Scratchless Acrylic Tanks.....

they will be built with or without overflows and the top bracing will be as minimal as possible, meaning alot larger openings than standard acrylic tanks.
the sizing has not been confirmed yet, we will know in abit what sizes will be going into production, and we can also do any custom shape and size at a cost. custom drilling is not a problem

[Bob I]

Originally Posted by UnderWorldAquatics

I guess Im kinda partial to "taller" tanks, as for my personall feelings on the matter, I think people are way too worked up about tanks over 20" not getting enough light. I feel that 24" great, 30" is still great for a reef, and 36" is still ok for a reef, mabey dont put all your sps on the bottom, but still not that big a deal.... these are my personal feelings on the matter, and I know some will disagree with me, but thats ok. To backup my feelings, out of all the "nice" sps tanks I have seen, I cant recall any being less than 24"tall, infact most were 30" or taller. some tanks that looked nice to me may have been 20" but that dosent take away from the fact that much taller tanks look just as good, in my opinion better, and health and growth is not a problem in said tall tanks....

Be that as it may, but 36"X18"X18" is a very common size in the trade. It is a size many people are partial to. The reason being that taller tanks are much more difficult to decorate, because you have to pile your rock higher. Some folks like myself have just had a stand made that will accommodate an 18" wide tank. Therefore, if I were to replace my tank I would want a maximum width of 18", and a maximum height of 20". I would think you would have to sublimate your personal feelings in order to please potential customers.

I understand where your comming from Bob, and we may end up having a tank available in that size, at the same time we are trying to factor in what will sell. the fact that most people purchasing a tank of that size will buy a glass tank over a more expensive acrylic tank needs to be addressed, not all will do this of course but we have to sell enough to make the mould worthwhile. These are high end show tanks, and more people who are purchasing a high end show tank, seem to be looking for a tank of more than normal dimensions, they want something impressive. I think that more people that are willing to shell out a few hundred bucks for a smaller 36" tank would want a more impressive 36"x24"x24" instead of a standard 36"x18"x18". But if we dont make one to start with, and we get alot of demand for it, we will make one. the problem we face is the cost of the custom moulds for every size of tank, as they are individually cast.

[StirCrazy]

Bob, there is no sence making small tanks out of acrylic as they would be twice the cost of a glass tank and not worth it. the domain of acrylic is in larger tanks where the weigh and clarity of thicker glass make acrylic's cost more atractive.

Also you have to understand that the company that makes the mold and forms them could very well charge up to 5000.00 / mold, so they would have to sell a lot of tanks to justify the cost of the mold.

I recently looked into getting a excursion mold for abs made and they wanted 2000.00 to make the mold (but I would own the rights to it after)

If there is scratch resistant acrilic that would be cool, and by injection or vaccume molding it would greatly reduce the cost of a tank as it takes about 10 min to make one.

Do you have any info on the acrylic polymere that they will be using for the tanks Kyle?

Steve

it is a custom blend that they are keeping a secret for obvious reasons, it has a patent on the way, they spent half a million $USD$ in R&D to develope this new form of acrylic. these moulds are spun while being cast, a mould for a 6' tank takes up about a 12' square area... and the moulds are very expensive, think $40,000+ for alot of them...

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by UnderWorldAquatics

it is a custom blend that they are keeping a secret for obvious reasons, it has a patent on the way, they spent half a million $USD$ in R&D to develope this new form of acrylic.

I realize that but usaly when there is something like this they have littiture of its properties and such with out listing the ingreadents.. this is what I want to see, the sales brouchere on the plastic

Steve

ah, I see....
no brochures yet, will have info on properties at a later date, this is a new product and has not been released to the public yet, its in the final stages of R&D
I will be happy to post info as soon as I have it

[Bartman]

48x18x20
48x18x24

Popular sizes.

[Old Guy]

48" x 48" pentagon corner tank please.






Jeff

I cant forsee it as worth while making such a small tank Bartman, but Old Guys suggestion is something to look into!
show tanks, think somewhat pricey, not going to be purchased by your average buyer