LF - Acrylic tank builder

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

I have one quote but I’m hoping to find a few more. Anyone know any tank builders who work with acrylic? I know there are not many in Canada.

[Ritteri]

What dimensions are you looking at?

I built my tank 5ftx3ftx2ftH. Very pleased with it.

[AlbertanReef777]

Glass cages does acrylic work as well. And even with shipping my tank cost less then having built here local to me, and better quality.


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[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Not 100% sure on dimensions yet but around 84"x36"x18"

I have a few quotes now and it's not nearly as expensive as I expected.

[Ritteri]

Be wary of your quotes with regard to thickness of acrylic for the build.

Before I built mine, I got a quote and was told that it would be 1/2", I made mine out of 3/4 and am glad I did.

Halloween Urchins and smaller snails being sold on the forum here have not marked the acrylic at all, what a relief.

Best of luck with it.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Yes, the quotes are 1/2". Do you think that is too thin? Even at only 18" height?

[Ritteri]

Cellcast acrylic is soft. It bends with ease. Your height isn't bad. Do you plan on running your tank with water to the top or down a couple inches? Something to consider...

There are a couple of acrylic calculators on the web, DYI Guy from YouTube has one.

Your top and bottom pane can be 1/2", I can't speak for your 7ft length vertical panels though. When I researched mine, before I started my design/build, I found a few guys that went thicker on the sides and never regretted it. It's the distortion in the material bending that can cause hazing along with the slight fishbowl look.

Your going to gain so much from strength and clarity. :tea:

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

When empty, do you know how heavy your tank is?

Part of the reason for acrylic is weight. My current glass tank was way to heavy to get into my place and this tank will be larger.

[Ritteri]

Weight is maybe 30-40% of what it would weigh in glass, guessing off the top of my head. My tank is a two person lift, your tank will be the same.

The biggest gains is:
Clarity
Strength
Can buff out fine scratches.
Cutting holes.

Obviously the downside is:
Cost
Scratches easy
Have to be careful rubbing/scraping algae and choraline algae off the side.

Invest in a Shark Magnet.

I put my overflow on the side of my tank and not through the bottom. I wanted to eliminate any chance of a bottom installed bulkhead from failing and draining my tank.

I built my stand out of 2x6's which cost me $80 and will hold a ridiculous amount of weight, maybe 3-4 times the tank weight.

I went with a fab process that takes much more time but offers almost double the PSI strength. :)

All this was for my Anularis Angle that I grew from 1" and is now 9"

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Thanks, that is great info.

For me it's all about being able to go larger but be careful with weight. Both for my floor and also to get the thing inside my place.

The builder said that it should be about half the weight of a glass tank depending on what thickness the glass is.

I had a smaller acrylic tank years ago and only scratched it once. It was easy to buff out. I always loved how the fish looked in that tank, there was no distortion and clarity was incredible. I upgraded to a starfire tank but it was not nearly as clear.

I am also a little paranoid about tanks failing because I have had a seam burst once...so acrylic puts my mind at ease.

[Ritteri]

Please take special consideration to the side pane thickness. Once you make the decision, your stuck with it.

I would recommend 3/4" sides.

Best of luck. :)

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Please take special consideration to the side pane thickness. Once you make the decision, your stuck with it.

I would recommend 3/4" sides.

Best of luck. :)


The tank builder says that 1/2" Acrylite GP (12mm so actually 0.47") will only deflect 0.09 mm on the front pane and 0.03 mm on the sides. Not totally sure how they get the deflection numbers.

I might just ask them to build it with 3/4" acrylic. I like the look too.

[lastlight]

I once really considered Acrylic myself. I seem to recall in all my reading about tanks in that size range, people said to go with quality material (your builder is using it) and to go 3/4" when dealing with panels that long. There will be some bowing no matter what but minimizing that is key plus the tanks end up looking way nicer with the thicker material in my opinion. The beauty of Acrylic is you don't really need to worry about your back too much when weighing 1/2" vs 3/4" options.

[Ritteri]

What makes for a quality acrylic?

[lastlight]

Based only on what I've read, certain brands have better strength. I can't say whether that's actually true mind you.

Second paragraph: http://www.associatedplastics.com/acrylic.php

I've always read good things about Acrylite GP.

Edit:

A ton of my reading was regarding Envision Acrylics. I was close to ordering a tank from James a really long time ago.

http://www.envisionacrylics.com/aquariums.html

This guy seemed to know the material VERY well. And he always used GP.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Yeah I want 3/4 even just for a look but the price increased 40% from 1/2 to 3/4!

Is 3/4 acrylic really that much more expensive than 1/2?

[Mustafa Dean]

It is quiet a bit of jump in price when going from 1/2 to 3/4!
Where are you getting your quotes from?
I've dealt with plastic works in surrey on 86 ave and they have the best prices I've seen by far! One of the employees (Peter) actually used to make aquariums so he's got quiet knowledgable about aquariums

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

It is quiet a bit of jump in price when going from 1/2 to 3/4!
Where are you getting your quotes from?
I've dealt with plastic works in surrey on 86 ave and they have the best prices I've seen by far! One of the employees (Peter) actually used to make aquariums so he's got quiet knowledgable about aquariums

I think they have a different name now but yes, dealing with Peter :)

[Mustafa Dean]

I think they have a different name now but yes, dealing with Peter :)

I dont think so. It's still plastic works. I was there couple days ago!

