CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

well.....today, my dad picked up some peices of plexiglass which are very good for making a fish tank....he got it for free at some place near his work place...and im plannning to make my own tank =]

the thickness of it is like about 3/8", or 1/4......so i think prolly imma make a 30 gallon or less =]

the question i wanna ask is....which glue do i use to bond them together?....i knoe silicone doesnt work....lol cus its only go0od on glass...and we made a 5g tank (unsuccessful) a few years back.

is there a cirtan brand i should look for?....is the glue easy to find?...say....home depot/ OSH???

rite now im just worried about the glue...

so any suggestions would be real cool
thanks..

-b0b-

which glue do i use to bond them together?....

Look for something like - acrylic cement(thick and thin),acrylic solvent cement,acrylic weld,acrylic bonding agent,Weldon 4, Schwartz Chemical SC-94, and Rez-N-Bond all work..
the solvent cement types of adhesives make the strongest seams.



If you have 3/8" you can easily make a pretty big tank
1/4" most people say you have to stay under 12" in depth


If you need ideas or more information while your makeing the tank remember the garf website

one more thing....i see people talking about plexiglass and acrilic....are they the same thing?

acrylic = plexiglass?

not always,but sometimes it depends if it's cast or extruded or cell poured I forget which is which but plexi = the weakest one, - acrylic = stronger , - Lexan = strongest is basically how it was explained to me.
maybe someone else here can tell you more

i see...

well....earlier today i measured the peice i have and did about 20 mins of calculations....the piece i have is 16"x86"...so its a long rectangle...and my dad also got a piece same width 16"x13"...

so...i decide to make the dimension 16"x13x"....and so i did some calculations and the BIGGEST possible i can have it is 16h,13w,23l.....and the thickness is 1/4"....and the site you gave me stilllearnin, sed it should be 3/8....but i was thinking, my 30g looks like its about same thickness or even thinner than the plexi i got...so i was curious cus its like 18" high.

i was thinking...cus my calculation is onle comes out to 5 sides instead of 6...i excluded the lid....this is what i think....i have a thinner peice of plexi...and i think imma put it on the tip as a top frame so itll juss hold....is that a good idea?...or else ill just have to build it with a top as a square tank with dimensions 13x13x16

well....imma start soon and gonna go buy some acrylic cement....and i hope its gonna be worth it =]...since its a custom, homemade tank...makes me feel special! =]

and the site you gave me stilllearnin, sed it should be 3/8....but i was thinking, my 30g looks like its about same thickness or even thinner than the plexi i got...so i was curious cus its like 18" high.

is your other tank glass? if so that would explain why - 1/4" acrylic will bow 50 times faster then 1/4" glass,thats why acrylic is usually used on larger tanks because the thicker acrylic is the less it bows.

Like on the sump of my 3 level - it's 48"X24"X30" or close to that (only 15" hold water) it's 1/4" when it's together the weight holds it fine but take of the top levels and it bows out about 3" in the front and back and probally 1/2" on each side.

Maybe if you put a real good top or a frame on - 1/4" will work for what your trying to do.


If you change some #'s on the tank calculator and only go 12" high it says 1/4" so maybe thats another option for you.

Good luck and when you get done feel free to come over and finish my tanks

nope....my 30g is acrylic....not glass.....its like the same material as the plexi....it bows just a little...but why would someone make a tank liek that?...i think its a tru-vu or something....

or if 16" high doesnt work...ill just have to turn it sideways.....13"....lol...but ill lose 2 gallons of space....lol
these are my options:

with top frame peice:
13"hx16"wx16"l (square from top view)
but it wouldnt be as big as other options

2nd (no top frame) (biggest volume out of all options) 16"hx"13"wx23"l...this is too high maybe?...but the reason i choose this is so itl be easier to divide cus i plan to divide it into several sections...

3rd (no top frame) 13"hx16"wx23"l
this is just the 2nd one on its side....lol

and finnally something ive thought of fromt he beginning...a very long tank but is very small... 8"hx8"wx40"l (w/ top frame)...this way it can be divided into like 10 sections....lol but its only like 10gallons

so if 1/4" wont hold for 16"....then i might try 13"....lol....its only an inch higher.....so ill just have to lower the water level 1".....lol maybe