Acrylic Thickness 30” tall

italquam · Feb 27, 2023

areefer01 said:
So 4 pages later what is the general consensus or did we all reach one? I personally tend to error on the side of overbuild for safety. I don't want 400 gallons of water raging through my house. Just like I wouldn't fly a single engine plane across the Atlantic.

I would say :
1. Depends on experience and quality of the builder.
2. On your preference personally, I tend to always like less "bowing" on an acrylic aquarium. So for example, I want to get a 180 gallon to 220 , and most recommend 1/2 inch , I prefer 3/4 inch.
3. At 400 gallons , I would go as thick as possible to be built properly, if your building it yourself and have that confidence, go for it.

Again, I am not a builder but just from reading a lot over the years and looking at experiences shared.

italquam · Feb 27, 2023

Lowell Lemon said:
Top picture is 1 1/2" with picture sideways delivered to Guam public aquarium. 42 and Solvent weld. 7 sides.
2nd picture with Corian stand and table is 1" Hexagon 72" on the points (used Weldon 42 to control seams)
3rd picture is 96" x 48" x 30" all 1" solvent weld. In the Stanley Hotel (where they filmed The Shining)
4 picture Guam aquarium with proper orientation. Combination of 42 and solvent welds due to angles.
5 One of two aquariums 16' x 3' x 4' tall all 2" with butt seam in middle of 2-inch panels. 1 1/2" tops and bottoms shown during required static load test. All solvent welds all seams including the butt seam. 8' table in from for scale.
6 48" x 48" x 30" all 1" solvent welds all seams with custom Corian base and top skirt. I was in the process of repo of the set up due to bounced checks from the buyer LOL. They finally paid off and kept the tank.
Just a few old Unicorns before digital photos.

Backyard Cowboy.

What company did you own ?

acrylics · Feb 27, 2023

piranhaman00 said:
Hello,

What thickness of acrylic is recommended for a 72” x 48” x 30” tall acrylic aquarium with eurobracing permitter and two cross braces ?

thanks

Depends on what you mean by 2 crossbraces and perhaps your tolerance for bracing.
If you're doing 2 parallel crossbraces intersecting the 72" sides.. you have to figure the thickness for the 72" panels; easy, 3/4" or 1" if you can swing it. A 3" wide perimeter flange with 2 crossbraces and you're good to go.
However
That material thickness and flange width combination won't fly for the ends. I wouldn't build a 48×30" tall tank using 3/4" or 1" with just a 3" flange without a crossbrace. With 3/4" material - that top flange on the end needs to be widened to closer to 5.5-6". With 1" material, widen it to 4-4.5". Or you can use 1.25" material as previously stated and keep your 3" flange.
Now you have to decided if you want to make all 4 sides the same ;-)

If you meant 2 perpendicular crossbraces, dividing each side in half like a plus + sign, then it's much simpler; all 1" with 4.5" perimeter flange and a single crossbrace each way should come out nicely

Hope this makes sense

HTH,
James

csund · Feb 27, 2023

Tenecor Aquariums said:
Finally, one last comment from me on this topic. I challenge anyone posting here or anyone they know for that matter to show me ONE example of an aquarium they made from 1-1/4 inch that is only 36 inches tall I want to see that unicorn. Not saying one does not exist, but hey, a pic would be nice. In the 40 plus years we have been doing this, I can count on two hands the tanks we made with greater than 1 inch gauge. And ALL of them were from oversize sheets and 60 inch tall. There is a practical design limit for built and ship tanks. Anything larger is built in place or something like Plywood / fiberglass with viewing panels. Come on guys. One pic. And for @Lowell Lemon, on your pic, why not stick a post it on the tank you are building right now with the name of this thread on it just to keep things authentic?

Check emoceans.ch on Instagram. They have a 117x48x25 constructed of 1.25” on all panels.

Lowell happens to be building my current tank which is 96x48x24. If I wasn’t such a peasant it would have been 1.25” because those thick seams are sweet. It will be 1” all panels. I’ll make sure to post pics when I get it set up and I’ll make sure to tag you!

italquam · Feb 27, 2023

csund said:
Check emoceans.ch on Instagram. They have a 117x48x25 constructed of 1.25” on all panels.

