Glass thickness
- Thread starter BensBurms
- Start date
You prob know this already from your research, but I should add that you will still need cross bracing 
That’s what everyone keeps telling me be I don’t know where they’re finding these cheap aquariums. 180s and 200s start at $1200 and $1500 respectively. $2000+ if you go acrylic. That doesn’t include cost of transportation or delivery. Then I’d have to hire movers to get it into place. By my calculations, I can build a tank for $700 (plywood, epoxy, glass).
Facebook market place, Craigslist. I've seen here on MFK mates selling complete 180s with stand, hood, filters sometimes even fish for 700-1200
I'm always a bit surprised when I see the prices being quoted here on MFK for aquariums in the U.S. Up here in Kanuckistan, I am fortunate to live near an importer/wholesaler/retailer who has aquariums made locally for sale. He has in stock at the moment 7x2x2-foot 210-gallon tanks, 12mm glass (do your own math, but this is much closer to 1/2 than to 3/8-inch), non-tempered (far preferable because it can be drilled), complete with lids, for $1200 Canadian. Twelve hundred Canadian! What does that work out to, something like 30 bucks American? 
You calculate $700US for wood, glass, epoxy. Did you include the cost of silicone, screws, brushes, etc. They ain't free. And do you place no value on your labour?
If you like doing this kind of stuff, fine, but...even if you work for free, it usually requires you to get up into the 300+ gallon sizes before you even begin to break even building your own.
Plywood tanks are great: easy to drill as required, never suffer catastrophic failures like popped seams, lighter/easier to move. But if all you are looking at is costs, they are no longer the deals they once were when compared to glass, at least in my neck of the woods. I'd be shocked if there aren't better deals to be had on brand new tanks in the U.S.
If you need to hire movers to bring you a glass tank...how will you bring home 4x8-sheets of plywood? Do you have a table saw? If not...are you planning on having the lumber yard cut it precisely into the sizes you need? Surely you jest!
How about a 6-foot or larger piece of glass? You gotta get it home somehow. And this DIY tank, if you are attempting to avoid movers, will likely be built in place in your home. Been there, done that...trust me, it's a wife-unfriendly proposition.
You calculate $700US for wood, glass, epoxy. Did you include the cost of silicone, screws, brushes, etc. They ain't free. And do you place no value on your labour?
If you like doing this kind of stuff, fine, but...even if you work for free, it usually requires you to get up into the 300+ gallon sizes before you even begin to break even building your own.
Plywood tanks are great: easy to drill as required, never suffer catastrophic failures like popped seams, lighter/easier to move. But if all you are looking at is costs, they are no longer the deals they once were when compared to glass, at least in my neck of the woods. I'd be shocked if there aren't better deals to be had on brand new tanks in the U.S.
If you need to hire movers to bring you a glass tank...how will you bring home 4x8-sheets of plywood? Do you have a table saw? If not...are you planning on having the lumber yard cut it precisely into the sizes you need? Surely you jest!
How about a 6-foot or larger piece of glass? You gotta get it home somehow. And this DIY tank, if you are attempting to avoid movers, will likely be built in place in your home. Been there, done that...trust me, it's a wife-unfriendly proposition.
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You're absolutely correct. I finalized my divorce so started all over with tools and everything. I have between 4-5k in my 500 plywood tank. I'm not sure how guys build them so cheap. Probably 3k minus tools. Plywood was $120 per sheet, don't remember how many, around 10 sheets or so, glass was 700, and I did 2 layers of 10oz fiberglass cloth on all of the inside which was 200 a layer, and 5 coats of pond shield at like 200. Got a used 125 gallon tank off marketplace for free that I'm using for a sump. I had to laugh at the "it's a wife-unfriendly proposition"I'm always a bit surprised when I see the prices being quoted here on MFK for aquariums in the U.S. Up here in Kanuckistan, I am fortunate to live near an importer/wholesaler/retailer who has aquariums made locally for sale. He has in stock at the moment 7x2x2-foot 210-gallon tanks, 12mm glass (do your own math, but this is much closer to 1/2 than to 3/8-inch), non-tempered (far preferable because it can be drilled), complete with lids, for $1200 Canadian. Twelve hundred Canadian! What does that work out to, something like 30 bucks American?
You calculate $700US for wood, glass, epoxy. Did you include the cost of silicone, screws, brushes, etc. They ain't free. And do you place no value on your labour?
If you like doing this kind of stuff, fine, but...even if you work for free, it usually requires you to get up into the 300+ gallon sizes before you even begin to break even building your own.
Plywood tanks are great: easy to drill as required, never suffer catastrophic failures like popped seams, lighter/easier to move. But if all you are looking at is costs, they are no longer the deals they once were when compared to glass, at least in my neck of the woods. I'd be shocked if there aren't better deals to be had on brand new tanks in the U.S.
If you need to hire movers to bring you a glass tank...how will you bring home 4x8-sheets of plywood? Do you have a table saw? If not...are you planning on having the lumber yard cut it precisely into the sizes you need? Surely you jest!
How about a 6-foot or larger piece of glass? You gotta get it home somehow. And this DIY tank, if you are attempting to avoid movers, will likely be built in place in your home. Been there, done that...trust me, it's a wife-unfriendly proposition.
. My girlfriend was cussing at me 2 nights in a row when I had to flip it over to put glass in and put top on .
