Making own aquariums

[rubinsteinnyc]

Hey there
This is my very first post. Been searching this forum for anyone who has been making their own fish tanks for their fishrooms but couldn't find anything. Majority of aquariums are one with plastic rims around and that just bothers my eye :) I have recently found a glass wholeseller where a piece 1x1ft of .25inch glass costs 2.55, pretty good. I will be attempting to make breeder aquariums 24x18x18. Also, in a near future I will be attempting to make a 250gallon all glass tank with a 3/4inch starphire tempered glass. Does anyone here have any experience in making fish tanks? I could go ahead and buy a fish tank at a LFS but I think a majestical fish like the Discus should be in an estetical tank plus I kinda like doing things myself and putting up a few all glas fish tanks sound like an awesome summer project.
Any input and comments are more than welcome.

[Inland Empire Discus]

In my opinion most of the time it is cheaper and less of a risk to buy the tanks.

[ericatdallas]

24x18x18? You want to make a 33G tank? The seller is selling glass at $2.55 sqft and that's regardless of size? So that's about $34.43 for the glass in the tank. Let's not forget the frame, silicon, time, and effort (maybe add another $5+ whatever you feel your time is worth?).

So $40 for a 33G tank. Is it that specific size you're after or just the practice? I think at that price for a 33G, you can get much better deals on Craigslist and Petco when they have their $1/gallon sale once a year.

Also, are you planning on have a sump on your 250G? Keep in mind you can't drill tempered glass... I'm not sure if you can get it manufactured that way though.

[Darrell Ward]

How do you plan on working with tempered glass? As stated above, you can't drill it, as far as I know you can't cut it either without shattering it in a million pieces. If you don't like tanks with rims, you can get a custom aquarium maker like Glasscages to build you a few tanks probably cheaper than you could do it yourself. When I had a bunch of breeding pairs, I bought 10 matching tanks from Glasscages much cheaper than I could have got them elsewhere, except for perhaps used. Oh well, good luck. It would be interesting to follow your progress at any rate.:D

[roundfishross]

I have a friend in south Ga who had an angel fish farm and he use to be a distributor for hans. this guy made about 90% of his tanks in his fish house. he told me it was really easy but you have to make a jig to hold everything together while the silicone dries. he told me they would get most of the glass practically free from old store fronts then have a glass company cut it all up to size. the best part about it you can design the tanks to fit your available space and not have to design the room around the shape of commercially available shapes and sizes.

as far as cutting or drilling tempered glass, it has to be done before the glass gets tempered. at least thats what the glass company told me.....Leo

[rubinsteinnyc]

i'd get the glass cut to size and drilled and then TEMPERED. IDK about glasscages... I have read many unpleasant reviews about them.

[rubinsteinnyc]

glasscages sells their rimless approx 20-33 gallon tanks for $130-140, get that drilled... nowhere close to what I could make it myself. However, now that I think about it, having that ugly :) plastic rim would allow me to place a glass cover with plastic hinges. I called Petco and they said the $1=gallon sale will be within 30 days... however, is 12inches of width enough for a discus? I saw DiscusHans' setup and that's what he has(or it seems like it) I feel like an 18x18x18 would be more comfy for a pair of Discus. Please contribute as I am looking for an opinion of experienced hobbyists.
Thanks

[Darrell Ward]

i'd get the glass cut to size and drilled and then TEMPERED. IDK about glasscages... I have read many unpleasant reviews about them.

LOL! I've always been happy with their tanks. I've bought 16 or 17 of them over the years. I know Hans has way over 100 of them in his fish house.

[Darrell Ward]

I always prefer 18 to 24" or more width for adult discus. 12" is OK for youngsters, but adults benefit from the extra room.

[ericatdallas]

LOL! I've always been happy with their tanks. I've bought 16 or 17 of them over the years. I know Hans has way over 100 of them in his fish house.

I've seen a lot of bad reviews about them online...

