Custom Acrylic Aquariums

[Tank Builder]

:HP HI. I'm currently trying to design and build an acrylic aquarium 4 a college project. I know that acrylic is better than glass but i'm not sure about the type of acrylic, size, thicknes etc I should use. I dont want to make it more than 30 gallons. Can you help?
Thanx :-)

[MJC]

Check out Tap Plastics (www.tapplastics.com), US Plastics (www.usplastics.com) and San Diego Plastics (www.sdplastics.com) for information on types of acrylic, it's properties and handling procedures.

In terms of sizing and volume, take the L x W x H (or W x D x H) in inches and divide by 231 to obtain volume. For sa 30 gallon tank, use no less than 1/4" thick sheets. 3/8" thickness would be idea.

Note that any tank with an unbraced or unsecured top or opening may bow and break open. However, there's more of a chance this happening if your tank is taller than wider.

- Marty

[Tank Builder]

:) Thanks Marty, i'll check out those sites and try to get more info. i may have further questions further down the line, but 4 now, thanx!

[MJC]

No Problem, you're welcome.

Industry standard 29 gallon acrylic tanks are sized approximately 30 x 12 x 18. This will yield approximately 28 gallons of capacity.

Hope this helps,

Marty