Hi and a question! :)

[ChrisEvans1001]

Hi there,
I've been recommended to come here from a friend over at fishkeeping.co.uk. :)

So hi to everyone here!

I've had a nano since January now and everythings been looking really lively, corals seem to be growing well, cleaner shrimp shed its exoskeleton ? for the first time the other day etc.

All very exciting! :D

Anyway I'm now looking at two projects, a through wall aquarium approx 180 gallons and a frag tank.

I'm not sure why but the idea of a having a tank you can look down into as well is quite appealing.

Getting hold of the tank for the first setup is no problem (I'll post pictures when I begin soon) but getting hold of a frag tank seems to be a small nightmare.

I've seen them at my LFS but can't find them anywhere online.

I'm from the UK. Anybody have any suggestions? I suspect getting one custom made would be significantly more costly than buying one of a standard size.

Thanks,

Chris

[Tang Salad]

Hi Chris and Welcome to RC :)

You're right about store-bought tanks being cheaper. Sounds like that's what you could use for the 180 in-wall.

As for the other, what did you mean by the 'look down'?

I've seen some small tanks that have the front panel at a 45 degree angle, and it provides a different perspective. Quite nice, actually.

[Lion_Babe]

Welcom to RC Chris!!
:rollface:
Good luck!
:)

[ChrisEvans1001]

Thanks! :) In terms of the look down tank, I meant a frag tank like this:

http://www.saltycritter.com/images/pics/store/frag-tank.jpg

So shallow and square...?

[drummereef]

Do you have a local acrylic manufacturer that could build one for you? Depending on the size it wouldn't be too terribly expensive.

[ChrisEvans1001]

I've found quite a few aquarium manafacturers but they only work in glass.

There are people that put together acrylic (or whatever the term is!) but I'm not sure whether they'd take into account about using the right "glue" (don't know what it is they use ha) and the weight of the water on all sides? (i.e. they don't specialise in aquariums).

[Im14abeer]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/80195welcome.gif

If you can find an acrylic fabricator that will guarantee his work to be watertight, that may be your best bet. As long as the joints are solvent welded, they should be fine. That is assuming that the joints are of high quality. That being said, many members here have made their own sumps and even tanks from acrylic. A pro should have no problem backing their work. More important is the thickness selection and bracing. Acrylic tends to bow, and the remedy for this is using thick enough acrylic, coupled with a properly made top. I'm no expert, but if you search the net for acrylic tank building, you will find a plethora of information on the subject. Then you can speak with an acrylic fabricator. It's more about the physics than anything, because in the end it's a plastic box. If you need help searching, reply so and I'll see what I can do.

[ChrisEvans1001]

Brilliant thanks. :) I'll give a few a call hopefully tomorrow or Tuesday and come back with what they've said compared to a few sites I've found.

Thanks!

[L and L]

Hey Chris,

Welcome to RC!

[ChrisEvans1001]

Ok I'm back with a few questions. The glass company has quoted me and come out surprisingly cheap to what I was expecting.

3ft square by 1ft high (67 gallons).

£75 made in 8mm glass.

a) Is this price reasonable and will the glass be of the correct thickness? (they are aquarium builders so I presume they've got it right!).

b) I asked for it to be drilled but since I've never seen a drilled aquarium before, they're now asking me what size holes i wanted?

My understanding was it's like a black box at the back where the water flows into and then out through some pipes.

Any suggestions here?

Thanks,

Chris

[ChrisEvans1001]

bump :)

[Im14abeer]

So £75 ($150ish to us yanks,) doesn't seem outrageous for a custom tank. Unfortunatley, in the end, the tank is one of the cheapest components. The tank builders should be able to make the overflow box (or boxes.)

Why don't you tell us a bit more about your plan and we'll figure out where, what size, and how many holes. Then you or the tank builder will have to install bulkheads in the holes. The size of the bulkhead is what determines the diameter of the hole.