Need help building this cool design of a 130G tank

[vundercoverdog]

So as you can see it's a complicated design but it artistic and i love designing it and would like to bring it to life.

I thought of starting out with a custom base made of plywood aswell as the back and canopy but the two front viewing panels need to be cut to fit the "stair" base. I thought of tempered glass but can't find a place to cut it for me like that. does anyone know where i can get it cut? (i know you can't cut tempered glass but before it goes the tempering process it could be right?)

Dimensions: 3'x3'x3'

The stand will be 3'x3'x3'

Canopy will be 3'x3'x2'

Any suggestions on how to build the stand? I thought of using 3x4's

Anyone built something similiar to this?

 

[BigJim]

Welcome to AA!

Before you get too excited, price out a pair of 3'x3' glass panels of the required thickness. A 3' deep tank will need some thick glass and it's probably more cost-effective to buy a big tank and build the steps inside.

 

[Grug]

Your right.. you cant cut glass once its been through the toughening / tempering process.. but you can do it beforehand.. edges will have to be done by a CNC polishing machine or try to find someone with a waterjet cutter and a belt machine to clean the edges.. wont be cheap.. but will be possible.

 

[Sarcothelia]

A tank that deep isn't going to be easy to manage...but best of luck to you! Since it's a cube it can't be too hard to find those 3x3 panes.

When you build a stand, using 3x4s or whatever you choose, make sure to choose a nice strong piece of wood (none of that plywood crap) to place on top of it, and have reinforcements underneath it.

Not sure if that was too helpful...but I just used some 3x4s for mine and put a piece of oak on top of it, with some cut planks secured to both the vertical and horizontal planks that formed the frame.

I had the help of my old CAD/CAM teacher, so everything was cut with precision. I would seriously recommend sketching it up in detail first, be it in Inventor, CAD, Google Sketch, or just a piece of paper. That way you know exactly what you need and can tell if it looks sturdy before you build it.

 

[Sarcothelia]

As for the stairs...Don't use wood obviously. Find something that is easy to cut and won't warp with contact to water or varying heat. If it expands your glass.

And wait...Were you going to shape the glass so that it would fit together with the stairs? I really don't think that's a good idea, because to guarantee getting both sides right you would need some serious precision...You'd probably have to pay up big time for some glass manufacturer to do it for you.

Unless you have a compressed water mill laying around

 

[Mr. Limpet]

So as you can see it's a complicated design but it artistic and i love designing it and would like to bring it to life.

I thought of starting out with a custom base made of plywood aswell as the back and canopy but the two front viewing panels need to be cut to fit the "stair" base. I thought of tempered glass but can't find a place to cut it for me like that. does anyone know where i can get it cut? (i know you can't cut tempered glass but before it goes the tempering process it could be right?)

Dimensions: 3'x3'x3'

The stand will be 3'x3'x3'

Canopy will be 3'x3'x2'

Any suggestions on how to build the stand? I thought of using 3x4's

Anyone built something similiar to this?

Cool design, I like the concept of the stepped base along the front. But why not make the whole thing out of High grade acrylic? The steps would be easier, no wood rot and if done correctly the cavity underneath could house equipment like a mini canister filter with in line heater, air pump, etc. The bonus would be that the clear fronts/dark base edges could be welded together (it's glue, but it's kinda like welding metal) and then you wouldn't have an issue with getting the edges absolutely perfect. You could even have the 2 fronts custom cut and formed so it would be seamless at the apex.

As for cutting glass and having it tempered? You could calculate it to .001 and still be off. When they fire the glass for tempering, it changes size and isn't perfect every time, plus it'd cost a bundle to do just 2 pieces. Even more if you wanted seamless.

If you do this, a build thread would be terrific .

Welcome Aboard!

 

[vundercoverdog]

@BigJim- I know, the panels alone would be around 400 (without cutting) but you when have a hobby this addicting price is no problem. I'm willing to spend around 1500 but no more. As for the building the steps inside, i would have to use wood because the weight of the rocks,sand/soil,plants,decor,etc would be too heavy for Built in steps made of acrylic or glass. But thanks for the advice

 

[vundercoverdog]

@Grug Thanks! i know it won't be cheap and i thought of not cutting the panels and just placing them inside and then build the stair design outside the glass in stead of viewing the inside frame of the stand. Let me know of what you think.

