Plans for building glass and acrylic aquariums and wooden stands?

[Fishdude]

Have you ever wanted to build a tank in the 150 gallon range from glass or acrylic? Have you done it? Where could one find design plans for that and for custom wooden stands?

[Daniel]

This is pretty much the exact design of my aquarium stand. Oceanic Systems manufactured my 540 gallon glass aquarium with the stipulation that if the aquarium did not go on this stand, there would be no warranty.

[Schwack]

10 minutes ago, Daniel said:

This is pretty much the exact design of my aquarium stand. Oceanic Systems manufactured my 540 gallon glass aquarium with the stipulation that if the aquarium did not go on this stand, there would be no warranty.

This is very similar to the stand design I've seen, and copied, from the King of DIY's YouTube channel. I opted to use stacked 2x4's in the corners since it's only holding a 40 gallon, but massive tanks obviously need more strength. He has several videos on his channel, including a build for, if I recall correctly, and 800 gallon tank stand. Skinning the stand is obviously optional, but looks a whole lot better. After building one tank stand, I'm just going to purchase them in the future. I certainly didn't save any money going the DIY route, but at least I know it's built like a damn tank.

As far as building an aquarium goes, that sounds trickier. Sourcing glass at the thickness needed for 150 gallons seems like it would be the biggest challenge. Building bracing and assembling the stand wouldn't be exceptionally difficult, especially if you've got a friend who can weld.

Are you looking into custom building to fit a specific space in your house?

[lefty o]

cant say about building a tank, but a stand is simple. plenty of video's on stand building.

[Fishdude]

18 hours ago, Schwack said:

This is very similar to the stand design I've seen, and copied, from the King of DIY's YouTube channel. I opted to use stacked 2x4's in the corners since it's only holding a 40 gallon, but massive tanks obviously need more strength. He has several videos on his channel, including a build for, if I recall correctly, and 800 gallon tank stand. Skinning the stand is obviously optional, but looks a whole lot better. After building one tank stand, I'm just going to purchase them in the future. I certainly didn't save any money going the DIY route, but at least I know it's built like a damn tank.

As far as building an aquarium goes, that sounds trickier. Sourcing glass at the thickness needed for 150 gallons seems like it would be the biggest challenge. Building bracing and assembling the stand wouldn't be exceptionally difficult, especially if you've got a friend who can weld.

Are you looking into custom building to fit a specific space in your house?

I live in a relative desert for a lot of pretty common goods and the idea of building some of the bigger tanks I want seems like an interesting challenge that might get me the size I want. I'm still working out what I want to do with my fish room and how much I can realistically invest in it to begin with. 

[Biotope Biologist]

Acrylic tanks are easiest to build at that size because when you build the tank you are buying glue that is chemically bonding the aquarium. You have to sand the acrylic edges for bonding, here in Washington we have Tap Plastics, which is a chain. These guys have been incredible for me. You just give them the dimensions. Select in the menu that you need the edges sanded and everything will be ready for bonding. 

 

Be prepared to shell out a good amount of money. Acrylic ain't cheap especially at 1/4" thickness or larger if you plan on going 200. I have a custom 60 gallon peninsula tank in the works 18Hx24Wx48L (90 gallons if filled completely). Cost of materials including a mangrove planter is $558. Still $1500 cheaper than the cheapest peninsula I can find. No one had the dimensions I wanted either.

 

Glass aquariums rely on the adhesive strength you use since the glass panels cannot be chemically bonded. This also means you must brace the aquarium. This is usually done with a plastic frame.

 

As for stands I prefer welded aluminum so I can hide all my stuff if I am doing custom. If I can find an oak or maple cabinet that fits my dimensions from a thrift store I will usually go that route.

Edited April 2, 2021 by Biotope Biologist

[GardenStateGoldfish]

Acrylic tanks need the whole base supported while glass aquariums need the corners/frame supported. The wooden stand designs online are great for glass but you would need to add a flat board support to the top to ensure 100% of the base of the acrylic is supported. Otherwise the acrylic will sag through the slits in the wooden stand 

[FriendlyLoach]

I know it is not the right size, but serpadesign does this sort of thing a lot. He builds lots of tanks from random pieces of glass. Maybe this video could give you some ideas. Probably he has made bigger tanks, if you search his channel you could probably find him making a bigger tank.