DIY Aquarium?

R

root81

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Feb 23, 2007
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Eastern Townships, Quebec
I have an table in my office 19" by 29" that currently has a 10 gal tank, but I would like to upgrade to something the fills the table. After several checks at the local shops, I have yet to find anything that comes close to fitting the table, so I think I'll end up building the tank myself.

The mesurements I have in mind are 27 l x 17 w x 12 h. What material would you folks recommend?

Base and sides will be a basic box, my plan for the top is something like this:

________________________
| __________ ________ |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| |_________| |_______| |
|______________________|

The center strip would basically be a T section for added strength, and the ledges would be to support solid covers over the 2 squares. Is this a good method?

The only thing I'm not sure about is the top casing to cover the lights, Might go with plexi, but most likely wood.

I've spend the last couple days searching for information, and think I've read sufficient to understand the glass/acrillic work, but would defiantly buy the stuff precut! but I haven't found any decent blueprints or layout pictures really understand the best way to lay out a tank to deal with the stress of the water pressure.

Before I make this tank, I'll try a small one for practice. I havent' taken the mesurements but it'll be beteen 3 and 5 gal,

Any suggestions/resources you kind folks can provide will be appreciated, and I'll definatly start up a blog to document the process.
 
So, the tank you want to build is about 24 gallons, and will hold about 200 pounds of water. Factor in about 30 pounds for the glass itself, throw in some gravel, fish, fliter, yada yada yada. The stand needs to hold 300 pounds. To be safe, build it to hold 400 pounds.

I don't really understand your schematic, so I can't comment too well. I'd recommend building out of glass. For a DIY aquarium, especially if it's one of the first you've built, it'll be easier to work with and more forgiving. If you purchase acrylic, and then scratch it, you'll be kicking yourself forever. With this small of a tank, you don't have to worry about using tempered glass, but you can for the bottom if you want to(isn't needed until you start pushing 40g). For the tank, asssuming a good seal between the glass, you don't even need any type of center brace across the tank.

Next, I'd recommend wood for the hood. Plexi will let the light shine through. Not necessarily a problem if you are using a 13w light, but if you go planted and start putting 100w over it, it'll be way bright.

Finally, I wanted to offer this website. It's a list of standard(read easy to find) fish tank sizes. One of these might work for you and save some effort. If not, it really isn't that difficult working with glass.

http://www.alysta.com/books/fishtank.htm
 
Your tank plans sounds good to me, the stand does need revising though, as you do not know what weight the table your planning on using can hold, preferably, as said by JMHart above, your better building a stand for it..

Tank building is no that hard as long as the glass is cut well and all measurements are correct...personaly, i would go with a centre brace, but, thats just me..the top rim can be made using off cuts at the right length, just think about the width of the rim and what equiptment your many want to have hanging on the back of the tank, like filters..

When putting the tank together, the two shortest panes of glass ( left and right side usually ) should go in between the front and back..not on the outside of the front and back edges...

Just my opinions of course..

Niko
 
I'd want to be VERY sure the table can hold the weight.

What's you plan for filtration, air pump, etc? I applaud you for wanting to build your own, however I'd probably go with a 20Hi or a 15Long on there...and have clearance behind for HOB filter, power strip/air pump/light timer, etc.

At 24x12" you'll have ~2.5" on the short edges; if you set it back 3" from the long edge, you'll have 4" behind. Typical HOB is ~3" deep anyway...

I have a 36x18 40G on top of a dresser ~42x24"; it sits of top of a tablecloth folded to just overhang the edges. Looks great.
(and yes, I determined it would hold the ~500 lbs first!)
 
root81 said:
Glass sounds good to me.

Here is a image, since the forum didn't display my ASCII layout properly.

Also, this will be a planted tank, with at least 50w lighting
Click to expand...

That almost looks ok, but I'd brace the bottom, too. This will ensure it won't bow out under the weight. Of course, at this point, it might be easier to build a new stand......and if you are going to build a new stand, you could build it to the dimensions of a standard tank size. Building a new stand might be easier than building a new tank.
 
my reason for wanting those dimensions is that that is the max space available in that corner, and I want to put in as large a tank as possible. The table is very strong, solid oak, and has held up several hundred pounds. I could easily build a stand, but I doubt anything I build would be stronger than that table.
 
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