Has anyone here ever made their own rimless aquarium? I got pricing to to get enough 3/8" tempered glass to make a 18L x 36W x 24H for approx $180. For low iron, ad about $20.00 per sheet. if you do the vertical sheets, ad $80.00. Polished edges o/a $5.00. Drilling and bevel would be just a few bucks more. if it were made of 1/2", which for a tank this size might be overkill, price jumps quite a bit. While looking at the ADA site, the same tank goes for approx $850.00. I've renovated, resealed, repaired quite a few large tanks, but never constructed one without a frame. As far a silicone, I use SCS1200 (Formerly) GE's strongest FDA approved silicone.
Any thoughts before I plunge?
(about 65 gallons,•Dimensions: 90cm X 45cm X 45cm (35.43in X 17.72in X 23.6in)•glass thickness: 10mm)
http://www.adgshop.com/ProductDetails.a ... =TechSpecs
DIY Rimless aquariums?
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ricoishere
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DIY Rimless aquariums?
Rome wasn't built in a day
I can grow any algae!
I can grow any algae!
I made several small tanks with my dad when I was a kid. We bought the glass pieces and had the edges polished. Then we glued the pieces together. It was not difficult, and none of these tanks has ever leaked (some are 20 years old). The biggest one we made was a 20 gallon tank. I have a 40some gallon tank that a family friend made for my 10th birthday. He was by no means a professional aquarium maker but a fish enthusiast. The tank is still going strong. All this happened in Europe, so I cannot tell you where to get the glass.
Last edited by halak on Wed Oct 21, 2009 11:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Viktor
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ricoishere
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The glass is not hard to get. What's really good is that it's tempered glass when most use plate glass for small tanks like these. The hardest part is finding an absolutely flat surface to attach bottom, and making a temporary breakway frame to make sure pieces are 100 percent squared. 
Rome wasn't built in a day
I can grow any algae!
I can grow any algae!
Sorry for the long post ahead of time. I've never been ballsy enough to try, however I can tell you a few things.
First, this thread on TPT if you haven't seen it already - http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/2 ... -tank.html
This tank ultimately ended in failure due to incorrect silicone type and construction techniques.
The silicone you have should work well for this application (SCS1200), GE RTV108 is another that is proven to work. The problem with off the shelf silicones is not tensile strength (most silicones are equal in this respect), but rather adhesion strength. Simple fact, off the shelf silicones will pop when you put the enormous weight of gallons of water on a 1/4" to 1/2" seam, specialized silicones (such as the aforementioned) are designed to adhere much better when put under these stresses.
Second, Surface prep and practice. You must spend the time to clean and inspect the mating surfaces before gluing. Rubbing alcohol 90% or acetone, cleans well, evaporates quickly, and leaves no residues. Look for chips, cracks, pits, or anything that could hinder adhesion.
Practice, I've never had good luck with masking out the seams, always ended up sloppy. 1 shot, even speed, angle, feed rate, and pressure worked best for me.
Construction technique, very important. The four upright panes should sit outside the bottom pane rather than on top of it. The silicone is not designed to handle the shear forces when the upright panes are on top of the bottom.
If it were me, I'd let that tank cure for at least 2 weeks before leak testing, and cure a month before setting it up. I could go on all day about this, If you have any specific questions I'll try my best to answer them.
It's a major undertaking (money, time, labor) to make a large rimless tank the proper way, and to insure it's longevity. Obviously, the larger the tank, the larger the risk involved. The tank in the link above popped a seam and flooded the guy's floor with 75 gallons of water. I've had a 110g tank dump half it's contents on a floor in less than 10 min ( due to a faulty ehiem double tap connector) and it was not pretty.
First, this thread on TPT if you haven't seen it already - http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/2 ... -tank.html
This tank ultimately ended in failure due to incorrect silicone type and construction techniques.
The silicone you have should work well for this application (SCS1200), GE RTV108 is another that is proven to work. The problem with off the shelf silicones is not tensile strength (most silicones are equal in this respect), but rather adhesion strength. Simple fact, off the shelf silicones will pop when you put the enormous weight of gallons of water on a 1/4" to 1/2" seam, specialized silicones (such as the aforementioned) are designed to adhere much better when put under these stresses.
Second, Surface prep and practice. You must spend the time to clean and inspect the mating surfaces before gluing. Rubbing alcohol 90% or acetone, cleans well, evaporates quickly, and leaves no residues. Look for chips, cracks, pits, or anything that could hinder adhesion.
Practice, I've never had good luck with masking out the seams, always ended up sloppy. 1 shot, even speed, angle, feed rate, and pressure worked best for me.
Construction technique, very important. The four upright panes should sit outside the bottom pane rather than on top of it. The silicone is not designed to handle the shear forces when the upright panes are on top of the bottom.
If it were me, I'd let that tank cure for at least 2 weeks before leak testing, and cure a month before setting it up. I could go on all day about this, If you have any specific questions I'll try my best to answer them.