Lowell happens to be building my current tank which is 96x48x24. If I wasn’t such a peasant it would have been 1.25” because those thick seams are sweet. It will be 1” all panels. I’ll make sure to post pics when I get it set up and I’ll make sure to tag you!

Looking forward to seeing everything

csund · Feb 28, 2023

italquam said:
Looking forward to seeing everything

I am too. The stand is mostly assembled. Still debating between RK2 or MRC for the sump. The biggest delay has been the overflow. Lowell couldn’t machine the rear panel until that was finalized but it arrived last week so things should be moving along.

Lowell Lemon · Feb 28, 2023

italquam said:
What company did you own ?

Tricon Technology Inc. Still founder and president. Been in operation since November 1988. We left the aquarium industry in about 2004 due to invitation in 1996 from Dupont to become a local Soild Surface fabrication company. We fabricate all the Corian products, Quartz, Endura, and Solid Surface.

It has gotten increasingly difficult to get acrylic sheet in the Northwest due to distribution changes. Last shipment came from Florida and I cleaned out their stock of 1" Plexiglass G. Not sure what the future holds since we are very busy with commercial and residential counters, showers, and related work. I have @csunds materials ready to go and just received new shipment of chemicals for mixing solvent. Just finishing 48 bathroom counters for a commercial job. Then the fabrication area will be clear.

Our marketing was always business to business for aquariums, filters, and related. Tenecor was one of the product lines I sold early on to my customers. Then it sold to someone else and closed up for awhile. Now the original owner is back. And that is why you are here looking at new designs and opportunities.

As the industry changed we changed to meet new challenges. NAFTA made a huge change in manufacturing and distribution in the Northwest. So we made changes to adapt to shrinking supply. Our market area was and is quite small with less than 100 reef stores in three states. Many of them have been killed off by mass merchandisers and the internet sales companies. I bet there are now less than 30 stores in the Northwest now. Not a good way to make a living!

Lowell Lemon · Feb 28, 2023

csund said:
Check emoceans.ch on Instagram. They have a 117x48x25 constructed of 1.25” on all panels.

Lowell happens to be building my current tank which is 96x48x24. If I wasn’t such a peasant it would have been 1.25” because those thick seams are sweet. It will be 1” all panels. I’ll make sure to post pics when I get it set up and I’ll make sure to tag you!

Peasants building for Peasants...I think I like that! That must be how I earned the new name of Backyard Cowboy hahaha!

Lowell Lemon · Feb 28, 2023

Well one of those double shots! Sorry about that.

Tenecor Aquariums · Feb 28, 2023

Lowell Lemon said:
Tricon Technology Inc. Still founder and president. Been in operation since November 1988. We left the aquarium industry in about 2004 due to invitation in 1996 from Dupont to become a local Soild Surface fabrication company. We fabricate all the Corian products, Quartz, Endura, and Solid Surface.

It has gotten increasingly difficult to get acrylic sheet in the Northwest due to distribution changes. Last shipment came from Florida and I cleaned out their stock of 1" Plexiglass G. Not sure what the future holds since we are very busy with commercial and residential counters, showers, and related work. I have @csunds materials ready to go and just received new shipment of chemicals for mixing solvent. Just finishing 48 bathroom counters for a commercial job. Then the fabrication area will be clear.

Our marketing was always business to business for aquariums, filters, and related. Tenecor was one of the product lines I sold early on to my customers. Then it sold to someone else and closed up for awhile. Now the original owner is back. And that is why you are here looking at new designs and opportunities.

As the industry changed we changed to meet new challenges. NAFTA made a huge change in manufacturing and distribution in the Northwest. So we made changes to adapt to shrinking supply. Our market area was and is quite small with less than 100 reef stores in three states. Many of them have been killed off by mass merchandisers and the internet sales companies. I bet there are now less than 30 stores in the Northwest now. Not a good way to make a living!

