HOW TO BUILD AN AQUARIUM (ACRYLIC) fish tank!

Step by step on how to build a fish tank out of acrylic.
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The king of DIY aquarium projects, education and inspiration!
How to build aquariums: goo.gl/gu3CsK
How to build aquarium filters: goo.gl/cw0Jl9
How to build aquarium stands: goo.gl/9JB9jo
How to build aquarium equipment: goo.gl/BHkT2s
How to build aquarium lighting: goo.gl/Wg4kt0
How to build aquarium decorations: goo.gl/crQkeT
Varius aquarium tutorials: goo.gl/BKCb3a

[@kala6576]

"You make it look easy" Said to every person that creates something after an unknow number of hours/days/years of doing it over and over again until they got it right.

[@thekingofdiy]

I suppose you are right! I think thats something im proud of, that i have built so many types of tanks out of so many materials for the last 20 years. i didnt just make one and film it. I have full confidence in my tanks!

[@tylerallison2505]

Feels like the OG days of the channel. loves this type of content . Makes me think of the acrylic coffee table tank build.

[@staciepriice24]

The coffee table build is what brought me to the channel!

[@MrsBJPalmer]

A COFFEE TANK TABLE???? OMGoodness!!! I'm off to find that!!!!

[@greksmith1874]

Your earlier videos got me to make my first glass aquarium, 7 years ago. It inspired me, as a classroom teacher, to get my students involved and so I do something called “aquarium mania” with a group 2x per week. In the last month alone, we built an 80 gallon and two 15 gallons. Thanks for the inspiration

[@benpaulik2327]

Definitely do fresh vs. salt. It would be an epic battle we didn't know we needed.

[@jwrangler12]

I've never commented on your channel before but this is fascinating. Really great job thank you.

[@appleban6823]

I will never get tired of Joey teaching how to build an aquarium for the 10th time

[@kimjuongsoon]

Reminds me of all your acrylic fish tanks that you made in the early days of King of diy channel I hope you always stay healthy and enjoy your aquarium life for a long time.

[@petzpastelpalace]

I just used your 10 year old videos to help me re silicone my 150 gal. Thanks for all you do!

[@sarno85]

Please document all of them! Personally, I love these videos. I would love to build an acrylic aquarium.

[@lloydaglasscock7384]

Yes please show complete build. I'm almost ready to try to do my own

[@gregnarker1845]

Hey Joey, Greg from Oz here! I love your energy and fearlessness to try things! Its awesome to watch and inspires me to work outside my boundaries!

[@Loveofpets]

I can't wait to see them with fish in them. You are amazing at making tanks.

[@rockoutlaw]

love watching all the building stuff whether the tanks or the stands

[@juliakomorowski4928]

Hey Joey, whats the name of the video where you build those plywood squaring devices? Love your content

[@DaniLong]

Those brackets you made are top-notch. So incredibly useful!

[@miniac86]

Loving that you're going back to basics with your original style DIY vids

[@mikemaloney9246]

This os the type of content that got me to follow you years ago. Would love to see you document all of the process.

[@michellepatel167]

Definitely show us the rest of the work that you do building these tanks please and thank you 🙏

[@hiphophillbilly3978]

Also.. dunno if youve done one (probably have) but maybe a how to on fixing /resealing a bad/ broken glass tank and or what to do if the plastic trim or center brace cracks or breaks

[@fourknotsnowhere]

13 year viewer, thanks for still making these build videos. cant wait to see the plumbing.

[@micro-reefsaquariums5169]

Just amazing your work, I have been looking at your videos since 2011.

[@Fluffiest_furry]

I used your hemming pin trick with creating a tunnel for a science fair project, and it works perfectly. Thank you.

[@brucesyvertsen2147]

Very interesting. I built a 120 and 240, years ago with the old plywood/epoxy/Glass method. This is completely new to me. Cant wait for the next installment!

[@mousecabbage7293]

Thanks for adding different camera angles! Great vid.

