Glass cuts

[The Grizz]

I read the whole thing & it said onto not on top. When putting say the back piece on you silicone the edge of the bottom pane, then align the back piece with it leaning back at an angle, as you bring them together you tilt the back piece upwards to make it 90 degrees to the bottom.

When you build a tank you want to have 1/16" of silicone in-between every piec of glass.

[Steve-O-]

hmm i saw this

We have always constructed our aquariums with the two end pieces of glass fit inside of the back and front panes, and the front, back, and two side panels set on top of the bottom base pane of glass.

But thanks for your help i will do it the way you said.

[Aquarium_Medics]

I read it as the 4 sides are on top of the bottom also, However, I also agree with Grizz. Any tank i have taken apart to reseal, have had the bottom inside the side panes.

[Steve-O-]

Ya that is why i asked just to be sure so thank you guys for your help

[KrazyKuch]

I have a 180 that i made myself sitting on the bottom, and its been fine for 4 years...you can do it either way really, I personally would rather have the seams holding back just water instead of holding back everything!

[LeeR]

it just looks better if the sides are wrapped around the bottom. I've built both and they both work fine one just looks nicer.

[Ross]

The reason to have the bottom floating is that silicone is far superior in tension than it is in shear. A small nick in a seam, can fail catastrophically if it's not in tension.

That being said, I have a 20"Wide x 20"Tall x 7" Thick that is sitting on the bottom pane of glass for over 3 years without any issues.

[The Grizz]

With the side glass on top of the base glass all it takes is your stand to be a little wonky and the bottom is sure to crack. Even the cheap Hagen tanks are footing bottom when you take the trip off. I have had a couple tank built with not a floating bottom & both have cracked shortly after being set-up. ( I didn't build them )

If you post exactly the inside dimensions you want I can tell you what sie to get your glass cut & I would suggest to go with 10mm glass it is much nicer to work with and looks great.

[ScubaSteve]

Ross hit the reason right on the head. I can be done either way but a floating glass pane is superior. If you give day or two I'll put together a tank building tutorial. It's something I've been meaning to do for a while. This will give me an excuse. I called on several professional tank builders to answer questions, so this isn't me preaching but passing on what I've learned over the past two months.

[Steve-O-]

Cool thanks guys for all the info on this.