I would consider myself to be a relatively new subscriber to your channel but I just want to say thank you for allowing us to see such great videos. I love the aquarium hobby and seeing you make all these different aquariums really inspires me to continue my hobby.
Thanks for doing this Joey,you nailed it when you said most of us(me) can't nor want to build a huge tank but I REALLY want to build a series of smaller tanks between 30 and 40 gallons. Thankfully TAP plastics is just down the street from me so I will be purchasing the slabs first then buy clamps,glue and make my jigs etc. I used to build lots of reptile enclosures about 20yrs ago so this tank buildin business is right up my ally! That desk tank is going to be really nice and yes I will steal all the tips I can get!LOL
I've never been happier to learn there will be so many Sundays. Super excited to see it and I really hope you are building a river manifold 'tope. I've wanted one for ages the same dimensions as this build but have to wait until I have some more space for it. 1 fish 2 fish having hillstreams in stock is killing me ...
@@thekingofdiyAwesome video, what thickness do you recommend for making 60 gallon setup? Can you also add silicone to help reinforce it? Would I need to make supports or something or is the glue strong enough? I’m thinking about making a shallow tank setup sick of the tall bulky one I bought from the store.
Im super excited for this series. And once again youve shown why you are far and beyond #1 in terms of quality aquarium videos on youtube. This video was superb Joey. And the dimensions on this tank are literally my dream build. I cant wait to see what youve put into it.
I have two 5" Blackmoors in my pond. Should a buy a aquarium for winter? I do have mild winters with average temps of 0-4 celsius with worst i seen last year was occasionally -5
awesome joey! it's funny today I just started a small tank it's 6"x6"x 54" long im building it to hang on the wall. spent a wile today getting the paper off the acrylic is 1/2" thick and about 10 years old and the paper was well stuck lol love your videos can't wait for more in the future
Joey, I'm a huge fan of all your work and love your channel. When you talk about how you want clean, crystal clear edges during the polishing portion, what about those edges that actually butt up against other pieces of acrylic? For example, the side edges of the side panels? Do you polish those 3/4" edges so that they are clear when viewed THROUGH the completed front and back panels? Thanks for the incredible info!
I think I'm going to love this tank. Would it be possible to attach small acrylic square containers to the inside panel to act as "plant boxes" or would that affect the filtration process?
Greetings from Malaysia Joey, Just want to say your videos are the best, super informative. Thank you for all the tips!! 👍👍 Also, the length of this set up looks like it would be great for some Hillstream Loaches and ottos. Fast moving, rocky river current type of flow rate. Plus Hillstream loaches kinda look like mini versions of freshwater rays, I know your a fan. Just a suggestion. Good luck with the set up Thank you again and keep up the great work 😄👍
Awesome video, what thickness do you recommend for making 60 gallon setup? Can you also add silicone to help reinforce it? Would I need to make supports or something or is the glue strong enough? I’m thinking about making a shallow tank setup sick the tall bulky one I bought from the store.
Hey joey im looking to build a aquarium with the measurments 120x30x20cm. Would it be okay to make this out of regular glass and would i do it the normal way ie glass and silicone, should i put a middle support piece? Thank you for your time
Hey bro just getting into the hobby and was wondering if you could recommend any good breeder or stores. The closest pet store is over 100 Miles away. Thanks for your time.
could you help any tips for the aligator gar cause it just bit its sisters tail and now there getting aggresive on eachother should i just seperate them and hope they dont break it or just leave them
How would you incorporate something like waterfalls into this? I understand it would add more walls, but could you step it down using a overflow weir to go into the next section?
Hey I'm having difficulty taking apart a rather large glass aquarium. It's 84"x30"x24" with 1/2" thick walls and 3/4" thick base. I've been able to pull of the top and bottle frame, but the seals are soo close that I can't get a razor blade between them. I was thinking of a heat gun or torch, but I'm afraid of thermal shock to the glass. Once I can break the seals, and i get ready to build the aquarium I want, what would be good to use as spacers for glass of this size and weight so that if I want to break it down again I have seams that I can actually access to cut and break apart? As for a future video, could you show the break down of a glass aquarium around this size so that we can see what framing is needed, possible extra support hands and help, etc. I would like to see the best way to break down the largest glass tank I can get my hands on so that I can build the largest aquarium I could.
