Acrylic thickness for diy tanks
by
, 05-14-2010 at 10:39 PM (1648 Views)
Hi,
I'm starting to plan a 240 gallon tank that I want to build. 4' X 4' and 24" high. Everthing I've read suggests using 1/2" thick Acrylic for tanks that are 19" to 24" high. Not sure yet if I want to put the overflow in one of the corners or as a center column in the center of the tank. It's going in a wall which will position 1/2 half the tank in my rec room and the other half in my den/fishroom.
My question....
Can you use a thinner thickness of Acrylic for the bottom and top bracing of the tank? I'm not an structural engineer but I thought that having a well built stand with 1" thick plywood for the tank to sit on would be strong enough if I went with 3/8" Acrylic for bottom and top bracing.
Is it worth trying to save a few bucks on a sheet of Acrylic?