[@dangleMoney]

Put in the needels at an angel to reduce the chance af acrylic rolling off .

[@thekingofdiy]

i've tried everything! I prefer straight in to pull straight out. Otherwise i rick not pulling out on that angle and making a mess of the seem. Yet it still rolls around a bit.

[@gaidin]

Would be amazing to get the list of "cuts" you had to send to the acrylic shop! I'd love to try this, but would feel more comfortable ordering the sheets for this size exactly so I dont have to stress about measurements too haha

[@Flyingdinosaur69]

Stressing about measuring a cube...

[@happybone1978]

FINALLY!!!! Joey is finally making the content that made him famous!! Joey, we realize that you have already made a ton of DIY content. But, just like any hobby, time brings about new technology, new ways of making things. I would LOVE to see you revisit some of your most popular DIY videos and remake them or rather update them to show better ways or newer ways of doing things. Can you PLEASE make a video showing how to make a DIY ATO Reservoir?

[@NogrimStoneson]

for that third panel you could use your corners in opposite corners to hold it all from moving. its should hold it all square, and keep it from rolling on the pins. you just need to build a mirrored set.

[@josephhammer1007]

Like the half salt half fresh idea i have only ever done fresh but been thinking of doing saltwater tank for some time now and this can show us what fish we can have in common sizes

[@tuco86x]

Surprisingly relaxing watching you build them.

[@jakeozoneone]

Love these videos man! Showing off the true King of DIY skill set…AGAIN !! Keep it up man!

[@Eddardstark9308]

I build and sell my own acrylic aquariums for myself and my friends however I personally love and fear acrylic tanks. The way they can flex and bend is ether really good or really bad, I sand everywhere I apply adhesive too and build heavy wooden frames and I’ve never had a leak before but I definitely recommended a good solid stand and a healthy amount of care since you never know when a good bump with your elbow will cause a Leak. Also a good tip, I use gorilla glue construction adhesive it’s not silicon or “technically” aquarium safe but it’s non toxic, works the same as silicon, flexible, extremely durable, you can wipe it off with a wet cloth after 10 minutes and possibly the best adhesive out there I’ve used it for years and have years old tanks with healthy ecosystems and fish without issues only problem is that it’s white

[@elisamilan]

Bobby pins are for hair. 😂 Loved the video! One day I will build my own tank and have beautiful healthy happy fish just like yours. Thank you for your hard work! 🎏🌈✨

[@deneng0259]

Very nice video Joey. Thanks.

[@bon_grippah]

Can't wait to see the progression of the new rack

[@frachiascio5027]

as allways, FENOMENALE; in love with this new version of the ''old'' joey, the true king ahah ❤greethings from italy. can't wait for the rest of the progect😍🥰

[@iwantosavemoney]

This is cool to be able to make over flow boxes externally

[@TotalPwnage777]

Love the construction project, thanks Joey!

[@deneng0259]

50% salt and 50% fresh. That's the ticket boss man. Thanks for making this video.

[@saggitariolover]

That looks so nice Great idea! Thanks

[@johnjrkean7008]

Idk if ull see this comment but at what size do u recommend putting a brace across I'm trying to build a wide square shaped aquarium for two turtles my son has not ur regular dimensions.....thanks in advance and for all the knowledge u are truly the Top G of the fish world !!!!!

[@MoxOwl]

Thanks for the video.....A tiger endler tank would look for cool

[@barrylong7361]

i think it would be interesting to see the cost and maintanence differences between salt and freshwater. i would use both identical tanks and show the diffrence over a 3 month period.

[@danielvelez4001]

Pretty awesome ❤😂

[@g.a.m.b.i]

Thank you Joey

[@huuua2]

22:30 a "Bob Ross" moment right there haha, great tips!

[@johnhatmaker7351]

That is soooo funny!

[@xisotopex]

good info for me trying to build some filter baskets for an AIO aquarium with really crappy filter chambers....

[@user-gm2yb9uj1c]

Cool.❤

[@blkicemike4857]

Heat reaction with the solvent and acrylic,. It bonds together,. I use Weldon 3,.

