Twin 75 gal into single larger aquarium

[GreenGo]

I have two 75s and want to combine them into a single larger aquarium. However, I think I may run into an issue.

See, my first idea was to just take the back off of both and silicone them together, but I'm next to certain having twin side glass panes wouldn't be a great idea. So, that leaves me to potentially taking them completely apart and using only the front and back to create one pretty massive build. That would be cool.

Another idea I had was cutting the front and back panels in half, turning the side panels so they were a bit longer than taller, and making a couple shorter yet wider aquariums. I would need to match the height of the front and back to the current width of the side panels, of course, but don't know if I could actually get two aquariums from it.

What I would like to know, am I correct in my assessment of it wouldn't be a good idea to have twin side panels? Also, assuming the second idea yields two aquariums, which would you do?

I'm going to use these aquariums to raise young crabs when the breeders breed, and I can always silicone the four side panels together for a smaller aquarium if I do the first idea. The smaller aquarium using the first idea could potentially be a sump/refugium for the larger front/back aquarium where it'd act as a filter while providing food for the crablets.

Any advice would be appreciated. I will post pics and updates as this build progresses, but need some advice first. Thanks!

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[Mebbid]

I would avoid trying to combine them tbh. There's a lot that can go wrong and not a whole lot of benefit to come of it. You're correct that having a meeting point between 2 side panels being a risky thing. And if you just use the large pieces of glass, you will still need to buy a huge piece of glass for the bottom. If i were you, I would do 1 of 2 things.

1 - Get a kiddy pool and use that. This is by far my favorite option if this isn't going to be a display piece. This will give you a nice shallow aquarium for breeding crabs (I have no idea how that works tbh) and it will make it easy to build a dry area for them.

2 - Plumb the 2 tanks together. - There is less risk of failure than building them into one tank and you can keep things separated in 2 different tanks.

 

[PassengerTN]

If you really want to combine the two, the only viable option I would consider is using both 48" pieces from each tank and having someone cut you a 48" squared piece for the bottom. This will become a 48x48x21, and be just over 200 gallons. I wouldn't do this without adequate bracing. I like mebbids idea of a kiddie pool best though.


Jesse

 

[GreenGo]

Yeah, I'll probably just go the kiddie pool approach. After all, I'm on a budget and the bottom with bracing will definitely break my budget of $300 for the entire breeding selection. Thank you for the quick replies. I'll definitely be creating a new thread with the entire breeding project (the first in many for my business)

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[Daven]

Definitely not an expert here... but i too think its a bad idea having seems in the middle of the glass. Water weighs alot and that pressure is going to be pushed outwards on the side panels. Think of how some tanks bow out on the wider front and rear glass when filled. Adding a seam takes away the solid part in the middle where there is the most force. So again, im no expert on how strong a joint there could be made, or any of this. But i think it would split in such a build or at least would need a ton of bracing and even then after all said and done you could likely just buy a tank like that which is meant for it.

Ive definately had these thoughts though lol Like making a giant syphon to join my two tanks without any flow (just equalizes) and somehow training the fish to swim through

 

[t4runnr]

You could always leave the tanks as they are and drill holes for 1.5" or 2" bulkheads. Then use a flexible hose to connect the tanks via the bulkheads. Maybe have 2 or 3 hoses. You would need a little space between the tanks for the hose.

 

[Greg5OH]

yes definitly do NOT connect the seams together to achieve 48" depth. Silicone is strongest in tension, much weaker in shear. You could make this work if you placed a patch panel over the seam and did a glass perimiter brace around the tank but 1) expensive 2)it will look like crap. If anything, build a custom tank from scratch if you want 48x48, or best/cheapest if you want to share water is the bulkheads.