[rubinsteinnyc]

I always prefer 18 to 24" or more width for adult discus. 12" is OK for youngsters, but adults benefit from the extra room.

so would you agree that an 18x18x18 would be a better choice than 24x12x17 for BREEDERS with the fry until it is the time to transfer the fry. How big were the tanks that you have purchased from GC?

[dean9922]

I have made my own tanks, (2 of them a 76 and 100 gallon) out of plywood with just a glass front. They have been running over a year and a half with no problems. Is it cheaper to buy glass ones, ....yes.....especially in the states with the prices I've seen.
But for me it was cheaper to build my own.....I got all the info you need at

www.garf.org

scroll down to the navigation page and look for the DIY section.

Dean

[Darrell Ward]

so would you agree that an 18x18x18 would be a better choice than 24x12x17 for BREEDERS with the fry until it is the time to transfer the fry. How big were the tanks that you have purchased from GC?

I prefer wider tanks. However, either one would work fine. The tanks in question I used were 36"x18"x17". This allowed me to place a foam divider in the tank in order to keep 2 spawning pair in each tank. When it was time to remove the parents from the fry, I simply transferred the parents to another tank, removed the divider, and let all the fry in the tank use the entire tank until they were large enough to cull out, and transfer to larger tanks. This allowed the fry to grow without being disturbed, or risk injury being moved while they were still tiny.

[JamesLibTech]

My very handy DIY neighbor made a few smaller acrylic tanks while back, they last until he gave up on fish. If given the proper adhesive, materials and jig to hold it all together I would imagine it would be a cool project to have made your own tank. Just try not to spend more on materials and tools to get the job done, then it would be just to get the tank made. Good luck!!

[ockyra215]

I would watch using tempered glass on a 250 gallon tank its going to flex more them regular glass and it would be almost impossible to drill it.I have seen big tanks built by diy guys and they only use glass for the front and marine grade plywood for the rest. I think it be cheaper to scan thru craigslist for used tanks.
JMO

[rubinsteinnyc]

@ockyra215, funny you say that, I just discovered the magic world of "woodies", this stuff looks amazing, people making ridiculous monsters of out plywood and a pane of glass, do you think acrylic pane for a woody instead of a glass would be safer?

[ockyra215]

I would say it would be it will flex some but if you brace the top correctly it should be fine.It may be cheaper then glass. Oh i agree just dont get to carried away I had a 360 gallon reef tank a few years ago and I couldnt reach the bottom it wasnt a woody but it was over 3 ft deep lol

[rubinsteinnyc]

I would be making a 400 Gallon, but do tell, how was the maintenance of such a monster? And bills...

[dean9922]

if you build your own tank, as ockyra215 has said, make sure you brace the top properly. On my homemade plywood tanks, I used wood cross pieces and over time the water started to deteriorate them, so I dropped the water level down and used 3/4" X 3" plastic pieces I picked up at a plastic shop in town here and have not had a problem at all with them. I've still been tempted to build a "big" 8ft tank, but have not got around to it yet.....

[ericatdallas]

I've seen some outside tank builds... I think if I do a massive one, that's the way I would go... that way if I mess up, I just water the backyard :P

They also look pretty impressive at night from the pics I've seen. I imagine you're better off living in the south though if you do one like that so tha the winter heating bill is cheap.

[rubinsteinnyc]

I saw this guy doing a 1000 gallon tank he used a metal bolt, 36 inches long that he used to brace the thing together on the top

[uarujoey]

In my opinion most of the time it is cheaper and less of a risk to buy the tanks.

Exactly what i was going to say. But i would say this only applies to smaller tanks.

[rubinsteinnyc]

well... anyhow, picking up the pieces on saturday, 3(18x18)+2(17*7/16X18) hope 1/16 is enough of a space for silicone... garf.org doesn't even include spaciing... bottom is tempered, paid 36 and a change.

[dean9922]

I have 3" overlap on my glass to the wood.....

