Building a glass tank

[MeghanisradxD]

I'm entertaining the thought of building a 3.5' x 3.5' ish foot tank. I think it calculates out to around 180 gallons.

I've been doing a lot of reading and video watching, but I want to hear from those that have done it here. What went wrong? What went right? What would you have done different? Is it an absolutely terrible idea?

Lay it on me. Articles, videos, tips. Anything.

I'm looking at glass rather than acrylic and actually using a plywood bottom with a pond epoxy. Same concept as Joey (King of DIY) does in this video series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2beOiIgBvUM

Thanks!

 

[MeghanisradxD]

Design So far

Design So far

Design so far

1" plywood bottom coated in pond epoxy
3/8" thick glass

3.5' sides and eurobracing all around. Trying to get as much critique as possible, so that this is built right the first time. There will be a trim around the edge of the plywood too.

 

[DSMreefer]

I built one a lot smaller than that (33 gallons roughly) and it was all glass. Have you plugged your dimensions into a glass thickness calculator? It will help you determine the safety factor of the glass under water pressure. 3/8 sounds a little thin for a 180 but maybe with bracing it will work.

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[ClownNut]

dont cheap out on glass, since the tank is the cheapest part of your system.

 

[MeghanisradxD]

What thickness do you think? Should I go up to 1/2"?

 

[ThisGuy12]

Definitely go up to 1/2" thick. I would axe the plywood bottom and go with all sides and bottom glass.

Eurobrace the top with a 3" strip and you should be fine.

Make sure you get a good clean bead of silicone between the glass panes.

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[ComforablyNumb]

Thisguy12 (too bad about the Jets huh?) is right to recommend ditching the epoxy'd wood bottom. One scratch in the epoxy from a rock and the water pressure will force water into the plywood and you'll definitely have a mess on your hands that is not easily rectified.

 

[ThisGuy12]

Thisguy12 (too bad about the Jets huh?) is right to recommend ditching the epoxy'd wood bottom. One scratch in the epoxy from a rock and the water pressure will force water into the plywood and you'll definitely have a mess on your hands that is not easily rectified.

Eh the Jets will bounce back next season

And correct, attaching products like wood to glass and glass to wood is not easy or recommended, especially when the wood is the bottom pane and all other glass sits on top of it.

Don't cheap out, get a glass bottom and do it right, once.

 

[Reefer PT]

Be ready to have 180 gallons of water on the floor, and your significant others threatening legal action. Building a tank is a lot harder than you might think. What may look good and hold water now may blow out 3 years later when a truck rumbles by. The tank is honestly one of the cheapest parts of reefing and you should look into a company like www.miraclesaquariums.com to custom make the tank if you are married to the non standard dimensions you mentioned. And yes this is experience speaking I built a 3'x2'x2' eurobraced tank that blew out after being great for 3 years. Lucky it was a FOWLR tank that was in my basement near a floor drain. Still lost over a grand in total investment and got me out of the hobby for almost 10 years.

 

[MeghanisradxD]

Thanks for the input, that's why this was posted before starting.

 

[ThisGuy12]

Be ready to have 180 gallons of water on the floor, and your significant others threatening legal action. Building a tank is a lot harder than you might think. What may look good and hold water now may blow out 3 years later when a truck rumbles by. The tank is honestly one of the cheapest parts of reefing and you should look into a company like www.miraclesaquariums.com to custom make the tank if you are married to the non standard dimensions you mentioned. And yes this is experience speaking I built a 3'x2'x2' eurobraced tank that blew out after being great for 3 years. Lucky it was a FOWLR tank that was in my basement near a floor drain. Still lost over a grand in total investment and got me out of the hobby for almost 10 years.

Who is to say you built yours any differently than a "professional" builder would?

If a tank blows out it could be weak glass, or maybe not so good silicone. Tough to say.

I still say if he wants to attempt it, go for it. Just use the correct products.

 

[wnehez]

Be ready to have 180 gallons of water on the floor, and your significant others threatening legal action. Building a tank is a lot harder than you might think. What may look good and hold water now may blow out 3 years later when a truck rumbles by. The tank is honestly one of the cheapest parts of reefing and you should look into a company like www.miraclesaquariums.com to custom make the tank if you are married to the non standard dimensions you mentioned. And yes this is experience speaking I built a 3'x2'x2' eurobraced tank that blew out after being great for 3 years. Lucky it was a FOWLR tank that was in my basement near a floor drain. Still lost over a grand in total investment and got me out of the hobby for almost 10 years.

Haha if your significant other files legal paperwork or takes legal action because of something you tried to do, then maybe that significant other is not the one you should be spending your life with. I say go for it. That would be a great story and definitely a show piece. Plus being able to say, yea, I built that entire tank, from the tank and stand, to the rock formation and livestock addition. Completely 100% yours. Good luck and just do your homework. I am sure you can do it the right way!

 

[Reefer PT]

I guess I'm just saying after you buy a tempered glass bottom and floating bottom, 4, 1/2" panes of glass for the sides and all the pieces for eurobracing. Plus 4-5 tubes of construction silicone at $20+ a tube you will probably be half way to just outright buying the tank custom made. If you want to do it just for the pride of saying that you did it, well then knock yourself out. What failed on me was a corner seam. I used momentive silicone and all the edges of the glass were diamond polished. If you do build it I would suggest filling it out in the yard and put a MP40 in it making the biggest waves possible and blast each pane of glass to see if it holds. Also remember the silicone takes several weeks to cure even though it seems dry. don't stress the tank (even by moving it without a lot of hands) for at least a couple weeks.

 

[ThisGuy12]

I guess I'm just saying after you buy a tempered glass bottom and floating bottom, 4, 1/2" panes of glass for the sides and all the pieces for eurobracing. Plus 4-5 tubes of construction silicone at $20+ a tube you will probably be half way to just outright buying the tank custom made. If you want to do it just for the pride of saying that you did it, well then knock yourself out. What failed on me was a corner seam. I used momentive silicone and all the edges of the glass were diamond polished. If you do build it I would suggest filling it out in the yard and put a MP40 in it making the biggest waves possible and blast each pane of glass to see if it holds. Also remember the silicone takes several weeks to cure even though it seems dry. don't stress the tank (even by moving it without a lot of hands) for at least a couple weeks.

Not construction grade silicone its cured within 48hours.

SCS 1200

The compressive strength is reached within 48 hours of application. It gels up in 15 minutes and bonds entirely withing 2 hours.

Not sure where you are from but around here a tube of SCS1200 is $15 in the local shops, $7 wholesale at a specialties supplier.

I say go for it OP your tank will be fine as long as you don't undersize the glass and your seams are clean/bubble free.

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[Reef_Dweller_69]

Hello all. SO what the deal with this plywood bottom tank? Have you started it. I was thinking of doing one myself.

 

[MeghanisradxD]

So, I actually found a tank that was well priced and fits perfectly in the same space, I kind of nixed this idea due to the negative feedback.