 

[vundercoverdog]

@Sarcothelia: Oak wood be my best bet right? I've seen other DIY wood/glass Tank projects and they paint the wood with epoxy paint (waterproof) so it wouldn't create mold and no i don't have a compressed water mill lying around, wish i did! ;P

 

[vundercoverdog]

@Mr.Limpet- I chose Glass because i've heard acrylic is most costly(a lot more) But i would look into it, and how much weight can it hold? The tank filled would weigh a roughly 1400 lbs not including Decor and substrate.

When i start i will build a thread with lots of pictures! ;P

 

[vundercoverdog]

Tanks for all the replies i will post more 3-D designs later

 

[Mr. Limpet]

@Mr.Limpet- I chose Glass because i've heard acrylic is most costly(a lot more) But i would look into it, and how much weight can it hold? The tank filled would weigh a roughly 1400 lbs not including Decor and substrate.

When i start i will build a thread with lots of pictures! ;P

Acrylic can hold a lot. The huge tank wall they recently put in at the Cal. Academy of Science is made of acrylic, I think the wall is like 6"+ thick and I'm sure it cost a bundle lol. I get what you're saying that it's more expensive, but it'll cut down on the dry weight of the tank too.

Are you matching this with a custom stand too? Now that you say using oak for the steps, with a nice grained finish on the outside of it and a matching or contrasting stand, I think it would look outstanding .

Definitely gonna follow along with your build thread

 

[BillD]

A couple of things I noticed. The overall height will be 8". That makes it problematic in most rooms. It really needs to be made entirely of glass the way it is designed. Trying to join glass and wood, is not really possible with that design. I don't get the point of the stairs.

 

[Grug]

being in the glass industry here in australia. yes.. what your planning is possible. BUT really really tough and way too much to go wrong..
i would make a glass cube. all sides square.. and then find some way to fashon the steps inside.. Also.. realise there will be no way to keep the substrate from cascading/avalanching downwards toward that bottom step.. without putting lips on the font of each step. and even then you could only fill up each step to the top of the lip.. fish and mechanical water movement will eventually move all your sand to the bottom.

 

[vundercoverdog]

Grug, i might just think of doing all glass then fashion the steps inside if i cant find a way to build the tank my way. as for the substrate i will build lips about 2" high for the substrate could get in but so the lips don't show i will be putting a grass wall in the 2nd step (3-d rock backround in the first) as for the sand i will be putting it in the 3rd step sort of like a golf bunker. I'm almost done with that 3d layout i will post later on today

 

[vundercoverdog]

Heres of how the decorating is going to go

 

[mfdrookie516]

Just use acrylic panels inside the tank to create the stepped effect... much like you'd do in a paludarium, or a sump even. All you need is, essentially, a retaining wall for each step, then fill it up to the desired depth.

 

[Gubernaculum86]

This is one of the coolest custom tanks I've ever seen definitely following along.

 

[vundercoverdog]

Yeah i was going to do the acrylic instead of the wood platform. Much easier and it will be quicker too. Thanks for following along

Thank you, i love designing this tank tank just wanted something different than a cube.

 

[jsoong]

I would not build it the way you have in the 3-D pic. <It is a neat design however.>

The bottom of the tank takes the most stress, and when you break it up into sections like that, you weaken the bottom, I would not be able to sleep at night with all the bottom seams that can spring leaks!

Personally, I would build a 3x3x3 cube out of glass (or maybe a bit deeper). Then I would build the steps out of acrylic and fit that inside the tank. The single pane of bottom glass is the least leak prone, and you will still have the acrylic steps that will give you the look you want. Acrylic is much easier to work with, and with a complicate platform like that it will be easier to build out of acrylic. You can silicone acrylic to glass inside the tank. It won't be 100% water proof, but it doesn't matter since the glass bottom is your real seal. You might want to have water in the dead space enclosed by the acrylic. <Make it a sump. If the dead space is filled with water, it will support the acrylic platforms ... so you won't have to use too thick material. Drill some holes in the acrylic & put in a small pump to circulate water in that space, and you will have increase water volume, a place to hide your heater, etc.>

You can build the shaped tank out of acrylic as proposed, but you will have to have a matching platform to support all the uneven weight. The support will need to be engineered well so there is no stress on any of the acrylic seams. I would trust this since the acrylic is bonded at the molecular level, but I certainly will not do this shape with glass.