has anyone built there own glass tank?

[Jabis96]

im thinking of building a small frag tank 36Lx24Wx10H. My buddy is a glazer and can order me the glass and get me the aquarium silicone. Is there any special equipment i will need other than clamps?

 

[CONSTANTNE]

I built my 30 x 15 x 13 rimless tank out of an old 40g breeder tank I had. I had a glass shop cut and bevel the glass and then I used aquarium silicone to put it together. For me working with silicone is such a pain. You need to be quick because it dries but then it gets all over and it just gets messy.

Equipment wise painters tape definately came in handy. I used it on each piece of glass so my seams didnt get messy. I also wrapped tape around the tank rather than clamps (didnt have any available anyway)

Are you planning on using a brace or thicker glass with a 36 inch tank? You may need it but im no expert so let other chime in as well. Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[Jabis96]

im planning on using 1/2" glass and brace the tank at the top corners but im not one hundred percent sure if that will be strong enough

 

[calaxa]

Should not need a brace on a tank that is that shallow, but of course you can be safe rather than sorry. It sounds like you are doing a shortened 50 Wide (not a common aquarium size). It's also similar in size to a 40L which is fairly cheap.

 

[Phyl]

SGarron built his own tank and then sold it to Pnoy. He had a thread on it here somewhere with photos.

 

[qwik]

Reef Central has a great do it yourself and large tank with a bunch of posts about building your own tank . Tons of info and help if needed, Good Luck Paul

 

[JRodrig692]

Hey. I have built all of the frag tanks that Stan and I take to the frag swaps. My last tank I built was made to those exact specs, although I used 3/8 glass.

Anyone that has seen the frag tanks at Stan's house, they were also made up by us, and you see how they hold together, and the one I have running is doing great.

All I did was use Silicone 1 and make sure that the sides are squared up. Clean the edges, and lay a bead down. Make sure to give the Silicone time to cure and you will be good to go. Watch for no air bubbles in the silicone.

If you want to brace to make you feel safe, silicine one across.

Do not use Silicone II!

 

[pnoyreefer]

I bought Sgarron glass tank the he built. He has his thread and I also have a thread on it ..

I also bought Jrod/Stans Frag tank that they built. It is nice and well built. I used it for about a yr and too bad I had I no longer have it .

 

[ds4x4]

glass cages have to trim/bracing for normal sized tanks if you go that way.. or try one of our sponsors

 

[MadReefer]

RichT and ReneeRN have built tanks in the past among other things. They didn't use silicon but some type glue weld; just can't remember the name of it.

 

[ds4x4]

weldon is for acrylic.. it melts the pieces together like plastic..

 

[calaxa]

Yeah what ds4x4 said. The thing I never remeber is which number. I know 16 is for spot gluing acrylic on acrylic. Always have to google the others.

 

[ds4x4]

I vote for use of a torch..

one size fits all solution.. you could melt the acrylic together, melt the glass together and touch up with silicone. also take care of any pesky hitch hikers and or inlaws at the same time..



uhh.. i mean Look over there --->
(leaves the scene)



forgot the picture ;D

 

[coralnut99]

Though I've built a few refugiums from scratch out of glass, I built 3 tanks (sort of) of almost those same dimensions. I had 3 45G's around from way, way back when I used breed fw angels. I basically coudn't give them away. I decided to turn them into a frag system. All I did was remove the front viewing panel, had a 1/4" panel cut to fit where the opening of the original 45G was, and added bracing. So they ended up being 3'X 2' X 1'. The panel I inserted was 1/4" and the original 45G was of 5/16". I added 1/4" bracing around the perimeter mostly for peace of mind, but I have to tell you that 2" ledge around the tank comes in handy.