366 Gallon DIY plywood aquarium – 3D AutoCAD Design turned reality

So I've been wanting to try my hand at building a plywood tank for awhile now. I'm a mechanical engineer by trade and have lil time in carpentry so this being my first build I'll look at it as a mere test tank and a fun lil project. I have taken the first steps and have completed the footprint and structural design and have done this using 3D design software which enables me to design it to scale and know exactly what materials and how much I'll need before I even start. It's going to be a basic tank to start with a footprint of 7'x3'x2' and I will be using liquid rubber as my sealer. Here is a short clip of the design below, sorry for whatever reason when I uploaded the video to you tube it kind of trimmed the two top corners off of the tank. I have added a few 3D photo's as well of what the tank will look like.


[video=youtube_share;aRxcoVuaBYA]http://youtu.be/aRxcoVuaBYA[/video]











My materiel list for this build will be;

(5) sheets of 8’x4’ cabinet grade plywood for tank
(7) 2’x4’ boards for stand
(1) 6’-10”x1’-11”x1/2” Tempered Glass for viewing window
(2) 24”x24”x1/4” glass sheets for tops
(3) Gallons Liquid Rubber to cover 66 sf.

Plus fiberglass cloth for corners, wood glue, silicone & hardware


Now, off to get the martierals Needed to start my build

Redbellypiranha said:

Why not build bigger more like 500 gallon range


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Why not build a million crillion gallon one -

Like I said above, this will be my test tank and I feel a 300 gallon tank is a good first start and if it doesn't work out I'm only out $400. Not thousands. why don't you build a 500 gallon one?

Here's another 3D design clip of it -

[video=youtube_share;EqpGYNvlidA]http://youtu.be/EqpGYNvlidA[/video]

Steveo McNello said:

How much is a glass pane for something like this? Ive neen wanting to do the same. You said only 400 in materials?

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Glad you asked really... Becuase I'm still in the air on the thickness??? A 3/8" sheet at the size I noted above is $180 But a 1/2" sheet at the same dims is $220.. Not a huge difference really but sill $40 bucks. I'd like to get away with 3/8" but have figured buying the 1/2". if anyone who know could chime in on this to help me make my mind up that'd be great!

But yeah, with my current material list it will be right around $400 bucks or so.