Acrylic Thickness for a tank

[ZZZ]

Hey Folks,

My DIY project consists of building a little tank out of acrylic. Part of the reason for the project is just practice at working with acrylic and the other part is just being able to take pride in something I built myself. I am sure all of you DIY's out there know what I am talking about.

For this application I will be building a cube with the following dimensions:

24"L x 24"W x 20"H, which would bring it to roughly 50 gallons.

What I would like your input on is the thickness of acrylic that would be ideal for a tank that is 20"H. I know that as a tank gets taller the pressure on the walls increases leading to the use of thicker material for the walls. My concern isn't trying to get by with the thinnest material possible but instead making sure I have a thickness that is safe and suitable for my application.

Also, I can't order the acrylic sheets until I settle on a thickness so that I can calculate the proper dimensions for all of the peices. Another important thing is that I would prefer to go rimless on this tank if possible, so I would also like your input on how necessary bracing would be for the top.

I appreciate any info you guys throw my way.

Thanks,

Z

[woz9683]

3/8" acrylic will work, 1/2" would be safer, especially since this is your first project. You can get away with some minor imperfections in the joints if you use a slightly thicker material.

www.garf.org has a diy tank building page that gives pretty good info on material thicknesses for any tank dimensions you enter.

Here's a great thread on RC on the process of building an acrylic tank: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=390652

[Arthur1]

3/8'' will easily get the job done

[woz9683]

It's actually borderline, especially for someone who's new at this, IMO. And for this size tank the price difference for going up to 1/2" material will not be a budget killer.