Anyone ever make their own tank before?

[TLH]

I want a 48x15x18 tank but I'd rather not pay full price if I can help it. I've been looking on eBay and missed out on a couple already so I'm just wondering now about building one myself. I've seen various plans and stuff on the net for glass sizes and such and I can swing a work space to do it if I talk nicely to a pal of mine, I think, who runs a carpentry business.

I was just wondering (a) how difficult the assembly would be having no experience of glass handling to speak of and (b) what I would need apart from glass and silicon?

 

[Orion]

Unless you are building a huge tank (600+ gallons) most of the time it can cost more to DIY than straight up buy one. However, if you can get the construction materials, be it glass or acrylic, at a very low cost, then it might be worth it. Roundeyes did this with acrylic a while back, and I think that he did it out of 'scrap' pieces that he managed to aquire. I would check around for prices of both, and then sit down and think if it would be worth the time or money. Personaly, I could never sleep at night knowing that there would be 55 gallons of water in a box that I made....But I never said I would good at this stuff

 

[TLH]

Well I do know someone who fits windows for a living, maybe I could have a word with him about glass. It can't be all that expensive I wouldn't have thought.

You do have a point about sleeping soundly at night though. It would probably be a good idea to check out the house insurance and what type of guarantee a tank needs. I did find a site with testing specs for tank manufacture saying it should be able to hold the pressure of twice the amount of water the tank can hold. Also it should be able to withstand the impact of a 5kg rubber ball from so far away and a 230g steel from a lesser distance again the centre of the front panel. Obviously I wouldn't be able to test it like that but I could certainly fill it to the brim for 24hrs to see if it holds and doesn't leak.

I think I'll go around all the lfs around here and see if they have any deals or whether they would take my number incase any of their customers are selling a tank.Maybe I can talk a deal out of one of them hopefully.

How much would a tank that big cost over there in the USA?

 

[Orion]

Honestly I don't know about the actual cost. I'm just going by what I've read by other people. But most people don't DIY a 100% glass tank for two main reasons: The price of the glass and the difficulty of putting it all togeather properly.

I've seen lots of people on cichlid-forum.com make plywood tanks. They make the three sides and bottom of plywood, and only the front has a glass viewing window in a plywood frame. The stability of this is much easier for the normal DIY'er to get, the biggest problem with this is getting the wood sealed good enough to keep any leaks from happening. But just because it's not all glass doesn't meen it's cheaper. Don't know about on that side of the pond, but here the cost of plywood keeps going up, and the sealents used for the wood aren't exactly cheap either.

EDIT: opps! I think you were asking about the price of a manufactured tank, not just the glass to DIY. That would be around 55 gallons, and last I looked I could get just the tank for around $100 not on a sale or anything.

 

[TLH]

Yes, new manufactured. Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. Thanks for the extra info though. Ply keeps going up here aswell. An 8'x4' sheet of good resin bonded 20mm ply would be around £30-£35 here. I have a feeling I could source the glass for a tank for around £40-£45 but the silicon is expensive, around £8 a tube. Prolly get away with 2 tubes for a tank. I know I could do a better job with the internal beads than alot of the tanks I've seen for sale that have beads that look like a 5 year old made them in a finger painting lesson.

I found one place on the net last night that sold a tank this size, brand new, for £102. It has a 10mm base rather than just 6mm all round which seems to have bumped the price up considerably. The 48x12x18 they did was only £74, although I'd really like the extra 3 inches of depth.

Why is everything so much more expensive over here than in the States aargh.

I still have to go around the shops this weekend and see what I can turn up.

 

[TLH]

I got to 3 local shops yesterday, there is another couple of places to go but I don't think I'll find a better new price than I already found. The local big chain store, a little like your Petsmart I suppose, called Pets at Home, don't sell the size I want. The nearest they do is 48x12x18 which was £54. The other two places I got to were both in garden centres. One said it would be £110 and change and the other it was £83.50 and the fella seems to think it'd be 8mm glass all around instead of the 6mm I've seen on the net.

I think I could make it for less than £83.50 but I'm not sure now if I can be bothered. I think I'll keep my siliconing skills for repairs and such. I'll also get round to the other shops and see if I can talk them into beating that good price.

 

[Fuzz16]

go to craigslist.com they always have a tank in there for sale and their pretty cheap. i got a 75g tank with stand and eveything for 115$

 

[TLH]

I'd love to but I'm in England and there is never anything going. eBay has more and I am still looking but kit always seems to go for more than it's really worth. I don't think anyone, apart from me maybe, actually looks at the price of a new one or does any research about stuff they buy there and so the prices are always near or above what you could buy a new one for. Of course there is always the odd time you get a bargain but I always seem to miss those.

 

[Mahamotorworks]

I think that you would be better off buying a tank that size rather then making one. Most people wont ship a tank that size cause it cost more to ship it then a the tank is worth. I have made plans and priced materials to build a tank slightly larger then one you want. If I remember correctly It was $5 cheaper for me to build it. I agree with the others here I enjoy the peice of mind that I have when I buy a tank. I know that I have plans for a custom tank that I will probably build, only because they dont offer a tank like it.

MAHA

 

[TLH]

I am kinda leaning that way Maha. For £83.50 new building one seems kind of pointless now. I do like the idea of a 5 year guarantee aswell.

I will still have to make a lid though. I made my stand myself and I'd like the lid to match. Plus the ones you can buy never seem to have enough room in them for bulbs if you want more than one.

 

[Mahamotorworks]

I have made my own stand and canopy it is nice to see something that you made look real nice. Good luck on it.

MAHA

 

[TLH]

These are the tanks I'm replacing sitting on the stand I'm talking about.
I wouldn't actually mind keeping one of them for quarantine purposes but I have nowhere I can keep it really.