Buying or Building, that is the question...

rathman

rathman

AC Members
Oct 10, 2005
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Newport News Virginia
Buy the tank or build it?

What do you use to drill a pre-existing glass tank?
The level of difficulty?
Building an all-glass tank, price + time vs. price + piece of mind?


Been to www.GARF.org and still not sure.
Anyone with experience would be a big help.
 
Depends on the size of the tank. It is said that it is cheaper to build the larger tanks and buy the smaller ones, dollar for dollar. The risk to building a large tank is large failure, but it can be done with no issues if care is taken. As for drilling a hole in glass tanks I am not sure. I know some people have taken their tanks to glass shops and had them put the hole in for them.
 
I asked this question a while back, and I thought it might be a good project for my engineer husband. I pointed that out so that it was understood that someone with some smarts would be taking on the task :joke: !! The general feeling I got was that it was pretty time consuming and somewhat difficult to build a tank. The glass panels are pretty heavy, and to get them straight and sealed well enough to feel good about them can be quite tricky.

What size are you thinking about? If you are very dedicated to the task, and not against used, you can find some pretty good deals. I was a bit obsessive for a while, checking every sale ad, newspaper, fish board, craigslist, ebay, etc. DAILY and finally came across a 180g with all the accessories (*and extra actually) for $300, which was a great deal as far as I'm concerned. Also, www.glasscages.com has some decent prices if you are near one of their shows and can pick up the tank.

Just checked out that link... They make it sound soooo easy, don't they?!!?!?!
 
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They do and being mechanicly inclined as I am, it seems harmless. As you said getting the glass (acrylic) straight would be the trick unless you built a lil fixture to keep the glass perpendicular to the adjacent piece. It certsainly would be a large tank like 180-200 range. I considered www.aquamojo.com 's pond idea like he constructed in his basement, still contempating the idea. I would be housing large Cichlids, Cats and maybe some large Koi. My only issue is space. I was thinking outside but am affriad I wouldnt be able to keep it steady temp in the colder months, have to do some research still, maybe a pool heater or a jacuzzi heater. I'm a born again aquarist I tell you. I understand Mojo's theory of an addiction. but for its just become a peace with me. My does not share the enthusiasm, BUT she absolutely loves the outcomes.

J
 
It could certainly be a fun project if you have the time/patience to devote to it... I just think I would feel more safe knowing that everything was done correctly, and that I should not encounter any problems for many years :) Let us know if you do decide to build I'd like to see how it turns out!
Good luck :)
 
Building would be fun too. Acrylic actually might be easier to work with. It doesn't natrually stay as straight as glass does when working with it, but it's more forgiving. You can always make a quick jig to align the pieces to the location you want them and then tape them in place. You just need the space to do it.
 
rathman said:
Buy the tank or build it?

What do you use to drill a pre-existing glass tank?
The level of difficulty?
Building an all-glass tank, price + time vs. price + piece of mind?


Been to www.GARF.org and still not sure.
Anyone with experience would be a big help.
Click to expand...

Buy it new or buy it used. Shop around. I got a new 190g tank for $230 on an ebay auction. You'd be amazed by how many people who have large tanks that want to get rid of them.

ON the other hand, I've built a few tanks and should be building more in the future. IME, it is more expensive to DIY (w/time, material, tools, and all the mistakes) but the experience I gained from building these tanks, will better prepare me for the 1000g monster tanks that I'm planning to build someday.
 
I was searching for some information and came across this site. An interesting DIY read, with pictures, and maybe a bit related.

-quoting introduction-
I didn't have room in my house for the size of aquarium I wanted, so I had the great idea of building it outside. These pages will chronicle the progress of the project, and serve as a tutorial on how to build an aquarium. The final size of the aquarium will be about 500 or so gallons. I'm going to use my existing 50 gallon tank as the biological filter. There will also be an underground thermal mass for heating and cooling. So here goes:
-unquote-

site: http://www.wizardscave.com/aquarium.html
 
Thank you so much for that link.....

I read all the way through that article. It took me about an hour or so but what a dedicated aquarist. I don't think I could go the length he went but I certainly take in consideration for his thoughts and mishaps that he later recovered from. Where on earth did you find that?

J
 
What I was searching for was "SCS1200" silicone - if it was indeed aquarium safe. This is construction grade silicone. I think it appeared on page 6 of the article - where he used the wrong one (1000 instead of 1200).
 
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