CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

Hi all, I know this board doesn’t get much use so I thought id ask some questions that have been bugging me.

I know that everyone wants a bigger tank, so I was giving serious thought to building my own (seems like silicon and glass are easy enough to get hold of).

How ever one thing is perplexing me, is the sky the limit for a home made tank, could I (if the room became available and the floor strong enough to withhold the weight) build a 48” X 24” X 24”tank? Basically a glass pond right? Lol (or something even larger)

I was thinking (when I move out obviously, the parents would kill me ) building it to house the Oscars in.

Anyone got any knowledge of building tanks and is it as easy as it seems, and are there real benefits of building them over buying them?? (seems like tanks are getting more expensive and the hardware for them is getting cheaper)

I could get a 2nd hand tank but large tanks in my area hardly ever come up for sale.

Any help, insights or points to note would be greatly appreciated?

Cheers
Craig

Oh, bt the way, check this out… amazing what one can do with a ton of water now a days

http://members.shaw.ca/wmastop/bigtank/Startb~1.htm

are there real benefits of building them over buying them??

COST

If you shop around you can save a LOT of money.

Costed me less to build my 300 then to buy my 125.

Any help, insights or points to note would be greatly appreciated?

Everything you need to know can be found on the GARF site even the glass thickness calculator

yeah, i found the garf site, really helpful and some good ideas. i think its seriously some thing i will look deeper into, building a sump is also on the agenda (perhaps a test run lol;) )

thanks stillearnin
Craig

Done a few tanks in my day too Craig. Ur in the UK, so it might not be the same. However, go to company that sells and installs windows in homes, and/or bussness.( that is what I do here, I salvage the glass that I remove, take the not to scratched stuff, and build tanks). Any glass company that does comercial store fronts, will likely be able to sell you "salvaged glass". I sell it at about 1/3 the cost of new float glass, pretty good savings. For most tanks, if you stay under 18 inch total highth, you can get away with 6mm or 1/4 inch glass, as long as you put a 2" glass strip along the long side edges. If you build over 48" you will need a center brace too. I've been to the garf site as well, however they do have IMO a design flaw, unless I just read the info wrong. The side glass should sit on the bottom peice, If I recall they said to put the side into the bottom, not on it. They said something about weight causing the bottom to crack. Never had that happen to me, nor had a leak doing it the way I do.

If I recall they said to put the side into the bottom, not on it. They said something about weight causing the bottom to crack. Never had that happen to me, nor had a leak doing it the way I do.

Garf's sites actualy right - you want the bottom suspended.
Reasons being weight and a small peice of anything could be under a tank or a small imprefection under the tank (on the stand,shelve,rack,etc) and cause the glass to crack.

Pull the frame off of a purchased tank and you'll see commercially made tanks are made the same way - so the bottom glass isn't supporting the full weight.

off to the local glass sales man today then, lol... scrathed glass, didnt even think of that.



Im thinking making a 48" X 24" (width) and 18"hight, should alright (that way, its not to hard to fit it in, it will replace the current 48 " X 12" X 15"... which will soon enough be underneath it me thinks. ) and condensation trays shouldnt be too hard to bodge together.

Cheers for all the help

Craig

Originally posted by stilllearnin
Garf's sites actualy right - you want the bottom suspended.
Reasons being weight and a small peice of anything could be under a tank or a small imprefection under the tank (on the stand,shelve,rack,etc) and cause the glass to crack.

Pull the frame off of a purchased tank and you'll see commercially made tanks are made the same way - so the bottom glass isn't supporting the full weight.

I'll have to take your word, on the factory tanks. I don't have one to look at. However IMO, and through my own experence, I have not had a tank that I, or my employees have made ever crack, nor have I made a leaky one. I would be more worried using garfs methods, in regards to bottoms deflecting due to water weight. The other worry I would have would be thin edge cracking, which is a problem in sealed window units, at one time the edges were covered, either with tape, or metal. Now they are for the most part left unprotected, the cost of replacing the few units that did break, did not out weigh the cost of protecting all the units. I like garfs calculator, but will stick with my methods of assembly.

but will stick with my methods of assembly.

I'm always a fan of sticking with what works :thumbsup:

IF you have a fully supported non-moveing surface a flat bottom may be the best way to go.

but for strength - glass supported and raised is stronger and more stable . (according to Pilkington)

in my lfs they have a concrete built aquarium with a glass front for viewing...but........they keep freshwater carp in it.

has anyone ever seen this type of design? and i wonder what type of concrete you would use?i know you can get marine paint which seals and is non toxic.on a smaller scale is it possible to build a concrete type aquarium that incorperates glass fibre with only one glass side? like the ready made ponds for sale.then the build size would purely be a custom in home choice...

...maybe something to think about.or is this way just too complicated and costly....thoughts and oppinions appreciated??:)

jay..

...maybe something to think about.or is this way just too complicated and costly....thoughts and oppinions appreciated??

Thats what i'm looking into doing maybe this summer

i wonder what type of concrete you would use?

4000 psi concrete 4 inches thick (3.5" where the glass sits in) is what has been recommended to me. for large tanks 2,000 gal or larger . a lessor quaility mix or thinner walls might work fine for smaller tanks