How do you tile a glass tank?

[Gshock]

Looking to tile the bottom of my glass tank. Is there anything special I need to do or is it just like any other tile job? Should i use grout or silicon? Thanks.

 

[Noto]

Don't use grout or silicone; you might change your mind about the tile one day. Just lay the tiles dry. Use fine sand in the cracks if you are worried about waste lodging there.

 

[cvermeulen]

What he said. If you're going to attach them down, use silicone, but it's not necessary. Something that I thought of doing was to silicone tiles to a section of pond liner or heavy fabric that's the same size as the bottom of the tank. Then if you want to take them all out for whatever reason and put them back in later, it's all doable without rearranging the whole mess.

 

[Gshock]

Thanks Noto and Cvermeulen. The idea of having it removable is quite appealing. The only problem with using sand to filling the cracks is, I dont want it rubbing against the discs of my ray, one of the reasons why I want to tile is to make the bottom completely smooth. The pond liner idea seems pretty good, I might think about that. Are there any other ways to do this without having any seams at all?

 

[Noto]

I suppose you could lay a bead of silicone along the cracks (being careful not to let it seep down to the glass). The tile would still be removeable.

 

[John7429]

Why not just keep it bare then... and paint the outside of the underside...?

 

[Bderick67]

Why not just keep it bare then... and paint the outside of the underside...?

maybe cause he's looking for a different look?

 

[John7429]

One could achieve a similar look without losing water volume and keep the bottom safe for the rays by painting the outside...

It was just a thought since the permanence seemed to be an issue with securing the tile to the bottom.

 

[Gshock]

One could achieve a similar look without losing water volume and keep the bottom safe for the rays by painting the outside...

It was just a thought since the permanence seemed to be an issue with securing the tile to the bottom.

I've seen a couple ray tanks tiled and it looks really great. Not only that, but the tiles are alot smoother than the bare glass which is also benefit my rays. Plus my tank is on a homemade stand. It sits on a board that was already painted black.

 

[Cakilla]

I have never attemped doing this but I was just thinking that you could take the measuments of the tank and lay the tiles out and silicone htem on some fabric then silicone between the tiles to sreve as "grout" just make sure you have 1/4 inch gap all around the sides of the tank that way its still removable ? I mean if it wont work tell me but still being new I thought I'd try and give my 2 cents lol