Acrylic build, .5" or .75"?

[brent245]

I'm looking into an acrylic tank build, 54x30x24. with 24" being the height and including proper bracing. Now Some calculators recommend 3/4" acrylic, while other threads I read say 1/2" is enough. I saw a 30" tall acrylic 240g tank at my LFS and it was built with 3/4". Now many people just say " just build it with 3/4!" Well that darn near doubles the cost of the tank. That extra cost could pay for the filtration of the tank as well as a DIY stand and canopy.

So what do I really need?

It's hard for me to believe these calculators, I was looking into doing a very tall 30 gallon tank (32") and the calcs said I would need 3/4"! Yes 3/4" for a 30 gallon tank! They make no sense.

 

[CANAMONSTER]

That's not a big tank , half inch way more then enough with a euro

 

[Steve_C]

When it comes to the acrylic thickness calculators most of them give sizes that resist all bowing. With most acrylic tanks you will get a slight bow unless you overbuild the thickness a lot, and then that runs into BIG BUCKS. The slight bow is normal and nothing to worry about. I have a 6ft x 2ft x 30" tall 240g acrylic and it is all 1/2". When filled it does bow slightly but nothing that is out of the norm. I agree with canamonster you will be fine with 1/2"

 

[brent245]

Ok, thanks for the help. That really makes my wallet feel better.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Maybe consider doing a full Top with cutouts for access to the tank. Might be an extra piece of acrylic but should give a lot of extra rigidity to the tank.