How-To Build A 200g Glass Aquarium

[psusocr1]

MOAT moatdaddy hey, about the question, well a 2x4 is actually a 3.5 x 1.5 piece of wood. that was the question. i had to measure a 2x4 to get the answer. my glass dimensons are going to be 67long by 28 wide at 24 tall with 3/8ths glass. 2long braceing pieces and added 4 wide braces. total cost in plate glass 370.55. for 10 pieces i dont think its that bad. 195 gallon tank. been looking at -- for additional input. the stand is built but the finishing wood not added yet.
DONT USE PLATE GLASS FOR THE BOTTOM. it can be a disaster and crack very easily under alot of weight!! iw ould swap it for a better sheet!

 

[seriph]

So I realize that this thread hasn't been been used for a while, but i had a question. When you constructed the brace at the top you said you used DADO blade to fit the boards on top. So does the top look like the brown or green illustration?

I realize that the dementions may not be correct, but you should get the idea.

 

[seriph]

burp

 

[supermanvx]

it will be the first picture...but the aycrlic will go on last..

 

[seriph]

I guess that makes sense. Does the acrylic really make that much of a difference?

 

[supermanvx]

its just a top piece..ive seen guys have tanks with no top piece..its more of a personal preference

 

[psusocr1]

supermanvx it will be the first picture...but the aycrlic will go on last..
wrong the dado is actually cut in the wood in a T if that makes sense.. ic an find the picture and show you exactly how i cut it...
supermanvx its just a top piece..ive seen guys have tanks with no top piece..its more of a personal preference

not to pick on you but wrong again,, if you dont put a euro-brace design support system or a full sheet support system on the top youll have ALOT of water all over the place.. I GAURANTEE IT...you may have saw no top brace on a little tiny tank like 10-50 gallons ( and i still wouldnt trust a tankt hats small without bracing) but when your talking about a tank this large you need somethign to support all the outward pressure or youll have a disaster!
any other quesations feel free to ask

 

[psusocr1]

look closely at post # 3 and # 4 on the first page and youll see the 2x4's have a horizontal dado notch as well as a vertical dado notch( cut 2 cm bigger than the glass for a tight fit) going through each other forming a + sign basically
if you want me to take pics of the moldings just let me know

 

[supermanvx]

hmm well hahaha dont listen to me then...

 

[supermanvx]

Originally Posted by psusocr1
look closely at post # 3 and # 4 on the first page and youll see the 2x4's have a horizontal dado notch as well as a vertical dado notch( cut 2 cm bigger than the glass for a tight fit) going through each other forming a + sign basically
if you want me to take pics of the moldings just let me know
maybe we are misunderstanding each other or i am wording it wrong...in that diagram above from seriph...you DADOed the 2x4 bracket so it would fit on both the back/front and side/side...then you would take those off and then put on an acrylic top and brace it differently..like you did in post 4...

 

[psusocr1]

well yes your 100% correct there..you have to join the glass before joining the top piece.. the top piece is the last thing you put on after the sides, front and back are put on
thanks for bringing that up superman, i think there was confusion on his part and mine a little bit there

 

[supermanvx]

Originally Posted by psusocr1
well yes your 100% correct there..you have to join the glass before joining the top piece.. the top piece is the last thing you put on after the sides, front and back are put on
thanks for bringing that up superman, i think there was confusion on his part and mine a little bit there

ive never built an aquarium before. I actually look up to you on this one...you had given me the idea of making my own from scratch..and i even have this thread bookedmark..one question i do have is, when you lay down the bottom piece you are putting it on the white stuff...i know that is to make sure everything is snug even, but what is it exactly...in other words...where would i find something like that?

 

[psusocr1]

thats actually there to distribute the pressure evanly . if you ever noticed a similiar system is used on every tank from the manufactorer as well.. reason bieng you never want glass to lay on a flat surface because it will shatter,, it should always be elevated a little buit... you can use wooden dowels from lowes or home depot you can also get this thicn "colord" acrylic from there as well.. thats what i used

 

[supermanvx]

Originally Posted by psusocr1
thats actually there to distribute the pressure evanly . if you ever noticed a similiar system is used on every tank from the manufactorer as well.. reason bieng you never want glass to lay on a flat surface because it will shatter,, it should always be elevated a little buit... you can use wooden dowels from lowes or home depot you can also get this thicn "colord" acrylic from there as well.. thats what i used
Ah good idea...well i wont be building anything, anytime soon...i got enough headaches with my current project right now haha

 

[seriph]

I think I'm getting it. So your finished product looks like the green one I posted above. Right?
Before you said that if you want to drill holes you need to use plate glass. Is plate glass strong enough to hold all the rock that is put on it? I ask this because I got a small 30g tank for my daughters turtle. It uses tempered glass. So if they used tempered glass for such a small tank why would I use plate glass for a bigger tank with heavy rocks piled on it? Is there no way to drill holes in tempered glass?
Say I want to use tempered glass. How do you do your filtration without holes? I'm new to this whole thing. I think I understand most of what I have read, but I don't understand how people set up their filtration systems. Some people have tanks under their big tank, others don't. Some people have overflows, others don't.
Thanks for your help so far.

 

[psusocr1]

i dont know any way of drilling tempered glass , however a glass expert might be able to drill it for you..also if you dont drill the tank its easy you can just use an overflow box or two and you can run a refugium and sump or a wet/dry whatever you would prefer.
also many manufacturers use tempered glass for the bottom pieces if not all pieces to cover their butts and they have soo much of it it doesnt matter.
you can also use tempered for the whole tank except the back and then drill returns and drains in the back wall of te tank.. i have also seen that done before.
any other questions keep em comin

 

[seriph]

Thanks for explaining about the glass. Could you help with the filtration part too? Why do people have tanks under their big tank? That kind of stuff.

 

[psusocr1]

thats a whole other ballgame,, thatw ould be better asked in a seperate thread so alot of peopel could really help you out .. ill def. help you out but just make another thread for it.. you will also learn ALOT by searching for "refugiums"

 

[madman33]

mmmk well nothing happend even though i said it was going to(tank building wise) but now i gotta build some QT's etc for the new giant tank so just given this a bump so its easier for me to find lol

 

[rykna]

Cool Tank