help rebuilding 25gal

[z71silverado98]

i picked up an old chrome frame 25g at a garage sale yesterday for $6 the thing had a small leak, no cracks. i disassembled the aquarium and would like to rebuild it w/out the frame. the only thing is that the bottom sits between the sides, instead of the sides sitting on top of the bottom. is this going to be a problem? also will the aquarium be strong enough w/out a finished top and bottom edge like home aquariums have?

 

[slipknottin]

It really depends on the glass thickness as well as how well constructed. Quite a few of the home aquarium 'trim' is just for decoration, on others however, it is essential for the structural stability of the tank.

However in your case, the iron was used simply because modern adhesive silicone wasent around, and they used various other substances to seal the glass rather than seal and bond the glass.

The side glass going down past the bottom shouldnt be much of an issue I dont think, I believe you can still order tanks built that way. I would put a piece of something like a high density foam bewteen the tank and stand, in case there is any variation there.

In summary, your tank should work fine with just silicone holding it together and without your iron supports. But no guarantees.

 

[z71silverado98]

thanks for the reply, i will use some hi-density foam. glass is about 1/4"

id say my tank construction is pretty solid. I re-sealed my 55gal since rodents had eaten all the silcone in storage, no leaks at all. i also pieced together a 5gal qt tank that had been dropped, it's ugly but it holds water.

as far as trim is concerned, can it be fabricated at home or purchased somewhere?

i also plan on filling the tank and leaving it in my backyard for about a week after i build it to avoid any disasters in my house.

 

[slipknottin]

You could probably order a couple pieces of the ABS trim from a company like all-glass, assuming of course, that one of the tanks they make is the same dimesions as your 25.