How does my diy tank look so far?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
No frame for the glass to silicone to as was already suggested IMO lacking supports also but looking good so far I think if u frame in the window sides it'll be good
 
I will be following this as I will be building an 8x4x3 and am trying to learn as much as I can :) looks good so far, what are the 4 cutouts at the top in the 3 1/4?

David R said:
Interesting idea, what are you coating the wood with? Hope it is something that the silicone adheres well to!
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I have read that people have problems getting silicone to adhere well to the rubberise paint and I have experimented with pond liners and it doesn't adhere to many of them very well either, might be an idea to cover the whole surface the glass is going to stick to in silicone? A really strong silicone that I would recommend is gold label sealant, not sure if it's sold anywhere other than the uk but it's definitely worth looking for, I have attached a pic. Good luck




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2" surround for the glass is rule of thumb...5/8" is pushin it and i also suggest something for the glass to adhere to better around the sides aswell. Final suggestion is adding fiberglass, not sure if u mentioned u were or not. Just because u can put force on the stucture and it doesnt move is not assurance enough to not use fiberglass or a center brace, things change/flex over time espically when full of water. If u have trouble with silicone adhering to the sealer gold label aquarium and pond sealer is the way to go. Ive never used epoxy paints but i use epdm liner, acrylic and gold label and its a very good bond. Lookin good, just need to tweak a couple things to make it last longer.

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monsterkeeper87 said:
I have read that people have problems getting silicone to adhere well to the rubberise paint and I have experimented with pond liners and it doesn't adhere to many of them very well either, might be an idea to cover the whole surface the glass is going to stick to in silicone?
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That was exactly my concern. IMO this design removes one of the most appealing factors of ply/timber/steel framed tanks; that the silicone is only used for it's intended purpose as a sealant and not a structural adhesive.
 
clgkag said:
So the glass is going to be outside of the frame? That is a lot of force for the silicone alone to hold. Conventional wisdom has the glass inside the frame with the water pressure pushing the glass into the silicone. Will be interesting to see if this works.
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All fish tanks are built like the way I am doing things. My build however has far more surface area for the silicone. The sides are 3/4 instead of another sheet of glass that would be 1/2 and the top and bottom are 1 1/2 inch contact point. I think this will work far greater then anything aquarium wize.
 
David R said:
Just as long as what ever you coat the wood with sticks to silicone as well as glass does. ;)

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I am going to be using Pond Shield.
 
I went out in the garage and made a center brace. It needs sanding and glueing+screwing still but how does that look?

november 15th 002.jpg

november 15th 002.jpg
 
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