Question regarding tank building + lighting.

[OceanMist]

I was wondering if anyone has tried fixing glass together with aquarium grade silicone to build a tank, I know it can be done but I was wondering how difficult it is, only I'm not happy with the 15" height of my current tank, I was thinking of building a 20" cube tank (20x20x22H) as I can get glass cut pretty cheap and I could get it drilled at the start to fix some of the problems with my current un-drilled tank, it would also mean I could upgrade my lighting from fluorescent to halide.

on that subject, I already have a ballast, ignitor, capacitors capable of lighting 70 to 400w, what bulb would be more suited to a soft coral/anemone reef? I was thinking of a 250w 20'000k, any opinions on this would great, (note this will be my only form of lighting at least for the moment).

cheers

[melosu58]

Moved to General hardware and equipment discussion.

[BillD]

Building a tank is quite simple. Essentially, you lay down the silicone, and place the glass, holding it with masking tape while it sets up. If you do a search, you can find numerous DIY articles on doing it, some with photos. I would think a tank that small would only need 1/4" glass, and no bracing, other than, perhaps alongthe sides to hold a glass top, if you were going to use one. The first tank I ever built was close to that size. It is still in use 40 years later.

[OceanMist]

thanks, that's good to know, I'm worried about making a mess of the silicone and ruining the glass.