DIY star fire tank

[Nizzmo]

Hi there. I recently found out me neighbor works at glass place and can get me edged, tempered star fire glass @ $2.80 a sq ft and I'm interested in building my own tank. I'm terrible at DIY so I would like to over research this.

My goal is a rimless braceless cube with an overflow in the center.

I'm thinking 16" high and 30" x 30" square.

What think ness would I need to support a rimless braceless design?
How would I attach the glass pieces together ? If silico is suggested which brand will be strong enough to help me achieve this ?

He says he will drill holes for me for free as well.

Your input is much appreciated. Thanks

[sphelps]

First off, starphire :wink:

Second what thickness of glass are we taking about here, $2.8/sqft sounds like 3mm which isn't thick enough for anything really. You'll need 10mm for 30"x30"x16" rimless tank.

Aquariums are built with silicone but your lack of knowledge on the subject of tank building suggests you might be better off having one built by the pros.

[Nizzmo]

I told him 1/4 " thickness when he quoted me. Ya maybe I can find someone to do it for me.. Can a rimless braceless tank be done at those dimensions?

[Nizzmo]

Also if it is under $100 it would be a great learning experience for me

[DiverDude]

I consider myself to be a DIY 'Pro' (is that even possible !?). I have a full wood and metal shop; I can cut, heat-bend and weld acrylics -you name it, I love to tinker with it.

I don't build my own tanks. I don't even weld my own tank stands because I don't have a large, perfectly flat surface to weld on and the stand MUST be square.

It's difficult for me to pass up on these fun 'jobs' but when you consider the consequences of 100+ gallons of salt water all over your floor; not to mention the loss of livestock...well, it's just not worth it. I Promise you the loss of livestock, ruined carpets, wrecked hardwood flooring, etc. would FAR outweigh the few hundred bucks you'll save.

It can be done, there is no magic to building a tank but the devil is in the details and given your admitted lack of DIY prowess, I think it'd be foolish to attempt it as a first project

I don't know how the material/labour equation works out on tanks but I suspect that labour is the bigger part. Regardless, you could always get the glass from your friend and hire a tank builder to build the tank on-site for you.

[sphelps]

1/4" is not thick enough for a rimless tank in those dimensions. No doubt it would be a good learning experience but what are you willing to risk for the experience, 60 gallons of water on your floor would be pretty significant.

[Nizzmo]

Thanks for all of your input! It won't be more than 50 gallons though...


No one has an answer for my construction questions

It would be cool to learn how to do

[lastlight]

I'm somewhat handy with DIY and my first and only attempts at sump building (for my 225 gallon) leaked and required an ugly patch job. While it's still no answer to your question I guess I'd also add a +1 to the cautionary warning. Since you're going with starphire as well I assume you want the tank to look really nice as well. Building a first tank that holds water is one thing... attractive seams entirely another.

good luck tho!

[Nizzmo]

Thanks! It's only a dream right now. Probably wont be a reality from what you guys have said

[Nizzmo]

Maybe I'll just buy a new guitar and write a song about the fish tank I want to build. Might be easier

[Werbo]

Maybe I'll just buy a new guitar and write a song about the fish tank I want to build. Might be easier


A song might be a good way to sum up this hobby :)

Probably a country song thou...

[kien]

Try PM'ing Reefwars/Denny or Dave@concept aquatics/aquariums. They build tanks and may be generous enough to answer this question for you.

Also.. this..

I'm terrible at DIY

[monocus]

use the aquarium glass thickness calculator for the thickness of the glass with a safety factor of 4-5.you might get some flexing of the glass without any bracing.if you need help,i've built a couple of aquariums and sumps from scratch,and don't mind helping you out.if your out by j&l and king eds,i'm located in between(5&10 min drive from both)

[Nizzmo]

Ya I'll keep you in mind! My buddy n I are going to try a 12" cube this weekend. It will only cost like $20

[spit.fire]

Ge scs1200 silicone

I've built a few tanks, all I can say is just because it doesn't fail during a leak test doesn't mean it won't fail down the road

[jostafew]

I've built some smaller tanks / sumps with good success and have had a couple bigger rimless tanks custom built for me. My 30x24x24 rimless (braceless) tank was made with 1/2" (12mm) glass all around, so dropping that down to 16" high will allow for a little thinner glass but since it'll be starphire you'll want to take that back up again. I would tend to look at 1/2" (12mm) if I were building a tank of your dims and material. Previous poster's suggestion for 10mm is probably be acceptable with a decent safety factor, but the tanks that have been built for me have always been built very well and tend to put a little more glass in them.

As for silicone, you definitely want to have the right materials. I don't recall the proper GE silicones to use, but some searching of the forums will find it. Beware of anything anti-bacteria or anti-mildew! I've always used the small packaged silicone from the aquarium stores for my smaller builds and had good success with that. More expensive than the bigger tubes for sure but when it's only a 10 or 20gal tank you don't need much! I was considering building my last shallow reef tank DIY but was having a hard time finding a glass shop that would give me 3/8" panels with polished edges (hard to snap a square edge on anything over 1/4"). If you don't mind, I'd like to know the name of the shop you're working with so I can get in touch with them on my next project!

I've had my last two tanks built by a local company called H2O aquariums if I recall the name correctly. I bought those tanks through Ocean Aquatics, but since they're out of business now I'm not sure who H2O sell through now. Let me know if you want to look into having a tank built I will try to get you in touch with H2O as they do excellent work.

[Nizzmo]

He works for the glass place... And we just getting it at employee discount. Don't think he can take TOO much advantage of that haha.
I've watched a few youtube videos and I think if I'm over careful with my thickness and properly silicone it I shan't need a brace.

Next I'll have to research how I will do the overflow for the tank... Should I just use black painted acrylic for the overflow. Can I silicone acrylic onto glass? I'll get back to you when I figure it out!

Thanks so much for your input guys:mrgreen:

[Reef Puffer]

I built a hex tank with 5mm glass. It was about 90 gallons (20x18 inch panels) on a 3/8" base. I euro braced the top and bottom with a 3" rip of 5mm glass. The thing held just fine for the year i used it. I used ge door and window silicone (use the scs 1200 by ge for yours). So i guess what im saying is, you can do alot with pretty weak glas. I should also tell you that it was a fresh water system because (altho it held GREAT) i wouldnt trust my precious saltwater in a 5mm tank. Just wasn't worth it to me. Im sure it would b fine, i just didn't trust my kids not to hit the tank.

[monocus]

since your buddy is working at the glass shop-ask him to get a tube of nuflex 333 aquarium silicone from cascade.what i've been doing with my overflows is using a length of 4" pvc drilled with 1/4" holes 1/4" and 1" from the top and slotted with a dremel to make a long oval hole spaced 1/4" apart.works well with a stockman standpipe and doesn't take up a lot of room