[@SchusterFishes]

“Ooo she gooey tho” - I thought that was a good thing 😅

[@Jamesallen-qu5ke]

Im so badly wanting to learn to build tanks . My endgame is my whole bathroom wall an aquarium

[@prestonklima7756]

Can you share where you purchased your acrylic?

[@user-jf8pc2uo4s]

Doing a project. Building a fish tank from a coffee table

[@PatricioLGorchello]

I love this idea of Building an aquarium tank like you Joey but in the UK 10mm thick cell cast acrylic 600x600mm costs about £50 a sheet, meaning an aquarium which is still quite small would cost over £250 pounds which is a ridiculous price…gutted

[@tomaswall6935]

Acrylic is great and light etc, but if you are putting in a tank for many years glass is better anyway. No scratching or dis colouring

[@LGrian]

That’s about the going rate everywhere. Acrylic is way more expensive to build with than glass. Tons of DIY glass tutorials out there. You can even recycle the panels from old glass tanks to make a custom build. Acrylic is not so easily reused

[@miniRILLO]

You make it look easy Joey

[@turtledude01]

Im wanting to build a custom 500 gallon aquarium for my turtles, I just don't know what thickness I should be going with. Was thinking 1 inch, but Im not entirely sure. It would be a 500 gallon tank with a raised area for the shallow/land area. So maybe a 350 gallon water with the raised land

[@turtledude01]

Not sure if I will be going acryllic, or building like a tub or something for them though, Will for sure be making a custom 2-3 ft high platform for them to go on to give me storage underneath though

[@johnhatmaker7351]

Loved the video editing at the beginning. Great video content too. Almost like having your book on Audible. 😅😅

[@joe48]

Salt water angels and fresh water angels.

[@Elliesexoticanimals]

i know youre not a fan of corals so you should do one of the tanks as an anemone clown tank. that would be ace

[@SlimTim_dirty_aquatics]

Fired Up Friday!!!

[@c0kement0s]

Molecular/molecular.. it melts them together, then evaporates. I looked it up and it looks like it's dichloromethane, aka methylene chloride. Just FYI, about 10-15 years ago it was categorized a carcinogen. I breathed that stuff daily for 34 years, I am 62 and no problems due to DCM yet....I am planning to build a 24 by 24" cube acrylic . A cube means its like 4 aquariums arranged in a square. More distance for fish to swim, is my thinkjng. Thoughts? I was thinking about using acrylic dowels for strength, drill, insert and glue... I think it should hold 240 gallons...I was also going to build a wood or acrylic base for it too...

[@KeepSycklids]

I worked at tap plastics 2 years as a fabricator and I can tell u it takes longer then 1 Second to bond .. it takes about 10 minutes to really bond depending on thickness and then u still have to cure it at least 24 to 48 hrs before u even do anything to it after bonding .. what ever u just did will break maybe not soon but in time the weld is weak also u might have issue with craze

[@earltoups2972]

I have a acrylic overflow that the bottom separated. can I use that glue to repair the seams?

[@donovanleeds4012]

I feel like a table that allows bench dogs would help with the alignment/prevent rolling. Kind of like having an extra set of hands for clamping.

[@rafameza4186]

This is amazing

[@jeremiahfleener6691]

You said in past video you wanted to do cherry shrimp I believe, so what if you fresh water shrimp vs salt water shrimp? Could do some cool scaling with them as well. Love watching you build tanks. Awesome job!

[@ZachShannon]

I really enjoyed the acrylic workshop and presentation you did at reefstock! You should come back

[@thekingofdiy]

Its owned by new owners now that jake is gone. I dont have much of a relationship with them like mine was with Jake.

