Building your own tank

[VanDogh]

My partner is going to use an old window to repair a tank I accidently broke (50L or approx 14 gallons)

Either way, a lot of glass will be left so we were thinking of building our own aquariums. We would cut the glass, sandpaper the edges and such to remove the sharpness and then glue it with aquarium silicone. 

I was thinking 100L (28 gallons) and below should be safe. I wonder how big of an aquarium you actually can create diy with just glass and silicone while still being safe? I know frames are used to support the pressure of water, especially with larger tanks, but frames are too complicated for us I think. I also find the rimless look aesthetically pleasing. Is there a volume you would consider unsafe for using silicone only?

Edited August 2 by VanDogh

[Tony s]

On 8/2/2024 at 4:06 PM, VanDogh said:

I wonder how big of an aquarium you actually can create diy with just glass and silicone while still being safe?

It depends on the strength of the glass. I believe the bottom panel has to be strong enough to support 17 lbs per gallon. So, say 30 gallons, it’d have to support 510 lbs. After that you lose me. I’m not sure how exactly you figure it out from there. Besides trial and error.

[Marc_Co]

I'm no expert in that domain but I think most rimless aquarium use tempered glass for the bottom. If you don't (if you can cut it it's definitely not tempered glass) I would avoid using big rocks for hardware and definitely use a good rubber mat to place under your aquarium to prevent any pressure point.

In my opinion, your silicone is not going to be your weakest point if you use a good quality, 100% silicone. Make sure your glass is clean, free of grease and dust, do not use water and soap since soap is a release agent and could prevent the silicone to stick properly. I would use something like isopropyl alcohol and wear gloves to avoid putting grease on the glass when you handle it.

Water is heavy. The taller your tank is, the more pressure there will be at the bottom. And the longer the aquarium, the more pressure there will be in the middle of the long glass. (That's why some big aquarium have reinforcement in the middle) All of that to say that I personally would stay on the safe side and build the smallest tank that would work for me, fill it and place it in a shower or bathtub and leave it for a couple of days.

I want to build my on aquarium too some day so if you go ahead and do it, it would be nice if you post some updates! Good luck!

[Nik_n]

I have attempted to build an DIY acrylic tank based on king on DIY instruction. Being a novice with tools I made some uneven cuts, ending up with gap that I tried to filled with silicon. As I learn the hard way, silicon doesn't work on acrylic, and the tank leaked water and soon two sides came apart. One side however was held by acrylic "glue". 

Has anyone had success with building a DIY acrylic tank. What advice do you have for me? Also how can I chose a good acrylic glue/cement? The plates I have available are 6mm in thickness. Thank you