Actually, there were two additional owners after myself. The second guy ran it from 1994 to around 2007. The third guy lasted for about a year or so. Meanwhile I went off and started a few other companies. The biggest one was a manufacturer of infectious disease tests. Sokd it to my Singapore Chinese partners after it got to around 4,000 employees and we ran into some patent issues. If it made you sick or killed you, we had a test for it. If you had to take a drug test in the USA in the early 2000's good chance it was one of ours. Today I also manufacture private label foods, supplements, drinks and topical creams. Also commercial displays. Aquariums are the fun stuff. Glad you like the Cowboy tag. Wasn't exactly intended for you but hey, the hat looks great.

Lowell Lemon · Feb 28, 2023

Tenecor Aquariums said:
Actually, there were two additional owners after myself. The second guy ran it from 1994 to around 2007. The third guy lasted for about a year or so. Meanwhile I went off and started a few other companies. The biggest one was a manufacturer of infectious disease tests. Sokd it to my Singapore Chinese partners after it got to around 4,000 employees and we ran into some patent issues. If it made you sick or killed you, we had a test for it. If you had to take a drug test in the USA in the early 2000's good chance it was one of ours. Today I also manufacture private label foods, supplements, drinks and topical creams. Also commercial displays. Aquariums are the fun stuff. Glad you like the Cowboy tag. Wasn't exactly intended for you but hey, the hat looks great.

It is funny cause horses and I agree to leave each other alone! The result of some girl friends way back in high school hahaha! As a result am no Cowboy real or imagined. I prefer horse power in cars, motorcycles and work trucks! You have had an interesting run of businesses! My youngest son works for InBios International in Seattle and they make test kits. So I only have a passing knowledge of the testing industry. I have never imagined that I might build anymore aquariums other than for my personal use. Kind of thought of it as a retirement gig though. A box of fish is much lighter than a 750lb stone slab moving into a customer's home or business.

Enjoy your day!

italquam · Feb 28, 2023

Tenecor Aquariums said:
Actually, there were two additional owners after myself. The second guy ran it from 1994 to around 2007. The third guy lasted for about a year or so. Meanwhile I went off and started a few other companies. The biggest one was a manufacturer of infectious disease tests. Sokd it to my Singapore Chinese partners after it got to around 4,000 employees and we ran into some patent issues. If it made you sick or killed you, we had a test for it. If you had to take a drug test in the USA in the early 2000's good chance it was one of ours. Today I also manufacture private label foods, supplements, drinks and topical creams. Also commercial displays. Aquariums are the fun stuff. Glad you like the Cowboy tag. Wasn't exactly intended for you but hey, the hat looks great.

I am glad to see Tenecor aquariums back in action, they were always a top known company and seem to still be one in the industry.

C4ctus99 · Mar 2, 2023

I love how this turned into WWIII momentarily then quieted back down

As a side question, if one was to build an aquarium into a wall with plywood supporting the acrylic on the sides, bottom, and back, what would the minimum thickness on those supported walls be? Say dimensions are 96 long by 36 high by 24 deep. I'm assuming display would be 3/4"-1" considering what has already been said and depending on the manufacturer

Turbo's Aquatics · Mar 3, 2023

I would say that building it into the wall is not relevant. While bowing might be less because of support along the center of the panel, the pressures are still the same at the bottom seam and that's what most of the equations for thickness are looking at - the pressure at the bottom joint.

Lowell Lemon · Mar 14, 2023

C4ctus99 said:
I love how this turned into WWIII momentarily then quieted back down

As a side question, if one was to build an aquarium into a wall with plywood supporting the acrylic on the sides, bottom, and back, what would the minimum thickness on those supported walls be? Say dimensions are 96 long by 36 high by 24 deep. I'm assuming display would be 3/4"-1" considering what has already been said and depending on the manufacturer

You may as well use proper design with a routed out top and at least 3/4". No advantages to the plywood as it deflects easily with a side load and the possible water damage just by splash over the sides and no area to air dry. Then you have the added problem of wave pump attachment. There are threads here on large plywood builds if you want to go that direction. Not my cup of tea as they say.