Tank Making Tips

[john.m.cole3]

I was in another thread about what silicone should be used for glass tanks. If you haven't already heard, the Momentive series is the best. RTV 103 is clear and RTV 108 is black. I like the look of black silicone personally.

Where do you buy your glass?
Do you start with the bottom panel and build off it?
Where do you get the spacers to keep the corners separated?
Trim?
Eurobracing?

Ok, I'm done. Thanks for playing!

 

[saltyphish]

I was planning on building my own cube a while back and everything i researched showed all panels on top of the bottom and the side panels inbetween the front and back. There are aquarium calculators to use to determine how thick of glass you should use. I never saw anything using spacers unless you are going acrylic but then you wouldnt be using silicone for that. All joints were attached to each other no spacers. Also trim is optional just when going rimless they use thicker glass. Eurobracing is another option opposed to using trim. It adds structural support to the panels.

 

[john.m.cole3]

I was planning on building my own cube a while back and everything i researched showed all panels on top of the bottom and the side panels inbetween the front and back. There are aquarium calculators to use to determine how thick of glass you should use. I never saw anything using spacers unless you are going acrylic but then you wouldnt be using silicone for that. All joints were attached to each other no spacers. Also trim is optional just when going rimless they use thicker glass. Eurobracing is another option opposed to using trim. It adds structural support to the panels.

Got a link for the calculator?

I was wondering where to purchase the trim tank builders use. As for the eurobracing, is it more popular to run the bracing on the top or bottom of the tank.

 

[john.m.cole3]

@cromag08 I moved the talk over here so I don't hijack that silicone thread.

 

[saltyphish]

Eurobracing goes on top. No link to share for calculator. Just google aquarium glass calculator should get you there. No idea where to buy trim at either sorry

 

[saltyphish]

I was going for a rimless tank so never looked into the rest

 

[jsker]

Following along

 

[john.m.cole3]

when I get home from work I'll do some more research on this and post back

 

[tgp4274]

http://www.aquariumframeswholesale.com/
this is where I got mine for my 125
just depends on your size

 

[Garrett W.]

I found this calculator online that should assist you.
http://www.garf.org/tank/buildtank.asp

 

[bowen1022]

I was going for a rimless tank so never looked into the rest

Et is t

 

[Adamc13o3]

Glass goes on top of the bottom pane only when the tank will have a plastic rim on the bottom like Marineland etc... On those tanks the bottom does NOT make contact with the stand and just the plastic rim sits on the stand. That's why they are adamant about not warranting tanks that don't sit on their stands. If you are planing on a clean rimless tank then the bottom pane goes in between the rest of them. The side panes go between the front and back longer panes. You do need spacers to get the silicone in between the glass. You can't have glass touching glass. If glass touches glass then the tank will leak. You also need a decent size space in between to have enough silicone for a strong bond and to allow the tanks to flex a little. If it's too tight it will cause a crack. Regarding the euro-bracing; in Europe the euro bracing is actually done on the inside of the tank and not on top. If the braces are on the inside it keeps the glass it's running along from bowing and keeps the tank more square. Some euro-brace the bottom pane inside the tank as well. It's much harder to do it on the inside and the silicone job on that is way less forgiving and right at eye level. Here in the states I see the euro-bracing going on top. I don't know what it's really doing for the integrity tank.. If you haven't done this before don't go out and spend a lot of money on glass and silicone. Start with a smaller tank and work you're way up. Perhaps start with a tank you can use for the sump, fuge or frag tank on your build. When you're more comfortable go for it! I have personally never built a tank but I have friends that have done it so i've seen it done quite a few times. I also looked into it extensively in the past.

 

[Joey waid]

Back in the day I would trim the tank with a good hard wood. I always used thicker glass than what one would expect for stability. I always went to the local glass and screen door shop to get it cut. I never worried about small spaces in between the corners. The tanks lasted for years. This was almost thirty years ago when all we had was the local hardware store to get silicone.

 

[john.m.cole3]

 

[john.m.cole3]

http://www.aquariumframeswholesale.com/
this is where I got mine for my 125
just depends on your size

they only go up to 18 inches wide. Looking for at least 24 inches in width. Good prices on that site though

 

[john.m.cole3]

Glass goes on top of the bottom pane only when the tank will have a plastic rim on the bottom like Marineland etc... On those tanks the bottom does NOT make contact with the stand and just the plastic rim sits on the stand. That's why they are adamant about not warranting tanks that don't sit on their stands. If you are planing on a clean rimless tank then the bottom pane goes in between the rest of them. The side panes go between the front and back longer panes. You do need spacers to get the silicone in between the glass. You can't have glass touching glass. If glass touches glass then the tank will leak. You also need a decent size space in between to have enough silicone for a strong bond and to allow the tanks to flex a little. If it's too tight it will cause a crack. Regarding the euro-bracing; in Europe the euro bracing is actually done on the inside of the tank and not on top. If the braces are on the inside it keeps the glass it's running along from bowing and keeps the tank more square. Some euro-brace the bottom pane inside the tank as well. It's much harder to do it on the inside and the silicone job on that is way less forgiving and right at eye level. Here in the states I see the euro-bracing going on top. I don't know what it's really doing for the integrity tank.. If you haven't done this before don't go out and spend a lot of money on glass and silicone. Start with a smaller tank and work you're way up. Perhaps start with a tank you can use for the sump, fuge or frag tank on your build. When you're more comfortable go for it! I have personally never built a tank but I have friends that have done it so i've seen it done quite a few times. I also looked into it extensively in the past.

Very helpful post. It sounds like rimless and eurobraced is the way I will eventually go. I like rimmed tanks so I don't see the water line, but hey, I'm not finding trim easily and it costs more to build with it. Question: If eurobracing is done on the bottom and outside of the tank, would you have to fill the empty space between the braces with a glass panel?

 

[john.m.cole3]

where do I look for the spacers?

 

[john.m.cole3]

I found this calculator online that should assist you.
http://www.garf.org/tank/buildtank.asp

That's a fantastic calculator. Saved it in my favorites!

 

[john.m.cole3]

Copied and pasted from that other reefing forum...

Here is what I did when building my 260 gal plywood tank with 3 glass sides. I followed the instructions that were published when they made the big reef tank at the smitsonian.

I made small forms that I could temporarily tape in place to lay down a small bump of silicon in the shape of a line and about 1/8 inch thick. The bump was placed so that it would be totally surrounded by the silicone holding the glass in place. I let the bump fully set up.

I laid down the real coat of silicone and set the glass inplace against the 4-8 bumps ( depending on the size of the pane)I had put in. This worked perfectly, gave me an even seal of silicone and the tank has not leaked after over 15 years.

 

[Adamc13o3]

Very helpful post. It sounds like rimless and eurobraced is the way I will eventually go. I like rimmed tanks so I don't see the water line, but hey, I'm not finding trim easily and it costs more to build with it. Question: If eurobracing is done on the bottom and outside of the tank, would you have to fill the empty space between the braces with a glass panel?

The bottom euro-bracing is done in the tank. Check it out