Cutting and acrylic aquarium

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ctenosaura

ctenosaura

Candiru
MFK Member
Aug 25, 2011
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Ive been looking for a used 96"x30"x24" for 4 years now and noavail. There is a 120"x30"x24" acrylic aquarium for sale for a good price and wondered if one could cut it down to 96" with a skillsaw and guides to keep straight. Sand edges real good and then weld on a 3/4 " 30"x24" new piece of acrylic to the side safely? Has anyone ever shortened the length of their tank?

Thanks
 
My initial thought when I first read your post was that before even thinking about cutting up such an impressive sized tank, i'd be trying my best to accommodate it as it is.

Is that not an option for you at all?

If you do have to shorten it, and indeed if it's even possible to do it safely, then i'm sure the acrylic guys will chime in.

It'll be a shame though.
 
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Im going home tonight and reassessing and hoping to see if there is anything I can move to make it work. The original owner had the tank built with a divider welded in at 96" so there is a 96" and 24" section . If I do buy it and don't cut it, I definitely will be sawing out that divider. Is a Fine Tool a good choice for cutting out a welded in interior divider?
 
ctenosaura said:
Im going home tonight and reassessing and hoping to see if there is anything I can move to make it work. The original owner had the tank built with a divider welded in at 96" so there is a 96" and 24" section . If I do buy it and don't cut it, I definitely will be sawing out that divider. Is a Fine Tool a good choice for cutting out a welded in interior divider?
Click to expand...

Just a thought if you are DIY minded, i'd think twice about cutting out that divider. That 2ft section, with a bit of jiggery pokery, could be utilised as your filtration chamber. I bet that's why the original owner had it partitioned off in the first place.
 
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ctenosaura said:
Im going home tonight and reassessing and hoping to see if there is anything I can move to make it work. The original owner had the tank built with a divider welded in at 96" so there is a 96" and 24" section . If I do buy it and don't cut it, I definitely will be sawing out that divider. Is a Fine Tool a good choice for cutting out a welded in interior divider?
Click to expand...
dremel/rotary tool will make quick work of the divider... u cant really cut flush with any tool or saw. Ull have to cut what u can then sand off the rest. Might be able to get a hack saw bit in pretty close by hand like ur thinking. Still a bit of sanding needed tho.
 
Update. Skipped the 10 footer. Area I was going to put it in was 4" to short and it was 1.5 hours away. Cutting it was going to be risky for the money I was spend for it. He wanted $1800 for it. Got this one (96x30x24) from a guy two blocks from my house. He helped me load it and then drove over with me to help unload it. $375

300 gallon.png
 
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Great score! Congratulations!

For cutting the partition out, which you no longer need to do, I would reccomend an oscilating tool with a saw blade on it. Put a piece of thin cardboard down and use that as a rest to keep the saw blade from scratching the heck out of the tank walls. Then sand the remains of the partition smooth with a sanding block. The sanding block will help make a smooth surface instead of a wavy surface that you would get with hand sanding with just a piece of sand paper.
 
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