Added: 8 months ago
From: uarujoey
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  • just a quick question and reasoning why the top/brace is inside of the tank and not on top?

  • @aquariumguy101 personal choice. 

  • you said acrylic bows over time?? so whats the life span of an acrylic tank? id be worried the more gallons the tank is holding. awesome vids though. id like to see you do an imaginative shape of a tank

  • @NailSun23 If the acrylic is too thin, over a span too long, it will bow.

  • @NailSun23 That depends on what your stocking it with. If the top isnt completely exposed to oxygen, you cannot stock it like a regular tank. So stock it low. 

  • Simply amazing!...I have no interest in building my own tank but I watched all six parts. I would be cool if we could see how to build an acrylic aquarium with the two tubes in the center, so the fish can swim from one side of the tank to ther other via tubing.

  • Great show dude! This is what i was looking for. I do not like glass tanks at all.

  • Boy, I can hear your clock ticking on the background!

  • You my friend, are the SH*T!! Great info, awesome execution. I'm gonna have to see you set this up.

  • well said thanks man just subscribed

  • how much does it take to make a big tank, and can i use silicone to seal the edges after i glue them with acrilic semen??

  • @Evangelin017 Using silicone on the edges is not needed at all. It wouldnt stick well to acrylic.

  • @Evangelin017 with what? :L

  • Outstanding tutorial series Joey, very informative, nice job!!

  • @Deke1 Thank you very much. Im glad you enjoyed it. I actually continued on with this tank, and did a new series on setting it up. Covering filtration/plumbing/etc.. Have a peak. You might enjoy that as well.

  • @uarujoey Hello Joey,

    I think I might be building an aquarium but I am not sure what material I should use. Glass or Acrylic. So I want to make it that the top is cemented to the tank and that the water will touch the top of the tank, there will be an opening in the center of the tank, that will slightly rise up and the water will be filled up to there. Its basically a bigger Fluval Edge if you want to google that. So Im not sure what material to use. I've got a fluval edge! Great Series -Thanks

  • @matteocom717 I know the style of tank you are talking about. In this case, acrylic would be the easier material to work with. Although the fluval edge is a nice tank to look at, it is not functional at all. It has a very low ability for oxygen exchange, given its very very low surface area at the top of the tank. This simply means you cant stock it like a regular tank.

  • @uarujoey Hello,

    Sorry to annoy you again, but just to make sure. If my tank was 100Cm long, and i only took off 15cm on the border (excluding the back side), the rest is open. Wouldn't that be enough gas exchange? So my tank would be 100cm by 50cm, the amount of open surface at the top would be 2,450 cm squared out of 5000 cm squared. So I would only be taking off 2550 cm squared. Isn't that enough? 2,450cm squared/5000cm squared?

    Thanks again! Regards from switzerland.

  • Dear joey wht place u recomend to but acrylic from ....n how thick do u thnk for a 500 gallon tank

  • @alvarengaedgar In part 1 of this series, i reccomend where to get acrylic from. I have on my site, an acrylic thickness calculator you can use. Just enter your dimensions, and follow the instructions.

  • ... I've now been looking at your awesome homepage and found the thickness calculator. It says about 0.35 inches. So I guess 0.4-0.5 inches will hold the little killer inside..?

  • Hi Joey. Thank you SO much for this magnificent guide. I've been looking in to making my own acryllic aquarium and I feel quite confident after watching this vid. The thing is that the aquarium is supposed to house a mantis shrimp which have been reported to break regular aquariums. As I want it to thrive I think I'll make the tank around 100*40*40 (centimeters). So my question is: How thick should the acryllic be for an aquarium like this? It obviously needs to be stronger than glass. Thanks.

  • @uarujoey Sorry I haven't watched the whole series so I must ask, how big is this aquarium and how much did you spend total on the materials to make it? Thanks in advance.

  • How much for you to build one for me and send it to toronto or come to toronto, and a wet dry sump and pipe's ready for set up ? thank's for your time love your work !!

  • @MRCASHIS187 Sorry, i currently dont build for others right now.

  • you just took away 2 hours of my day but gave me a life time skill

    much love

  • @djbigangus Your welcome!

  • @uarujoey hey joey i have a question. just started recently keeping coral. i have had a few mushrooms and BTA for a while. was going to get either Star polyps or colt coral. what would you recommend under t5's only? i will probably get both sooner or later but any ideas for the first one?

  • Nice work!!  joey am in canada to in toronto what part of canada you from?

  • @MRCASHIS187 Nova Scotia!

  • Thanks so much for the videos Joey, really well done. I'm building a 8' wide x 4' high x 4" deep

    tank (bubble wall) for a window display with 1/4" acrylic. It will have ribbing running vertically every 4 or 5 " to keep the plexi from bowing and to keep the bubbles going vertically. Do you think 1/4" is thick enough?

