Are there any center supports on that stand? I might be a little worried about the middle drooping over time from the weight.
How does my diy tank look so far?
- Thread starter Z Trip
- Start date
I think what people are forgetting to say here is how you're setting yourself up for a catastrophic failure, not just a leak. If the glass sat on an inside frame with the water pushing against that frame and the silicon comes loose.. all you have is a leak.
If it comes loose with how you have it now it could very well be the whole window coming out.
Your craftsman ship is pretty good though!
If it comes loose with how you have it now it could very well be the whole window coming out.
Your craftsman ship is pretty good though!
Curious. I've never heard of that before. Where does this 2" come from? Seems like overkill.
I believe wheatgerm built a 400 gallon tank with 3/4" plywood, which had just a 3/4" overlap for the silicone gasket.
VLDesign's 2600g tank used the width of 2x4's and 4x4 posts as exterior bracing for his glass panels, which had a 1.5" overlap for the silicone gaskets.
However, I do agree that this tank is built wrong and needs an exterior frame, instead of an interior one.
2" is the bare minium in my opinion...my 650 is 2.5" top and bottom, 4" on the ends. My 3k is 4" all the way around just to be safe. You can skimp by with 1.5" (a 2"x4") but thats pushin it. Y wouldnt u want the best seal you could achieve when u know these methods of adhesion are based on the gasket size and water pressure. No different than 12" on center rule of thumb for building wall studs, just a general guideline to aim for. I guess with a tank of this scale u prob dont need more than an 1" but id rather be safe than sorry.
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Assuming your listed measurements are outside dimensions and the water level stays below the top set of 2x4s the total force pushing each panel would be about 460lbs and your seal should hold up just fine as long as the pond shield bonds well to the wood and the silicone adheres well to the pond shield. I would be more concerned with a tank similar to what you designed leaking or blowing out than one with the glass inside a frame or a professional all-glass build but I think it would most likely work out just fine, again assuming everything bonds well. Also with only a 5' span I think your original bracing plan with a 2x4 euro style brace around the entire perimeter would be adequate. Add a center brace if it gives you additional peace of mind.
Out of purely selfish curiosity I hope you don't listen to the nay-sayers and stay close to the original plan.
Out of purely selfish curiosity I hope you don't listen to the nay-sayers and stay close to the original plan.
Actually I was referring to the top brace of the tank. The 2X4 is screwed into the side panel and the load is axially on the screws. You might want to wrap some fiberglass around the corners (inside and out) just to strengthen it a little.
Regarding the silicone seal. Just make sure you put a thick bead and press the glass into the tank sides and you should be fine. The pressure is pushing the glass against the seal and that's what's most important. The tank is only 24" tall so you won't have a lot of pressure.
I'm pulling for you to succeed and put to rest all the people that like to overbuild and waste time, money and material unnecessarily. My tank is 3' tall with no support and has been rock solid going on 3 yrs now.
Without a top brace on that tank, it would have eventually bowed and most likely blown out the glass.
Seems like a huge waste of silicone, while adding more chances of failure. When using silicone for air tight seals, you should apply just 1 continuous bead, else there may be air pockets between the beads. If you have more than one bead, when you install the glass and squeeze out the excess silicone, you'll be squeezing out more silicon than necessary and leaving a large air gap in the middle. The more beads of silicone you use, the more impossible it is squeeze out air bubbles and get an air tight leak proof seal.
Also remember, the tooling time with silicone is only about 5-10 minutes. So the clock is ticking to get this done before the curing process begins. You shouldn't try to go back and spread it out perfectly evenly with a putty knife either because of silicone's tackiness. Trying to spread it out evenly might actually just make things worse, especially while that tooling time clock is ticking down. The less you touch the silicone bead, the better. You want to get one nice even bead. The thickness of that one bead is the only variable. When you put the glass on the one bead of silicone, you evenly flatten out the silicone bead, and air escapes from both the sides along the joint, leaving an air tight seal.
Silicone has excellent tensile and adhesion strength for most glass / aquatic applications, so using more than necessary doesn't really help. If it's not adhering well to the material, then adding more isn't going to really help. It should be like a good weld, where the welded joint is actually stronger than the material itself. (Like you, I have a strong background in welding/fabrication) If silicone is applied properly without any air gaps, you're more likely to break the glass accidentally, than to have the aquarium fail from a silicone seam.
If the thickness of the silicone gasket is still a concern, you can always add a single silicone fillet around the perimeter of the glass, so that there is 2nd air tight barrier to prevent leaks also. You have to wait for that silicone gasket to cure before adding that 2nd perimeter layer though. For that silicone perimeter, it is ok to touch it up and spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon or your finger, before it starts curing. You got to be quick though. The less you touch it, the better.
