How does my diy tank look so far?

[wednesday13]

The top brace is the least of ur worries, u just need one center one across the span. I understand how u intend to joint this tank together with the glass and its very likely its not going to hold for long. You need to think of adhering the glass on the faces not the ends, unlike you would on a regular tank. Box the whole thing in and seal the glass 2" all the way around the sheet from the inside of ur wooden frame. All u really need is some more trim pieces similar to what u have on the bottom. In my opinion the bond between the sealer and glass u have now will be so weak it wouldnt even survive tipping/moving it around much with the glass just stuck on the outside like that.

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[rbarn]

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.

Have lots of mops and buckets on hand. This has disaster written all over it. Make sure to take lots of pics of the blow out.

 

[Z Trip]

I think I will all prove you wrong with this. I do not understand why what I am doing will not work. Maybe I am not clear on what I am doing, who knows. Why would this work and what I am doing won't.

 

[wednesday13]

Silicone to glass bonds are known and proven to be very strong. Acrylic to acrylic bonds are strong with solvent welding. First two examples are why the type of joint u pictured works using those methods and in most those cases top braces are still necessary. What you propose to do is the equivelant of trying to build an acrylic tank with silicone or a glass tank with chaulking. There is really nothing bonding the materials together that way. Ur basically trying to silicone a piece of glass to just paint and thats what wont work. The bond between silicone and epoxy paint is not the same as glass to silicone so there is no strength to hold the glass in place. The glass should still be placed on the inside of ur wooden frame and then the silicone becomes more of a gasket than a structural seal if that makes sense. I suggest the 2" surround to provide all that space to make a silicone gasket with. Since the silicone doesnt stick to paint well you need more of a bonding area than on a traditional glass tank. With the gasket seal the window is actually sealed 3 times. 1. Is the gasket area, 2. Is the inside around the glass sheet, and 3rd is around the window frame on the outside. Silicone is made specifically for glass not many other materials. The bigger border around the glass for support on a diy build, the better the seal.
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[Z Trip]

Silicone to glass bonds are known and proven to be very strong. Acrylic to acrylic bonds are strong with solvent welding. First two examples are why the type of joint u pictured works using those methods and in most those cases top braces are still necessary. What you propose to do is the equivelant of trying to build an acrylic tank with silicone or a glass tank with chaulking. There is really nothing bonding the materials together that way. Ur basically trying to silicone a piece of glass to just paint and thats what wont work. The bond between silicone and epoxy paint is not the same as glass to silicone so there is no strength to hold the glass in place. The glass should still be placed on the inside of ur wooden frame and then the silicone becomes more of a gasket than a structural seal if that makes sense. I suggest the 2" surround to provide all that space to make a silicone gasket with. Since the silicone doesnt stick to paint well you need more of a bonding area than on a traditional glass tank. With the gasket seal the window is actually sealed 3 times. 1. Is the gasket area, 2. Is the inside around the glass sheet, and 3rd is around the window frame on the outside. Silicone is made specifically for glass not many other materials. The bigger border around the glass for support on a diy build, the better the seal.
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I have some spare plywood, I can make a boarder. but screws will hold it in place. The only way I can see it working is me having put the glass in place with silicone. Then, install the frame. I will be working against the clock but I will have everything cut up and sealed before hand.

 

[Siddons11]

Wednesday is right man.

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[wednesday13]

Screws to hold the border on will work just fine, u could also use some 2"x2" to make it...and u are correct if u used ur first idea with an outer frame somehow attached afterwards to hold it on, but thats alot trickier. Sounds like ur thinking of it in the right way now tho, glad to help.
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[Z Trip]

It might take a week or two before everything is up and running but for the mean time, here it the stand I just primed.

 

[sashimimaster]

I think you should add a little more structural support. The tank will definitely work but it's not a bad idea to have a little extra safety margin. You don't want the screws to take any loads axially or pulling against the threads. You want the loads to be across the screws perpendicular. The top brace looks like the loads would be axial. I would add some fiberglass preferably on the inside as someone said before. Then you can add pond armor on top of that.

It will be interesting to see how long this design will last compared to some of the extremely overbuilt stacked lumber designs. Please keep us updated.

 

[Z Trip]

This is how I did the corners, might answer your question on the pressure put onto the screws.