  • @radioace10 That should work yes. Although, since its only a bubble wall, i'd make it only 2" wide, and do the strips every 4" like planned. It will be much stronger, and the bubbles will seam much more dense. You'll need a pretty powerfull pump to run that wall though.

  • Nice work Joey.

  • Joey, I did not see where you cut out the holes in the top of the tank. Did I miss a something? Did you use a router or something else?

  • Thank's again.

  • Hi Joey, I noticed that several aquarium dealers in my area have thier braces on thier acrylic tanks welded on the top instead of the inside. Does it make the tank stronger welded on the inside or is it just your preference? Thanks

  • @m72e592863 Preference.

  • hey joey, what do you mean when you say the acrylic will bow?

  • @vangxiong101 Acrylic can bow based on the thickness used, the span of the acrylic, and the force put onto it. If you use the correct thickness needed, you dont need to worry about the acrylic bowing.

  • where's the next video? :( this video was uploaded in june :\

  • @Kronikwookie Its on here. So is the following videos for it as well. Its in my playlists. The next video is called "3D Aquarium Background"

  • this prob a dumb question, but if acrillic bows over time, does that mean the front and sides will aswell due to the pressure of the water?

  • @s0uljab0y1 Acrylic will bow, but not a lot. It is only is noticeable if you dont use the correct thickness.

  • man i hate being poor lol

  • Did you show how to round the corners?

  • Great series, thanks so much. I keep snakes and have been building enclosures from plywood. This has inspired me to take a crack at making an acrylic one.

  • Fantastic! I just set up my 48" tank after several years away from the hobby. I wish I had seen this first and I would have been tempted to build a larger one! Very interesting. ATB.

  • I found a Acrylic Supplier who Also Supplies UV Reactive Acrylic Panels I am using this to build an Aquarium And Will be Using CCFL UV Lighting for the Edges Giving it a Glow to Outline the Flame polished Edges I May Or May Not Post the vid On Youtube But you never Know

  • You should have Back To Nature ROCK background in there. I had it in my tank and everyone loved it! Will link a photo with that in my tank to your inbox

  • Will the acrylic last as long as glass? Does it stain?

  • @Imagynuity If you take care of your acrylic, it will last as long as a glass tank yes. The best part is, when it starts to look dull, or gets scratches, you can buff it to look brand new again. Acrylic wont stain from aquarium use.

  • @uarujoey What was the cost of the Acrylic?

  • @columbuscoltsfan About $500

  • @uarujoey

    500 paunds to build your own aqurium not bad

    your gona get shocked then i looked on the internet for a 260gallon tank right

    it costs $2.599.33 list price was $3.238.30 so thay droped the price a bit but not a lot

    but its still way over my line

    its from fish direct.com

    i woudent reckomend peaple buying from this place its too expensive some always say best to shop around or build your own tank is much cheaper

    i will bulild my tank now its much cheaper to do it

  • Hey Joey you did great job building it's, you have more detail step by step love it's.  I love your Arowana fish I been looking for long time with short tail, are you in States or Canada? help me out with Arowana fish tdouangsavanh@yahoo.com

    Thanks

    Tya

  • @tjawsome Im in Canada, your in the US. Asian Arowana are illegal to own in the US.

  • Diy means do it yourself?!

  • @500bmw1 yup.....

  • Just finished watching all the vids on this build and would like to say great job! Gave me a lot of ideas - Thanks very much!

  • @dazluver No problem, glad you enjoyed it.

  • Where do you get the glue (weld) at? What is the name of the product?

  • @canadianhotbod1 I did a whole video on weld-on. Its on my channel.

  • @uarujoey Sorry, I couldn't find your video where you say where you can buy weld-on. what is the name of that video? BTW I love your videos!

  • @canadianhotbod1

    Piedmont plastics in Burnside

  • You did an excellent job on your DIY fish tank, many thanks.

  • Out of curiousity, what happened to the plywood tank? Did it last or did something go bad? I wanted to know because I was in the process of starting one and noticed you are starting this one, so I thought your starting this one cause the other one didn't work out. Even the liquid rubber co. took your plywood tank vid out thier page.

  • @cichlid62 I sold the tank a couple years ago. Its still running with the new owner. Rubberizit didnt take the video down by their choice, it was mine. I had a horrible dealing with them, so i would suggest not dealing with them and find liquid rubber elsewhere.

  • @uarujoey Wow sorry to hear that but then again, thank you for letting me know. Good to hear the tank is still going strong.

  • Great vids Joey, how can i reach you with a few questions?

  • @joerich25 On my website. You can ask your questions there. On the forum, not only will i have the opportunity to help you, but a bunch of others as well!

  • great videos..

    thanks for sharing..

    how is the acrylics against scratches?

  • Comment removed

  • @basstracker06 Thats for a buisness account. They dont ship to the states though.

