Need Advice for building 150 Gallon aquarium

[ArjunC]

Im planning to build a custom aquarium with the below dimensions:

Length: 60 inches
Height: 24 inches
Depth: 24

And so it will hold 149 gallons, I considering glass as the material (i like acrylic more but it's much more expensive). I'm gonna use 12mm thickness. I also need a sump, probably gonna use a 40-gallon container for that.

For sump media, I'm gonna use ceramic rings, bio balls, coarse sponge, filter floss. (May change)

I want to keep Oscars or some giant goldfishes or 2 silver arowanas.


Now I have some questions.
Am I making any wrong choices here?
Is 12mm glass enough?
Or should I avoid glass?
At what height should I cut holes for overflow to my sump?
Is 40-gallon sump enough?
Can I use black silicone sealant to stick the glass?


All advice and suggestions are welcome.
Thanks

 

[Backfromthedead]

12mm is fine. For the bottom panel I prefer the thickest material possible if you can swing it, but I know anything over 12mm gets pricey.

First thing to know is what method of construction you're gonna go with: sides stacked on the bottom panel, or bottom panel surrounded by the sides (floating bottom). There are many opinions which is "better", but I prefer floating bottom method for a tank this size. This is my most recent build, a rimless 110g 72x24x16 with 19mm bottom and 12mm sides.


The height of the holes will depend on your overflow setup and drain size, but typically i center 1" drains 2-3/4" under the rim and 1.5" drains 3-1/4" under. Give some more details on the overflow box and style you're using. One consideration to make for sure is to include at least one hole for an emergency drain in your design that will protect from flooding in the event one of your drains is clogged.

I use black silicone on most of my builds. Dow Corning 795 is my go to. Very easy to work with and strong, but takes 2+ weeks to fully cure.

A 40g sump will work, a 75 would work even better. You'll want to consider your stand design and overflow location when configurating the sump in your setup.

As a side note, just my personal opinion and not an attack, I don't consider this size tank anywhere near large enough for silver arowanas, but it will work for oscars imo.

Best of luck with the build and keep us posted.

 

[Backfromthedead]

I also forgot to mention to consider your top brace design before you begin as well. There are several ways to do this. I would research designs for a glass perimeter "eurobrace" with a single cross brace to span the middle of the tank using 12mm glass.

 

[esoxlucius]

Great guidance by Backfromthedead so far on the build aspect.

And yes, forget about the silver arowana idea. Between the Oscars and goldfish choice I'd just go for two juvenile Oscars. They'll look a bit lost in that tank for a couple of months but with quality food and regular water changes they'll soon fill that tank and become great wet pets.

And welcome to the forum.

 

[Raka]

Curious as to cost of materials and time this takes?

Priced this out myself and ended up ordering as 210 for $1200. 150 and 180's were closer to $800 shipped.

12mm is .47in, my 210 is .5in glass and has zero bowing, was plesently suprised even when viewed at step angles there are no distortions at all even towards the braces as with the 55gals.

Black silicone is my prference not only visually but it seems to last much longer.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Curious as to cost of materials and time this takes?

Priced this out myself and ended up ordering as 210 for $1200. 150 and 180's were closer to $800 shipped.

12mm is .47in, my 210 is .5in glass and has zero bowing, was plesently suprised even when viewed at step angles there are no distortions at all even towards the braces as with the 55gals.

Black silicone is my prference not only visually but it seems to last much longer.

Glass has very little tolerance for bowing. 1/2" glass would break before you were ever able to notice it bowing.

 

[Raka]

Glass has very little tolerance for bowing. 1/2" glass would break before you were ever able to notice it bowing.

Tell that to my 29's! Certian types of glass are very intorlent yes but you'd be suprised by others!

 

[Backfromthedead]

Tell that to my 29's! Certian types of glass are very intorlent yes but you'd be suprised by others!

Yes thin glass can flex a bit. I personally would never use a glass tank that had a visible bow. Wouldn't sleep at night.

 

[Raka]

I have never seen a 20H, 20L or 29gal without one. Drives my OCD nuts when the glass lids dont even rest on the middle of the trim with the 29gals. But yes this is very thin glass in comparison. My glassblower buddies have a flex demostation peice, essentially looks like a tuning fork and you can bend the glass tongs to touch each other, although this is made from borosilicate.

I was unaware that thicker glass aquariums would not follow similar properties but am glad, I hate bowing, last acrylic tank never made it past test fill.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Ulu what are your thoughts on the flexibility of glass?