[Skip]

well... anyhow, picking up the pieces on saturday, 3(18x18)+2(17*7/16X18) hope 1/16 is enough of a space for silicone... garf.org doesn't even include spaciing... bottom is tempered, paid 36 and a change.

more like do you think 1/32 on each will be enough... :)

keep us up updated.. i would love to put together a CUBE tank :)

[rubinsteinnyc]

yes... i called in and changed it to 17*3/8 this way we get 1/16 on each side for silicone,
NOW! silicone. DAP brand?

[Skip]

yes... i called in and changed it to 17*3/8 this way we get 1/16 on each side for silicone,
NOW! silicone. DAP brand?

who says you don't use FRACTIONS after High School!

[roundfishross]

I use ge I silicone for resealing all my tanks and have never had any problems with it.

[rubinsteinnyc]

you don't if you don't make fish tanks :) WARLOCK do you think 1/16 on each side for silicone is enough?

[discolicious]

I never included a "gap" in my glass measurements on the ones I've built. I just ran a bead of silicone on the edges that would butt against glass. When these are clamped together, the silicone will ooze out and can be cleaned of, but you get a very tight bond. Then run your silicone around all the inside joints. good luck

[jarret8x]

Silicone its much stronger than some people think it is. I know this from having to remove so much of it working construction.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[rubinsteinnyc]

so i made the tank. GE I silicone black. it kinda got messy and the 17*7/8 was a BAD idea as they POLISHED it on the edges... i put it apart within 20min of completing it and will be getting two more pieces of 17.25inch

[rubinsteinnyc]

I never included a "gap" in my glass measurements on the ones I've built. I just ran a bead of silicone on the edges that would butt against glass. When these are clamped together, the silicone will ooze out and can be cleaned of, but you get a very tight bond. Then run your silicone around all the inside joints. good luck

how big were the tank and how thick was the glass?

[rubinsteinnyc]

so i am putting my education on hold and starting a business like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02iP4rx76-Q&NR=1

watch this stuff, its amazing!

[Skip]

you don't if you don't make fish tanks :) WARLOCK do you think 1/16 on each side for silicone is enough?

i dont know.. but i was pointing it out because, i figured you may have over looked that BOTH end parts ;) when you wanted 1/16 gap.. not thinking it would be 1/2 of 1/16.. for each side.. lol.. thats all

[Skip]

so.. how is it going.. any pics..

[rubinsteinnyc]

This one is epic, tons of tips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY4gZl5c6PM

[rubinsteinnyc]

i dont know.. but i was pointing it out because, i figured you may have over looked that BOTH end parts ;) when you wanted 1/16 gap.. not thinking it would be 1/2 of 1/16.. for each side.. lol.. thats all

i had 1/16 on each side. the glass is 18x17*7/8, should have listened to DISCOLICIOUS and not leave any "gap". No pix, put the thing apart, cleaning the glass soon. attempt no.2 maybe tonight.

[rubinsteinnyc]

glass cleaned... no will to attempt it again, gonna give it a shot with my buddy who has made a few tanks one of them is 120 gals. too bad the glass aint sparkling clean anymore ...

[MSD]

In my opinion most of the time it is cheaper and less of a risk to buy the tanks.

I could not agree more!!

[rubinsteinnyc]

cheaper doesn't mean nicer, 18inch cube is pretty damn sleek, lemme tell you

[discolicious]

how big were the tank and how thick was the glass?

The largest tank was 5 ft x 18in. x 25 in., approximately 125 gallons. The glass was 1/2in. Braced across the top in two places and 1in glass strips on the sides, front and back to support the glass lid.

3 30 gal tanks 24in x 12.5 in. x 25in. glass was 1/4 in.

used GE 1 clear silicone.

[rubinsteinnyc]

so you had NO extra gaps for glass for the 125 and the 30s? Any problems with them at all? how did you make the beads of silicone look pweeety? do you have any pix of your tanks? any tips on how to make the construction easier?

