Building a 200G glass tank. Advice needed!

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A

alexanian

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2011
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Damascus
I need help MFKers, I'm going to build a 200 g glass tank with dimensions 175x 63x 70 cm. In inches it's aprox. 69"x 25"x 27.5" The glass will be 2 cm thick.
I'm not building the tank myself, it will be made in the glass cutters shop but the shop owner says that the silicone will not hold the glass on such a large tank and refuses to give a guarantee. I already have the stand built for this size tank ( I'll post pix when I get home ) it's a welded metal frame with MDF wood panels, and I'd really hate to go narrower or lower with this tank like the shop owner suggests.
Please I need advice, will the silicone hold and should I go ahead and build it? Or is there any special design for larger tank that I can have him make? What should I do?
I thought about letting him make extra triangles on the bottom corners to make the bonding surface larger and thus stronger. Will that help? What else should I tell him to do?
 
How? aren't there like 300 gallon glass tanks id so what is the difference? To help hold it together he could try to make/find a plastic bracing on the top and bottom then some center braceses over the top placed eveny thru out the length of the tank

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That's exactly what I thought, how come it can't hold a 200 gallons when there is much bigger glass tanks out there. I know it can be done but I don't know if there is some kind of a special design or technique used for larger tanks. According to the Aquarium safety calculator http://www.poseidons-palace.co.uk/Poseidons_Aquariums/Aquarium Safety Calculator.xls.htm glass thickness of 20 mm gives me a safety factor of 6.5 and glass deflection of 0.19 mm which according to my humble knowledge enables me to ditch even the center brace. I would really like to keep those dimensions and not make it smaller but the fact he won't guarantee the build is making me worry.
 
Yes, your glass is really thick for that tank. (I'd still consider one center brace, but I'm insane about safety, but that would be it.) In reality, I'm sure you don't need one as the glass will resist deflection with little support.

Correctly chosen and applied silicon should hold that tank with no problem.


Here's a pic from MFK of a 420 and a 650, and bigger tanks are sold by glasscages.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?414793-My-newest-project


http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?415292-My-tank-has-finally-arrived
 
I agree with these guys, that doesn't sound like the way to go. it must be a very conveniently located glass shop to be considering them building it. It sounds like they have no experience plus with them not willing to give even the slightest guarantee, I would go elsewhere for piece of mind. How would they frame it? They are probably thinking of an unsupported glass cube using only silicon to hold it... there are tanks like this but they are usually small.

Plus I bet they aren't even offering you a deal either. Have you priced new and used in your area? I see 240's for sale every week in my area. They usually go for 500-700, but usually with a whole bunch of stuff included.

I'm presuming this is a custom size then? It still might be worth checking with someone like glasscages.com to see what they would do it for you for. I had a bad experience with them the one time i used them, but they are cheap and you can at least get their input after you tell them what you're planning to do. If you hear reservations from them, then you can ask them what is wrong with your plan and go from there even if you still end up going with the glass shop.
 
I was surprised like you guys when he refused to guarantee the build. To explain further, I live in Syria ( yes, as in civil war Syria ) and we don't have specialized aquarium build shops, usually regular glass cutter shops build custom ordered tanks. This specific one has many tanks as he builds tanks for LFS shops in the area. I guess he never built a tank this size before. I wanna go ahead and have him build this tank but just wanna make sure if it's ok and also if there is any way ( if needed ) to improve the safety of the silicone seams. Like I said I thought of having him put triangles on the bottom corners laying flat on the bottom glass, but i'm not sure if that will make it stronger or weaker. I also would like to avoid having a center brace but will have braces on both sides.
 
A buddy of mine made his own frame on a 150 gallon, he used hemp rope wrapped around all of the edges and then heavily lacquered the rope. This worked surprising well as a frame and looked descent too. If I was you I would use a much thicker bead on the silicone in lieu of a good frame.

Silicon does just about all the holding on a tank, but having a frame at least keeps the glass from just flopping onto the floor when the silicon fails. BAsically, a frame is the difference between just a leak and a catastrophic failure, generally speaking.
 
I'm gonna order the tank made tomorrow, still haven't decided which way to go, but will see what are his suggestions and options and decide there. Can't really do the frame since he doesn't make frames and I don't know how to make one nor where to get one made without jeopardizing the integrity of the tank. Any last inputs or advice?
 
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