Need Advice for building 150 Gallon aquarium

[Ulu]

12mm plate glass will be Ok with a top brace. If I were to build my own custom tank it would definitely be thicker than the borderline tanks that you can get from Clear-for-life or similar volume makers. It’s not just about the glass either. When the glass is thicker you get a better silicone seal at the corners. The quality of the seal rises rapidly with thickness of the glass. Silicone has a service life, but the better the seal design, the longer the life.

One of my duties as an engineer for an aluminum window company, was to witness destruction tests of glass and aluminum windows. It’s a lot of fun blowing up windows with a 600 hp air compressor.

Glass can sometimes bend an amazing amount before it pops. I watched a 5‘ x 5‘ sheet of quarter inch glass bow out over 9 inches before it shattered**.

But the geometry determines everything. You don’t see very many aquariums with a 5’ x 5’ panel. Too deep!

2’x5’ from 12mm will be ok with a top stiffener or eurobraces. Just OK. Not extra strong. Good enough with a solid, square stand. I like the bottoms to be thicker because it gives you a better seal in the bottom corners which is the most stressed point, plus I like to put lots of rocks in the bottom of my aquarium.

**when it’s under stress like that, any little nick or tap can shatter it.

 

[Ulu]

Great guidance by Backfromthedead so far on the build aspect.

And yes, forget about the silver arowana idea. Between the Oscars and goldfish choice I'd just go for two juvenile Oscars. They'll look a bit lost in that tank for a couple of months but with quality food and regular water changes they'll soon fill that tank and become great wet pets.

And welcome to the forum.

Depending on your location in the world, I too would say forget about the Arrowana. Because of the customs situation, it’s difficult to get good ones here. You can pay a lot of money for a heavily inbred Arrowana with weak genes. The nicest varieties are totally illegal to import.

I am having a lot of fun with one 12” Oscar and some 6”-7” African cichlids in a 125. This tank is part of a cascade system holding 240 gallons. There are lots of other dither fish in it.

The Oscar is not as aggressive as a Malawi, but he is like four times as heavy. The Africans will square up to him for a moment, but not much longer, and then they will back away.

But if I was to start a large new tank I might be doing something like peacock bass. Might. Except for the fact that they are very attractive I don’t know enough about them.

 

[..puSkar..]

Depending on your location in the world, I too would say forget about the Arrowana. Because of the customs situation, it’s difficult to get good ones here. You can pay a lot of money for a heavily inbred Arrowana with weak genes. The nicest varieties are totally illegal to import.

I am having a lot of fun with one 12” Oscar and some 6”-7” African cichlids in a 125. This tank is part of a cascade system holding 240 gallons. There are lots of other dither fish in it.

The Oscar is not as aggressive as a Malawi, but he is like four times as heavy. The Africans will square up to him for a moment, but not much longer, and then they will back away.

But if I was to start a large new tank I might be doing something like peacock bass. Might. Except for the fact that they are very attractive I don’t know enough about them.

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By the user name it seems the OP is from India. I too am. And aros are very common here. In fact the silver aros are as common as oscars , but previously people used to cram them in a 4-2-2 120 gallon, and now they put them in 6 ft tanks, still better than before but not the best idea. Better keep a single jardini aro in a 6*2*2 imo

 

[Ulu]

He could be from my town.

I never can tell the players without a program. I live in a part of California with a large population of folks from India, Asia, Arabia, Iran, Armenia, Vietnam, east Europe, Israel, Not to mention Mexico and Central and South America etc...

This is a place where you can meet people from anywhere in the world.

 

[jjohnwm]

Way back when all-glass tanks started to be commonly available, I recall my father looking at one with me in a store and proclaiming that there was no way he would allow "that thing" into his house, because it was obvious that it couldn't possibly hold water and remain intact. Only a few years later, I had a number of the new-fangled gadgets set up without problems. The thickness of glass used then was far greater than what is commonly seen today. 100- and 120-gallon aquariums 6 feet long and 18 inches wide were everywhere, and somehow they held water without any need for a center brace. Eventually, center braces came into vogue, along with thinner glass. They were lighter, cheaper to build...and completely terrifying to anyone who remembered the older, heavier tank construction.

If I were to build a large all-glass tank today...big "if" because I would never choose to do so...I certainly would not use the accepted minimum thickness of glass. DIY has many advantages, and one of the biggest is the fact that you are free to make things better than they can be purchased commercially. The goal is often to make it cheaper; but IMHO the goal should be to make it better for the same money. The only tank disasters I have suffered have all been with commercially-produced tanks; I trust my DIY-made aquariums completely, and this is partly because I never come close to "minimum" in any specification.

Take no chances. You are building something to give you enjoyment...not to cause you constant stress and worry.

 

[..puSkar..]

He could be from my town.

I never can tell the players without a program. I live in a part of California with a large population of folks from India, Asia, Arabia, Iran, Armenia, Vietnam, east Europe, Israel, Not to mention Mexico and Central and South America etc...

This is a place where you can meet people from anywhere in the world.

Very True . It indeed is a global community .