Jellymeat Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Hi there, I am looking at building myself a new 1500Lx600Wx700H tank. I am able to source the glass myself. But i am just wondering What size i need to get the sheets cut to an is 10mm glass thick enough? I am assuming that i need 2 at 1500x700 and 2 at 580x700. Would the base be 1500x600 or would it need to be slightly bigger to compensate for the silicon? What kind of bracing would i also need? Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 I'd be looking at 12mm+ at 700 high. Calculating what sizes you need confused me when I was building. 10mm So 1500x600x700 1 at 1500x600 2 at 1500x680 2 at 580x680 Plus bracing. Would someone like to double check this? Edit... 12mm 1 at 1500x600 2 at 1500x670.6 2 at 570.6x670.6 If someone would like to double check that as well. Generally when building you don't want a thick bit of silicone between glass, you want to press the glass together. JME I didn't build my first tank very well, but a few people should be able to help when actually putting together your tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxxnz Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 12mm thickness would be safer and less worries.. with a long lenght tank, best support to prevent center bowing is to run a 70-90mm rim around the top of tank.. As to side brace and center is a must..Should visited HFF to check out thier show room tank, that would help abit.. remember not to ask any glazier for advised..most glazier would only know how to fix door glass..not making fish tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy-fish Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Hi there, I am looking at building myself a new 1500Lx600Wx700H tank. I am able to source the glass myself. But i am just wondering What size i need to get the sheets cut to an is 10mm glass thick enough? I am assuming that i need 2 at 1500x700 and 2 at 580x700. Would the base be 1500x600 or would it need to be slightly bigger to compensate for the silicon? What kind of bracing would i also need? Thanks in advance Good on you for having a go at DIY'ing a tank... and a big one too! :thup: I agree with squirt, 12mm would be required for 700 high. It's the height that exponentially increases the glass thickness required. Drop the height down to 600 and you may get away with 10mm. As far as building it, the front, back and sides would sit on top of the bottom and the sides sit inside the front and back. Therefore for a 1500x600x700 in 12mm you would requrie the following sizes: Bottom = 1500 x 600 Front and Back = 1500 x 688 (700 less thickness of bottom if you want a true 700 high) Sides = 576 (width less 24mm for front and back glass) x 688 (as above) Of course on top of this you'll need bracing and lids. Good luck and keep us posted! :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellymeat Posted March 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Thanks for that. I would love to go bigger but my wall is only 5 foot long which is a shame :facepalm: How big should the bracing be on the top of the tank i do not want to make it difficult to reach into the tank? And what kind of bracing do you put in the bottom of the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy-fish Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Thanks for that. I would love to go bigger but my wall is only 5 foot long which is a shame :facepalm: How big should the bracing be on the top of the tank i do not want to make it difficult to reach into the tank? And what kind of bracing do you put in the bottom of the tank? 90mm bracing is good. Same for the bottom. For silicone, I use Selleys Glass All Clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 I use Sika (Local Building Supplies store) RTV Clear (Because it has no mould inhibitors, which can affect your bio filtration) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 i would allow 1mm gaps between all panels for the silicone. Pick the length and depth sizes you want, make that your base panel size then allow the length of the ends and front/back to suit that. the height won't matter much as long as they are all the same unless you have a special situation but the lengths are critical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellymeat Posted April 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 I'm going cheat and get someone to build a tank for me because i think that i wont have enough time to make it and the stand. So anyone know a tank builder that is good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted April 6, 2012 Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=42159 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellymeat Posted April 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 Thanks for that link. I talked to greg from tans2u on thursday and he is going to make the tank for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted November 7, 2012 Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 just out of interest, how much is it costing you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted November 7, 2012 Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 i would get a expert to make a tank that size, glass is so expensive these days so you can't make any mistakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamstar99 Posted November 7, 2012 Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 I looked in to doing my own when i got my 6 foot tank. In the end i got a tank builder to build it for me as it worked out cheaper. I could not get the glass for the price they built the tank for. Admittedly they did use recycled on the bottom and one end that was against the wall. For bracing i have 120-180mm cross members at each end and the middle on which the lids are mounted inside of. Plus a 50mm brace down the sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dattofish Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 does a tank thats 2.1m x 600 x 600 said needs 10mm sides BUT A 12MM base? does it really need a 12mm base if i build the stand out of 4by2s an TWO sheets of 20mm mdf for the base to sit on.. flatmate is a builder an built my stand i got at the moment thats holding up a 400l tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 ime don't try to push your luck with tank glass, one thing not factored in by the equations is that glass settles over time and in 5-10 years the top edges get thinner and more brittle. so you may save a few $$$ now, but it won't last anywhere near as long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dattofish Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 ohk alright maybe im just not understanding it right i just dont understand how the bottom needs to be thicker when the bottom is going to be on a solid base an wont bow but will it affect the side panels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 helps if you drop something as the pressure on that sheet is greatest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 also think about the weight of substrate/rocks that will be weighing on the bottom but not pressing on the sides (much). at a guess I would say that my 430L had 50 to 75kg of sand and rocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted November 18, 2012 Report Share Posted November 18, 2012 does a tank thats 2.1m x 600 x 600 said needs 10mm sides BUT A 12MM base? does it really need a 12mm base if i build the stand out of 4by2s an TWO sheets of 20mm mdf for the base to sit on.. flatmate is a builder an built my stand i got at the moment thats holding up a 400l tank It depends how strong the base really is. A 400L tank will likely be around 600kg with everything set up and full to the top. The bottom glass and base will share this load. What you need to do is calculate the deflection of the bottom glass as if it had no support from the base. In this case you will need 17.46mm glass and it will have a deflection of 0.29mm for a safety factor of 3.8. As long as the center area of your stand has less than 0.29mm deflection with 600kg evenly distributed on it, it will help to support the weight of the tank with some relatively complex ratio depending on many factors. If the stand has more than 0.29mm deflection then it will have very little effect on the force on the bottom glass and the ratio of support from the glass to tank will diminish very rapidly. It's very difficult to build a base that's rigid enough to support all the weight with no deflection and well braced steel is your best friend here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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