Glass tank builders.

[calvin415]

Anyone local ever build a glass tank or know of someone who's built a glass tank. I decided I want a glass tank in my basement, but will have to bring it down sheet at a time... I'm going to try to rebuild a tank a few times to see if I can get the hang of it but would like a back up.

 

[Motherboard]

How big a tank? Can't say as I've ever built one, but just curius on the size.

I've thought about putting a 96x48x72 tank in my basment as well. I think it would make a great centerpiece to any future basement finishing plans.

Tony

 

[Motherboard]

Just thought of this. I could dawn a wet suit and scuba gear and swim in my tank.

Now that would be fun.

 

[calvin415]

Hey bro, good to see you on here! Glad you found the forum. I'm going either 120 or 144 long but still tossing around ideas on the W and H...

 

[Mustang394]

Got my curiosity now. How long is long? A 125 standard is 6 feet long and not overly high or wide.

 

[Crit21]

Why not acrylic?

 

[calvin415]

Well, I found this tank and it's really peaked my interest... It's 96x14x14, I want to go a little bigger, but thinking 16-18 would still be good, kind of like a super long nano.

closer

and closer

Dan, I don't want to go acrylic due to the coraline and ease of scratching... Plus I don't want to have to remove coraline on a 10 or 12 ft pannel by hand, if I go glass I can use a magnet. My neighbors are going to take my Dad's tank and since it's leaking I'm going to take the tank apart and try to rebuild it. Figure it will be a great way to see how tough it is to work with silicone and glass.

 

[calvin415]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7769751#post7769751 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mustang394
Got my curiosity now. How long is long? A 125 standard is 6 feet long and not overly high or wide.

Sorry Keith, I mean either 120" or 144" long.

 

[Crit21]

I think the hardest part will be removing the top and bottom trim without cracking or destroying them. I also heard that new silicone doesn't bond very well to old silicone (not sure whether it's true, but worth considering--could just be due to salt/mineral residue on the old silicone.), so you may have to find a way to get all traces off the glass, which will involve scraping and then acetone. There's also the issue of removing all traces of mineral deposits to create a bondable surface. I've found a number of Internet sources that deal with tank rebuilding.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/aqrepairfaqs.htm
http://saltaquarium.about.com/library/weekly/aa042402.htm
http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/aquariumdiy/a/aa031302.htm

I know what you mean about cleaning the glass. I've increased my home-recipe B-ionic dosage to get my Ca levels up from 380 to ~400 and my purple coralline is going absolutely nuts throughout the tank, to include rapid appearance and growth all over the glass. I'm using a piece of scrap acrylic to scrape it off without scratching the glass, but it still takes time. That stuff is stubborn.

 

[The Haj]

Eric,

Let me know when you are ready, when I get home tonite i will send you some pics of a project I completed.

 

[calvin415]

Thanks Haj, would love to see some DIY glass tanks...

 

[ReefJerk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7771696#post7771696 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Haj
Eric,

Let me know when you are ready, when I get home tonite i will send you some pics of a project I completed.

Uhhhh... the rest of us want to see the pics as well.

 

[The Haj]

Will do,It is a gravity fed refugium on my frag tank full of calurpa. runs the full span I think it is awesome and does the job quite well. I will post some pics on here tonite. Never posted a pic so no laughing.

 

[The Haj]

refugium

refugium

://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i208/coloradoreefer/c5902a29.jpg[/IMG]

Not the greatest pic but here you go.

 

[Crit21]

Question about fitting the glass panels. Do you prefer to have the side panels sitting on top of the base, or have them wrap around the sides of the base? Aren't most built to sit on top of the base glass?

 

[calvin415]

From what I've read it will depend on if the bottom is fully supported and tempered. If you have a frame like AGA the tempered bottom should be wrapped with the side pannels, if it's to be sitting on a flat surface you can build the sides on the bottom pannel.

 

[Crit21]

I thought it had more to do with the strength of the silicone joint (shear strength as the water tries to push the bottom edge of the side panels off the top of the base vs. tensile strength as the water pressure tries to push the sides away from the edge of the base). I guess in either case it would be a good idea to put a tight fitting, strong frame around the top and bottom of the tank.

 

[calvin415]

This seems to be the way I see everyone building their tanks...

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=4728693#post4728693