Construction Underway

[FrankDMann]

I think (but am unsure of it) that it is talking about the "trim" along the top. That trim is really a structural stabilizer, and holds the whole thing together. Otherwise, I don't think that the silicon would be enough to hold it in place. It probably means that on a tank that's 48 inches wide, the long partof the trim (front/back) should be 47 and 1/4 inches long, on the inside cut. Since it suggests that you use a 48'' long front pane, and 3/8'' glass, you'll lose 3/8'' on each side due to the glass thickness of the side panes, for a total loss of 6/8, or 3/4 inch.

The cut for the top trim or brace will be at a 45* angle, so the outside measurement will be 48, and the inside 47 and 1/4, which is the 3/4 you lost for the side pane.

Since this is confusing and boring, I did the roughest sketch in the world to show this. This is a birds-eye view of the top of the tank. The outside "border" is the trim or brace.

This is totally not to scale or anything, and most of the lines don't even match up, but hopefully, you get a visual.

I think! LOL

Same goes for the sides.

 

[Antwan]

Verry sorry, but I still don't get it.....

 

[RedTurquoise]

Actually not sure about the brace/trim part. I dont use braces as the brace does not hold anything! Its the silicon that will hold the glass together believe it or not! There is no way that some kind of brace will hold 720lbs of water in a tank (lift 5G pail full of water over your head...pretty heavy huh?). Silicon is rated actually in PSI and its a lot of PSI that it can hold.

Id still say go with 1/2" glass. I dont think that it will cost that much more than 3/8" and you will have a peace of mind.

 

[FrankDMann]

No problem, lol

Let's do this. Imagine the trim that will go around the upper-edge of your tank. Basically, it consists of 4 sides. Front, rear, 2 sides. You take those 4 pieces of (whatever...wood, metal?), and you put them together to build your trim (or brace).

This picture shows how you would fit a 48 inch long piece with an 18 inch long piece.

Now, that's one way to do it, but it isn't the best. The best way to do it would be to make each piece a 45 degree angle, like a picture frame. That way, there's more surface area coming in contact between the 2 boards. So, we do it like this instead:

But, since we've got 45 degree angles, the measurement of the outside or face of the 48 inch piece will be 48 inches, but the INSIDE measurement will be less, because you have to account for the angle. Your board all cut would look like this:

Using the info you supplied, the inside measurement should be 47 1/4. Apply that all the way around.

Like I said...I think!!!!

 

[FrankDMann]

Originally posted by RedTurquoise
Actually not sure about the brace/trim part. I dont use braces as the brace does not hold anything! Its the silicon that will hold the glass together believe it or not! There is no way that some kind of brace will hold 720lbs of water in a tank (lift 5G pail full of water over your head...pretty heavy huh?). Silicon is rated actually in PSI and its a lot of PSI that it can hold.

Id still say go with 1/2" glass. I dont think that it will cost that much more than 3/8" and you will have a peace of mind.

Understand that it's strong, but I've had tanks with extra "middle" braces (little plastic pieces) that you could not fill with water if the middle plastic piece was broken. This extra piece is predominant on bowfronts and smaller tanks.

You'll find that smaller tanks use plastic trim, and if it's plastic, it'll have a center brace, because the plastic will hold tension but not weight. My 80 gallon has a metal trim/brace, disguised in simulated wood grain, and I guess that's why it doesn't have any center brace.

I've never seen a tank without trim at the top and bottom, other than 1-piece acrylic and such. That trim is actually a brace, I think.

That's what I've been told, anyways.

 

[Antwan]

So you're talkin' about the black, walnut, etc. frame pieces on the top and bottoms or the glass? Thats what my 90 degree moulding piece is for, extra support. So on small tanks, its the regular fitting way. But on larger tanks, you fit the glass together at 45 degree angles? That makes sense. You think the glass shops can cut 'em like that? And these braces, how do you fit them to get maximized support? The 45 degree method or what? How would I do the braces since theres gonna be 8 pieces.

Please excuse my dumbwittedness right now......

 

[RedTurquoise]

Have you tried filling a tank without the middle brace to there?
Just curious!

The plastic trim does not hold anything! You can almost snap it with your fingers nevermind supporting 720lbs of water. I found out the real reason they use plastic trim on top. I bought a used tank and was cleaning it. I took off the trim to really clean it and almost cut my hand off. The glass edge wasnt even sanded and very sharp. Crazy!!

But really, the trim does not hold anything. My 90G just was plastic trim. I still remember when I bought my 90G from a guy who builds/repairs tank. He had a huge tank sitting on a stand (90G+) filled with water and no trim. I was very surprised and mentioned it. Same thing Im saying, trim doesnt hold anything, just for looks and dont have to finish the egde.

All my tanks that I build do not have trim on it either. The glass should be thick enough to support the pressure of the water. If its dependant on the trim, I would not buy the tank as there is not much tension at the top of the tank in the first place. As the water levels gets deeper, the tension increases (height/weight dependant). So, it comes down to the silicon because that is what holds the edges on the glass together.

 

[FrankDMann]

Thanks RT...I guess you learn something every day. I wonder why they have that sticker on the plastic piece then that says don't fill if broke?

I guess when it was told to me, it made sense because you can try all you want to pull that plastic piece in two, but it won't PULL, but it'll BREAK if you put weight on it...