[rubinsteinnyc]

just an update:
made the tank on sunday, gave it two days to dry, filled it up with water yesterday and it's HOLDING THE WATER :)
maybe some pix soon :)

[Apistomaster]

I have built well over 100 all glass aquariums.
I have made them as small as 4.5 gal to as large as 90 gals.
I am most comfortable about build aquariums up to 60 gals.
I began building my first tanks in 1968 and I used Dow Corning Sealastic, later owned by GE.
I never allow for any gap for the joints. The actual structural seal is incredibly thin.
To end up with very neat looking finished tanks you should use masking tape to allow for the extra protection of an inner intersection "back up" leak prevention seal. The glass edges for the butt joints should only have the edges of the cuts lightly sanded. This allows for a maximum area for the structural bonds and helps prevent the propagation of stress cracking. The exposed edges may be rounded a bit more for safe handling and working with the tank over the nearly infinite potential working life.
I never built a perfect cube shaped tank but I designed for larger surface areas than were available commercially. For tanks up to 14" tall and 36" long you can actually get away with using only 3/16" thick glass but if you want a tank that is 18" tall you must use at least 1/4" plate glass. For tanks up to 36" long I do not use a center top cross brace. I just glue a strip of glass 1" X up to 36" along the front and back to add to the stiffness. Over 36" Long I recommend stiffening strips 1-1/4 wide and a glass cross brace of 4" X 3/16" glass as wide as the interior glued to both the under side of these stiffening strips and the butt joint where it connects to the front and back glass panels.
I built these tanks free hand. It is very helpful to have an extra pair of hand during the assembly. If all your glass panels are cut to exactly the correct size and are perfectly square, the tank ends up also being perfectly square.
The interior silicone seal adds nothing to the structural strength of the tank so when you mask the border limits 3/16" is plenty. As each panel is put in place use 3 pieces of masking tape around each out side corner to maintain the alignment and tension until the silicone sealant has cured. For the interior backup seal remove the masking tape immediately after you have completed smearing the bead. If assembled correctly the structural joints will not have any bubbles. To get this result you must bring the pieces together perfectly at your first attempt. You can see where having an assistant is literally very handy using this method. I do not use any top edge stiffening strips on smaller tanks 3 to 15 gallons.
I had access to a great deal of very cheap scrap glass when I was building my hatchery and quarantine room tanks so each tank was much cheaper than any commercial tanks but back then aquariums were mainly still steel frame construction. I made two main sizes as my standard tanks. My small tanks were all 10 gal with the same dimensions of a standard tank but they were 20 X 12 X 10 Tall inches with no stiffening strips. My other standard tank was a 25 gal tank which was 30 X 16 X 12 Tall inches. I did use 3/16" X 1" X 30" front and back panel stiffening strips.
I built quite a few 53 gal tanks using 1/4" plate panels.
Size: 48" X 16" X 16".
I used 3/16" X 1-1/4" X 48" stiffening strips and a 3/16" X 4" X 15-1/2" cross brace. This is about the upper limit for using 1/4" plate glass. I did make one 75 gal tank out of 1/4" plate glass that was 60" X 18" X 16" tall. I used 3/16" X 1-3/4" X 60" stiffen strips and a 3/16" X 6" X 17-1/2" cross brace.
For long tanks over 36" you must use at least 1/4" plate glass panels. I do think an 18" cube could be safely built out of 1/4" plate. I think the modulus of elasticity of 1/4" plate is high enough to resist the load imposed deflections.

