DIY glass tank??

[Chumpp_308]

ive been thinking about building a fish tank for a while now as i had made a entertainment unit a few years back specifically designed for a fish tank to go in it. the only thing i was thinkin of was that plywood tanks generally take up more room becaause of the bracing required to keep the wood from warping and cracking the seals. i was wondering if it would be possible to jsut buy all of the glass pieces and then caulk them together with a wooden fram at the top and bottom only, i think that that would be alot easier to do then all of the epoxying and stuff.

the total space for the tank with no room is 29" tall 18.5"long and 15" wide. if this is possible does anyone know where i can figure out the thickness of glass i will need to make it, thanks.

ps. i know im going to have to leave a lot of room for a hood and in the side and stuff like that, i dont nee much room behind though because its going to have an internal filtration of some sort or a canister.

[Chumpp_308]

i found that i need 3/8" think glass, would anyone know the price of or know where i could find the price of 3/8" glass. thanks

[Damon]

Its cheaper to buy the tank than to build one. People build for one or more of 3 reasons.............

Custom size
Want to build one for no other reason than to say "I built my tank".
Are in the glass business so they can get the glass and cut it cheap.

[Chumpp_308]

i know but mine is a custom size, at least i have never seen a tank the size i want this one to be.

[fish_doc]

Im not sure about in canada but in the city where I live there are actually glass dealers. You can get glass cut any size in any thickness or even in any tint. They even do etching and beveled edges. Once again they do charge alot depending on what they have in stock and what they have to order.

[fishboy]

my friends dad can get big acylic sheets free to cheap so when he's done with it i offer to "take the extra off his hands" and he said i could. It's only 1/8 thick though still wondering what to do with it if i get it

[fish_doc]

Im not sure about in canada but in the city where I live there

I re-read my post and it looked a bit like I didnt understand that Canada is a Country. Just so there are no smart remarks. I know Canada is a country not a city. LOL

[DUSTIN323]

I know you can get acrylic off ebay for pretty cheap and aquarium sealant from drsfostersmith.com I researched and found out I can build me a 50g for cheaper than I can buy a 55g.

[Chumpp_308]

heres an idea, what if i used plaxi glass to line the inside of a wood tank instead of apoxy, that should work shouldnt it?

[DUSTIN323]

Would you rephrase that I don't really get what you mean, also how did you find out about the correct thickness because I will be building me a tank out of plexi-glass it will be 24" x 24" x 24" which would hold right under 60 gallons 220 liters of water I was thinking 1/4" or do you say 3/8".

[Chumpp_308]

sorry about getting you confused, im jumping around through lots of ideas, i got the GLASS thickness from garf.org, i am now going to be building a plywood tank and lining it with plexi glass to seal it instead of having to put epoxy inside it, the plexi glass i will use will be as thin as i can get as it doesnt need to support anything, the plywood will, also the front of the tank is going to be glass. hope that clears it up for you. i have a tendancy to change ideas really quick, lol, bad habit of mine, sorry about that.

[Chumpp_308]

also, one thing i forgot to mention, is that plexi glass is a lot more flexible than glass is and therefore you will probably need a lot thicker plexi glass than if you were to use normal glass. (i think)

[DUSTIN323]

OH ok I see that sites got some pretty cool stuff on it and some stuff that will help me out on building a tank.

[Chumpp_308]

yea, its pretty cool. i have been researching building plywood tanks for a bout a year now, i think im finally giong to build one this winter now, if theres one thing ive learned, the more you read about it, the more interesting and money saving and time saving ideas you will find out about. have fun with your tank.

[TheOldSalt]

Chummp308,

It is easy to make a plywood tank lined with thin plexiglas, and it's a lot cheaper than the epoxy paint if you can get the plexiglas so cheap. The best part is the way it looks. If you paint the wood and let it dry completely before adding the plastic, the finished tank will give you a nifty optical illusion of depth on account of the way the light gets refracted.

[ultasol]

It's actually really easy to cut glass (I do stained glass on occasion). If you have a stained glass studio, or arts suplier in your area, you might be able to get your hands on not only tools (a simple cutter would do, it's a little wheel on a stick, like a xacto knife but round) that you oil and, with pressure, move across the glass to create a 'fault line' that use then use your hands, or pliers, to 'break'.
I used to be afraid to work with glass, and I never thought it would be easy to work with, but it really is.