Building my own tank... recommended materials and suppliers

Hi there

I have inherited a sturdy 160 x 60cm work bench which I would like to use as a base for a tank.
I was thinking 150 x 55cm x 60-70cm tank dimensions.

I dont have experience with 'very' large tanks like this, although I have dabbled in tropical and marine fishkeeping in the past.
My questions are -
1-Is there a 'Golden Ratio' of tank width to height? in other words how high should I go? As far as fish I'd like a fire eel and BGKF and some Clown Loaches, not sure if they might influence proportions?
2-Perspex/Acrylic or Glass and why? thickness?
2.1 - Can someone recommend a supplier in my area (I live in Pretoria East)

As for filtration I was thinking an external sump with pvc tubing going up to the tank

lighting I'm not sure yet... Nor am I sure about a cover..

As you can see, I still have a way to go, but my critical factors right now are materials availability and price

Any help would be really appreciated!

thanks!
aqua

 

@aquadementia - As far as I know tank depth is a issue/concern when going planted because of the light required to get to the bottom of the tank. The safety factor on that depth will also be an issue as the taller the tank the thicker the glass required. Try this site http://www.theaquatools.com/building-your-aquarium . Yor tank would need to be made from 10mm glass if it was 60 high, just to give you a safety factor of 2.3 which some people would say is fine but I wouldn't risk it. My new tank has a safety factor of 4.1. Fiddle with the height dimensions to see how quickly these numbers change. HTH

 

Pespex a no go. Scratches.

Height will determine glass thickness.

Invstigate your fish well to ensure that your tank is suitable size for your fish preferences.

 

Have a look at this link, a tool to calculate glasss thinkness and volume and this website also has a vew other tools... and also your pvc filtration should cost you around a max of R250, or here in Krugersdorp thats how much its going to cost me for my setup, but it depends on how complicated you make the thing....

Calculate Aquarium Glass Thickness | Aquarium Tools

 

Hi @aquadementia ,

You will definitely be needing a cover for the tank. Fire Eels are escape artists. What are your plans with the tank? Are you going the planted route? Or just fish and some ornaments etc. This decision will influence the lighting requirements, substrate choice, and fish choice for the tank. This will in turn affect your budget in the long run seeing that plants need fertilizers, and maybe CO2. Depending on what plants you want to keep and your budget obviously.

Agree with @Zoom on the perspex. It not only scratches, it's expensive aswell. Your best bet is to go to a lfs and ask them if they build tanks or know of a reliable tank builder. Glass or Acrylic is what you want for tanks. I think glass will be more cost effective though.

Use the calculator that @MarcHawke posted to work out what size you want. To change the glass thickness: highlight the "Safety Factor" and change. This will change the glass thickness.

To give you an idea of what you should expect to pay. I had a 5 foot built. 1500mm x 450mm x 500mm. The tank is braced top an bottom and built with 10mm glass. Cost me R2000.

Built my own lid for the tank. All in, Lights included R1990.

I spent around R5000 on my big tank without Hardware, Plants, Fish etc. Had my old cupboard so that was re used.

Good luck on the decision making. HTH

 

Hi guys

I got a quote for acrylic.... R4470!ush:
so glass it is

I will go to some of my lfs, there are a couple around here.
The one is retailing a 4ft Daro for R1100. I thought that was quite expensive but if a 5ft is around 2k then the 4ft @ R1100 sounds a bit better
As Zoom mentioned, I will need to properly investigate what I like and what is suitable... I still find it astounding that there are Bichirs, Clown Knives etc available on every street corner

I would like some plants, definitely, but low maintenance would be preferential. I'm more of a fish guy - I have a background in pretty much all forms of angling so I would like to think I understand fish pretty well.
I will go read up on planted aquarium specs

Thanks for the link! If I bring the height down to 50cm (still plenty I reckon?) the safety factor goes up to 4 with 10mm glass

 

Maybe try these guys, dont know if they will be cheaper but the do laser cut the glass...

:: Contact Us - Clean Cut Glass ::

 

thanks oupoot! Oh another question - what type of glass will be sufficient? Visited a glass website for the first time yesterday and I didnt even know there were so many variations available

 

A safety factor of 4 is just overkill.

By using the same glass thickness, you can go to 150 x 60 x 60 and still have a nice safety factor of 2.5. Additional bracing will be required, which this tool doesn't take into account. Thus with bracing your safety goes up more.

Plus with the additional depth and width you get 540litres! That's 30% more water just by adding 5cm!

 

wow I didnt realize that much of a gain in volume required such a relatively small adjustment... cool!
I have emailed Clean Cut Glass (hopefully, error on the 'thanks we got your email' page lol)