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

I dont think so. It's still plastic works. I was there couple days ago!

Different Peter then. Place I’m dealing with is Archer Plastics.

[Ryan7]

I got my 325g made by envision acrylics. Highly recommend. I was also sick of lifting large glass tanks. This one was easy to lift with 2 people.

Tips -

3/16" or so slice of original magic eraser in between magnet on wet side for algae

1500 - 6000 grit micro mesh for coralline

https://www.packardwoodworks.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=packard&Product_Code=124415

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Thanks for the info.

I looked at Envision but I don’t want to ship from the US. They also quoted roughly the same price as local but in USD.

I’m hoping to stay local.

[burgerchow]

Sent you a pm:

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

I dont think so. It's still plastic works. I was there couple days ago!

And this is Plasticworks in Surrey? I emailed and they said they do not build aquariums.

[Mustafa Dean]

And this is Plasticworks in Surrey? I emailed and they said they do not build aquariums.

Oh! My friend got his tank built there. Was a small tank tho maybe 5 years ago.
I mentioned there name cuz they are the cheapest I found material wise. I only buy acrylic and cut it to size at their shop and bring it back home and glue it my self.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Oh! My friend got his tank built there. Was a small tank tho maybe 5 years ago.
I mentioned there name cuz they are the cheapest I found material wise. I only buy acrylic and cut it to size at their shop and bring it back home and glue it my self.

Oh nice! Yeah they do have good prices. I wish I trusted myself to build this thing but I really don't lol.

Archer plastics is pretty reasonable too. They quoted me less than US tank builders and they were in USD!!

Archer deals with some public aquariums so I think I can trust their skill level.

[smokinreefer]

Just for curiosity sake, what does a piece of acrylic go for?
Could you provide a sample of pricing you found?
I'm vaguely interested in a project tank, but really have no idea of what acrylic costs.

[nanoreefer]

I am also looking to get back into the hobby again and sick of glass tanks and wondering on the prices in Canada on acrylic to DIY a tank or costs of building a large one in the 200-350 gallon range.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

I am also looking to get back into the hobby again and sick of glass tanks and wondering on the prices in Canada on acrylic to DIY a tank or costs of building a large one in the 200-350 gallon range.

I'm not sure on exact sheet price since there is no way I am going to DIY a tank this large but I think it's roughly $400-500 a sheet for 3/4" at retail price. For smaller pieces that I priced out, plasticworks was the best price. Depends on dimensions but for a 200 my guess is 2 sheets, 3 sheets for 350. That 350 might need 1" acrylic depending on height.

I would build a few small tanks before DIYing a 350G

Out of curiosity, what makes you sick of glass tanks?

If I had the choice (ground floor spot for my tank) I would not go acrylic. I am just willing to accept the scratches so I can go a little larger in my current place.

Edit: I did a bunch of research on DIY acrylic tanks. I would read the threads on other forums. A lot of good advice on what type of acrylic to use as well as solvents. There were even some tank builders who used certain solvents that were not good for larger tanks. The prediction was that the tank could give after a few years :( Then there is the issue of hazing...It's all a very specific skill. I have built a few glass tanks but that is really easy in comparison.

[Ritteri]

Your close on pricing. My 3/4 acrylic wasnt that much more expensive than my 1/2. Although the 1/2 was 60"x96" and the 3/4 was 48"x96"

You may find my conversations on the wetweb with Mr. Fenner regarding my tankbuild, he is or was a very nice person to deal with as I think he's passed on.

I would only build tanks in that two part.

Any lightly scratched acrylic tank is still clearer than glass.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

So looks like I am back at square one.

I had the tank built by a local acrylic manufacturer but I do not trust the tank. They made it out of a material, Chemcast GP which is blacklisted by reputable aquarium builders. Apparently several, or many, tanks had failures in the past with this material. The edges were also not all that well done. The solvent work was perfect but the details are just not there for something so expensive.

Working on getting a refund.

I don't want to call them out on here since they are not an actual tank builder. Hmmm, or maybe I have already named them earlier.

Any ideas?

[no_bs]

As I have found out in life GSP, If I want things done correct, I'll do it myself. Have yet to find a good acrylic builder in the lower mainland, so I do my own! If you have the skills and abilities GSP, do it yourself. Acrylic is easy to work with!

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

As I have found out in life GSP, If I want things done correct, I'll do it myself. Have yet to find a good acrylic builder in the lower mainland, so I do my own! If you have the skills and abilities GSP, do it yourself. Acrylic is easy to work with!

I would but honestly, I am a little tired of DIY after a year of DIY home reno projects. I have the tools and maybe most of the skill, don't know. I'm a little scared of DIY when it comes to 200G of water.

We'll see.

[no_bs]

I would but honestly, I am a little tired of DIY after a year of DIY home reno projects. I have the tools and maybe most of the skill, don't know. I'm a little scared of DIY when it comes to 200G of water.

We'll see.

200g no prob, you got that!

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Still looking for a tank builder. Starting to look like it’s gonna have to be in the US but thought I’d check one more time.

[no_bs]

Have you looked at miraclesaquariums? Before you take your money to the states! Have good things about them!

[msjboy]

Always wondered where those acrylic sea food tanks are made...maybe go ask superstore or one of those local chinese or korean supermarkets. They are quite strong and big since they stack two or three in top of each other. Pretty surely they are done in canadavif not in gvrd.