My all glass Marineland 220 gallon aquarium has to be rebuilt the only problem is the bottom glass is free floating. Only the bottom glass seems to be held by silicone floating 3/4 of an inch from the stand surface. I haven't found a video showing or explaining the importance of this free floating method. My Frontosas are depending on me thanks!
Have you ever heard of a full height floor to ceiling tank? One that is narrow enough to be built within a wall? Just wondering if its possible or even feasible.
Keith R I had always envisioned access from the next floor above. Even so, yeah sure, PITA still applies I'm sure. But wouldn't it be just so cool to see fish at different depths etc. All within about 4 inches from the side? The weight of it would require a steel frame below. A serious project, I have no doubt.
On that note I'm a little confused about where or how a workaday human (who doesn't regularly sign multi million dollar accounts with material engineers) can source cast acrylic sheets thicker than 1.5 inches. After some light searching it would seem this thickness is the upper limit for manufacturers advertised on the internet. How would one get their claws on 2.5" thick sheets? Edit: @John, looks like a public aquarium. I'm guessing lots of cement covered in an epoxy or polyurea for the base, with a "gutter" etched into the cement (while wet) which will accept a thick acrylic sheet. Perhaps a welded steel frame around the top could serve as the bracing? Whether silicone or another chemical would be best to form the gasket between the acrylic and the cement's sealer, I'm not sure.
billforigno Thanks Bill. I'm no engineer (not by a long shot), but what I see is 0.433 PSI/ ft, at 8 ft, total lateral load is 3.47 psi against the aquarium sides at the bottom. Aside from the weight, the real issue is the side to side distance. All materials flex under load, what needs to be determined is what is the acceptable limit before something springs a leak. All that being said, the public aquarium 'glass' needs to be so think because of the span. 3.47 PSI * say 96"* 12 "= 3997.4 lbs of force across the bottom 1 foot of a 8 foot span. Now, what if the aquarium was say 24" wide by 96 "tall? Again 3.47 psi*12*24=999.36 lbs. side load. Still an impressive load, but is it 'doable' and what is the required thickness? Inquiring minds want to know, but who knows this? I suspect a Licensed Mechanical Engineer, but, then, they would like to be compensated for their knowledge (and rightfully so). My point here is, if the span is narrow enough, it might be possible.
+john hanrahan Very true. I've recently been on the goose chase of attempting to find definitive answers to material thickness for aquarium applications, and the closest thing I could find to a sure answer online (for acrylic) was CYRO's "Aquarium Thickness Calculation" spreadsheet, which appears to use the same formulas used in Joe's acrylic calculator. In light of that I would trust it for ascertaining the required thickness based on the height and width of a fully supported sheet. Therefore, in my (un)educated opinion ;), it stands to reason that sturdy vertical supports of steel or rebar-concrete can be used to facilitate acrylic sheets no thicker than what would be needed for any other cell cast sheet measuring the width between vertical supports (eg. 24") by the "height", or total water depth (96"). I agree with your observation of engineers knowing the proper thicknesses for the other materials in question in relation to this application. Based on a lot of forum browsing, the "chain of knowledge" for anything more than a 2 ft tall aquarium garage project often appears to start with a wealthy client wanting a project done, contracting a business to do it, which in turn, presumably consults engineers to crunch the numbers. The end result is relatively little making its way onto the net in the form of consumer-friendly info. I do think however that there are many helpful construction forums that could shed at least some light on details like cement mixture, the need or lack thereof for reinforcement, steel thickness, etc. that lie outside the aquarium circles. I've seen a bit of info that could pertain to this project which focuses on pond viewing windows, for example. The real pinch I see is acquiring the acrylic of the needed thickness for ANY price -once it's over the 1 - 1.5" mark.- EDIT!: I think I have just discovered why my search was so difficult; it would seem that at least some if not all manufacturers consider acrylic pieces thicker than 30 mm as "blocks", not "sheets". >.< Ok then.
I build your corner 5 gallon bucket, and i am having a hard time finding filter foam. At petstores the foam it only custom cut for certain filters. Online, it can take 2 months to ship. I looked at polyester foam in a craft store, but all foam in the US has to be flameproofed, and i heard the chemecals for that are bad for aquariums. where did u get yours?
