c75mitch Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 Hi all Looking for a bit of advice. I am currently building my new tank 10' x 4' x 30" deep. I had originally planned to make the tank from Marine Ply, fiberglass with epoxy paints and set in the viewing pane from the inside. I have since found that a friend can get me the glass for the tank for the same price as the wood, cut and drilled. The glass is only 15mm thick for the front, back and sides but it will have a double 19mm base (38mm total). I intend to brace the top of the tank every 2 1/2' with 100mm wide braces. I have used the glass thickness calculator and it does appear that this thickness is OK and has a factor of safety of 2.63 on this size tank. I can reduce the height of the tank to 24" if nessary but I have already built the brick base 10' x 4' and have the RSJ's welded and in place to support the tank so those sizes are fixed. I am just trying to get a few opinions before I try it as maybe some else has done something similar in size and would like to share their experiences. Many thanks Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 Sounds pretty good to me. I recently built a tank of similar size but it was 950mm (37.5") deep using 19mm glass. It used a metal frame however. If you double-butt all the vertical joins and all the bottom joins it will be fine. I would go for at leat 150mm wide strips along the front, back and sides and 200mm wide braces front to back on about 700mm centres. If you can get the edges of the glass ground square it will make the tank a lot stronger as all the glue joins will be of uniform thickness. It is not a big expense and is very well worth it on tanks this size. Make sure you have 2-3 people to help assemble it + you'll need jigs to hold everything in place. The vertical glass will be so heavy it will squash out all the silicone. You'll need to slip a 1mm thick strip of wood in 5-6 places along each edge to stop the glue squishing out. Once it's almost cured the strips can be pulled out. Also make sure the glass is spotless. Use an alcohol based cleaner that leaves no residue. Once the glass is cleaned, handle it with gloves to stop fatty deposits getting on the glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c75mitch Posted April 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 Thanks of the info Warren. That gives me more confidence. I was originally planning on using a metal frame but could not find out any info on the web about how to make one, tolerances etc. Getting the material and doing the welding is not a problem its just knowing what to make. thanks again Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 Do you have Autocad or an application that can read Autocad or DXF files? I can send you the CAD drawings for my tank if you like... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 Hi Mitch, Glad you decided to pay us a visit, and I see you have found Warren already Hope you enjoy the site, and good luck with your project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c75mitch Posted April 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 Hi Warren That would be great if you don't mind, I am currently running Autocad 2005 so that should be fine. Many thanks Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 Massive tanks! AWESOME! Please keep this thread up to date, I too am planing a large tank, but not quite this large. Some info in the saltwater section. Are you going to 'drill' the tank for plubming to avoid the 'up and over' plumbing? Have you considered the use of an 'overflow box and Durso standpipe' for noise reduction? Both work great and have the added advantage of keeping the waterlevel constant regardless of evaporation. Also 30" is pretty deep. I am going to use 26", for no other reason that getting into it is going to be a hastle. And 30" may be up to the armpits at the from, but with a tank this wide it will be impossilbe to reack the back. Shallow is also better value for lighting. AWESOME! Good luck Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted April 28, 2004 Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 File is on it's way. I'd remove your email address or it will get picked up by a spam search engine... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c75mitch Posted April 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 Have done, thanks a lot Warren Also thanks a lot Pegasus for point me to this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c75mitch Posted April 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2004 Hi Pies I currently run a 7' x 2' x 2' with a single weir into a 4' sump where my skimmer is located. In my new setup I will be putting in 3 weirs and will be using my current 7' x 2' x 2' as the sump. The circulation is going to be done via a closed loop system and the lighting will be via T5's as I only keep Large fish and soft corals. I am also putting in a 20 gallon auto topup so the water level in the sump should remain constant as well. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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