[@ZachShannon]

@@thekingofdiy that’s completely understandable! Just know that his studio is being well taken care of by my buddy. I come in to help on occasion

[@hiphophillbilly3978]

I think a nice big shoal of pea puffers or i think the other smaller one is the amazon puffer

[@dizzlefshizzle]

Definitely compare them with freshwater vs. saltwater, so we know if there are any reactions to either tank! 😅😅

[@donovanleeds4012]

Can you effectively make a longer tank by 'cementing' two pieces end-to-end? I feel like this could be possible with heavier acrylic (and a frame to ensure excess pressure isn't placed on the seam).

[@JhonnyLutzka]

how do you know how tick you need the acrylic? amazing video! you keep inspirating us :)

[@BobAtRSA]

Hey Joey, Really enjoyed seeing how you design and fab the acrylic tanks./ Have you ever flame polished the edges?

[@thekingofdiy]

yes. i have videos on it. i will be covering that against shortely as well.

[@diapysik]

Hey can you make a video on all of the finishing techniques you use, routing, sanding, flame polishing etc.

[@dopey_duck_944]

Bro you gotta get a honey gourami colony going in one of those cubes

[@lyaranae]

so is the acrylic cement enough to create a waterproof seem or are there other steps to get them to be waterproofed?

[@jesperborg3749]

Pea Puffers in one tank plz. I love em .

[@TetrisKing]

One of those nano tanks should be a beta fish. :)

[@ab4877]

When securing the back to the two sides, why not use your plywood guides/brackets to keep it all in place?

[@sfcmmacro]

What is the largest dimension tank would you make with the materials you are using (assuming you will cross brace at the top to eliminate bowing)? We are putting an addition on our house and the first floor (concrete slab) will be a sun/plant room. I want to get back into fish and have kept 55 gallon glass tanks before. But I want to go big... the largest glass tanks I can find are in the 125 gallon size. From there it looks like the industry jumps to acrylic tanks, and the price balloons. I do a lot of woodworking, so building an acrylic tank isn't that intimidating to me... except the water-weight limits of the panels.

[@jz2604]

Pea puffs and dwarf sea horses . So one fresh and one salt

[@jesperborg3749]

Ty for showing this :)

[@danfosnacht782]

Maybe a mantis shrimp for the salt water cube

[@hilgardv]

Hi Joey, can you show/air the 4ft build?

[@carlosj587]

4:42, he almost didnt believe what he said 😂😂😂😂

[@PaulZyCZ]

1 minute... It takes up to 2 weeks to glue glass tank with a silicone. Similar with gluing the 3D background. However they are near non-existant in Europe, unless DIY. Ironically when I check Czech web, the first hit is a thread from 2013 where a guy mentions "uarojoey on youtube has solid detailed video how to do that". :-)

[@miniRILLO]

I'd like to see it all!!

[@midwestmonsterhunter6034]

I think you should make at least one a clownfish and anenome tank keep up the great work!

[@khgn1234]

Masterclass

[@cg2320]

reminds me of the old videos I love it

[@chrishaire1586]

Is there a video on this build or one of the others showing the router work being done?

[@vidhoard]

2:25 "Bobby pins" 😂❤

[@Marjuuu]

Planted shrimp tank pls 🥰

[@savetherepublic9124]

cold water tanks brown trout fresh and salt

[@EASYRYDERDANGER]

Have you ever done a strength test with weld on 4? I just attached 1/4" pieces of acrylic together and was curious how strong it was without breaking my build😂

[@frogsbreath9315]

How do you calculate the thickness needed for different-sized acrylic tanks? is there a thickness calculator?

[@xisotopex]

what thickness acrylic to build a 50 gallon aquarium? any particular type of acrylic? how is the visual experience compared to glass?

[@loliwon2]

Caridina vs Neocaridina Shrimp in the "nano" tanks fully planted would looks amazing with some type of nano fish like chili rasbora or CPD's

[@thieflack7132]

Show the entire process

[@daisukesanada2281]

For the 48 inch tanks do you use any support on the top of the tank?

[@FishzWorld]

Aquascape of both Freshwater plants vs saltwater macroalgae.

[@Midnight2Mist]

Do you have a link to the "glue" that you use on the acrylic? Also does it hold up or do you also apply silicone after?