Awesome builds and great info Joey! One quick question: I live in a city that chlorinates our water. How would you choose to condition your water before a water change after plumbing was added into the tank to help facilitate faster water changes? Tired of carrying buckets lol.
I know you're not much of a saltwater guy. And I'm excited you're stepping into that realm eventually. But I just wanted to point out, this tank here would be a perfect frag tank! I know it's highly doubtful that's what you would use it for but maybe sometime in the future I might wanna consider it if you decide to keep corals
+Scott Maslowski you never really have to if your acrylic is thick enough(needing up to twice the thickness of a tank that is braced). Material needed comes down to entire dimensions though, not just height. So depending on dimensions the thickness required will also be based on if you want to actually brace or not.
I have a question about using this pin method or welding any acrylic. When you squirt in the cement, what happens to the cement that squishes out? If it basically melts the acrylic, does the extra cement that doesn't stay in the joint "melt" the surrounding acrylic? If you get extra weldon 4 on the acrylic how do you clean it up?
+Kosin Trouble In The Tank good question. For the acrylic that oozes out on the outside, you can route or sand that down prior to polishing. For the acrylic that oozes into the inside of the aquarium, you leave it. It will dry clear and you won't notice it. Plus adds an extra seal to the tank. Don't worry about using too much. More is better than not enough. If you simply get weld-on on the acrylic, leave that alone too. It too will dry clear. It won't melt it by simply pooling on it. It will soften the acrylic, then the Weld-on will evaporate. The acrylic will then harden again like new. Again, nothing to worry about.
Facebook ► facebook.com/uarujoey
Instagram ► instagram.com/uarujoey/
Thanks!
Really enjoy your videos, I also learn a new way to do something thanks.
it would be rad to get a hexagonal tank though
I don't see myself building tanks anytime soon, but this is crazy interesting to me. Keep it up. Thanks for the entertainment.
Wow…Props to you Joey for cementing the bottom of that tank!!
I would consider myself to be a relatively new subscriber to your channel but I just want to say thank you for allowing us to see such great videos. I love the aquarium hobby and seeing you make all these different aquariums really inspires me to continue my hobby.
Still my favorite series you have ever made. But then again I am a huge Shelly enthusiasts
Wow that tank looks perfect for Shrimp !!! Fantastic job Joey :D
Thanks for doing this Joey,you nailed it when you said most of us(me) can't nor want to build a huge tank but I REALLY want to build a series of smaller tanks between 30 and 40 gallons. Thankfully TAP plastics is just down the street from me so I will be purchasing the slabs first then buy clamps,glue and make my jigs etc. I used to build lots of reptile enclosures about 20yrs ago so this tank buildin business is right up my ally! That desk tank is going to be really nice and yes I will steal all the tips I can get!LOL
Nice build Joey...can't wait for this series to get rollin!! Great work
you challenge yourself every time ... and the result is Awesome ....
I love watching these builds !
I love building them!
This project is going to be crazy! I could definitely build one of these for my guppy fish room.
Joey tank looks perfect thank you again ,see you next time
Really cool project Joey. Thanks for sharing.
Wow this seems interesting to see what you did with the tank. Fortunately watching the video late means I don't have to wait very long to see it. 😆
I just simply love your videos
Awesome build. I like the plywood jigs you made up to hold the sides in place! 👍
Awesome video Joey!!!
Thanks!
Fantastic vid. Have been thinking of Acrylic recently so well timed.
You are the best man. I convinced my family to help be buy a tank.
Congrats! Have fun!
awesome job man love the way you went about doing this video
I liked it to. I actually have two version of this same video. I filmed this one late last night. Liked it better.
Yes it's awesome can't wait to see the next one! Thanks for inspiring us!
Great video Joey! The tank looks stunning! I can't wait for the rest of your videos to come out!
with such a long and thin tank it should be perfect of a river/stream set up with hillstream loaches. Hope you end up doing that! great work so far
A lot of options really!
Great job Man you are a blessing to the hobby 👍🏻
sweet build joey!
Thanks!
It looks really cool Joey! I can't wait to see the final product!
Thanks! There are 5 sundays this month, so this series will be completed by the end of the month!
