i wasn't trying to say that it doesn't cause does scratch more easy but i know people who have had acrylic tanks for over a year and i cant see a scratch they are very extremely careful about what they use to clean it and plus at least to me they look a lot better then glass ps hope that the stores help and not to expensive
Large tanks: Buy or DIY?
- Thread starter donaldmboyer
- Start date
Price out how much it would cost you to build. Price out the tank you would buy, compare prices and determine if its worth the savings.
Building is cheaper overall, as long as you don't include your time spent. The real deal is what your budget is, that could ultimately make the decision. If I had loads of money, I would buy one. Unfortunately I am always on a budget, so I will be building my tank.
Material is also a concern. If you want to go ALL glass/acrylic. It might end up being cheaper to buy a tank. Plywood tanks are the way to go for DIY
DIY!!!!! unless you have the money lol. I have a thread that i should be updating this weekend if everything goes right. i dont mind explaining how to build one start to finish. but if you run a search all the info is out there. combine different info and threads to get your finished product. good luck!
There are a ton of threads here on MFK of people who have built there own, but most are plywood with a glass/acrylic front. If that is acceptable then I would say for the size of tank you are looking at you could save some money going the DIY route.
As others have said though this has to be without factoring in the cost of your time. If I priced my time at the same I get paid it would never be worth it because it takes me a good deal of time, but to me I get a lot of enjoyment about doing these things. The hobby is more to me than just the fish, but all that goes with it.
As others have said though this has to be without factoring in the cost of your time. If I priced my time at the same I get paid it would never be worth it because it takes me a good deal of time, but to me I get a lot of enjoyment about doing these things. The hobby is more to me than just the fish, but all that goes with it.
damn if i built a tank of that size as my first tank i don't know if i could sleep at night, knowing something might happen.. although cheapest diy would prob use plywood for the 4 sides and the front piece is glass. you can put tiles inside the tank onto the plywood, so that'll make it look nicer and waterproof. or plain wood and epoxy etc. i was going to do a plywood tank lined with tiles but i decided that it was going to take too much of my time so i just bought a tank on boxing day, it was almost 50% off.
