$400 in glass and one monster task

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moatdaddy

Guest
I put together my 195 gallon tank by myself yesterday. It was a huge pain, my roommate and my now ex girlfriend decided they were too busy to help. This is a huge task for anyone to do by themselves. I bought 5 silicone 2 tubes of windows and doors. 1 tube was bad, kinda pissed me off cause it was past experation date. Silicone is pretty easy to work with when its fresh, so try to work quickly with it. luckily it acts as an almost instant glue so i was able to square up the tank bymyself. the thing is inless you have plenty of clamps your going to see the glass adjust itself. my experience tells me to advise anyone wishing to put a tank together start small. if you go big find someone with at least an hour of free time to help you out. ive put a second seal on the tank now that its all together. in a couple days it will be tested for its ability to hold water. i just wanted to share my experience with this. ive never worked with glass before let alone built a tank, and i did it all by myself. no pics cameras busted. oh ya dont hit the glass together it will chip instantly. i used garf for the plans on the glass dimensions and added two extra width braces for a total of four. if you have any question or comments just post.
brandon
 
M

moatdaddy

Guest
yeah i did the 2 x 4 box and the shimes would been huge but i didnt want to assemble it on the stand. the stand if 4 feet tall
 
phixer

phixer

Active Member
Brandon, they get easier the more you do. I made special jigs from MDF and acrylic to keep things aligned. psusocr1 has some good gouge on this and will save you some trouble next time. Not trying to sell you but try a small acrylic project like a sump sometime IMO acrylic is easier to work with and is the staple of 75% of my projects. Yes it does scratch easier but for a sump project who cares
Funny how when things are great everyone wants to be around but ask them to help you move sometime or with a project like this one and they all get busy. :hilarious
 
M

moatdaddy

Guest
yeah i was thinking on making an acrylic sump. i was goign to check prices on 1/4" at lowes i can get a 48 x 24 shee for 40 bucks. for 3 sheets thats a tank. lets see what garf says. well if you want a 45 gallon tank you need 3/8"s thats insane. Im surprised glass is so much stronger
 
phixer

phixer

Active Member
The shift between glass and acrylic really become apparent when you are dealing with really large tanks. i.e almost all public aquarium construction is acrylic. Prices for acrylic vary dramatically from place to place you would be wise to shop around and might even want to consider a fiberglass / plywood tank later on. I started building tanks the same way. If too thin (within reason) and it will bow like crazy but still hold up if properly bonded, acrylic is the strongest material for aquariums out there. IMO its the only way to go for the DIYer, Ive even made some acrylic repairs that never would have been possible with glass. Good luck man.
 
mccanei

mccanei

Member
This is all so intriguing! I was wondering how one would go about cutting a 1/2" piece of acrylic? And what type of bonding agent would you use?
 
noob101

noob101

Member
nice bro want to see some pics.
hopefully i can get mine going soon but still debating on wether or not to use glass or acrylic.
but grats on getting it together
 
M

moatdaddy

Guest
like i said earlier this was a lesson learned. i flipped this monster onto its side. what a pain in the
that was. had to finally get my roomate of his computer to help me. i have no idea if the two of us will ever be able to put this thing on the stand. anyway because like in pscurors thread i didnt have a box of 2x4 to brace the bottom length wise for pressure with shimmies when i flipped it on its side i noticed half coverage of side to bottom of silicone. It set me back a couple days in drying time but i was able to add more silicon and eliminate the majority of the bubbles. since its on its side the pressure from the weight provides pressure for a tighter seal and on the side not on the ground i put water jugs i had been saving for complete pressure. The bottom line is that clamps on the end will not do the job. and tape is practicaly worthless from a pressure stand point. dont over clamp. I like the box with shimmies method. i also laid the glass on a sheet of 1/4"ply wood but would of wanted a slightly softer yet flat surface for if you need to flip it. i slighty scratched one side and i was pissed even though its minor. Sunday should be testing day. well see. im going golfing today its like 80 here in al
brandon
 
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moatdaddy

Guest
i waited a week before putting water in. i just added enough like 2 inches so i could see if it leeks. Its waterproof so far. im skeptical though. i might just make it a cameleon tank with a waterfall in it. not sure i dont want to bust the tank. there more than a few bubbles between the peices.
 
psusocr1

psusocr1

Active Member
hey if theres any bubbles be carefull with filing it with water?? how many gallons is it again?? the tanks needs to be flawless!
 
madman33

madman33

Member
Hey Bobby you might want to bump that post about your tank building...Just for people who werent here when you did it.
 
turningtim

turningtim

Active Member
Originally Posted by psusocr1
hey if theres any bubbles be carefull with filing it with water?? how many gallons is it again?? the tanks needs to be flawless!
Yeah! until you drop a rock on the bottom

Hey Mad
I'm Back!
Tim
 
M

moatdaddy

Guest
what you busted a flawless tank with a rock or are you warning me
im kinda scared to fill this thing, i allready got a 125g and dont want to waste the 370 in glass.
 
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