***** Always something to look forward from the King! 👍👏
I've never been happier to learn there will be so many Sundays. Super excited to see it and I really hope you are building a river manifold 'tope. I've wanted one for ages the same dimensions as this build but have to wait until I have some more space for it. 1 fish 2 fish having hillstreams in stock is killing me ...
@@thekingofdiyAwesome video, what thickness do you recommend for making 60 gallon setup? Can you also add silicone to help reinforce it? Would I need to make supports or something or is the glue strong enough? I’m thinking about making a shallow tank setup sick of the tall bulky one I bought from the store.
Im super excited for this series.
And once again youve shown why you are far and beyond #1 in terms of quality aquarium videos on youtube. This video was superb Joey.
And the dimensions on this tank are literally my dream build. I cant wait to see what youve put into it.
Joe all the editing cuts make this exhausting to watch, love your channel though!
Omg is so excited for the next episode
Good job on this video😊👍
love your videos man
Glad that you do!
YOU ARE THE BEST! IM GLAD I FOUND THIS PAGE
I have two 5" Blackmoors in my pond. Should a buy a aquarium for winter?
I do have mild winters with average temps of 0-4 celsius with worst i seen last year was occasionally -5
you are a master, great vid
Wow I didn't know you could removed the scratches 👍🏻 will try to build a small one
very very beautiful tank.
This certainly must be planted tank
this is super cool! I love watching the detailed videos😊
awesome joey! it's funny today I just started a small tank it's 6"x6"x 54" long im building it to hang on the wall. spent a wile today getting the paper off the acrylic is 1/2" thick and about 10 years old and the paper was well stuck lol love your videos can't wait for more in the future
lots of good things I need it to know !!!
Thank you !!!
you should make the book in to a video bro!!!
for us guys that like videos !!! lol
Awesome as always Joey !! Some small schooling fish, with an Iwagumi aqua-scape would be really nice :))
Great video! Which type of glue would you recommend? Thanks in advance
Where is this tank now? I love love love it!
You are brilliant
Joey, I'm a huge fan of all your work and love your channel. When you talk about how you want clean, crystal clear edges during the polishing portion, what about those edges that actually butt up against other pieces of acrylic? For example, the side edges of the side panels? Do you polish those 3/4" edges so that they are clear when viewed THROUGH the completed front and back panels? Thanks for the incredible info!
I think I'm going to love this tank. Would it be possible to attach small acrylic square containers to the inside panel to act as "plant boxes" or would that affect the filtration process?
If you were to do the giant column tank you should put a long plant in there and can have a seahorse biome.
Where do you get 3/4" acrylic sheets from?
I'm very interested in trying this but not sure how I might test if the tank holds water since I'm living in an apartment.
Greetings from Malaysia Joey, Just want to say your videos are the best, super informative. Thank you for all the tips!! 👍👍
Also, the length of this set up looks like it would be great for some Hillstream Loaches and ottos. Fast moving, rocky river current type of flow rate. Plus Hillstream loaches kinda look like mini versions of freshwater rays, I know your a fan. Just a suggestion. Good luck with the set up
Thank you again and keep up the great work 😄👍
if u can do a video on buying glass and acrylic. is that talked about in your book?
Awesome video, what thickness do you recommend for making 60 gallon setup? Can you also add silicone to help reinforce it? Would I need to make supports or something or is the glue strong enough? I’m thinking about making a shallow tank setup sick the tall bulky one I bought from the store.
sir joey. can i use silicone sealant for acrylic?
Hey! You should make a desk tank. A desk with a tank in front of it like a front. It would look cool and put a hole in your desk for feeding
Dear King of DIY. What is the best silicone I can use for glass aquarium?
i am from Nepal and i am a huge fan of u n love the way u describe everything in simple words
Would you mind sharing a link for the acrylic? I'd like to see if they have what I'm looking for
As flame is this skil tool that you use to handle the acrylic. tanks.
Yass new tank build! :D
Always building something!
how often do you do a water change? great video btw
nice vid joey, loving them keep it up =-D
Great tank! Look forward to what else is is store. Where and how do you get your acrylic?
will the capalary method work with 1/2inch of acrylic
Can you, or have you done, a video on how to fix leaks in an acrylic tank? Thanks
do you need a specific kind of acrylic for a fish tank?
hey joey how much does that acrylic usually cost at 3/4 inch
whats the safest and cheapest way to lower ph?
