Build My Own Aquarium? Help!

[SWerner13]

I am thinking about building my own aquarium.

Does anyone know of a good reference site and or book that will help me out?

Has anyone done this themselves? How much did it cost you? Was it particularly difficult? Any information would be great!

Thanks!

 

[Brad.Sedore]

i saw instructions once on how to repair an aquarium... basicly made my brain tap out so id think building one from the ground up might be quite the task.

good luck and keep us updated.

-Brad

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

ive heard that they cost more to make than to buy pre made.

 

[SWerner13]

hmmm well I found a few instructional sights and it seems simple enough. But, I have no idea how much that glass will cost from home depot or something like that. If I do it I will do a Time-line informational post. Hopefully someone out there can help me out though lol.

 

[jsoong]

I tried pricing out glass & tempered glass from glass shop <wholesaler no less> ended up costing more than the tank. It seems making your own tank is only worthwhile if you want a custom size <and most people go acrylic - lighter for large tanks, & you can cut it yourself. Cutting & edge polishing of tempered glass cost $$$> A cheap alternative might be plywood .... there are threads on the net with people making plywood tanks with just a front window.

This is a thread to get you started .... and do vist the garf link in it:
http://aquariumadvice.com/forums/f20/diy-tank-instructions-2686.html

 

[andysam]

Hi swerner
I assembled a 400 gal tank from glass panels. Like several members told you glass bought locally will cost you more then the finished tank. Here in Edmonton one fish store has a connection to a glass factory in China, because of this all my glass and shipping by boat was only 380 dollars. They regularly take orders for glass kits and it takes 1 month to receive. Some of the tanks are up to 650 gallons. My glass is 5/8 thick and the dimensions are 96"x32"x32" roughly 425 gals.The actual job of putting the tank together is really straight forward, I used toothpicks to space the glass then forced GE1 silicone into the space. The whole job took 2 weeks , I gave each joint 24 hours to cure before going to the next one. Filling the tank for the first time was nerve racking knowing that there is 4000 lbs of water and only 5/8 inch of silicone stopping the front panel from bashing my head in. Everything did hold and all is good. If you can find cheap glass this is for sure the way to go. If you need any further help please ask
Mark
PS Here are some pics

 

[SWerner13]

any chance that glass is available to me? I had a feeling it might not be cost efficient but It could still be fun. I am planning on checking out the local dumps in the next few weeks in hopes that I can get most of the glass there. I'll keep ya posted but thanks for the help.

By the way, what do you mean by the tooth pick thing? are you saying you spaced the joints with toothpics and then filled in the gaps?

 

[andysam]

Yes the toothpick apparently is the perfect distance that 2 pieces of glass should be apart. If the distance is bigger the excess silicone in the joint makes the joint weaker, also if the distance is smaller there is not enough silicone to ensure a strong joint. Once the silicone takes a set 2-3 hours take the toothpicks out and fill their holes with silicone.

 

[cbwmn]

I found some 1/4" glass at a used material center.
I followed the instructions here:
http://www.garf.org/tank/buildtank.asp
It doesn't leak, but there are features that a commercial aquarium has that I didn't
build. I had a 36" hood already and didn't allow for the proper fit. So I had to improvise.
Charles