I have always built my all glass tanks with "floating" bottoms; that is where the ends and bottom panels are all the same width and ends are inset 1/4"(the thickness of the glass).
The front and back panels are full length. This design assumes a perfectly smooth, flat and level supporting base with sufficient support to resist any deflections imposed by the weight of the water.
I acquired a bunch of tempered glass shelves of 3/16" X 16 X 8 inches. I used these as the fronts and backs and had to buy new 3/16" glass for the bottom and end pieces.
I built 4.5 gal breeding tanks out of the scrap shelves. I built a dozen of these about 7 years ago and they are still in use.
Sometimes it is reasonable to build custom size and shaped tanks if you get a good enough deal on the glass but it is difficult to find suitable scrap glass now.
Large tanks carry higher risks of failure so one has to weigh the liabilities and costs carefully.
You have to be confident that you are skilled enough to tackle building very large tanks.
It is generally better to choose a commercially available aquarium with dimensions that fit your desires when you want a large aquarium. If you have the skills and do your home work large wooden tanks are not very difficult to make. I recommend using glass viewing windows because plastics do not form strong enough bonds between epoxy coated wood and silicone sealants. I built 6 such tanks. They were all for a space where I could set up 3 each of tanks that were 3' X 3' X 2' tall. I was able to use 1/4" plate glass for the viewing windows. These large, near cube tanks held 134 gallons.
The height of a tank is the most important design factor followed by its length.
Ever one foot in height must support 62.4 lbs per cubic foot of water pressure.
2 feet tall = 124.8 lbs/cu. ft. and so on.

[rubinsteinnyc]

where have you been man?! :)
Thanks for the post!
I have done a lot of research on european forums and everone of them stated that for a tank of 45cm tall (18inch) 6mm glass is enough (.25 ich=6.35mm) so I am safe, I measured the tank before and after filling it up and the wall moved/gave only 1mm...
lemme tell you, this thing is a BEAUTY, still kinda messy, I didnt remove (for some reason) the masking tape asap while the silicone was very fresh but when it started drying... BUT I plan on making a starphire cube soon with a clear silicone for a pair of discus and we will see how that goes.
Thanks for all the tips

[Apistomaster]

I've been mostly watching and not posting much lately.
You quickly pick up ways to improve your all glass tank building techniques from the experiences with the first few attempts. They start to become very easy to build after that.
The mistake with the inside seal masking tape is something you may not realize at first that must be removed as soon as you finish smearing the bead.
Plan ahead next time and make a few angled cuts through the tape with a razor blade.
This will make it easier to lift a tab that you can grab to help peel off the masking tape.
The tape with the still sticky sealant on it will curl and brush the sides making it necessary to do more clean up after the sealant has cured. By cutting the tape into halves or thirds the lengths you remove will be of a more manageable lengths. It will help keep the final clean up easier.

[Discus-n00b]

Just a handy tip I've found. Some cheap guitar picks make perfect silicone spreaders. Gives a nice seal along the inside joints like commercial tanks.

[rubinsteinnyc]

Plan ahead next time and make a few angled cuts through the tape with a razor blade- what do you mean?
So I should peel the tape right after applying the sealant, what did you use to make the shape of the inner bead nice and clean and uniform? What do you think of those PRO CAULK tools?
do you have any pix of your tanks?

[Apistomaster]

I do not have any photos of my tanks. I realized after I posted this would come up. I may take a couple photos of a finished 4.5 gal tank as it would show up well and they were the last all glass tanks I made so the incorporate the experience I have gained from over 100 tanks I have made.

When you finish applying all the masking tape that will determine the size of the inside seal, you make a couple of diagonal cuts in the tape with a razor blade. This will not effect the looks at all but since you need to remove the tape before the sealant begins to set these cuts make it easier to use the razor blade to peel back the tip of the angled slit in the tape. This makes it easier to lift the tape of carefully. It is hard to describe something that is best illustrated in a step by step photos but I do not have the need nor time to build a tank for the purposes of creating a how to manual. Best not to wait.

I always used my fingers to smear the seal because only a finger can create smooth transitions at corner intersections. Even using a tool like a guitar pick will not prevent your fingers coming in contact with the sealant. It is a bit messy and you need a roll of paper towels at hand so you can wipe of the excess as you work. One could wear latex gloves but I never have.

