Can You Build A Fish Tank From Plywood?

Aquariums get more expensive as they get bigger. Well, there’s a pretty obvious statement to start with! However for the aquarist who is not keen to meet the price of a large aquarium but is able to deal with the cost of everything else there is a way around the problem. It doesn’t have to be a large aquarium really, any size applies, but the cost of smaller commercial glass or acrylic tanks makes the need to ‘get the tools out’ diminish considerably.

The way around the cost is for the aquarist to make the tank using plywood. It stands to reason the aquarist, or a DIY competent friend, should be reasonably good at cutting a straight line. The use of power tools is a great help.

The job is not as daunting as it could appear. Also, the end product is not going to look like a box that doesn’t leak with some water in plus fish. Ok, for the comedian at the back - yes the livestock can be seen as the tank has a glass front!

The first item required is a plan and once again the internet comes to the rescue. The plan here is for a 140 gallon tank, but these dimensions could be reduced or increased if ratios are kept accurate.

Here’s the link:

http://cichlid-forum.com/article/diy_plywood_aquarium.php

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Tags: acrylic-aquarium, aquarium, DIY, Equipment, glass-aquarium

Glass Thickness And Why It Is Important

There are many very competent DIY’ers about, doing all sorts of jobs from putting up a new shelf to building a house. The marine hobby is an excellent area for a spot of [tag-tec]aquarium DIY[/tag-tec].

Many aquarists have completed DIY projects very successfully. These projects might be a filter using acrylic tube, a protein skimmer, an aquarium lighting system etc. Some go a step further than that and design and build their own aquarium.

Making your own aquarium must provide tremendous satisfaction. I say must because I have never done it. I know of those who have made aquariums out of solid non-glass materials.

There are also those who have done it in glass.

Building an aquarium in any material is difficult. Doing it with glass calls for a lot of confidence and a fair amount of expertise. The design must be correct taking into account the amount of water that will be contained, and the height and length of the aquarium. The joints must be siliconed correctly so that there isn’t any danger of a leak. Obviously when the job is done a full leak test needs to be performed.

The water within the aquarium is going to exert pressure outwards. Therefore it is important to use the correct thickness of glass to match this pressure, which needs to take into account the panel dimensions. There will need to be cross-braces to give the aquarium more strength.

I’m not going to give any suggestions - as said I’ve never done the job but purchased an aquarium ready built. However, for those DIY types who are considering constructing an aquarium in glass, there are two links following which give glass thicknesses and tips on construction. There is also another link which covers creating an aquarium from acrylic.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=390652&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/aquariumdiy/l/blcustomtank.htm

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/literature/Subramanian_Glass_Aquarium.html

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Tags: acrylic-aquarium, aquarium, Equipment, glass-aquarium, saltwater-aquarium

Sumps - what are they and should you use one

A lot of aquarists nowadays use a [tag-tec]sump[/tag-tec] on their aquariums. I know I do - every single salt water aquarium I have ever run has had a sump attached with the exception of one which even to this day I wish I had done so.

So what is a sump and how can you benefit from having one.

A sump is basically another [tag-tec]aquarium[/tag-tec] (or something else which is saltwater safe) which is housed underneath or near to the main display aquarium. The sump is a location where you can install various pieces of equipment such as but not limited to protein skimmers, heaters, auto water top up device, calcium reactors etc. [Read more]

Tags: acrylic-aquarium, all-glass-aquarium, AQUARIUMS, reef-sump-tank, sump-tank

In this hobby you’re going to need an aquarium

Of course if you want to keep salt water life then you are going to need something to keep them in - something for them to call home.

There are things, however which you need to consider - don’t just rush out and purchase the first one you see. The first thing to consider is cost and the second is size.

As I said in a previous post there is a belief that this hobby is expensive, it can be - if you let it. I spent an absolute fortune on my first [tag-tec]aquarium[/tag-tec], purchasing everything I thought I needed then finding out later as I learnt more that I actually did not need them.

[Read more]

Tags: acrylic-aquarium, acrylic-reef-tank, all-glass-aquarium, custom-aquarium