I never had a broken piece before, so I never tried...my 80 doesn't have one, so I guess I'll never know.

 

[RedTurquoise]

Hmmm...I havent seen the sticker! Guess I didnt look for it either though.

True that you cant 'pull' the plastic apart. However, the trim does an elbow the the glass edge so if there would be any sort of pressure, it would break at the edge.

 

[Antwan]

how long had that guy had his homemade 90 gal.? so all he did was silicone glass together, and it worked without anything else? is there any other secrets he has? and how exactly did he fit the glass together? I know that it has a lot to do with the mechanics of it. I think I'm gonna go with some kind of brace, just for reinforcement. And is 3/8 in. glass fine for this project? Cause I may have free glass on my hands, but not sure what thickness, I think its 3/8. Remember, "safety" is gonna be my middle name!...

 

[Antwan]

....I think I'm gonna need more of ya'lls help than I first thought!!

 

[catfishmike]

if it's any help i remembe reading that silicone is rated at a max of
900 psi.don't quote me or hold me responsible if you brake or wreck something.silicone was originaly invented for the space program so you know it's got to be durable and hold more than what is asked of it.

 

[Antwan]

so you're guaranteeing me that my tank won't break if I use silicone only? J/K lol I know what you're saying, silicone is pretty reliable, right? Now, if I could just get some details.....I could get started......

 

[RedTurquoise]

Like I mentioned, do you really think that the thin, flimsy plastic holds the tanks together?

The e-mail that I sent to you actually shows the proper way to assemble and silicon the glass. Very important is to get the dimensions correct. What I do is make the bottom of the tank the dimensions I want. Lets do an example:

Tank inside dimension of 48"(l) long x 24"(h) high x 24"(w) wide
Lets say we are using 1/2"(t) glass (t=thickness)
*Please notice the letters

So, the bottom glass would be cut 48"(l)x24"(w)

The front and back of the tank
- 24.5" (24"(h)+1/2"(t)(the thickness of the bottom)) x 49" (48"(l)+1"(2x t)(the 2 end pieces)).

The end pieces
- 24.5" (24"(h)+1/2"(t)) x 24"(w)

Make sense! Basicly the numbers work this way!
Bottom - l x w
Front/back - (h+t) x (w+2t)
End pieces - (h+t) x w

Tank layout
_________
| |
| |
_________

The end pieces fit inside the front and back similar to my poor shown diagram. I can send an e-mail showing the tank layout better.

HTH!

O, about the brace, its up to you if you want to use it!

The silicon as mike mentions excedes the requirements for the tank. If your looking at 900psi, there is no way that the water pressure will come close to that. 900 pounds per square inch! The only concern we have to worry about is if the glass is thick enough to with stand the weight of the water. So, if concerned about safety, go with 1/2" glass instead of 3/8"!

 

[Antwan]

Ok, sounds good. But my brain hurts and I'm not very good with math !!!!! So what would my glass measurements be if my tank was 48"L x 18"W x 24" H ? And I'm going to use 1/2 in. glass for the bottom, is that ok? And are all of the pieces gonna be on top of the bottom piece, know what I'm saying? Thank you verrry much......

 

[RedTurquoise]

NO, no, no! No pieces on the bottom! This will cause stress on the bottom and cause it to crack! The bottom will be inside the pieces instead. Im sending you an e-mail!

If your dims are 48"L x 18"W x 24" H, you need to cut the glass like this,
Bottom - 48"x18"
Front/Back - 48 3/4" x 24 1/2"
Ends - 24 1/2" x 18"

Dims are based on 1/2" bottom and 3/8" the rest! These dims will also give you an inside dimension of 48"x18"x24".

 

[Antwan]

Ohhhhhh, ok. 3/8 rest, 1/2 bottom...Thanks a bunch!!

 

[Antwan]

Final Dimensions?

These are my final dimensions, right?
48"(L)x18"(W)x24"(H)
Bottom=48" x 18"

Front/Back=48 3/4" x 24 1/2"

Ends=24 1/2" x 18"

And only the bottom is 1/2", and the rest is 3/8", ok. I'm going to be getting the glass pretty soon and take it to get cut. I decided to go with the braces, just for a little stability, but mostly for the looks, hopefully I could find something I like at Home Depot. And I'll use my 10 gal. as reference in case I get lost. Then I'll get to crackin'!

 

[Somonas]

If you have a CAD software program or a pen, paper and ruler you can draw it out to make sure it's right. if you want email me and I can do it for you (artw666@hotmail.com). I work in an architectural office and do this stuff every day

for what it's worth you could make the tank whatever size you want. 48" overall is a nice size cause it fits on stands. but you'll probably want to build yer own stand.

I love long square tanks. If I had the guts or the money to make my own tank I'd make a 7 foot x 20 x 20... a niiiiice size for african cichlids. I think thats around 150 gallons.

get crackin. lets hope yer aquarium does otherwise

 

[RedTurquoise]

Once my wife decides not to rent out the basement, I plan on building a huge tank as well, something like 8'l x 3'w x 20"h (around 300G)! That will depend if I can get the 1/2" glass cheap or free somewhere. 1/2" glass may not sound thick enough however the thickness of the glass is dependant on the height of the tank, not the width or lenght. On such a big tank though I will be using braces on the front/back!