Final clean up is best done with acetone. Including final cleaning of the inevitable blobs that the curling tape will leave on the glass; the very thing that using the diagonal slit to keep the lengths of tape you are removing to something manageable. The structural seals are only held together by the wrap around strips of tape at all corners and from under the bottom pane to the sides until the sealant cures so you do not want to be having to use much force to peel off very long strips of tape that mask off the inner seals.

I highly recommend building a few smaller sized tanks for perfecting your techniques because so much of what makes an all glass tank look nice are small tricks which are rather intuitive after you build a couple practice tanks.

I only built my 4.5 gallon tanks for this incarnation of my fish room. I bought factory made 20 longs, 29 talls and 40 gallon breeders this time. I was able to negotiate a cost plus 10% deal on the bulk purchase of all my new tanks. I can't build them any cheaper at glass shop rates for 3/16" and 1/4" glass. I had the free shelves so I only needed to buy ends and bottom panes to build the 4.5 gal tanks. I use small tanks for spawning or quarantining small fish.
I built the majority of my all glass tanks decades ago when I needed tanks for my fish shop's back quarantine and breeding room.
I needed about 100 tanks and had access to cheap used glass.

[rubinsteinnyc]

how much is the glass at the glass hop?

[rubinsteinnyc]

do you put the side panels on the bottom piece or the side surround the bottom piece?

[Apistomaster]

I always have built my all glass tanks with the outside panels glued around the bottom piece.
I cut the bottom such that the ends and bottom panels are the same width and the front and backs are full length of the tank. The bottom is almost a floating bottom and not intended to be the primary load bearing area. The surface of the stand must be level, smooth and rigid so there are no point loads.

[rubinsteinnyc]

i built mine with walls on top of the bottom. will be making another one same size 18x18x18 except with bottom surrounded by 4 walls. Front wall will be starphire and bottom tempered. Also, I ordered from amazon the CaulkPro from DAP for nice finish beads... we will see how that goes.

[rubinsteinnyc]

hey Apistomaster, what's the biggest tank that you made?

[Apistomaster]

Hi Rubin,
I do not think it is a good idea to place the side panels on the bottom. The bottom should not have to bear any concentrated loads. That is why I always place the side panels around the bottom. The bottom doesn't have to bear any loads concentrated along the edges this way. The side panels bear directly on the flat smooth plywood stand. This is also a much easier way to build the tanks because the bottom acts as a template, aids in the ease of construction and relies on the tensile strength of the silicone. If you put the sides on the bottom the sealant is subjected to shearing forces. Maybe this won't be a problem with your 18 inch cubes but that design is not taking maximum advantage of the best properties of the silicone bond.

The largest tank I ever built was a 90 gallon tank.
I had a 170 gal, angle iron frame I bought that needed repairing but just as it was nearly full in the test filling the front glass burst and as it happened I was coming up the basement stairs in front of the tank and the deluge washed me all the way down the stairs. The glass was 3/8 inch.
This happened when I had a fish shop. The funny thing about it was that my mother owned a pet Stump Tailed Macaque, a small, baboon type of monkey. It was a little attraction as well as her pet. I hated it and it hated me. He was chained to a floor to ceiling pole to his collar so he had lots of range of freedom. The floor had plenty of straw bedding. The monkey was mad as hell and since there was 5 or 6 inches of water on the floor he tried to climb above it on his pole but couldn't hold on because his hands and feet were wet. So he jumped on my shoulder shrieking and baring his long canines at me.

