Building with glass and silicone: Have you ever built a tank or had a custom tank built?

[vetteguy53081]

My current tank is a custom tank and very well built/sealed.

 

[jackson6745]

Haven't built a custom tank in a long time, last one was glass cages. I want to add a growout tank to my 200 and used glass cages build calculator. Prices got crazy, I'm sure not just them. 72x30x16 regular glass, eurobraced, with external overflow $3800 without shipping! Seems high to me for a no frills frag style tank. Got to explore more options.

 

[MorReefs]

I took a marineland 300 dd 100% apart and put it back together in my house. 7 months in and it still holds water

 

[MizzouMark]

I've had two custom tanks built (225 gal, 360 gal) by Miracles aquarium. Highly recommend them. Derek is great to work with.

 

[ryanrick]

Yes, sorry, wanted to make sure I was answering correctly. Per the original post ( 2 pie shaped bow fronts on each end. )

I wanted to have 2 ares in the display to have Non Reef safe fish running on the same water.

All three tanks are tied to a sump 100' away in a custom sump room in the garage

How is the sump connected to the three tanks? Typical siphon overflows?

 

[ccajigas07]

Well i just finished build my tank,my low profile over flow box, my sump and my stand literally finished the stand about 20 mins ago lol still have to make my ATO ive made a post on the process

 

[stephenmoorefineart]

This is being built as we speak. I have been driving Joe and David cray cray, as I am trying to get it spot on. My sump is being built by GEO, I am not near final drawings to share that yet, lots of revisions since I finalized some changes on the tank. Antonio from VCA created the flow, I shouldn't have the need for any powerheads in this system. However, I need to figure out power failure without the use of battery backed up MP60s. I need to figure out how to get the A400 (closed loop) on some type of power backup.

This is being built as we speak. I have been driving Joe and David cray cray, as I am trying to get it spot on. My sump is being built by GEO, I am not near final drawings to share that yet, lots of revisions since I finalized some changes on the tank. Antonio from VCA created the flow, I shouldn't have the need for any powerheads in this system. However, I need to figure out power failure without the use of battery backed up MP60s. I need to figure out how to get the A400 (closed loop) on some type of power backup.

Why battery backups over a generator?

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

@stephenmoorefineart

(Knocking on wood as I say this...) In the 7 years I have owned this house, we have lost power for a total of about 5 days. 3 of which were an Ice storm (I live in Memphis). It's going to cost me $17K to put an auto generator on my house. I cannot justify that expense vs. the amount of "full days" that I have gone without power. Now, we do lose it for a couple hours here and there, and that is every couple months. We have two very sports active boys and my wife and I both work. So, I need something that will kick on automatically and prevent any damage if the power is down 4-8 hours. Battery back up is ideal for that. I do have a manual generator that I would have to wheel out, hook up and start if power was down anymore than 8 hours. This would be basic essentials for both tank and our comfort. So, I need something automated (without spending $17K) that will provide a stop gap of safety to bridge the most common outages I deal with, or provide me enough time to get home, or arrange, to set up my portable generator.

 

[Rcs_12]

I love my custom tank and life support system from southeast aquariums and MRC! Check my build thread for all the details!

 

[PeterEde]

Building with glass and silicone: Have you ever built a tank or had a custom tank built?

For many of us, our first fish tank came from a local store and then we have replaced or added to our collection of tans. Often the first aquarium was a basic commodity tank, or we may have started with (or upgraded to) a well-recognized tank manufacturer like RedSea, WaterBox, or another comparable brand. However, there is another option. It is possible to build your own tank or to have a custom-built tank for you. Some choose to build a tank for the challenge, others purchase a custom-tank because of the need for special dimensions, and still others want a custom-tank to be able to be part of the build process, make decisions along the way, and know about the details of their tank. Have you ever built a tank or had a custom-tank built? If so, tell us about the process and share any tips or recommendations that you learned during the process.

Photo by @naterealbig


This QOTD is sponsored by: www.topshelfaquatics.com

“Top Shelf Aquatics helps you feel confident in the quality, reliability, and consistency of getting everything you need for a perfect saltwater aquarium. From corals and fish to inverts and aquarium supplies, you can count on us to provide you with a seamless reefing experience.”

