a lil bit of braces to build somethign that will handle soo much pressure... sooo it'll be cool to see how some 1 els do it and learn from there mistakes..(he he sry...) plss keep us informed..
 

psusocr

Member
no its not that easy beleive me,,and as far as mistakes this will be the 10th tank i have made, so im done with my mistakes( all my tanks are for my crocadiles( some up too 600 gallons for the water portion of the tank)),,although i use acrylic not glass this is only my 3rd glass tank..first one this large..and yes it is alot harder than just some silicone etc. Theres alot of formulas i had to use for pressure, weight , bracing, glass thickness, safety factor on the glass and so on...i was going to start a thread and jut post as i got every step done but i decided to wait till im completely finished then put a whole DIY tank, Stand, Canopy, Filtration post( although tony detroit is helpin me with the flitration soo)ill make sure i put all the costs, plans, size of wood and glass, stain color all the goodies. As i said sometime this weekend i will be completely done so watch for my post!!
 

thangbom

Active Member
he he.. k k bro.. it'll be cool to learn from some 1 els... this is something new and cool to learn.. i wanna make my own sump/ refuge someday (like 75 gal) soo this will be good info..ohh yeah.. u gonna post any stuff os your acrylic tanks?? lik ehow u made it and all da good stuff?
 

psusocr

Member
ya i can upload pics tonight of my croc cages,,just remember there will be coradiles in them though not fish...also i dont have any step-by-step for the acrylics but i can draw how i did it
 

hughes07

Member
thanks guys for all the insight. i hope this post gets alot of attention that it deserves to get. i want a good summer project to do this summer besides having basketball games, practices, etc. all summer and i thought it would be sweet to make an aquarium. i was thinking about a big one or something but i may start small with like a 75 gallon or something.
i really don't know where to begin considering there is so much preparation and such needed for a project of this caliber. I'd rather get all the information i can and take as much time as i need so that i can hope to get it right the first time, ya know. i would like to see any pictures or have any comments on what people think i should do. as soon as i get my facts straight i'm probablying going to start with the basic calculations and such.
thanks again.
John.:happyfish
 
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