Questions for 1000 gal plywood tank build

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mastergt35

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Nov 29, 2011
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Hey I'm thinking about building a plywood tank with an acrylic glass. I want my dimensions to be 10ft in length, 3 ft in width, and 5ft in height. I just wanted to know if these dimensions are possible and what thickness acrylic do I need. I am worried that the height is too tall for the width or are those dimensions ok. And also what thickness does the plywood need to be.

Thanks,
Nas
 
Anything after 2' high starts to become really pricey. It's still possible but the price jumps higher and faster the higher the height.
 
5' tall is crazy. You could never clean or scape. Tank that deep I'd go 10x5x3 and then you won't need like 3" acrylic which is going to cost a fortune
 
I also noticed that the calculators that you provided are for tanks with all acrylic. Can I use lower thickness acrylic with a plywood tank vs an all acrylic tank? I think that either 1.5 inch for a 4.5 ft high or 2 inch thick for a 5ft high would be sufficient. Do you guys think this is enough or not safe??

Thanks for all your help.
 
It depends on the height of the water at it's lowest point of the acrylic an the bracing around the window. you could build a 10' deep tank and get away with 1/2" acrylic if you just wanted a window the top 2', where as if you wanted the window at the bottom of the tank you would need something crazy like 4"+. Thickness is dependent on pressure and that is dependent on depth. SO think about your design and where you want the window and that will determine the thickness.
 
Well I was thinking about using 3 to 4 inch bracing around the entire window so about 4 to 4.5 feet of window will show. I want to keep the thickness of the acrylic below 2 in. What do you think is the max height I can make the tank?

thanks again
 
This is a project that I would love to see once you get started.
 
mastergt35 said:
Well I was thinking about using 3 to 4 inch bracing around the entire window so about 4 to 4.5 feet of window will show. I want to keep the thickness of the acrylic below 2 in. What do you think is the max height I can make the tank?

thanks again
Click to expand...

I think 2inches would work for 48 inches. While a thinner acrylic at that heigh can probably withstand the pressure, acrylic has a tendency to flex allot more then glass does. I once built a tank with 1/2inch acrylic. It was only 16 inches tall, but there was still allot of flex.
 
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