A friend had a 5ft peninsula tank made years ago. Only issue was a suspected worm ate through silicone and drained ½tank over night

 

[Sixdinnersquid]

I've built 5 tanks out of sheet glass. The most interesting of the bunch was 96"x12"x12".

I always used glass thicker than the calcs suggested, and liberally dolloped the silicone. But considering the anxiety I always felt after building one, I wouldn't do it again unless the dimensions were basically unpurchaseable.

I've attached a photo of the plain-vanilla 90 that I built in grad school. If I can find one of the 8 footer, I'll add it too.

 

[Nate Chalk]

Built both my sump and display. See build thread

 

[stephenmoorefineart]

@stephenmoorefineart

(Knocking on wood as I say this...) In the 7 years I have owned this house, we have lost power for a total of about 5 days. 3 of which were an Ice storm (I live in Memphis). It's going to cost me $17K to put an auto generator on my house. I cannot justify that expense vs. the amount of "full days" that I have gone without power. Now, we do lose it for a couple hours here and there, and that is every couple months. We have two very sports active boys and my wife and I both work. So, I need something that will kick on automatically and prevent any damage if the power is down 4-8 hours. Battery back up is ideal for that. I do have a manual generator that I would have to wheel out, hook up and start if power was down anymore than 8 hours. This would be basic essentials for both tank and our comfort. So, I need something automated (without spending $17K) that will provide a stop gap of safety to bridge the most common outages I deal with, or provide me enough time to get home, or arrange, to set up my portable generator.

I just got a $400 Westinghouse generator that weighs about as much as a full suitcase.

 

[formallydehyde]

A friend had a 5ft peninsula tank made years ago. Only issue was a suspected worm ate through silicone and drained ½tank over night

Any idea what kind of worm could eat through silicone like that?

 

[lbacha]

This is being built as we speak. I have been driving Joe and David cray cray, as I am trying to get it spot on. My sump is being built by GEO, I am not near final drawings to share that yet, lots of revisions since I finalized some changes on the tank. Antonio from VCA created the flow, I shouldn't have the need for any powerheads in this system. However, I need to figure out power failure without the use of battery backed up MP60s. I need to figure out how to get the A400 (closed loop) on some type of power backup.

Joe is building a similar size tank for me as we speak. Mine is o Lu 30” vs 36” but I have the overflow on the side as well (went with a synergy ghost. I have closed loops as well (I’m going with dual vectra L2s but I did consider a panta rhei hydrotube or a single abyss)

 

[Reef Addict 10-4]

I took a marineland 300 dd 100% apart and put it back together in my house. 7 months in and it still holds water

I did the same with a 240G tank. I let it sit holding water for a year, and it just recently became my main display tank.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

I built this 14' 850 gallon reef 25 years ago. It's constructed with 1/2 plate glass with euro braces on the bottom and top of the tank. I had the 2 end tank front panels bent by a company in Pennsylvania.

I constructed this onsite building the center "Reef" area first then added the 2 pie shaped bow fronts on each end.
This tank was the most viewed "Picture" ever on Reef Central before it was hacked and they lost all data.

The tank has went through many changes, I would say the only thing original at this point, is the glass itself. The Cabinetry was updated, The lighting ( 5 Times ) filtration, sumps 3 times.

It truly is in its best existence now, and I think I can clearly state it's from the stability of Apex monitoring and controlling brings to the system.

I'll dig up some old photos tonight from the construction phase.

Amazing job! Beautiful.

 

[Reef Addict 10-4]

Here's a DIY I wrote up over on reef central... I hope it's okay to post it here. I recently joined this forum due to how popular it seems to have gotten.

DIY Tank Rebuild/Reseal - 220g

Reefers! I am finishing up a rebuild on a 220g and I figured I would share my journey with you all. Overall, it's not a terribly hard job - just VERY time consuming. I've got almost two full work days into this. I hope it pays off! From the research I have done, it is absolutely imperative to...

forums.reefcentral.com

 

[pbfitness]

I custom built my 600 litre penisula tank as a room divider in fact i custom built the stand, sump, tank, light bracket lol