12x4x4ft tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Plywood: no, this tank is going to be in the middle of my living room so there isn't really a "front"

dannyboy: woah... that's pretty cheap. a 10 x 4 x 3.5ft glass tank cost SGD$10000 according to a tank maker. Does anyone know if it'd be cheaper to have it made overseas and shipped here?
 
xnsdvd said:
Plywood: no, this tank is going to be in the middle of my living room so there isn't really a "front"

dannyboy: woah... that's pretty cheap. a 10 x 4 x 3.5ft glass tank cost SGD$10000 according to a tank maker. Does anyone know if it'd be cheaper to have it made overseas and shipped here?


yep and that price is delivered and built in the room. all inclusive. amitedly its a guy that i know via another more advanced forum but that would be the price for anyone in the UK. cant see it saving any money having the glass shipped over. you need to shop around for better prices.
 
The tank would almost have to be acryllic... or at least some parts of it, and concrete. If you get totaly acrylic, it would run you well over 15,000 USD. This is because the standard size sheet of acrylic is 8x4x4... so, if you get a tank that is 10x4x4 (1200 US GAL) the price drops to about 9,000 because you use 4 sheets and their is very little cutting involved.
 
Thanks gooda. I was hoping to have it made out of a single sheet and joined in a corner(probably where I'll install the filter). This is REALLY going to eat into my house budget...

Though i don't quite get you, why would a 10x4x4 cost so much less? won't you still need to comission an extra large sheet?
 
kwiksilver99 said:
Why not build the tanks main body out of plywood and just glass the inside and use acrylic or glass sheet for the front>I hve built a few very large tanks this way and have had no problems.There also easy to plum. Pat


Pat,

Where would be a good place for specs, plans or material lists for such an undertaking? GARF doesnt help for something that large. The pressures that a 12x4x4 tank would endure would be high. How thick would the glass or plexi have to be for the front view area? Doubling the plywood sides and adding additional bracing for the sides would certainly be necessary, but not that cost prohibative.

TIA for any links or leads.
 
xnsdvd said:
http://www.oscarfish.com/takashi-amano-at-workmust-see-pics-vt46172.html

Trust amano to come up with it before me =) Aside from placing my tank on a cabinet and a different biotope, that's exactly what i had in mind.

This months (March) TFH (Tropical Fish Hobbyist) has an article by T. Amano that talks about low light plants. That same tank is featured. The tank is now fully planted. As expected, it is a very nice design.
 
xnsdvd said:
Thanks gooda. I was hoping to have it made out of a single sheet and joined in a corner(probably where I'll install the filter). This is REALLY going to eat into my house budget...

Though i don't quite get you, why would a 10x4x4 cost so much less? won't you still need to comission an extra large sheet?

The dramatic price change is due to the total number of sheets that you use, A standard sheet is 8'x4'x1.5'' ft and costs about 1,300 dollars. a 10x4x4 ft tank uses exactly 7 sheets. Where a 12x4x4 tank uses 8 sheets of 8'x4'x2", but the cleancher is that when you add the extra 2 feet to each side you have to increas the thickness of the acryllic by a 1/2 an inch to hold all that water.

But here is a site that has custom tanks, they also have the best prices that I have found. They aren't very good about answering questions over email... but when they do they are helpful.

http://shop.acicorp.us/category_s/17.htm
 
Gooda said:
The dramatic price change is due to the total number of sheets that you use, A standard sheet is 8'x4'x1.5'' ft and costs about 1,300 dollars. a 10x4x4 ft tank uses exactly 7 sheets. Where a 12x4x4 tank uses 8 sheets of 8'x4'x2", but the cleancher is that when you add the extra 2 feet to each side you have to increas the thickness of the acryllic by a 1/2 an inch to hold all that water.

But here is a site that has custom tanks, they also have the best prices that I have found. They aren't very good about answering questions over email... but when they do they are helpful.

http://shop.acicorp.us/category_s/17.htm

That place has very high prices!

http://shop.acicorp.us/product_p/p-5.htm 35 gallon pentagon with everything for 1000 dollars........
 
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