Need help building the tank the ground up.

[Harsh]

Hi guys, i decided to make a glass tank myself using Silicone rubber. i was thinking of 4ft x 2ft x 2ft . what thickness of glass shoud i use for this 12mm or 18mm. i might add that there will be no rigid supporting framework for the tank.
for additional supporting i was thinking of siliconing two 4ft x 3in. glass strips at the bottom lengthwise ans the same at thetop edges .

please give me all the advice you can give. i've never done this before but it's fun to do some DIY's from time to time

[bossteck]

Hi,

No experience in tank building. but just some points to highlight.

1. Not sure if things are the same in your country, but genereally speaking, it is often cheaper to buy the 'standard sized' tanks than to DIY or custom build them. So if it's the end result (ie, the tank) you're after, then you should check out the prices of ready built ones first, 4x2x2 should be a normal size tank readily available.

2. If you're building to experience the process of DIY'ing, I would suggest 12 mm glass, 18mm would be over kill, besides, 12mm would be lighter, easier to handle.

3. Regarding the braces you're considering... i think it's the breadth-wise pressure in the tank that you should be more worried about, hence instead of installing your cross brace length wise, you should be installing 2ft x 3in braces across your tank, to be safe, you can install one at either end, and one in the middle. It would also come in handy when you're placing your filter boxes (if any)

4. Some common-sense advice:
(a) make sure your working surface is levelled, so that there will be minimum gaps between the glass panes.
(b) apply silicon generously between the contact points of your glass panes first before you silicon the joints between the panes.
(c) silicon takes 1-2 minutes to skin, 24-48 hours to cure, and i would give it 2 weeks to be fully cure.

5. Fully fill your tank, let it hold the water for a few days, check for leaks using paper towels. If no leaks, congrats. Do a water change, you never know what went into the tank, to be safe throw in some activated carbon... add your livestock after a few days.

Hope this turns out to be an enjoyable project for you.

[bclee]

I do not have experience building a tank either.

But I just want to point out that some silcone sealant will leech chemical into the water. For aquarium purposes, please look for silicone that is aquarium safe silicone.

BC

[celticfish]

another point to note.

you should prepare both surface by cleaning it with alcohol before applying the silicon.
simple oil stains from our hands can prevent proper sealing and create pockets of unsealed areas.
thus undermining the sealing effectiveness.

also, i believe its more effective to apply silicon on both surfaces individually before marrying the pieces together. (i.e. its easier for the silicon to "join" then for the silicon to grip the glass surface. this way, you ensure that the silicon is effectively applied to the glass surface.)

[Harsh]

WOW, loads of useful information.

Thank you bosstek, building a DIY tank is indeed a little expensive normally, but where i live is small place and we do not have any good pet supply stores ot any such stores where you get tanks and aquariums(i.e. good quality) and i don't trust the LFS guy to make a decent tank (had a bad experience earlier) and so i'm DIY'ing, at least i'll get my satisfaction. and with you guys helping i don't think it'll be a problem.
and yes i'll be installing the braces breadthwise i.e. one at either end and one at the centre, thanks a lot for the suggestion.

@bclee
yes i've already purchased GE aquarium safe Silicone rubber. thanks for the advice anyway.

@celticfish
thankyou for the caution i'll use some alcohol before siliconing.


Please give any and all the suggestions/cautions you can. i'll wait for another day or so before i start.

[ranmasatome]

Some tips..

you will also need soem (actually aLOT of) braces to hold the glass pieces together while the silicone dries. Dont plaster the glass edge one onto another.. you need to leave a gap of about 1mm or less for the silicone to sit and dry between the base glass and the other pieces taht sit on top of it..

Make sure your front glass piece and rear glass piece are cut a little bigger.. if you're using 12mm glass.. cut them 24mm larger because they will need to overlap the side pieces. Opposite applies for your side pieces to be 24mm smaller.

Use a leveller to ensure that the connections are level and square. Start building the tank in a location where it wil not need to be moved or get wet or get knocked/touched for about 3-4days.

You can always build a brace out of wood first to support the glass pieces if you have time.

[Harsh]

Thank you for the tips Ranmasatome i'll do exactly as you all suggest, i have a confusion regarding only one thing; how can i leave a gap of 1mm for the silicone to sit and dry between the base glass and the glass that sits on top of it? will the silicone not sqeeze out due the wait of the piece of glass on top? what exactly are you trying to suggest? please clear this point up a bit, i'm relatively new to this.

i already have the glass cut perfectly i.e. front and rear ends 24mm longer and the side pieces 24mm shorter.

[ranmasatome]

i'm not too sure how you can accomplish that.. but from all my tanks and the special order ones.. i always see a small gap..

[Harsh]

let's see... the glass is already cut so i can insert 1mm rectangular pieces of 12mm x 20mm at regular intervals along the edges to create a gap but i am unable to understand what exactly is the point of leaving the gap, i don't understand how it enhances it's stability.

@ranmasatome
what should i do povide a gap (somehow) or just silicone them normally??

some more help needed!!

[ranmasatome]

hey..i think siliconing them normally will work..it seems that gap developes on its own when the silicone cures.. sorry about that..

you will probably need another pair of hands, if you can get them, to help you with the glass installation.

[Harsh]

alright, that might be the most probable reason for the gap.

My friends have also got quite interested in fish keeping and they seem to be more exited than i am in this DIY project i'm afraid there will be a little too many hands available.

one of them is planning to make himself a tank as soon as we do this one successfully.

[ranmasatome]

haha..sounds fun!!
there are some sites out there that'll give you mroe pointers to tank building..
just do a search on google "tank buliding aquarium" and i'm sure you'll et some nice ones..

[Harsh]

thanks a lot.. tomorrow will be fun i'm sure.

[bclee]

Try capturing some photos and share with us here how you did it. I am sure many of us are interested.

BC

[Harsh]

yeah me too, mut i don't have a digital camera with me right now. the tank is done and it seems alright, there were no major glitches. will post some pictures as soon as possible.