  • ok i am really wanting to build an aquarium for an ag project....my only problem with this whole thing is thickness of acrylic an the design of the top support. what thickness acrylic should i use i wanted to make a LxWxH 5x3x2? and with my tank i will be using a H.O.B filter and a sump

  • that is cool

  • Fantastic work! I hope to try this on a smaller scale sometime in the not to distint future. Your vids have me confident that I could handle the task. Thank You!

  • Excellent video's. I've always loved aquariums and knew I could build them but never looked into it. Greatly appreciate the time an effort you've put into these.

    I do have one question, Would it make a visual difference to flame polish each piece before you assembled? Pro's-Cons in your answer.....consider me a total noob when it comes to acrylic.

    Thanks Again, Now I have to talk my wife into letting me build one in the wall LOL.

  • @camar068 Thank you, glad you enjoyed the videos. Never polish a piece before cementing. It will cause the piece to craze, and not weld together well. Always do it after you have welded, and let it dry for at least a few hours. Those are the cons..... there are no pros to doing it.

  • @camar068

    i am on the east cost (phila., pa.) where do i buy acrylic sheets from for a good price? please email me at gooddealdevelopers@yahoo.com. thx

  • @camar068 

  • Once again great video. If I built a 450 gallon tank, is there a formula on the thickness per gallon for acrylic?

  • Looks amazing!

    you could make a giant fluval edge this way! =D

  • @lavendersfields123 haha.. i actually thought about doing somthing like that! just on a smaller scale.

  • Is it recommended to try and flame polish out crazing marks as long as they are light and on the outside of the aquarium? Will flame polishing take the marks out without weakening the already built aquarium? Please if anyone has some answers to that or even better suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

  • @3Deditor This depends on how bad the crazing is, and where it is. I have removed crazing with flame before. Does it weaken the acrylic? yes, any heat does. But it wont be enough to impact the strength of the tank. As long as you dont heat the acrylic for too long, it should be fine.

  • @uarujoey Thanks. I'm going to test it out on my smaller aquariums first, then if i see some positive results and have got the hang of it, I'll try to get out as much as I carefully can on the 100 gallon I just purchased a couple days ago. Most if not all the crazing looks light on the outside of the aquarium. I plan on adding some triangular acrylic rods around the inside edges of the aquarium before I flame polish, in order to help strengthen it some. should I use #4 or #16 weldon for that?

  • @3Deditor For the rods, its always best to use #4. But that depends on how you install them. They need to be flush with the tank and held in place. If not, use 16. 4 is stronger though, so i prefer that if i can.

  • @uarujoey Thank you, I appreciate the help.

  • @3Deditor No problem!

  • @NathansAwesome Thanks!

  • how thick is the acrylic?

  • @coorsssss12 12mm

  • if your interested ,check out my transparent canoes on face book (seeviewcanoes) oya Em plastic thought i might be interested in your vids very cool thanks

  • vapor polishing will also make deep scatches shiny therfore less visible, MC boils at 40 degrees celcius it doesnt take much from the gun to get it going I think you will really like the results, word of caution always do it upward sometimes a little drip can happen

  • Im wondering if you know about vapor polishing?using a heat gun to heat up MC in a small glass flask with a stopper and flexable tube lol  like magic, works better than a flame, dont want to inhale vapors use a good mask

  • @wizzsplat Never heard of it. Interesting concept though.

  • @skysdad1999 Glad you enjoyed the series. This isn't for any rays... that i know of. I actually dont know whats going in it at this point...

  • Yeah but if you put two more braces in the middle for the lid. You might not have to flip the lid all the time. That's all I am say. Lol

  • @gt2k4srt4 Agreed. But would take away from the look... Which that lid is not braced in those two areas.

  • I remember you mentioning about rounding the edges. I think you skip that part. Also, you could place a piece of 12mm acrylic in the middle for your lid to prevent that bowing that would happen. But over a great video series.

  • @gt2k4srt4 I didnt round the edges on this tank.. but i do round them in an upcoming video. I round the edges in a tank in that video. The lid can be flipped if it bows. Which was the reason for the finger holes to lift the lid. Makes it reversible. I now do this for all my acrylic lids.

  • Great work! It looks good! I like your step by step process videos a lot.

  • Great 6 part vid..Tank came out awesome....I may have to try this down the road..

  • @jay80sdj No problem! Thanks for watching!

  • do you think the plastic co. could send the pieces with finised edges already cause I wouldn't want to mess it up? What fish are goin in there?

  • @Ericec4126 No, they do not finish the edges at this time that i know of. Preparing the edges is much easier then it looks. Cutting the acrylic is more difficult.

  • How much would it cost to build a 90 gallon approximately?

  • @xSTeSHy That depends on a few variables. I assume you want common dimensions(48x18x24), and a 3" euro brace... if so, you would need 30 sq/ft of 12mm cellcast. You can expect to pay around $330 give or take.

  • Nice looking tank

  • @xSTeSHy  Thank you.

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