Building a glass tank: Questions...

[The Grizz]

Originally Posted by reefwars

from what ive been told never glue acrylic to glass as it doesnt bond as well, its fine in your sump or overfow but for me at 60g thats around 600 lbs of water and you want to make sure yur new diy tank is as strong as it can be

I have built several acrylic overflows and silicones them into homemade and store bought tanks. There is a trick to doing it, you have to use a plumber primer on all edges of the acrylic. This will give it some texture for the silicone to bond to. You also have to make sure that you get a bead of silicone on every edge of the acrylic that come in contact with the glass.

If you want to see a couple examples look at my 67 gal pred tank & othicx's 200 gal build, both 100% acrylic overflows.

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by The Grizz

I have built several acrylic overflows and silicones them into homemade and store bought tanks. There is a trick to doing it, you have to use a plumber primer on all edges of the acrylic. This will give it some texture for the silicone to bond to. You also have to make sure that you get a bead of silicone on every edge of the acrylic that come in contact with the glass.

If you want to see a couple examples look at my 67 gal pred tank & othicx's 200 gal build, both 100% acrylic overflows.

yeah i figured there would be , i was interested in geting a piece of acrylic but the guy said it doesnt bond as well as glass on glass and besided the glass was cheaper anyways lol

[nerdz]

Hi,

Thanks again for the input guys!

Reefwars, I appreciated the detailed description of your build procedure. Some good Newfie hospitality, ha ha!

Both my parents were born and raised in NL. I hope to get back there for a visit soon too.

I found these weird youtube videos of glass work and a tank build. Some good tips, (although my Japanese is rusty, well actually is non-existent!), I don't agree with how he trimmed the silicone though.


Video 1 of 3 videos on building a tank:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypySU...eature=related

Is beveling/polishing really this easy? I've cut glass a fair bit... I'm surprised how good the finish is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LceRO..._order&list=UL

You can click the user and he has 24 videos uploaded

Okay, I'm going for it! Next stop: custom cube!

Cheers

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by nerdz

Hi,

Thanks again for the input guys!

Reefwars, I appreciated the detailed description of your build procedure. Some good Newfie hospitality, ha ha!

Both my parents were born and raised in NL. I hope to get back there for a visit soon too.

I found these weird youtube videos of glass work and a tank build. Some good tips, (although my Japanese is rusty, well actually is non-existent!), I don't agree with how he trimmed the silicone though.


Video 1 of 3 videos on building a tank:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypySU...eature=related

Is beveling/polishing really this easy? I've cut glass a fair bit... I'm surprised how good the finish is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LceRO..._order&list=UL

You can click the user and he has 24 videos uploaded

Okay, I'm going for it! Next stop: custom cube!

Cheers

hahaha those guys are like awesome lol i love how besides glass workers they throw in the odd complete random task like hanging a shelf , that music is kinda nuts though and its hit or miss as to guess what the video is about untill you watch it,personally enjoyed it very much....thanks

[lastlight]

Some really cool videos they have posted there... I couldn't believe how nice the edge work was considering it was all freehand! Then that video where they bond glass with that adhesive and uv light got me curious. The bottle said photobond and it looks to be just a liquid. No ugly silicone although I don't think it's suitable for tank building. I did some googling and found this chair...made the same way.

http://wwww.phillipsdepury.com/aucti...der=&lotnum=93

[Ross]

Originally Posted by lastlight

Then that video where they bond glass with that adhesive and uv light got me curious. The bottle said photobond and it looks to be just a liquid. No ugly silicone although I don't think it's suitable for tank building...

I talked to my glazier in-law and that glue is not suitable for tanks as it weekens drastically with moisture.
So if you want a great looking tank for a very very short while then it would be ok.
Otherwise, its impractical.

[jostafew]

Hey there, thought i would add to the good instruction that's already been posted; you absolutely right about using painter's tape to create a sharp silicone edge. I just scratch built a 24"x24"x18" sump & fuge unit (lots of baffles etc.) and used plain glass for the build. On the seams that were easily visible i masked off the inside of the seam with tape and the seams look pro. Not saying that it's right or wrong, but i used a light bead of silicone when assembling panels, did a panel at a time (spaced a couple hrs apart) and imediatly smoothed out the excess silicone that squeezed into the inside. Once assembled i went back, masked the seams, added more material and smoothed out the seams. I beleive that silicone will not bond so well to itself, but because the initial bead wasn't huge and there wasn't tons of squeeze-out there was plenty of fresh glass for tue 2nd bead to adhere to. Also, because the silicone is so soft the extra material on the inside of the bead is more of a cosmetic and sealing thing rather than being structural. The silicone between the glass panes will be taking the load and will fail before the inner bead sees any stress, and by then it's too late amyway. Hence why people often use glass adhesive to assemble the panels, then silicone to seal and finish.

Good luck with the build!

[monocus]

i just finished building a 46 gallon breeder-go to the aquatools.com.they have a simple glass thickness calculator and all the instructions you need to build a glass aquarium-you definatly do not need 1/2 " glass.i made mine with 6mm glass and then put a 1 1/2 maple strip along the top to support a piece of glass on top if i want it

[ScubaSteve]

Hey Nerdz,

How'd the build go (or have you started)? I'm in the debate of building my own 45G 24" Rimless Square tank as I'm had some pretty crazy quotes thrown at me. Of the four numbers I have right now one is $700! FTW? I'm having a hard time justifying that when I got the same size tank (not-rimless) made a year ago for less around $170.

Who have you tracked down as your glass supplier and what is the approximate build cost on this?

[ner'T']

Hi,

Sorry everyone!

I didn't see all of the new replies... For some reason my email didn't get the updates.

The tank: not started yet as I've worked 10-12.5hrs/day for the last 18 days. Probably would make more sense to pay have it built! I still am going tackle myself though.

It'll be 3/8" w polished/beveled edges and GE1200 black.
Cheers