It's a major undertaking (money, time, labor) to make a large rimless tank the proper way, and to insure it's longevity. Obviously, the larger the tank, the larger the risk involved. The tank in the link above popped a seam and flooded the guy's floor with 75 gallons of water. I've had a 110g tank dump half it's contents on a floor in less than 10 min ( due to a faulty ehiem double tap connector) and it was not pretty.
Jon Snyder
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ricoishere
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JSnyder wrote:Sorry for the long post ahead of time. I've never been ballsy enough to try, however I can tell you a few things.
First, this thread on TPT if you haven't seen it already - http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/2 ... -tank.html
This tank ultimately ended in failure due to incorrect silicone type and construction techniques.
The silicone you have should work well for this application (SCS1200), GE RTV108 is another that is proven to work. The problem with off the shelf silicones is not tensile strength (most silicones are equal in this respect), but rather adhesion strength. Simple fact, off the shelf silicones will pop when you put the enormous weight of gallons of water on a 1/4" to 1/2" seam, specialized silicones (such as the aforementioned) are designed to adhere much better when put under these stresses.
Second, Surface prep and practice. You must spend the time to clean and inspect the mating surfaces before gluing. Rubbing alcohol 90% or acetone, cleans well, evaporates quickly, and leaves no residues. Look for chips, cracks, pits, or anything that could hinder adhesion.
Practice, I've never had good luck with masking out the seams, always ended up sloppy. 1 shot, even speed, angle, feed rate, and pressure worked best for me.
Construction technique, very important. The four upright panes should sit outside the bottom pane rather than on top of it. The silicone is not designed to handle the shear forces when the upright panes are on top of the bottom.
If it were me, I'd let that tank cure for at least 2 weeks before leak testing, and cure a month before setting it up. I could go on all day about this, If you have any specific questions I'll try my best to answer them.
It's a major undertaking (money, time, labor) to make a large rimless tank the proper way, and to insure it's longevity. Obviously, the larger the tank, the larger the risk involved. The tank in the link above popped a seam and flooded the guy's floor with 75 gallons of water. I've had a 110g tank dump half it's contents on a floor in less than 10 min ( due to a faulty ehiem double tap connector) and it was not pretty.
All good point's, thanks. I've had success with renovating up to 56G tanks. Now, I don't recommend any kind of alcohol, simply becuase they wil leave residue. Acetone is all I use. As far as silicones, I've used RTV108, and it's consumer eqivalent GE Silicone 1. The success wil depend on getting perfectly squared joints, that's why constructing a removable frame is critical! As a mater of fact, I wil most likely leave temporary frame on before I fill with wtater just to test. I've rigged my own jointer which keeps the same angle throught the beading. And you are right about the masking, thats very tricky x 3. I might try a small 12" cube just to see how that comes out. I'll take a lok at the link. Again, thanks!
Rome wasn't built in a day
I can grow any algae!
I can grow any algae!
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SCMurphy
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We looked into the idea as a club project once. It turned out to be cheaper to buy a tank then to buy the glass to make the tank. This was when my brother was working for a glass company and the owner was his father in law.
"したくさ" Sean
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Aquascape? I'm a crypt farmer.
If you've got bait, I've got wasabi!
I wish I could be like Mr. Sarcastic when I grow up!
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ricoishere
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. I need to double check then. Thanks!I'd suggest seeing an ADA tank in person before comparing DIY to it. I've yet to see anthing as tight as they are. Even the new Illuminata from Oceanic, silicone work is not as tight.... never seen anything that is as tight of a build to be honest.
A 90H (90x45x60, 10mm glass) is almost twice as much as a 90p (90x45x45, 8mm glass).
The height is a killer, creates a ton of additional stress at the connections at the base pane of glass. I suspect you are going to be potentially very sorry using standard 3/8" glass on a 24" tall tank....
Amano spends a lot of time getting glass spec, silicone strength, and such to some pretty exacting standards. You can absolutely be looking low iron glass, beveled edges (both sides) to try and compare.
You need polished cuts btw - and machine polished, not hand polished - it isn't really an option.
Now, doesn't mean don't try - but I'd shoot for a shorter tank (or thicker glass) myself. I don't think the 1/2" is overkill at all.
Side note and a pause moment:
Do you know tolerances of the glass guy you are buying from? Most are used to window specs, and 1/16" +/- is great for that. You need something more like 1/64"... can they do it?
A 90H (90x45x60, 10mm glass) is almost twice as much as a 90p (90x45x45, 8mm glass).
The height is a killer, creates a ton of additional stress at the connections at the base pane of glass. I suspect you are going to be potentially very sorry using standard 3/8" glass on a 24" tall tank....
Amano spends a lot of time getting glass spec, silicone strength, and such to some pretty exacting standards. You can absolutely be looking low iron glass, beveled edges (both sides) to try and compare.
You need polished cuts btw - and machine polished, not hand polished - it isn't really an option.
Now, doesn't mean don't try - but I'd shoot for a shorter tank (or thicker glass) myself. I don't think the 1/2" is overkill at all.
Side note and a pause moment:
Do you know tolerances of the glass guy you are buying from? Most are used to window specs, and 1/16" +/- is great for that. You need something more like 1/64"... can they do it?
Dave
