DIY tanks!

[BettaBoyz]

since i can't really afford a name-brand 55g tank for my Oscar, is it sane/possible/acheivable/cheaper to make one?

remember, i'm a fourteen year old klutzy girl who somehow managed to trip over her own feet while standing still.

now do you still think i could make it?

what would i need, where would i get it, how long would it take, etc etc.

dankse ^^

 

[Cstratton7]

I think if you dig deep enough you will find that it will not be any cheaper, plus (with my own experience on this) it is not easy to get the silicone smooth and even and it would just be too much work and stress in the long run....the actuall panes of glass/acrilic may be cheaper, but then you must add the cost of having the sheets cut to the actuall size and all that good stuff. A 55gal. at my local petsmart(including hood with lights and glass cover) is only $99.00 and i find that to be a pretty good price. Also you should check your local paper and garage sales.

 

[KnuckleHead]

I love the idea of building a tank. But if your clumsy, handling panes of glass may not be the brightest idea . Im currently drawing up plans for building a 300g. Anyone think 1/2 inch glass is too thick? Also considering using 3/8 inch acrylic.

 

[Cstratton7]

1/2 inch thick glass would be the bare minimum for that large of a tank. I suppose if you had connections with ppl in the glass pane industry it would be cheap, and i would think that if you were doing a larger tank it would also be cheaper, but when i was considering building a 55 gal tank it came out to be more than buying one.

 

[Eelzor]

remember, i'm a fourteen year old klutzy girl who somehow managed to trip over her own feet while standing still.

lol

But I think someone made a post on that and it came out to veyr nice indeed. Can't find it though.

 

[lilmolly]

At mejiers a 55gal without hood is $54.99. I'm getting one soon myself. You can measure the top of the tank and go to your local hardware store and ask them to cut a peice of plastic or glass to fit for the hood.

 

[Opcn]

If acrylic is the direction that you are leaning then you could cut the stuff yourself with a skill or saber saw (hack saw if you are the patient type)as far as smooth sillicon goes you can use a toung deppressor to make that task a bit easyer.

Do you have any good looking female colledge age cousins or sisters because chances are they could get the matterials for less than you could.

Anyone think I could do a 140 for less that store price if I made it out of 3/8 inch glass?

 

[MAM]

another cheap alternative is online auctions. ebay ALWAYS has tanks (trick is finding one close by..............). or browse the want ads/classifieds in the paper.
i looked into just getting a single pane for repairing a ten gal, and by the time i had the glass of proper thickness found and priced for cut to size, it was cheaper to just get a new tank (granted, that was for a ten gal, but considering how difficult it was to find thick enough glass even for a small tank, you'd wnat thicker for a big, i decided to leave it to the pros and buyone). most home improvement stores don't sell the thicker glass you'd need. they ahve some window glass and glass for picture frames, but the home depot and lowes here both suggested i try a company that makes windows for store fronts and such to find the right thickness. too much expense and hassle. save for a couple of months and shop around.

 

[ste2k3]

Knuckle head- the thickness of the glass depends on how deep you are going. you can go to 2' in 10mm

 

[OscarCichlid]

i got my 55 the cheapest way possible. i was walking home from school and i saw a guy with a 55 and a hammer on his front lawn. he was about to break it up and throw it out because of one little tiny leak on the bottom left hand cornor of the tank. I stopped him from breaking it and picked it uop later with my father and we patched the leak. The patch is under the gravel so you cant see it and it is as good as new. Unless you have the same luck as me i would suggest that you look at ever garage sale posible for a tank. Good Luck

 

[jjsdad]

A good alternative is to build the tank out of wood except for the front window.
Have a look garf

 

[enaid]

Hi i am fairly new to this but have made so far two tanks, the first was a 15 gallon and the latest is 30 gallon. I found a good supply for the glass, from a glazing store they through out all the old windows, patio doors etc. I bought a glass cutter which cost me 3 cdn dollars and cut the glass, silicon was from home depot and i used a potato wedge to seal the silicon it helps to keep it smooth and the starch in the potato makes it glide on easy. Then i framed it all in wood which was pretty cheap. It was alot of fun. Hope this is of help

Diane

 

[Tolak]

Oh man, enaid. I love that potatoe wedge idea! Something always needs caulk or sealing around my house, and for years I always used the wet finger thing. Great idea, thanks!

Tolak

 

[Inchworm]

Hi enaid and welcome to the forum.

Your hand made tanks sound like a great idea. I could get carried away if I found a place where I could get free glass like that!

 

[dirty332]

10 gal tanks are only $12.99