Joey how do you remove weld-on on the inside of the tank? There are still some leftovers there.
Hey joey im looking to build a aquarium with the measurments 120x30x20cm.
Would it be okay to make this out of regular glass and would i do it the normal way ie glass and silicone, should i put a middle support piece?
Thank you for your time
are you going to have rays again joey
Yea buddy!
Great video. That acrylic is so expensive! where do i get it cheap?
Hey bro just getting into the hobby and was wondering if you could recommend any good breeder or stores. The closest pet store is over 100 Miles away. Thanks for your time.
Will you ever breed your arowana?
could you help any tips for the aligator gar cause it just bit its sisters tail and now there getting aggresive on eachother
should i just seperate them and hope they dont break it or just leave them
Thank you
When will we see the planted tank ?
AmAzing bro
How would you incorporate something like waterfalls into this? I understand it would add more walls, but could you step it down using a overflow weir to go into the next section?
Hi Joey, Would you recommend a brace on the tank that you built?
Hey I'm having difficulty taking apart a rather large glass aquarium. It's 84"x30"x24" with 1/2" thick walls and 3/4" thick base. I've been able to pull of the top and bottle frame, but the seals are soo close that I can't get a razor blade between them. I was thinking of a heat gun or torch, but I'm afraid of thermal shock to the glass. Once I can break the seals, and i get ready to build the aquarium I want, what would be good to use as spacers for glass of this size and weight so that if I want to break it down again I have seams that I can actually access to cut and break apart?
As for a future video, could you show the break down of a glass aquarium around this size so that we can see what framing is needed, possible extra support hands and help, etc. I would like to see the best way to break down the largest glass tank I can get my hands on so that I can build the largest aquarium I could.
Cool Joey! Enjoyed the build. Gonna look sweet with a couple of eels! Just kidding.
awesom tank, how ur gonna stock em? How about frogs. Something different from fish
Well the tank is already fully stocked and running so im not open to suggestions. Once the stocking video comes out, you will see what it is.
Where did you buy the acrylic from?
I want to build a 96x24x24 acrylic 3/4 thick aquarium do i need to do the pin method? With routed edges
My all glass Marineland 220 gallon aquarium has to be rebuilt the only problem is the bottom glass is free floating. Only the bottom glass seems to be held by silicone floating 3/4 of an inch from the stand surface. I haven't found a video showing or explaining the importance of this free floating method. My Frontosas are depending on me thanks!
Where do you buy the acrylic ?? Please help
Have you ever heard of a full height floor to ceiling tank? One that is narrow enough to be built within a wall? Just wondering if its possible or even feasible.
+john hanrahan sure it's possible if you have that kind of money to throw at the material thick enough to withstand that kind of pressure.
Keith R I had always envisioned access from the next floor above. Even so, yeah sure, PITA still applies I'm sure. But wouldn't it be just so cool to see fish at different depths etc. All within about 4 inches from the side? The weight of it would require a steel frame below. A serious project, I have no doubt.
On that note I'm a little confused about where or how a workaday human (who doesn't regularly sign multi million dollar accounts with material engineers) can source cast acrylic sheets thicker than 1.5 inches. After some light searching it would seem this thickness is the upper limit for manufacturers advertised on the internet. How would one get their claws on 2.5" thick sheets?
Edit: @John, looks like a public aquarium. I'm guessing lots of cement covered in an epoxy or polyurea for the base, with a "gutter" etched into the cement (while wet) which will accept a thick acrylic sheet. Perhaps a welded steel frame around the top could serve as the bracing? Whether silicone or another chemical would be best to form the gasket between the acrylic and the cement's sealer, I'm not sure.
billforigno
Thanks Bill. I'm no engineer (not by a long shot), but what I see is 0.433 PSI/ ft, at 8 ft, total lateral load is 3.47 psi against the aquarium sides at the bottom.
Aside from the weight, the real issue is the side to side distance. All materials flex under load, what needs to be determined is what is the acceptable limit before something springs a leak. All that being said, the public aquarium 'glass' needs to be so think because of the span. 3.47 PSI * say 96"* 12 "= 3997.4 lbs of force across the bottom 1 foot of a 8 foot span.
