custom made vs buying

[cvermeulen]

I give people quotes on custom tanks all the time, only had one taker so far. Unless it's a build in place monster (real monster - 500+) it's really tough to compete with manufactured tanks for the quality, price, warranty, and so on. If you did manage to build a 180gal tank for $600 and sell it for $1000 you're looking at probably 100 hours to do it **right**, maybe you could get that down a very long way by repeating the process, having jigs built ahead of time, etc, etc, etc. But with an average joe shop, even 40 hours is pretty optimistic (again, to do it to the level that you're comfortable selling it to someone else to put in their house), and then you're working for around $10 per hour.

I know someone will chime in and say they can do it in a weekend, and I'm sure you could, if you did it a few times before, or had a full scale professional workshop, or else did it super crappy, but factoring in design time, trips to the store for stuff, applying sealant in several coats, glueing and screwing every joint, bondo, finishing the outside, getting it to the customer's house, blah, blah, blah, 40 hours goes by FAST.

 

[mdb_talon]

look at what happened to the monster fish rescue 800g

Good thing tanks from manufacturer never have leaks or even blowouts.......

 

[Chris1530]

6x2x2, 2 sheets of ply

On ebay I have never seen 24x48, let alone at half inch that cheap. I just bought a 39x8 acrylic window on there (1/4) and that cost me $20 shipped.

I looked didnt have exactly 48x24x1/2" but found some others..

48x20x1/2" -- http://cgi.ebay.com/1-2-clear-acryl...nt?hash=item200281676467&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14

for 150 you could go bigger 48 X 31.7/8" X 1/2"
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-2-clear-plexi...nt?hash=item200277285743&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14

But either way, you can catch good deals on ebay, last month there was a full sheet cell cast 1/2" for 150 but the guy wouldnt give me a quote on shipping.. there is 3/4" 48x24, for like 165 shipped to, but 3/4" i think is over kill..
of course none of this will do any good if you dont have the desire or ambition to Build It Yourself..

But it is true as i have gathered so far the bigger the DIY tank the more the savings come into play..
My 2 cents again..

Oh also found this http://cgi.ebay.com/3-16-inch-clear...BI_Plastics_Equipment?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

but idk if 3/16" would be thick enough 9 available 48 x 24 x 3/16" 32+20 Shipping combine on multiple items

 

[brianhellno]

Here's an idea I'm just throwing it out their let me know what you think:

Plywood - 3/4 In. x 4 Ft. x 8 Ft. Birch Plywood $39.95/Each

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...3&productId=100087029&N=10000003+90006+502501

You would need at least 4 sheets so well say: $160

Support - Millstead 2 In. x 4 In. x 8 Ft. Surfaced Redwood Board $6.94/EA Each

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...3&productId=100024257&N=10000003+90006+500823

You would need about 6 boards so well say: $42

Viewing window - lets use polycarbonate it's 250 times stronger than glass and if you use the same bolt up method that you used with that acrylic we can eliminate its annoying ability to flex - 3/8 X 24 X 48 Polycarbonate Sheet - $95 (not including shipping)

http://freckleface.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/product24.html

Now for miscellaneous stuff well just put that at about $100. The real money saver here should be using the polycarbonate instead of the acrylic. That's the stuff they use for bullet proof windows and beats out glass and acrylic hands down at strength. Total cost should be in the neighborhood of about: $450 when all is said and done. But with those materials you could build the 180 gallon tank or you could build a 96 x 36 x 36 which comes to about 540 gallons. Or even a 96 x 48 x48 which comes to about 800 gallons. The polycarbonate should hold up in theory anyways. I forgot to factor in the cost of pond liner and bolts but let me know what you think so far. To be honest I've had a bit to drink before I'm about to go out so for all I know this isn't even feasible. Either way just throwing it out their for others to think about.

 

[cvermeulen]

...lets use polycarbonate it's 250 times stronger than glass and if you use the same bolt up method that you used with that acrylic we can eliminate its annoying ability to flex - 3/8 X 24 X 48 Polycarbonate Sheet - $95 (not including shipping)

...

money saver here should be using the polycarbonate instead of the acrylic. That's the stuff they use for bullet proof windows and beats out glass and acrylic hands down at strength.

...

I forgot to factor in the cost of pond liner and bolts

...

I've had a bit to drink before I'm about to go out so for all I know this isn't even feasible. Either way just throwing it out their for others to think about.

Ok, well, you've been drinking and thinking, which is sometimes good, but there's a couple problems with your post"

First off, you haven't saved him much money; The sealant is usually a significant part of the cost. Bolts and screws aren't usually very cheap either, so even if you can get all that stuff done for $100, your idea puts him at $550, as opposed to the $600 he already proposed.

More importantly though, your thoughts on polycarbonate are not very well founded. Polycarb is more flexible than acrylic, scratches easier than acrylic and is usually more expensive than acrylic in my experience. It is definitely NOT stronger than glass, either. Polycarbonate DOES have phenomenal impact resistance, and it's much less likely to crack under strain than acrylic, and glass alike, but if it really was a money saver, or better in any way, you'd see manufacturers using it a lot more.