# Help on thickness of acrylic for Vivarium



## Micro_myke (Feb 19, 2020)

Hello everyone, I’m going to build my own Vivarium and was wondering on thickness of acrylic to use. It will be 48”H x 30”W x 24”D any suggestions?


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## kimcmich (Jan 17, 2016)

Greetings,

For the larger (in area) walls of the viv, you should use no less than 1/4" acrylic. The smaller faces could be 1/8" thickness.

Be warned: Acrylic is more flexible than glass and it absorbs water so there can be issues with warping. Attaching acrylic to itself is very easy (acrylic glues dry fast and strong) but attaching it to other material (or other materials to it), like glass or silicone is more difficult.

I would suggest an alternative: Plywood and glass. You can waterproof plywood just as cheaply as you can buy acrylic. And you don't need a transparent bottom or back to your viv anyway. The top and front can be made of glass. Glass will not warp from moisture, is more resistant to heat stress near the lights, and can be cleaned more effectively than acrylic (which is also easier to scratch).

Mixed material vivs are harder to build (the easiest is either all acrylic or all glass). All-glass is the most expensive route but is probably the best material for a viv (weight concerns aside). I have made both types of large ( >25,000 cubic inches) vivs. My current viv is acrylic, wood and glass (since an all-glass viv that was 5'x5'x3' would have been prohibitively heavy).


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## jgragg (Nov 23, 2009)

> I would suggest an alternative: Plywood and glass.


*Me too.* 

Acrylic sucks for viv use. I literally have NO USE for it, in a viv. Sooner or later, usually sooner, it always disappoints me by bowing, cracking, or fogging up. I have learned my lesson and quit using it.

In contrast, I've built about a half-dozen plywood vivs of +/- the size you're gunning for. It's a great hull material:

It features easy workability, low price, and light weight. And there's quite a few ways to waterproof it.
It's also easy to put your basic box up on rails or legs, so you can install a bulkhead in the floor and drain it.
Due to the easy workability you can cut a wide rectangular hole in the front for passive air intake (keeps the glass doors from fogging). I adhere screen on the inside and cover the outside of the hole with a vent cover like this https://www.homedepot.com/p/16-in-x-6-in-Aluminum-Louvered-Soffit-Vent-in-Brown-84217/300108807.
You can put a similar vent cover over a hole on the rear of the roof, where hot humid air can depart the viv, and bring in cooler drier air from the lower front vent.

Anyway - good luck!


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## AOA (Jan 19, 2017)

I too have had issues with acrylic tops bowing and other various nuances of the material. There are pros and cons I guess. I am just about to start a build out of acrylic. it just came today! I went with 3/8 inch sheets because it was about all I could get a hold of up here in AK. Seems plenty thick thats for sure. My viv will be 60"L x 35"H x 18"W : about 158 gal

I almost went with plywood. there are really good arguments for using it. I decided on acrylic for its looks. This will be a display tank in my lab. To each their own I guess. 

Keep us posted, and good luck with the build. 

JD


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## Gadbery (Feb 14, 2020)

Acrylic will need to be braced along the top. Acrylic is a pain iv done turtle toppers and stuff like that with it. 

While easy to connect peaces using acrylic cement which melts the pieces together just cutting acrylic is a pain. You can score and snap it which takes forever and risks snapping a piece wrong or use a jigsaw with a metal blade. Still have to cut supper slow or the amount of heat will remelt the piece together. 

Acrylic is expensive so id honestly suggest making a glass tank instead. It will be cheaper and easier. You can just get a glass company to cut the glass to the size you need. 

If you do stick with Acrylic is say try 1/4 in to 1/2in pieces. I also wouldn't keep anything on top to minimize bowing.


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## Hooskerdoo (Apr 29, 2020)

On buying custom cut glass: is there somewhere online that does it or do people use local shops? 

what is a reasonable price? I was quoted 140 for an 18x18x24 with 1/4" glass. for that, I would rather just but the exo terra and save myself the time and trouble.


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## minorhero (Apr 24, 2020)

Hooskerdoo said:


> On buying custom cut glass: is there somewhere online that does it or do people use local shops?
> 
> what is a reasonable price? I was quoted 140 for an 18x18x24 with 1/4" glass. for that, I would rather just but the exo terra and save myself the time and trouble.


140 sounds pretty good. I looked into buying custom cut glass for aquariums in the past. I recently looked into some online options for vivarium. The cheapest glass seller online is glasscages.com. It's shipping that is the real killer when buying glass though. Local companies have a significant edge due the shipping issue. When I was looking into aquairums I found that I couldn't save any money buying my own glass and making an aquarium compared to what I could buy an aquarium for. The same would likely be true for vivariums but no one makes vivariums in the USA outside of the big companies like Exo Terra. 

I recently bought a Frog Cube kit and a 20 High aquarium. I am drilling holes for ventilation and mistking etc. So its a bit of work, but its by far the cheapest option out there.


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## Frog_Cello (4 mo ago)

kimcmich said:


> Greetings,
> 
> For the larger (in area) walls of the viv, you should use no less than 1/4" acrylic. The smaller faces could be 1/8" thickness.
> 
> ...


w


kimcmich said:


> Greetings,
> 
> For the larger (in area) walls of the viv, you should use no less than 1/4" acrylic. The smaller faces could be 1/8" thickness.
> 
> ...


where should I get glass? All the glaziers near me are really expensive


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