Now, what if the aquarium was say 24" wide by 96 "tall? Again 3.47 psi*12*24=999.36 lbs. side load. Still an impressive load, but is it 'doable' and what is the required thickness? Inquiring minds want to know, but who knows this? I suspect a Licensed Mechanical Engineer, but, then, they would like to be compensated for their knowledge (and rightfully so). My point here is, if the span is narrow enough, it might be possible.
+john hanrahan Very true. I've recently been on the goose chase of attempting to find definitive answers to material thickness for aquarium applications, and the closest thing I could find to a sure answer online (for acrylic) was CYRO's "Aquarium Thickness Calculation" spreadsheet, which appears to use the same formulas used in Joe's acrylic calculator. In light of that I would trust it for ascertaining the required thickness based on the height and width of a fully supported sheet. Therefore, in my (un)educated opinion ;), it stands to reason that sturdy vertical supports of steel or rebar-concrete can be used to facilitate acrylic sheets no thicker than what would be needed for any other cell cast sheet measuring the width between vertical supports (eg. 24") by the "height", or total water depth (96").
I agree with your observation of engineers knowing the proper thicknesses for the other materials in question in relation to this application. Based on a lot of forum browsing, the "chain of knowledge" for anything more than a 2 ft tall aquarium garage project often appears to start with a wealthy client wanting a project done, contracting a business to do it, which in turn, presumably consults engineers to crunch the numbers. The end result is relatively little making its way onto the net in the form of consumer-friendly info.
I do think however that there are many helpful construction forums that could shed at least some light on details like cement mixture, the need or lack thereof for reinforcement, steel thickness, etc. that lie outside the aquarium circles. I've seen a bit of info that could pertain to this project which focuses on pond viewing windows, for example. The real pinch I see is acquiring the acrylic of the needed thickness for ANY price -once it's over the 1 - 1.5" mark.-
EDIT!: I think I have just discovered why my search was so difficult; it would seem that at least some if not all manufacturers consider acrylic pieces thicker than 30 mm as "blocks", not "sheets". >.< Ok then.
you should build the 5 tanks and make them connected with tubes. Put African cichlids in them.
I build your corner 5 gallon bucket, and i am having a hard time finding filter foam. At petstores the foam it only custom cut for certain filters. Online, it can take 2 months to ship. I looked at polyester foam in a craft store, but all foam in the US has to be flameproofed, and i heard the chemecals for that are bad for aquariums. where did u get yours?
Awesome builds and great info Joey! One quick question: I live in a city that chlorinates our water. How would you choose to condition your water before a water change after plumbing was added into the tank to help facilitate faster water changes? Tired of carrying buckets lol.
I know you're not much of a saltwater guy. And I'm excited you're stepping into that realm eventually. But I just wanted to point out, this tank here would be a perfect frag tank! I know it's highly doubtful that's what you would use it for but maybe sometime in the future I might wanna consider it if you decide to keep corals
You* might wanna Typo sorry
awesome!
Glad you think so Joe
Joey, at what height would you add some sort of top bracing?
+Scott Maslowski you never really have to if your acrylic is thick enough(needing up to twice the thickness of a tank that is braced). Material needed comes down to entire dimensions though, not just height. So depending on dimensions the thickness required will also be based on if you want to actually brace or not.
I have a question about using this pin method or welding any acrylic. When you squirt in the cement, what happens to the cement that squishes out? If it basically melts the acrylic, does the extra cement that doesn't stay in the joint "melt" the surrounding acrylic? If you get extra weldon 4 on the acrylic how do you clean it up?
+Kosin Trouble In The Tank good question. For the acrylic that oozes out on the outside, you can route or sand that down prior to polishing. For the acrylic that oozes into the inside of the aquarium, you leave it. It will dry clear and you won't notice it. Plus adds an extra seal to the tank. Don't worry about using too much. More is better than not enough. If you simply get weld-on on the acrylic, leave that alone too. It too will dry clear. It won't melt it by simply pooling on it. It will soften the acrylic, then the Weld-on will evaporate. The acrylic will then harden again like new. Again, nothing to worry about.
A giant 8 x 8 in tank could be sweet for an artificial stream? I have been kicking that idea(or similar) around for a long time.
Joey you should do shrimp!
I did in the planted tank build coming out after this one!
Nice
Where do you buy fish online
Is that plexiglass acrylic or lexan?
Where can i find that acrylic sheets