Do anyone making their own fish tanks on this board? There are a lot of DIY fish tank articles on the net.. But not sure if it's worth the time/effort of doing it and the most easy/effective way??

But I feel it's interesting if I can make my own fish tank in any size I want.

BTW, what do you call the buttom and top frame of the fish tank? How can I get it? Some of them are in black plastic, others are in oak wood finish.

If i remember right i think there is a place in Ny that makes custom fish tanks....let me see if i can find it

I'm sure there are a lot of places that customize fish tanks.. Do I really save a lot of money by making my own fish tank?

It matters what you use glass or acrylic. and if you go with the black plastic or the wood.

There is videos on you tube on ppl making aquariums

i made my own to fit into a custom wall cabinet....

it is not cost effective though and could get a bit messy (for a first timer). if you want to make a larger tank, you need to factor in glass thickness, bracing, weight, etc. and is probably not worth the trouble to DIY. there are quite a few custom size makers around....expect to spend quite a bit though.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.. but like to know your people's opinion on this.

Thanks

For the tank frame you can use household trim from the hardware store. There is waterproof fake wood trim (plastic of some kind) that would work well for aquariums. Small tanks don't necessarily need their frames for structure. Because the sides tend to 'bow' out due to pressure, large tanks will need something stronger than household trim for the frame, or additional cross-bracing.

The most expensive part is the glass. Some builders use plywood for the back, bottom, and sides, leaving only one glass panel on the front. Plywood itself is less expensive than glass, but must be sealed, and the marine-grade (or drinking-water grade, if you're particularly concerned about chemicals leaching into the water) sealant can be expensive and time-consuming to use.

From what I've read about DIY tanks, the cost savings for DIY vs standard store-bought are higher for larger tanks. What size tank are you considering?

here is a article on how to build a aquarium http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/BuildAnAquarium.html

I reinforced the sealant by adding more siliones to the tank. The silicone has a very strong Vin smell and I dont know if I've done a good job on sealing the tank. Anyway the tank wasnt leaking before, so it wouldn't make a difference whether I done a good job or not.

I'm sure the fish tank factory is using a different method for sealing the tank. I got the silicones in a tooth paste alike packaging style. It was kind hard for me to squeeze out the silicone evenly through out the run around the edge (connection points of the tank).