Later on I used the 3/8 inch plate glass to build a tank 48 X 20 X 24 H inches.
It's bottom pane cracked during the test filling. I had added two layers of strips of 1/4 inch plate about two inches wide along every edge to give me nearly one inch wide structural bonding area. I glued a quarter inch thick piece of glass over the entire bottom over the long crack. That tank functioned perfectly for at least 4 years until we closed the store and I had moved out. It was a very heavy tank but it made a fine Discus tank during the last four years I still lived at home. My mom sold the tank so I do not know what ever became of it.
I kept the 75 gal, five foot tank I described in a previous post so I got at least 9 years of service out of it until I sold it. That tank was built out of 1/4 inch plate but it was only 16 inches high which is well within the safety range of that thickness of glass.

[rubinsteinnyc]

monkey eh? don't they stink?? Building another cube next week this time with sides around the bottom, we shall see :)
thx for your lengthy responses

[rubinsteinnyc]

so I am now wondering how/what i should cover the tank with so the discus(when i get them) don't jump out... i would like a glass cover but the thing is the tank doesn't have the frame so the glass has nothing to rest on... unless i get a piece to just lay on the top of the walls, but i would like to have some space between the two. does anyone know of any corners that would elevate the cover over the walls?

[Apistomaster]

so I am now wondering how/what i should cover the tank with so the discus(when i get them) don't jump out... i would like a glass cover but the thing is the tank doesn't have the frame so the glass has nothing to rest on... unless i get a piece to just lay on the top of the walls, but i would like to have some space between the two. does anyone know of any corners that would elevate the cover over the walls?

It is easy to add some glass tabs to support a glass cover.

[rubinsteinnyc]

what do u mean by glass tabs? I am looking for plastic profiles that you push in glass between two pieces of plastic (its hard to explain) i have seen them SOMEWHERE ONEDAY and cant remember WHERE! they have little plastic rods on the top that surround corners of the glass

[TURQ64]

In my career as a heavy rigger for a large crane company or two, I've installed really large (12-20 tons) panels of acrylic a foot thick which became parts of Steinhart,Monterey Bay,Fisherman's Wharf etc. for reknowned public aquariums.. I've been around them during all phases of construction..I've toyed with the idea of a 'mini-public' type setup..Build the base and enviro structures out of cement, embed rails to support and seal the front panels of glass (I'm thinking 2 8' panels end to end=16' long, 4' wide)...we'll see if I bring this pipe dream to life this winter...I just don't know what I'd do if I tired of it!)...

[Skip]

I want to make a BETTA CONDO.. that will hold like 12 bettas! :) don't think i can find a tank like that.. LOL

[rubinsteinnyc]

I want to make a BETTA CONDO.. that will hold like 12 bettas! :) don't think i can find a tank like that.. LOL
glass cages sells sth like that.

[rubinsteinnyc]

http://s16.postimg.org/se787uvv9/Photo0951.jpg (http://postimage.org/)
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http://s22.postimg.org/7b7jn4w0h/Photo0949.jpg (http://postimage.org/)
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The one on the right with clear silicone has a starphire front, 18inch cubes, maybe discus breeders after drilling them?

[rubinsteinnyc]

http://s14.postimg.org/52p6zrpf5/Photo1155.jpg (http://postimage.org/)
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[rubinsteinnyc]

posts #64 and 65 are pix of my self made fish tanks

[Skip]

Awesome

[Discus-n00b]

Impressive. Cloudy water? Surely not frosted glass LOL. I'm looking for a 15" cube currently...did you just get the low iron (starphire) from your local glass shop? About how much $ was it to build a single 18 inch cube if you don't mind me asking?

[rubinsteinnyc]

Impressive. Cloudy water? Surely not frosted glass LOL. I'm looking for a 15" cube currently...did you just get the low iron (starphire) from your local glass shop? About how much $ was it to build a single 18 inch cube if you don't mind me asking?

not cloudy, it was a HOT and STEAMY day, the glass was warm and i poured in cold water. all glass i get from my "secret" place. can't really remember how much it came out to be, i made this 1.5 yrs ago.

[GlennR]

My local glass store usually has a stack of scratched sheets laying out back that they'll give away. It would be a cheap way to practice with. Breeder tanks would be fine with a few scratches.