Perspex is a form of acrylic plastic used for many purposes. It's widely used in many fields, ranging between interior design and the automobile industry. One of its uses is to make aquariums and terrariums. If you want to build an aquarium or terrarium by yourself, this is a material you should look into.

Advantages over glass 

One of the advantages of Perspex over glass when making an aquarium or terrarium is that it won't be as heavy as its glass counterpart; meaning there will be less strain on the piece of furniture holding it and on you when you have to move it around. It's also far more unlikely to break than a glass tank.

Another advantage, especially if you are planning to build the tank yourself, is that Perspex comes in many different shapes and is easier to form into the shape you require than glass. This gives you very few limitations when deciding what you want your aquarium or terrarium to look like. The only thing that's stopping you is your own knowledge and skill.

Recommendations and tools

When getting your sheets of Perspex, it's important to know the recommendations for how thick the walls of the aquarium or terrarium should be. Depending on the height of your tank, the thickness alters. If your tank is 10" high, its walls need to be ¼" thick. If it's twice as high, the plastic needs to be twice as thick.

What tools you'll need to cut the sheets for your tank varies, but a general rule is to use as fine cutting tools as possible; a saw with fine teeth or an ordinary knife you use many times in the same cut should work. As adhesive and sealer, you should use products that explicitly say they're made to work on acrylic plastic.

When constructing an aquarium, it's obviously very important to prevent leakage. Also, make sure to use products that won't hurt the animals that are going to inhabit the tank. Some products you might just be able to use on the outside of the tank to prevent the animals from ingesting it.

Seek professional advice

When conducting this type of project, you should ask for assistance both at your local pet store, but also take advice from the store providing you with the Perspex. They know their material better than anyone and should have some advice for you when it comes to what tools and products you should use for your project. They will also know what you can expect from working with this material and how to prevent unforeseen problems that might occur.